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+} + +p.quote,div.blockquote,div.argument +{ +font-size:0.9em; +line-height:1.2em; +margin:1.58em 5%; +} + +.pagenum a, a.noteref:hover, a.hidden:hover, a.hidden +{ +text-decoration:none; +} + + + + +/* Supplement CSS stylesheet "style/arctic.css.xml +" */ + + + +body +{ +background: #FFFFFF; +font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; +} + +body, a.hidden +{ +color: black; +} + +h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 +{ +color: #001FA4; +font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; +} + +p.byline +{ +font-style: italic; +margin-bottom: 2em; +} + +.figureHead, .noteref, span.leftnote, p.legend, .versenum +{ +color: #001FA4; +} + +.rightnote, .pagenum, .linenum, .pagenum a +{ +color: #AAAAAA; +} + +a.hidden:hover, a.noteref:hover +{ +color: red; +} + + +</style></head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido, by +Henry Keppel and James Brooke + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido + For the Suppression of Piracy + +Author: Henry Keppel + James Brooke + +Release Date: October 6, 2007 [EBook #22903] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EXPEDITION TO BORNEO *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="front"> +<div class="titlePage"> +<h1 class="docTitle">THE EXPEDITION TO BORNEO +<br> +OF +<br> +H. M. S. DIDO +</h1> +<h1 class="docTitle">FOR +<br> +THE SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY: +<br> +WITH EXTRACTS FROM +<br> +THE JOURNAL OF JAMES BROOKE, ESQ., OF SARĀWAK, +<br> +(Now Agent for the British Government in Borneo). +</h1> +<h2 class="byline">BY +<br> +<span class="docAuthor">CAPTAIN THE HON. HENRY KEPPEL, R. N.</span></h2> +<h2 class="docImprint">NEW YORK: +<br> +HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, +<br> +82 CLIFF STREET. +<br> +1846. +</h2> +</div><div class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><p>TO + +</p> +<p>THE EARL OF ALBEMARLE. + + +</p> +<p><span class="smallcaps">My dear Father</span>, + +</p> +<p>You could scarcely have anticipated, from my profession, the dedication of a book in testimony of my gratitude and affection; +but, having had the good fortune to acquire the friendship of Mr. <span class="smallcaps">James Brooke</span>, and to be intrusted by him with a narrative of his extraordinary career in that part of the world where the services of +the ship I commanded were required, I am not without a hope that the accompanying pages may be found worthy of your approval, +and not altogether uninteresting to my country. + + +</p> +<p>I am, my dear father, + +</p> +<p>Your affectionate son, + +</p> +<p><span class="smallcaps">Henry Keppel</span>. + +</p> +<p><i>Droxford, January, 1846.</i> + + + + +<a id="d0e141"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e141">v</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="normal">PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.</h2> +<p>The visit of her majestyʼs ship Dido to Borneo, and her services against the pirates, occupy comparatively so small a portion +of this volume, that some excuse may be necessary for its leading title. + +</p> +<p>It was only by undertaking to make the account of them part of the narrative, that I could prevail upon my friend Mr. Brooke +to intrust me with his Journal for any public object; and when I looked at his novel and important position as a ruler in +Borneo, and was aware how much of European curiosity was attached to it, I felt it impossible not to consent to an arrangement +which should enable me to trace the remarkable career through which he had reached that elevation. I hope, therefore, to be +considered as having conquered my own disinclination to be the relater of events in which I was concerned, in order to overcome +the scruples which he entertained against being the author of the autobiographical sketch, embracing so singular a portion +of his life, which I have extracted from the rough notes confided to me. + +</p> +<p>That his diffidence in this respect was groundless will, I trust, be apparent from these <a id="d0e151"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e151">vi</a>]</span> pages, however indifferently I may have executed my unusual task, during a long homeward sea-voyage; and, from the growing +interest which has arisen throughout the country for intelligence on the subject of Borneo and the adjacent archipelago, I +venture also to indulge the belief that the general information will be deemed no unfit adjunct to the story of personal adventure. + + + + +</p> +<div class="div2"> +<h3 class="normal">ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION.</h3> +<p>The text of this edition has been carefully revised, and has undergone numerous verbal alterations; some portions of it have +been transposed, and a few additions have been made to the work. [In the American edition, a few pages of matter, of no interest +to American readers, have been omitted from the Appendix.] + + + +<a id="d0e158"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e158">vii</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e159" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="normal">CONTENTS.</h2> +<p><a href="#d0e355">CHAPTER I</a>. + +</p> +<p>The Chinese War having terminated, Captain Keppel in H.M.S. Dido appointed to command of the Straits station.—Meeting with +Mr. Brooke.—Sketch of his life.—Mr. Brookeʼs outward voyage in the Royalist.—Touch at Singapore.—Arrival off the coast of +Borneo.—Land at the island of Talang Talang.—Intercourse with the Bandar <i>Page</i> 1 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e515">CHAPTER II</a>. + +</p> +<p>Progress: observations.—Description of the coast of Borneo.—Account, &c. of a Pangeran.—Arrival at Sarāwak.—Meetings with +Rajah Muda Hassim, and conversations.—The Town.—Interchange of visits and presents.—Excursion to Dyak tribes.—Resources and +commercial products 14 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e739">CHAPTER III</a>. + +</p> +<p>Second Cruise: up the River Lunda.—The Sibnowan Dyaks.—Their Town of Tungong.—Their Physical Proportions, and Words of their +Language.—Their Customs.—Skull-trophies.—Religious Ceremonies and Opinions.—Their Ornaments.—Appearance of both Sexes.—Dress +and Morals.—Missionary Prospects of Conversion, and Elevation in the Social Scale.—Government, Laws, and Punishments.—Dances.—Iron +Manufacturing.—Chinese Settlement.—Excursion continued 32 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e1107">CHAPTER IV</a>. + +</p> +<p>Renewed intercourse with the Rajah.—Prospects of trade.—Ourang-outang, and other animals.—The two sorts of mĭas.—Description +of the Rajah, his suite, and Panglimas, &c.—The character of the natives.—Leave Sarāwak.—Songi Dyaks.—Visit Seriff Sahib.—Buyat +tongue.—Attack by pirates.—Sail for Singapore 45 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e1304">CHAPTER V</a>. + +</p> +<p>Summary of information obtained during this visit to Borneo.—Geographical and topographical observations.—Produce.—Various +Dyak tribes.—Natural history.—Language.—Origin of Races.—Sail from Singapore.—Celebes.—Face of the country.—Waterfall 59 +<a id="d0e195"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e195">viii</a>]</span></p> +<p><a href="#d0e1482">CHAPTER VI</a>. + +</p> +<p>Dain Matara, the Bugis.—Excursions in Celebes.—Dispute with the Rajahʼs son-in-law.—Baboon shot.—Appearance of the country.—Visit +the Resident.—Barometrical observations.—The Bugis.—Geography.—Coral reefs.—Visit the Rana of Lamatte.—Population and products +of the country 72 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e1890">CHAPTER VII</a>. + +</p> +<p>Mr. Brookeʼs second visit to Sarāwak.—The civil war.—Receives a present of a Dyak boy.—Excursion to the seat of war.—Notices +of rivers, and settlements on their banks.—Deaths and burials.—Reasons for and against remaining at Sarāwak.—Dyak visitors.—Council +of war.—Why side with the Rajah.—Mode of constructing forts.—State of enemyʼs and Rajahʼs forces.—Conduct of the war 87 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e2080">CHAPTER VIII</a>. + +</p> +<p>Appearance of the country.—Progress of the rebel war.—Character of the Sow and Singè Dyaks.—Their belief in augury.—Ruinous +effects of protracted warfare.—Cowardice and boasting of the Malays.—Council of war.—Refuse to attack the enemyʼs forts.—Rebels +propose to treat.—The Malays oppose.—Set out to attack the rebels, but frustrated by our allies.—Assailed by the rebels.—Put +them to flight.—Treat with them.—They surrender.—Intercede with the Rajah for their lives.—Renewed treachery of the Malays +100 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e2244">CHAPTER IX</a>. + +</p> +<p>Retrospect of Mr. Brookeʼs proceedings and prospects.—Visit of a pirate fleet.—Intercourse with the chief leaders, and other +characteristic incidents.—War dances.—Use of opium.—Story of Si Tundo.—Preparations for trading.—Conditions of the cession +of Sarāwak 119 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e2363">CHAPTER X</a>. + +</p> +<p>Obstacles in the way of coming to a satisfactory conclusion with Muda Hassim.—The law of force and reprisal considered.—Capabilities +of Sarāwak.—Account of Sarebus and Sakarran pirates.—Excursion up the river.—Visit to the Singè Dyaks.—Description of Mr. +Brookeʼs house at Sarāwak.—Circumstances relating to the wreck off Borneo Proper 135 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e2540">CHAPTER XI</a>. + +</p> +<p>Return of the Royalist from Borneo Proper with intelligence of the sufferers from the wreck of the Sultana.—Effect of the +arrival of the Diana on the negotiations for their release.—Outrage <a id="d0e232"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e232">ix</a>]</span>and oppression of Macota.—Fate of the Sultana and her crew.—Mr. Brooke made Rajah of Sarāwak.—Liberation of rebel prisoners.—State +of Dyak tribes.—Court of justice opened.—Dyak burials, and respect for the dead.—Malay cunning and treachery 151 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e2683">CHAPTER XII</a>. + +</p> +<p>Reflections on the new year.—The plundered village, and other wrongs.—Means for their suppression.—The new government proceeds +to act.—The constitution.—Preparations for an expedition against the Sea Dyaks.—Form of a treaty.—Wreck of the Viscount Melbourne.—Administration +of justice.—Difficulties and dangers.—Dyak troubles.—Views and arrangements of the Chinese.—Judicial forms.—Wrongs and sufferings +of the Lundus 164 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e2935">CHAPTER XIII</a>. + +</p> +<p>Ascent of the left-hand river to the Stabad.—Remarkable cave in the Tubbang.—Diamond works at Suntah.—Return.—Infested by +Dyak pirates.—A meeting of prahus, and fight.—Seriff Sahibʼs treatment of the Suntah Dyaks.—Expedition against the Singè.—Their +invasion of the Sigos, and taking heads.—The triumph over these trophies.—Arms and modes of war.—Hot and cold council-houses.—Ceremonies +in the installation of the Orang Kaya Steer Rajah.—Meeting of various Dyak tribes.—Hostile plans of Seriff Sahib, and their +issue.—Resolves to proceed to Borneo Proper 183 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e3112">CHAPTER XIV</a>. + +</p> +<p>Visit of Captain Elliott.—Mr. Brooke sails for Borneo Proper.—Arrival.—Visited by leading men.—Condition of the country.—Reception +by the Sultan.—Objects in view.—The different chiefs, and communications with them.—The Sultan and his Pangerans.—Objects +of the visit accomplished.—Return to Sarāwak.—Ceremonies of the cession.—Sail for Singapore 199 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e3313">CHAPTER XV</a>. + +</p> +<p>Captain Keppelʼs voyage in the Dido with Mr. Brooke to Sarāwak.—Chase of three piratical prahus.—Boat expedition.—Action with +the pirates, and capture of a prahu.—Arrival at Sarāwak.—Mr. Brookeʼs reception.—Captain Keppel and his officers visit the +Rajah.—The palace and the audience.—Return royal visit to the Dido.—Mr. Brookeʼs residence and household.—Dr. Treacherʼs adventure +with one of the ladies of Macotaʼs harem.—Another boat affair with the pirates, and death of their chief 213 +<a id="d0e258"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e258">x</a>]</span></p> +<p><a href="#d0e3396">CHAPTER XVI</a>. + +</p> +<p>The Rajahʼs letter to Captain Keppel, and his reply.—Prepares for an expedition against the Sarebus pirates.—Pleasure excursion +up the river.—The Chinese settlement.—The Singè mountain.—Interior of the residences.—Dyak festival of Maugut.—Relics.—Sporting.—Return +to Sarāwak.—The expedition against Sarebus.—State and number of the assailing force.—Ascent of the river.—Beauty of the scenery +228 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e3548">CHAPTER XVII</a>. + +</p> +<p>Ascent of the river to Paddi.—Town taken and burnt.—Narrow escape of a reinforcement of friendly Dyaks.—Night-attack by the +pirates.—Conference: they submit.—Proceed against Pakoo.—Dyak treatment of dead enemies.—Destruction of Pakoo, and submission +of the pirates.—Advance upon Rembas.—The town destroyed: the inhabitants yield.—Satisfactory effects of the expedition.—Death +of Dr. Simpson.—Triumphant return to Sarāwak 242 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e3683">CHAPTER XVIII</a>. + +</p> +<p>Captain Keppel sails for China.—Calcutta.—The Dido ordered to Borneo again.—Arrival at Sarāwak.—Effect of her presence at +Sarāwak.—Great improvements visible.—Atrocities of the Sakarran pirates.—Mr. Brookeʼs letter.—Captain Sir E. Belcherʼs previous +visit to Sarāwak in the Samarang.—Coal found.—Second letter from the Rajah Muda Hassim.—Expedition against the Sakarran pirates.—Patusen +destroyed.—Macota remembered, and his retreat burnt.—Further fighting, and advance.—Ludicrous midnight alarm 257 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e3888">CHAPTER XIX</a>. + +</p> +<p>Seriff Mullerʼs town sacked.—Ascend the river in pursuit of the enemy.—Gallant exploit of Lieutenant Wade.—His death and funeral.—Interesting +anecdote of him.—Ascend the Sakarran branch.—Native boats hemmed in by pirates, and their crews slaughtered to a man.—Karangan +destroyed.—Captain Sir E. Belcher arrives in the Samarangʼs boats.—Return to Sarāwak.—New expedition against Seriff Sahib +and Jaffer.—Macota captured.—Flight of Seriff Sahib.—Conferences.—Seriff Jaffer deposed.—Mr. Brookeʼs speech in the native +tongue.—End of the expedition, and return to Sarāwak.—The Dido sails for England 274 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e4004">CHAPTER XX</a>. + +</p> +<p>Later portion of Mr. Brookeʼs Journal.—Departure of Captain Keppel, and arrival of Sir E. Belcher.—Mr. Brooke proceeds, with +Muda Hassim, in the Samarang to Borneo.—Labuan examined.—Returns <a id="d0e289"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e289">xi</a>]</span>to Sarāwak.—Visit of Lingire, a Sarebus chief.—The Dyaks of Tumma and Bandar Cassim.—Meets an assembly of Malays and Dyaks.—Arrival +of Lingi, as a deputation from the Sakarran chiefs.—The Malay character.—Excursion up the country.—Miserable effects of excess +in opium-smoking.—Picturesque situation of the Sow village of Ra-at.—Nawang.—Feast at Ra-at.—Returns home.—Conferences with +Dyak chiefs 290 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e4133">CHAPTER XXI</a>. + +</p> +<p>Mr. Brookeʼs memorandum on the piracy of the Malayan Archipelago.—The measures requisite for its suppression, and for the +consequent extension of British commerce in that important locality 302 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e4248">CHAPTER XXII</a>. + +</p> +<p>Arrival of Captain Bethune and Mr. Wise.—Mr. Brooke appointed her Majestyʼs Agent in Borneo.—Sails for Borneo Proper.—Muda +Hassimʼs measures for the suppression of piracy.—Defied by Seriff Houseman.—Audience of the Sultan, Muda Hassim, and the Pangerans.—Visit +to Labuan.—Comparative eligibility of Labuan and Balambangan for settlement.—Coal discovered in Labuan.—Mr. Brooke goes to +Singapore and visits Admiral Sir T. Cochrane.—The upas-tree.—Proceeds with the Admiral to Borneo Proper.—Punishment of Pangeran +Usop.—The battle of Malludu.—Seriff Houseman obliged to fly.—Visit to Balambangan.—Mr. Brooke parts with the Admiral, and +goes to Borneo Proper.—An attempt of Pangeran Usop defeated.—His flight, and pursuit by Pangeran Budrudeen.—Triumphant reception +of Mr. Brooke in Borneo.—Returns to Sarāwak 314 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e4485">CHAPTER XXIII</a>. + +</p> +<p>Borneo, its geographical bounds and leading divisions.—British settlements in 1775.—The province of Sarāwak formally ceded +by the sultan in perpetuity to Mr. Brooke its present ruler.—General view of the Dyaks, the aborigines of Borneo.—The Dyaks +of Sarāwak, and adjoining tribes; their past oppression and present position 329 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e4639">CHAPTER XXIV</a>. + +</p> +<p>Proposed British settlement on the northwest coast of Borneo, and occupation of the island of Labuan.—Governor Crawfurdʼs +opinions thereon 345 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e4746">Concluding Observations</a> 355 + +</p> +<p><a href="#d0e4816">Postscript to Second Edition</a> 359 +<a id="d0e323"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e323">xii</a>]</span></p> +<p><a href="#d0e5133">APPENDIX</a>. + +</p> +<p>I. <a href="#d0e5136">Natural History</a>. Mr. Brookeʼs report on the Mias 365 + +</p> +<p>II. <a href="#d0e5342">Philology</a> 370 + +</p> +<p>III. <a href="#d0e5894">Proposed Exploring Expedition to the Asiatic Archipelago</a>, by James Brooke, Esq. 1838 373 + +</p> +<p>IV. <a href="#d0e5952">Sketch of Borneo, or Pulo Kalamantan</a>, by J. Hunt, Esq. 381 + +</p> +<p>V. <a href="#d0e6274">Extracts from the late Mr. Williamsonʼs Journal</a> 409 + + + + + +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="body"><a id="d0e354"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e354">1</a>]</span><div id="d0e355" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="super">EXPEDITION TO BORNEO.</h2> +<h2 class="label">CHAPTER I.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>The Chinese War having terminated, Captain Keppel in H.M.S. Dido appointed to command of the Straits station.—Meeting with +Mr. Brooke.—Sketch of his life.—Mr. Brookeʼs outward voyage in the Royalist.—Touch at Singapore.—Arrival off the coast of +Borneo.—Land at the island of Talang Talang.—Intercourse with the Bandar. +</p> +</div> +<p>At the conclusion of the Chinese war, the commander-in-chief, Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker, ordered the Dido to the Malacca +Straits, a station in which was included the island of Borneo; our principal duties being the protection of trade, and suppression +of piracy. + +</p> +<p>In the month of March, 1843, while at Pinang, I received intimation from the governor of various daring acts of piracy having +been committed near the Borneon coast on some vessels trading to Singapore. I proceeded to that port; and, while undergoing +a partial refit, made the acquaintance of Mr. Brooke, who accepted my invitation to return to Sarāwak in the Dido; and I could +not have visited Borneo with a more agreeable or intelligent companion. + +</p> +<p>The objects of Mr. Brooke in leaving England, the reasons which induced him to settle at Sarāwak, and the circumstances which +have led him to take so deep an interest in promoting the civilization and improving the condition of the singular people +whom he has adopted, form indeed a story very unlike the common course of events in modern times. + +</p> +<p>But before illustrating these circumstances from his own journals, it may be acceptable to say a few words <a id="d0e371"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e371">2</a>]</span>respecting the individual himself, and his extraordinary career. I am indebted to a mutual friend, acquainted with him from +early years, for the following brief but interesting outline of his life; and have only to premise, that Mr. Brooke is the +lineal representative of Sir Robert Vyner, baronet, and lord mayor of London in the reign of Charles II.; Sir Robert had but +one child, a son, Sir George Vyner, who died childless, and his estate passed to his heir-at-law, Edith, his fatherʼs eldest +sister, whose lineal descendant is our friend. Sir Robert was renowned for his loyalty to his sovereign, to whom he devoted +his wealth, and to whose memory he raised a monument. + +</p> +<p>“Mr. Brooke was the second, and is now the only surviving son of the late Thomas Brooke, Esq., of the civil service of the +East India Company; was born on the 29th April, 1803; went out to India as a cadet, where he held advantageous situations, +and distinguished himself by his gallantry in the Burmese war. He was shot through the body in an action with the Burmese, +received the thanks of the government, and returned to England for the recovery of his prostrated strength. He resumed his +station, but shortly afterward relinquished the service, and in search of health and amusement left Calcutta for China in +1830. In this voyage, while going up the China seas, he saw for the first time the islands of the Asiatic Archipelago—islands +of vast importance and unparalleled beauty—lying neglected, and almost unknown. He inquired and read, and became convinced +that Borneo and the Eastern Isles afforded an open field for enterprise and research. To carry to the Malay races, so long +the terror of the European merchant-vessels, the blessings of civilization, to suppress piracy, and extirpate the slave-trade, +became his humane and generous objects; and from that hour the energies of his powerful mind were devoted to this one pursuit. +Often foiled, often disappointed, but animated with a perseverance and enthusiasm which defied all obstacle, he was not until +1838 enabled to set sail from England on his darling project. The intervening years had been devoted to preparation and inquiry; +a year spent in the Mediterranean had tested his vessel, the Royalist, and his crew; and so completely had he studied his +subject <a id="d0e375"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e375">3</a>]</span>and calculated on contingencies, that the least sanguine of his friends felt as he left the shore, hazardous and unusual as +the enterprise appeared to be, that he had omitted nothing to insure a successful issue. ‘I go,’ said he, ‘to awake the spirit +of slumbering philanthropy with regard to these islands; to carry Sir Stamford Rafflesʼ views in Java over the whole archipelago. +Fortune and life I give freely; and if I fail in the attempt, I shall not have lived wholly in vain.’ + +</p> +<p>“In the admiration I feel for him, I may farther be permitted to add, that if any man ever possessed in himself the resources +and means by which such noble designs were to be achieved, that man was James Brooke! Of the most enlarged views; truthful +and generous; quick to acquire and appreciate; excelling in every manly sport and exercise; elegant and accomplished; ever +accessible; and above all, prompt and determined to redress injury and relieve misfortune, he was of all others the best qualified +to impress the native mind with the highest opinion of the English character. How he has succeeded, the influence he has acquired, +and the benefits he has conferred, his own uncolored narrative, contained in the following pages, best declares, and impresses +on the world a lasting lesson of the good that attends individual enterprise, when well directed, of which every Englishman +may feel justly proud.” + +</p> +<p>Such is the sketch of Mr. Brooke by one well competent to judge of that to which he bears witness. In pursuance of the mission +thus eloquently and truly described, that gentleman left his native shores in the year 1838, in his yacht the Royalist schooner, +of 142 tons, belonging to the Royal Yacht Squadron, with a crew of upward of twenty men. His general views were distinct and +certain; but the details into which they shaped themselves have been so entirely guided by unforeseen occurrences, that it +is necessary to look to his first visit to Borneo for their explanation; and in order to do so, I must refer to his private +journal, which he kindly confided to me, after I had in vain tried to persuade him to take upon himself the publication of +its contents, so rich in new and interesting intelligence. + +<a id="d0e381"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e381">4</a>]</span> + + +</p> +<p>EXTRACTS FROM Mr. BROOKEʼS JOURNAL. + +</p> +<p>“I had for some years turned my mind to the geography of the Indian Archipelago, and cherished an ardent desire to become +better acquainted with a country combining the richest natural productions with an unrivaled degree of luxuriant beauty. Circumstances +for a time prevented my entering on this field for enterprise and research; and when the barriers were removed, I had many +preparations to make and some difficulties to overcome. + +</p> +<p>“In an expedition conducted by government, the line of discipline is so distinctly understood, and its infringement so strictly +punished, that small hazard is incurred of any inconvenience arising from such a source. With an individual, however, there +is no such assurance, for he cannot appeal to the articles of war; and the ordinary legal enactments for the protection of +the mariner will not enable him to effect objects so far removed beyond the scope of the laws. I was fully aware that many +would go, but that few might stay; for while a voyage of discovery <i>in prospectu</i> possesses great attractions for the imagination, the hardship, danger, and thousand other rude realities, soon dissipate +the illusion, and leave the aspirant longing for that home he should never have quitted. In like manner, seamen can be procured +in abundance, but cannot be kept from desertion whenever any matter goes wrong; and the total previous ignorance of their +characters and dispositions renders this more likely, as the admission of one ‘black sheep’ goes far to taint the entire crew. + +</p> +<p>“These considerations fully convinced me that it was necessary to form <i>men</i> to my purpose, and, by a line of steady and kind conduct, to raise up a personal regard for myself and attachment for the +vessel, which could not be expected in ordinary cases. In pursuance of this object, I was nearly three years in preparing +a crew to my mind, and gradually moulding them to consider the hardest fate or misfortune under my command as better than +the ordinary service in a merchant-vessel. How far I have succeeded remains yet to be proved; but I cannot help hoping that +I have raised the character of <a id="d0e397"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e397">5</a>]</span>many, and have rendered all happy and contented since they have been with me; and certain am I that no men can do their duty +more cheerfully or willingly than the crew of the Royalist. + +</p> +<p>“I may pass over in silence my motives for undertaking so long and arduous a voyage; and it will be sufficient to say, that +I have been firmly convinced of its beneficial tendency in adding to knowledge, increasing trade, and spreading Christianity. +The prospectus of the undertaking was published in the <i>Geographical Journal</i>, vol. viii. part iii., of 1838, when my preparations for sea were nearly complete. I had previously avoided making any public +mention of my intentions, for praise before performance is disgusting; and I knew I should be exposed to prying curiosity, +desirous of knowing what I did not know myself. + +</p> +<p>“On the 27th October, 1838, the Royalist left the river; and, after a succession of heavy gales, finally quitted the land +on the 16th December. I may here state some farther particulars, to enable my readers to become better acquainted with her +and her equipment. The Royalist, as already noticed, belonged to the Royal Yacht Squadron, which in foreign ports admits her +to the same privileges as a man-of-war, and enables her to carry a white ensign. She sails fast, is conveniently fitted up, +is armed with six six-pounders, a number of swivels, and small arms of all sorts, carries four boats, and provisions for four +months. Her principal defect is being too sharp in the floor, which, in case of taking the ground, greatly increases the risk; +but I comfort myself with the reflection that a knowledge of this will lead to redoubled precaution to prevent such a disaster. +She is withal a good sea-boat, and as well calculated for the service as could be desired. + +</p> +<p>“Most of her hands had been with me for three years or upward, and the rest were highly recommended. They are, almost without +exception, young, able-bodied, and active—fit in all respects for enduring hardship and privation, or the more dangerous reverse +of self-indulgence, and willing to follow the fortunes of the Royalist and her commander through all the various shades of +good or evil fortune which may betide. A fine, though <a id="d0e408"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e408">6</a>]</span>slow passage took us to Rio Janeiro, which presents features of natural beauty rarely equaled. The weather during our stay +was hot in the extreme, and very wet, which marred, in some degree, the satisfaction I should otherwise have enjoyed in wandering +about this picturesque country. I passed ten days, however, very agreeably, and departed with some regret from this brief +visit to America and from my friends (if they will so allow me to call them) on board H.M.S. Calliope. I must not omit to +mention that, during my stay, I visited a slaver, three of which (prizes to our men-of-war) lay in the harbor. It is a most +loathsome and disgusting sight. Men, women, and children—the aged and the infant—crowded into a space as confined as the pens +in Smithfield, not, however, to be released by death at the close of the day, but to linger, diseased and festering, for weeks +or months, and then to be discharged into perpetual and hopeless slavery. I wish I could say that our measures tended toward +the abolition of this detestable traffic; but from all that I could learn and observe, I am forced to confess that the exertions +made to abolish slavery are of no avail in this country, and never will be till harsher means are resorted to. + +</p> +<p>“There are points of view in which this traffic wears a more cheering aspect; for any one comparing the puny Portuguese or +the bastard Brazilian with the athletic negro, cannot but allow that the ordinary changes and chances of time will place this +fine country in the hands of the latter race. The negro will be fit to cultivate the soil, and will thrive beneath the tropical +sun of the Brazils. The enfeebled white man grows more enfeebled and more degenerate with each succeeding generation, and +languishes in a clime which nature never designed him to inhabit. The time will come when the debased and suffering negroes +shall possess this fertile land, and when some share of justice shall be awarded to their cheerful tempers and ardent minds. + +</p> +<p>“Quitting Rio on the 9th, we cruised for a day or two with H.M.S. Calliope and Grecian; and on the 11th, parting company, +prosecuted our voyage for the Cape of Good Hope.” + +</p> +<p>The next notice runs thus:—“The aspect of Tristan <a id="d0e416"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e416">7</a>]</span>dʼAcunha is bold even to grandeur. The peak, towering upward of eight thousand feet above the sea, is inferior only to Teneriffe, +and the precipitous cliffs overhanging the beach are a fitting base for such a mountain. I regretted not being able to examine +this island for many reasons, but principally, perhaps, on account of the birds of the South Atlantic I had hoped to collect +there, many of which are so often seen by voyagers, yet so little known and so vaguely described. + +</p> +<p>“On the 29th March, after being detained a fortnight [at the Cape of Good Hope] by such weather as no one could regret, we +sailed again in a southeaster, and after a passage of six weeks reached Java Head. + +</p> +<p>“I had been suffering for some time under a severe indisposition, and consequently hailed the termination of our voyage with +double satisfaction, for I greatly required rest and quiet—two things impossible to be had on ship-board. From Java Head we +glided slowly through Princeʼs Strait, and coasting along the island, dropped our anchor in Anjer Roads. The scenery of this +coast is extremely lovely, and comprises every feature which can heighten the picturesque; noble mountains, a lake-like sea, +and deeply indented coast-line, rocks, islets, and, above all, a vegetation so luxuriant that the eye never wearies with gazing +on its matchless tints. Anjer combines all these beauties, and possesses the incalculable advantage of being within a moderate +ride of the refreshing coolness of the hills. We here procured water and provisions in abundance, being daily visited by crowds +of canoes filled with necessaries or curiosities. Fowls, eggs, yams, cocoa-nuts, and sweet potatoes, were mixed with monkeys +of various sorts, paroquets, squirrels, shells, and similar temptations on the strangerʼs purse or wardrobe. Great was the +bartering for old clothes, handkerchiefs, and hats; and great the number of useless and noisy animals we received in exchange. +Great, too, was the merriment aboard, and the excitement when the canoes first came. The transition from the monotony of a +sea-life to the loquacious bustle of barter with a half-civilized people is so sudden, that the mind at once feels in a strange +land, and the commonest productions proclaim the luxuriant climes of the tropics. <a id="d0e422"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e422">8</a>]</span>Until this impression is made, we hardly know why we have been sailing onward for four months past, so quiet and unvarying +is the daily tenor of a life aboard ship. + +</p> +<p>“<i>1st June, Singapore.</i>—On reaching Singapore I was most hospitably received by the kind inhabitants, and took up my abode with Mr. Scott. The quiet +and repose of my present life, the gentle ride in the cool of the morning and evening drive after an early dinner, are already +restoring my shattered strength, and I trust soon to be enabled to prosecute my farther undertaking. In the mean time the +Royalist is undergoing a refit after her passage, and, like her owner, is daily improving in good looks. + +</p> +<p>“I could say much of Singapore, for it is the pivot of the liberal system in the Archipelago, and owes its prosperity to the +enlightened measures of Sir Stamford Raffles. The situation is happily chosen, the climate healthy, the commerce unshackled, +and taxation light; and these advantages have attracted the vessels of all the neighboring nations to bring their produce +to this market in order to exchange it for the manufactures of England. + +</p> +<p>“The extent of the island is about 27 miles by 11 broad. The town of Singapore stands on the south side, facing the shores +of Battam, and is intersected by a salt-water stream, which separates the native town from the pleasant residences of the +European inhabitants; the latter stretch along the beach, and cover a space which extends to the foot of a slight eminence, +on which stands the governorʼs house. Off the town lie the shipping of various countries, presenting a most picturesque and +striking appearance. The man-of-war, the steamer, and the merchant-vessels of the civilized world, contrast with the huge, +misshapen, and bedizened arks of China! The awkward prahus of the Bugis are surrounded by the light boats of the island. The +semi-civilized Cochin-Chinese, with their vessels of antiquated European construction, deserve attention from this important +step toward improvement; and the rude prahus of some parts of Borneo claim it from their exhibiting the early dawn of maritime +adventure. + +</p> +<p>“<i>27th July.</i>—After various causes of delay I sailed <a id="d0e438"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e438">9</a>]</span>on this day from Singapore. When I contrast my state of health at my arrival with what it now is, I may well be thankful for +the improvement. Every kindness and hospitality has been shown me. + +</p> +<p>“On Saturday at noon we got under weigh with a light breeze, and stood down the Strait on our way to Borneo. + +</p> +<p>“<i>28th.</i>—In the morning we were well out in the China Sea, running six knots per hour, N. ¾ E. Lines of discolored water were seen +about us, and about 11 A.M. we entered a field some two miles long and 400 yards wide. The consistence of this dirty mass +was that of pea-soup, which it likewise resembled in color; and I doubt not the white water of the China Sea (vide <i>Nautical Magazine</i>) is referable to this appearance seen in the night, as may the report of rocks, &c. The Malays on board called it ‘sara,’ +and declared it to come from the rivers. On examination it appeared, when magnified, somewhat like a grain of barley or corn. +The particles were extremely minute, soft, and, when rubbed between the fingers, emitted a strong smell like paint-oil; a +potent odor arose while passing through the thick patch. + +</p> +<p>“It may not be superfluous to recount here the preparations I have made for this trip to Borneo, or my intentions when I get +there. Borneo Proper, once the seat of piracy, which few vessels could approach with safety, is now under the sway of the +Rajah Muda Hassim. The character given this rajah by many persons who know and have traded with him is good, and he is spoken +of as generous and humane, and greatly inclined to the English. These reasons have induced me to abandon my intention of proceeding +direct to Malludu Bay, and during the season of the southwest monsoon to confine myself principally to the northwest coast. +Muda Hassim being at present reported to be at Sarāwak, I propose, after taking a running sketch of the coast from Tanjong +Api, to enter the river of that name, and proceed as far as the town. + +</p> +<p>“I believe I have availed myself of every means within my reach to render my visit agreeable to the rajah. I carry with me +many presents which are reported <a id="d0e454"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e454">10</a>]</span>to be to his liking; gaudy silks of Surat, scarlet cloth, stamped velvet, gunpowder, &c., beside a large quantity of confectionery +and sweets, such as preserved ginger, jams, dates, syrups, and to wind up all, a huge box of China toys for his children! +I have likewise taken coarse nankeen to the amount of 100<i>l.</i> value, as the best circulating medium in the country. Beside the above mentioned preparations, I carry letters from the government +of Singapore, to state, as far as can be done, the objects of my voyage, and to caution the rajah to take every care of my +safety and that of my men. The Board of Commerce have at the same time entrusted me with a letter and present to him, to thank +him for his humanity to the crew of an English vessel wrecked on this coast. The story, as I had it from the parties shipwrecked, +is highly creditable to his humanity. The vessel, called the Napoleon, was wrecked on the bar of Sarāwak river in the northeast +monsoon. The people were saved with difficulty, and remained in the jungle, where they were after a time discovered by some +Malays. Muda Hassim, on receiving intelligence of this, sent down and brought them to his town, collected all that he could +recover from the wreck, clothed them handsomely, and fed them well for several months, and, on an opportunity arriving, sent +them back to Singapore free of expense. + +</p> +<p>“At the same time, however, that I have prepared to meet the natives as friends, I have not neglected to strengthen my crew, +in case I should find them hostile. Eight stout men of the Ourang Laut, or men of the sea (Malays), have been added to the +force. They are an athletic race, cheerful and willing; and though not seaman in our sense of the term, yet well calculated +for this expedition. They pull a good oar, and are invaluable in saving the Europeans the exposure consequent to wooding and +watering. They possess, likewise, the knowledge of the jungle and its resources, and two of them have before been to Sarāwak +and along the coast. Beside these, a young gentleman named Williamson accompanies me as interpreter; and I have fortunately +met with a medical gentleman, Mr. Westermann, a Dane, who is surgeon for this voyage, Mr. Williams <a id="d0e461"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e461">11</a>]</span>having left me at Singapore. With these arrangements I look without apprehension to the power of the Malays; and without relaxing +in measures of the strictest vigilance, I shall never sleep less soundly when it comes to my turn so to do. + +</p> +<p>“<i>August 1st.</i>—I am, then, at length, anchored off the coast of Borneo! not under very pleasant circumstances, for the night is pitchy dark, +with thunder, lightning, rain, and squalls of wind. + +</p> +<p>“<i>2d.</i>—Squally bad night. This morning, the clouds clearing away, was delightful, and offered for our view the majestic scenery +of Borneo. At nine got under weigh, and ran in on an east-by-south course 4½ or 5 miles toward Tanjong Api. Came to an anchor +about five miles from the land, and dispatched the boat to take sights ashore, in order to form a base-line for triangulation. +The scenery may really be called majestic. The low and wooded coast about Tanjong Api is backed by a mountain called Gunong<a id="d0e473src" href="#d0e473" class="noteref">1</a> Palo, some 2000 feet in height, which slopes down behind the point and terminates in a number of hummocks, showing from a +distance like islands. + +</p> +<p>“The coast, unknown, and represented to abound in shoals and reefs, is the harbor for pirates of every description. Here, +every manʼs hand is raised against his brother man; and here sometimes the climate wars upon the excitable European, and lays +many a white face and gallant heart low on the distant strand. + +</p> +<p>“<i>3d.</i>—Beating between Points Api and Datu. The bay, as far as we have seen, is free from danger; the beach is lined by a feathery +row of beautiful casuarinas, and behind is a tangled jungle, without fine timber; game is plentiful, from the traces we saw +on the sand; hogs in great numbers, troops of monkeys, and the print of an animal with cleft hoofs, either a large deer, tapir, +or cow. We saw no game save a tribe of monkeys, one of which, a female, I shot, and another quite young, which we managed +to capture alive. The captive, though the young of the black monkey, is grayish, with the exception of his extremities, and +a stripe of black down his back and tail. Though very young, he <a id="d0e483"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e483">12</a>]</span>has already taken food, and we have some hope of preserving his life. + +</p> +<p>“We witnessed, at the same time, an extraordinary and fatal leap made by one of these monkeys. Alarmed by our approach, he +sprang from the summit of a high tree at the branch of one lower, and at some distance. He leaped short, and came clattering +down some sixty or seventy feet amid the jungle. We were unable to penetrate to the spot on account of a deep swamp to ascertain +his fate. + +</p> +<p>“A rivulet flows into the sea not far from where we landed; the water is sweet, and of that clear brown color so common in +Ireland. This coast is evidently the haunt of native prahus, whether piratical or other. Prints of menʼs feet were numerous +and fresh, and traces of huts, fires, and parts of boats, some of them ornamented after their rude fashion. A long pull of +five miles closed the day. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Sunday, 4th.</i>—Performed divine service myself! manfully overcoming that horror which I have to the sound of my own voice before an audience. +In the evening landed again more to the westward. Shore skirted by rocks; timber noble, and the forest clear of brushwood, +enabling us to penetrate with ease as far as caution permitted. Traces of wild beasts numerous and recent, but none discovered. +Fresh-water streams, colored as yesterday, and the trail of an alligator from one of them to the sea. This dark forest, where +the trees shoot up straight and tall, and are succeeded by generation after generation varying in stature, but struggling +upward, strikes the imagination with pictures trite yet true. Here the hoary sage of a hundred years lies moldering beneath +your foot, and there the young sapling shoots beneath the parent shade, and grows in form and fashion like the parent stem. +The towering few, with heads raised above the general mass, can scarce be seen through the foliage of those beneath; but here +and there the touch of time has cast his withering hand upon their leafy brow, and decay has begun his work upon the gigantic +and unbending trunk. How trite and yet how true! It was thus I meditated in my walk. The foot of European, I said, has never +touched <a id="d0e494"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e494">13</a>]</span>where my foot now presses—seldom the native wanders here. Here I indeed behold nature fresh from the bosom of creation, unchanged +by man, and stamped with the same impress she originally bore! Here I behold Godʼs design when He formed this tropical land, +and left its culture and improvement to the agency of man. The Creatorʼs gift as yet neglected by the creature; and yet the +time may be confidently looked for when the axe shall level the forest, and the plow turn the ground. + +</p> +<p>“<i>6th.</i>—Made sail this morning, and stood in for an island called Talang Talang, anchoring about eight miles distant, and sending +a boat to take correct observations for a base-line. + +</p> +<p>“Our party found Malays of Sarāwak on the island, who were civil to them, and offered to conduct us up to-morrow, if we wanted +their assistance. The pirates, both Illanuns and Dyaks, have been gone from the bay but a few days; the former seaward, the +latter up the rivers. + +</p> +<p>“<i>7th.</i>—Morning calm. In the afternoon got under weigh, and anchored again near the island of Talang Talang; the smaller one a conical +hill bearing south. The Bandar<a id="d0e508src" href="#d0e508" class="noteref">2</a> of the place came off in his canoe to make us welcome. He is a young man sent by Rajah Muda Hassim to collect turtlesʼ eggs, +which abound in this vicinity, especially on the larger island. The turtles are never molested, for fear of their deserting +the spot; and their eggs, to the amount of five or six thousand, are collected every morning and forwarded at intervals to +Sarāwak as articles of food. + +</p> +<p>“Our visitor was extremely polite, and, in common with other Asiatics, possessed the most pleasing and easy manners. He assured +us of a welcome from his rajah, and, in their usual phrase, expressed himself that the rajahʼs heart would dilate in his bosom +at the sight of us. His dress consisted of trowsers of green cloth, a dark green velvet jacket, and his sarong round his waist, +thrown gracefully over two krisses, which he wore at his girdle. His attendants were poorly attired, and <a id="d0e513"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e513">14</a>]</span>mostly unarmed—a proof of confidence in us, and a desire to assure us of his own friendly intentions. I treated him with sweetmeats +and syrup, and of his own accord he took a glass of sherry, as did his chief attendant. On his departure he was presented +with three yards of red cloth, and subsequently with a little tea and gunpowder.” + + + +</p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e473" href="#d0e473src" class="noteref">1</a></span> Gunong, a mountain, part of a chain. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e508" href="#d0e508src" class="noteref">2</a></span> Pronounced short, for (properly) Bandhāra; a treasurer, chief steward. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e515" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER II.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Progress: observations.—Description of the coast of Borneo.—Account, &c. of a Pangeran.—Arrival at Sarāwak.—Meetings with +Rajah Muda Hassim, and conversations.—The Town.—Interchange of visits and presents—Excursion to Dyak tribes.—Resources and +commercial products. +</p> +</div> +<p>I Resume Mr. Brookeʼs Journal, which requires no introductory remark. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Aug. 8th.</i>—A cloudy day, preventing us from taking our wished-for observations. I made a boat-excursion round the two islands. The north +one is somewhat the larger; the southern one, running north and south, consists of two hills joined by a low and narrow neck +of land. The water between these islands is deep, varying from seven to six fathoms; but between the smaller one and the main +there are rocks and reefs; and though a passage may exist, it would not be advisable for a vessel to try it. These two small +islands possess all the characteristic beauties of the clime. Formed of brown granite, with a speck of white sandy beach, +and rising into hills covered with the noblest timber, wreathed with gigantic creepers. Cream-colored pigeons flit from tree +to tree, and an eagle or two soared aloft watching their motions. Frigate-birds are numerous; and several sorts of smaller +birds in the bush, difficult to get at. A small species of crocodile, or alligator, was likewise seen: but we were not fortunate +enough to shoot one. The natives, when asked whether they were alligators, answered in the negative, calling them crocodiles. +The tides appear to be as irregular as tides usually are in a deep bay. The rise and fall of the tide is about fifteen feet. + +</p> +<p>“<i>9th.</i>—After breakfast this morning took our sights, <a id="d0e533"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e533">15</a>]</span>and at twelve oʼclock the latitude of the smaller Talang Talang and the ship for a base-line. We yesterday took the same base-line +by sound, firing alternately three guns from the vessel and three from the shore. + +</p> +<p>“<i>10th.</i>—A squall from the northward brought in a chopping sea in the morning. We were favored with a visit from another native party, +but the chief was in every respect inferior to our first acquaintance, Bandar Dowat. + +</p> +<p>“<i>11th Sunday.</i>—Got under weigh early, after a night of torrents of rain. The breeze being directly out of Lundu river, I stood as near it +as I could, and then bore away for Santobong, in order to reach Sarāwak. From Gunong Gading the coast gradually declines, +and forms two points. The first of these is Tanjong Bloungei, near which, on the right hand, runs a small river, of the same +name. The next point is Tanjong Datu, which shows prominently from most parts of the bay. From Tanjong Datu the coast recedes +into a bay, and again forms a low point, which I have christened Tanjong Lundu. The river Lundu disembogues itself into the +bay just beyond the point of the same name; and the land on its far bank forms a bight of considerable depth. The Lundu is +a barred river with but little water; though, judging from the opening, it is by no means small. Our pilots inform me at the +same time, however, that within the bar there is considerable depth of water. + +</p> +<p>“From the Sungei Lundu the land rises behind a wooded beach. The first hill, which may be said to form the larboard entrance +of the river, is peaked, and called Sumpudin, and near it is a barred river of the same name. This range of high land runs +some distance; and near its termination is the river Tamburgan. The low coast runs into another bight; and the first opening +after the termination of the high land is the mouth of the river Seboo. Then comes another river; after which the land rises +into hills, gradually larger, till they terminate in a round-topped hill, which forms the starboard entrance (going in) of +the Sarāwak river. + +</p> +<p>“This river discharges itself at the east corner of the bay; and its locality is easily recognized by the highest peak of +Santobong, which towers over its left bank, close to the entrance. A ship rounding Datu will readily perceive <a id="d0e549"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e549">16</a>]</span>the high land of Santobong, showing like a large island, with another smaller island at its northern extremity. Both these, +however, are attached to the main: and the northernmost point, called Tanjong Sipang, is distinguished by two peaks, like +horns, one small, the other larger. Steer from Datu a direct course toward this high land, and when within a mile and a half +or two miles of the shore, haul in along the land, as there is a sand nearly dry at low water on the starboard hand, stretching +from the shore to the Saddle island, or Pulo Satang. The leading mark to clear this sand is to bring the hollow formed between +the round hill at the right entrance of the Sarāwak river and the next hill a-head, and as you approach the riverʼs mouth, +steer for a small island close to the shore, called Pulo Karra, or Monkey Island. These marks will conduct you over a shoal +with ¼ three, the least depth at high water; you will then deepen your water, and keep away for the low green point on the +far side of the river, edging gradually in; and when you are some distance from the opposite low point on the port hand, cross +the bar in three fathom (high water) nearly in the center of the river. You must not, however, encroach on the larboard side. +The bar is narrow, and just within is 7 and 7½ fathom, where we are at present anchored. The scenery is noble. On our left +hand is the peak of Santobong, clothed in verdure nearly to the top; at his foot a luxuriant vegetation, fringed with the +casuarina, and terminating in a beach of white sand. The right bank of the river is low, covered with pale green mangroves, +with the round hill above mentioned just behind it. Santobong peak is 2050 feet, or thereabouts, by a rough trigonometrical +measurement. + +</p> +<p>“<i>12th.</i>—Lay at anchor; took angles and observations, and shot in the evening without any success. There is a fine species of large +pigeon of a gray color I was desirous of getting, but they were too cunning. Plenty of wild hogs were seen, but as shy as +though they had been fired at all their lives. When the flood made, dispatched my gig for Sarāwak, in order to acquaint the +rajah of my arrival. + +</p> +<p>“<i>13th.</i>—Got under weigh, and in the second reach <a id="d0e561"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e561">17</a>]</span>met our gig returning, followed by a large canoe, with a Pangeran of note to welcome us. We gave him a salute of five guns; +while he, on his part, assured us of his rajahʼs pleasure at our arrival, and his own desire to be of service. With the Pangeran +Oula Deen (or Illudeen, anglicè Aladdin), came the rajahʼs chief writer, his shroff, a renegade Parsee, a war-captain, and +some others, beside a score of followers. They made themselves much at home, ate and drank (the less scrupulous took wine), +and conversed with ease and liveliness. No difference can be more marked than between the Hindoostani and the Malay. The former, +though more self-possessed and polished, shows a constraint in manners and conversation, and you feel that his training has +made him an artificial character. The Malay, on the contrary, concealing as well the feelings upper-most in his mind, is lively +and intelligent, and his conversation is not confined to a dull routine of unmeaning compliments. + +</p> +<p>“<i>August 13th.</i>—The Pangeran spoke to me of some ship-captain who was notoriously cruel to his Lascars, and insolent in his language to the +Malays. He was murdered by his crew, and the circumstance was related to me as though I was to approve the act! ‘No Malay +of Borneo (added the Pangeran) would injure a European, were he well treated, and in a manner suitable to his rank.’ And I +am sure such a declaration, in a limited sense, is consonant with all known principles of human nature, and the action of +the passions and feelings. + +</p> +<p>“Our Pangeran was quite the gentleman, and a manly gentleman too. His dress was a black velvet jacket, trimmed with gold lace, +and trowsers of green cloth, with a red sarong and kris. He was the only one of the party armed while aboard. The rest were +good, quiet men, and one or two of them very intelligent. They took their leave of us to get back to the town at sunset; but +the ebb making, returned and stayed until twelve at night, when the tide turned in their favor. We had some difficulty in +providing beds. The Pangeran slept in my cabin, and the rest were distributed about on couches or carpets. + +</p> +<p>“<i>August 14th.</i>—Got under weigh with the flood, and, <a id="d0e575"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e575">18</a>]</span>favored by a light breeze, proceeded up the river nearly as far as the town. From the ignorance of the pilots, however, we +grounded on a rock in the middle of the river in 1½ fathom water, and it took us an hour to heave the vessel off by the stern. +Had the tide been falling, we should have been in a critical situation, as the rock is dry at low water; but as it was, we +received no damage. Shortly after getting off, several boats with assistance came from the place, dispatched in haste by the +rajah. The intention was kind, though we needed not the aid. Being dark, we dropped anchor in 5½ fathom, about 1½ mile from +the town. + +</p> +<p>“<i>15th.</i>—Anchored abreast of Sarāwak at seven, and saluted the rajah with twenty-one guns, which were returned with eighteen from +his residence. The rajahʼs own brother, Pangeran Mahammed, then saluted the vessel with seven guns, which were returned. Having +breakfasted, and previously intimated our intention, we pulled ashore to visit the great man. He received us in state, seated +in his hall of audience, which outside is nothing but a large shed, erected on piles, but within decorated with taste. Chairs +were placed on each side of the ruler, who occupied the head seat. Our party were placed on one hand; on the other sat his +brother Mahammed, and Macota and some others of his principal chiefs, while immediately behind him his twelve younger brothers +were seated. + +</p> +<p>“The dress of Muda Hassim was simple, but of rich material; and most of the principal men were well, and even superbly, dressed. +His countenance is plain, but intelligent and highly pleasing, and his manners perfectly elegant and easy. His reception was +kind, and, I am given to understand, highly flattering. We sat, however, trammeled with the formality of state, and our conversation +did not extend beyond kind inquiries and professions of friendship. We were presented with tobacco rolled up in a leaf, each +about a foot long, and tea was served by attendants on their knees. A band played wild and not unmusical airs during the interview, +and the crowd of attendants who surrounded us were seated in respectful silence. After a visit of half an hour, we rose and +took our leave. +<a id="d0e584"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e584">19</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Sarāwak is but an occasional residence of the Rajah Muda Hassim, and he is now detained here by a rebellion in the interior. +On my inquiring whether <i>the war</i> proceeded favorably, he replied that there was <i>no war</i>, but merely <i>some childʼs play among his subjects</i>. From what I hear, however, from other quarters, it is more serious than he represents it; and hints have been thrown out +that the rajah wishes me to stay here <i>as a demonstration</i> to intimidate the rebels. We shall see. + +</p> +<p>“The town consists of a collection of mud huts erected on piles, and may contain about 1500 persons. The residences of the +rajah and his fourteen brothers occupy the greater part, and their followers are the great majority of the population. When +they depart for Borneo (or Brunī), the remainder must be a very small population, and apparently very poor. The river affords +a few fish; but there is little sign of cultivation either of rice or other grain. Fowls and goats seem the only other means +of subsistence of these people. The geological features of the country are easily described. Vast masses of granite rock are +scattered along the coast; for instance, Gunong Poe, Gading, Santobong, &c. &c., which have evidently at some former period +been detached islands. The spaces between these granite masses is now filled in with alluvial soil, intersected in every direction +with rivers and streams, and on the low alluvial bank of the Sarāwak river stands this little town. The distance from the +sea is about twenty-five miles, through banks of mangrove and the Nepa palm, until approaching the town, where some jungle-trees +first appear. The breadth is about 100 yards, and the depth six fathoms at low water spring-tides in mid river opposite the +rajahʼs residence. In some places below, the river is narrower, and the depths considerable, varying from three to seven fathoms. +The prominent points, however, are shallow, and the rocks below the town lie on the starboard hand coming up just as the first +houses appear in sight. The larboard hand should then be kept close aboard. Some other rocks are likewise reported; and in +ascending the stream, though it be generally clear, a vessel <i>with</i> or without a pilot should have a boat a-head sounding. In the evening I went ashore suddenly <a id="d0e604"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e604">20</a>]</span>to pay a visit to the rajah, in order, if possible, to break through the bonds of formality. The great man soon made his appearance, +and received us very well. We talked much of the state of his country and of ours; but he was very guarded when I spoke of +the Dutch. ‘He had no dealings whatever (he said) with them, and never allowed their vessels to come here, and therefore could +not say what they were like.’ We sat in easy and unreserved converse, out of hearing of the rest of the circle. He expressed +great kindness to the English nation; and begged me to tell him <i>really</i> which was the most powerful nation, England or Holland, or, as he significantly expressed it, which is the ‘cat, and which +the rat?’ I assured him that England was the mouser, though in this country Holland had most territory. We took our leave +after he had intimated his intention of visiting us to-morrow morning. + +</p> +<p>“<i>16th.</i>—We were ready to receive the rajah after breakfast; but these affairs of state are not so easily managed. There came two +diplomatists on board to know, in the first place, how many guns we intended to salute with, and, in the second, whether I +would go ashore in my gig, in order to fetch the chief and his brother off. The latter request I might have refused, and in +a diplomatic light it was inadmissible; but I readily conceded it, because, in the first place, it was less troublesome than +a refusal; and, in the next, I cared not to bandy paltry etiquets with a semi-savage; and whatever pride might whisper, I +could not, as an individual traveler, refuse an acknowledgment of the supremacy of a native prince. I went accordingly. The +great man came on board, and we treated him with every distinction and respect. Much barbaric state was maintained as he quitted +his own residence. His sword of state with a gold scabbard, his war-shield, jewel-hilted kris, and flowing <i>horse</i>-tails, were separately carried by the grand officers of state. Bursts of wild music announced his exit. His fourteen brothers +and principal Pangerans surrounded him, and a number (formidable on the deck of a vessel) covered the rear. He stayed two +hours and a half; ate and drank, and talked with great familiarity; till the oppressive heat of the crowded <a id="d0e617"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e617">21</a>]</span>cabin caused me to wish them all to another place. However, he departed at last, under a salute of twenty-one guns; and the +fatigues of the day were satisfactorily brought to a close. I afterward sent the rajah the presents I had brought for him, +consisting of a silk sarong, some yards of red cloth and velvet, a pocket-pistol, scissors and knives, with tea, biscuits, +sweetmeats, China playthings, &c. &c. A person coming here should be provided with a few articles of small importance to satisfy +the crowd of inferior chiefs. Soap, small parcels of tea, lucifers, writing-paper, a large stock of cigars, biscuits, and +knives, are the best; for, without being great beggars, they seem greatly to value these trifles, even in the smallest quantity. +The higher class inquired frequently for scents; and for the great men I know no present which would be more acceptable than +a small pier-glass. All ranks seemed greatly pleased with those aboard; and some of the lower orders, quite ignorant of the +reflection, were continually laughing, moving, sitting, and rising, to observe the corresponding effect. + +</p> +<p>“<i>18th.</i>—In the morning I intimated my intention of paying a visit to the Pangeran Muda Mahammed; and being apprised of his readiness +to see us, I went ashore to his house. He was not, however, in the room to receive us; nor, indeed, was I much surprised at +this slight, for he is a sulky-looking, ill-favored savage, with a debauched appearance, and wanting in the intelligence of +his brother the rajah. I seated myself, however, and remained some time; but the delay exceeding what I considered the utmost +limit of due forbearance, I expressed to the Pangeran Macota my regret that his compeer was not ready to receive me, adding +that, as I was not accustomed to be kept waiting, I would return to my vessel. I spoke in the quietest tone imaginable, rose +from my seat, and moved away; but the assembled Pangerans, rising likewise, assured me it was a mistake; that he was not yet +dressed, and would greatly regret it himself. I repeated that when I visited the rajah, he received me in the hall. While +this brief discussion passed, the culprit Muda Mahammed appeared and apologized for his remissness, assuring me that the error +was his <a id="d0e624"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e624">22</a>]</span>attendantsʼ, who told him I was not coming for an hour. The excuse of course passed current, though false, as excuses generally +are. I vindicated my independence, not until it was necessary; and I am well aware that any endeavor of a native to commit +an indirect rudeness, if met with firmness and gentleness, always recoils on his own head. The routine of the visit resembled +our last—tea, cigars, complimentary conversation and departure. The Pangeran afterward sent me a present of fowls and goats, +and I was right glad to have it over. Muda Mahammed is the ‘own’ brother to Muda Hassim, and next in rank here. As yet I had +not made any request to the rajah to allow me to visit various parts of his country; but thinking the time to do so was come +(the ceremonial of arrival being past), I sent Mr. Williamson, my interpreter, to express my wish to travel to some of the +Malay towns and into the country of the Dyaks. The latter request I fully expected, would be evaded, and was therefore the +more pleased when an answer came giving a cheerful consent to my going among the Dyaks of Lundu, and visiting the towns of +Sadung, Samarahan, &c. At the same time the rajah informed me, that if I went up the river, he could not be answerable for +my safety, as the rebels were not far distant, and constantly on the watch. Sarebus, another large Dyak town, he advised me +not to visit, as they were inimical to his government, and a skirmish had lately taken place between them and some of his +subjects. + +</p> +<p>“<i>18th, Sunday.</i>—Performed service. In the evening walked ashore, but the jungle was wet after rain. Every day or night since arriving it +has rained, sometimes in torrents, at others in showers, and the sky has been so obscured that no observations can be obtained. +The thermometer never ranges above 81°, and sometimes stands at 59°. + +</p> +<p>“At twelve at night we were surprised by a boat sent from the rajah, to say he was taken ill, and wanted some physic. We dispatched +our surgeon, but it was found impossible to admit him into the sacred precincts of the seraglio, and he returned with the +information that the rajah was asleep. +<a id="d0e633"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e633">23</a>]</span></p> +<p>“<i>21st.</i>—Our fleet were in readiness before daylight, and by five oʼclock we left Kuching,<a id="d0e639src" href="#d0e639" class="noteref">1</a> and dropped down the river. The Pangeran Illudeen and the Panglima, both in prahus, accompanied us, and with our long-boat +(the Skimalong) formed quite a gay procession. The prahu of the Pangeran pulled twelve paddles, mounted two brass swivels, +and in all had a crew of about twenty men. The Panglimaʼs boat likewise carried a gun, and had about ten men; while the Skimalong +mounted an iron swivel, and carried six Englishmen and one of our Singapore Malays. With this equipment we might be pronounced +far superior to any force of the rajahʼs enemies we were likely to meet. + +</p> +<p>“We passed from the Sarāwak river into the Morotaba. At the junction of the two streams the Morotaba is narrow; but at no +great distance, where it meets the Quop, it becomes wider, and in some places more than half a mile across. + +</p> +<p>“The river Quop is a fine stream, fully, as far as I could see, as broad as the Morotaba or Sarāwak. Beyond the junction of +the Quop and Morotaba the latter river divides into two branches—the left-hand one, running to the sea, retains the name of +Morotaba, while the right is called Riam. + +</p> +<p>“The Riam is a fine stream; at its junction with the Morotaba it takes that name, as the Morotaba does that of Sarāwak where +they join. Low mangrove or Nepa palm banks characterize these streams; and occasionally slight eminences, with timber, are +to be seen. The highest hill is about 3000 feet high, called Matang, and is at the point of junction between the Morotaba +and Riam. + +</p> +<p>“The next river on the starboard hand is the Tanjan, a small stream; and some distance from it, the Kulluong, or Parwheet +river, more properly the continuation of the Riam. On the port hand is a smaller river, running N. 35° E. We pursued this +stream, called Ugong Passer; and after a hard pull against a strong tide, emerged into the larger river of Samarahan. The +<a id="d0e650"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e650">24</a>]</span>tide was so strong against us that we brought up for a couple of hours till it slacked, and between four and five got under +weigh again, with the expectation of shortly arriving at our place of destination. Hour after hour passed, however; the sun +set; the glorious moon rose upon our progress as we toiled slowly but cheerfully onward. Silence was around, save when broken +by the wild song of the Malay boatmen, responded to by the song of our tars to the tune of ‘Bonnie laddie, Highland laddie.’ + +</p> +<p>“It was such a situation as an excitable mind might envy. The reflection that we were proceeding up a Borneon river hitherto +unknown, sailing where no European ever sailed before; the deep solitude, the brilliant night, the dark fringe of retired +jungle, the lighter foliage of the river bank, with here and there a tree flashing and shining with fireflies, natureʼs tiny +lamps glancing and flitting in countless numbers and incredible brilliancy! At eleven at night we reached Samarahan, having +been eighteen hours in the boat, and fifteen at the oars, chiefly against tide. The men were tired, but cheerful. Indeed, +I can give them no praise beyond their merits for conduct spirited, enduring, and yet so orderly as never to offend the native +inhabitants, or infringe upon their prejudices. A glass of grog with our supper, and we all soon closed our eyes in comfortable +sleep, such as fatigue alone can bring. + +</p> +<p>“<i>22d.</i>—The village of Samarahan consists of a few houses, built, as usual, upon posts, and standing close to the brink of the river. +It contains from sixty to eighty inhabitants in all, and there is nothing in its site different from the rest of the country. +While here, a boat, with a Dyak family, came alongside, consisting of a father, his son, and two daughters. They belonged +to the Sibnowan tribe, and had a ‘ladang,’ or farm, on the Samarahan, toward the sea. The women were good-looking; one, indeed, +handsome, plump, and intelligent. They were naked to the waist, and ornamented with several cinctures of brass and colored +rattans scraped very thin. + +</p> +<p>“About ten we quitted Samarahan and proceeded <a id="d0e661"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e661">25</a>]</span>up the river, stopping only to take a set of sights, and about seven in the evening reached Sibnow, having previously passed +the villages of Rembas and Siniawan. Siniawan and Sibnow are not above half a mile from each other, and Rembas not far distant. +They are all about the same size, consisting each of eight or ten houses, and containing sixty or eighty inhabitants. The +river, during its course so far, is characterized by the same clay-mud bank, evidently an alluvial deposit, without one rock +to be seen. The banks are low, and for the most part cleared a quarter of a mile or more on either side, but the jungle is +rarely disturbed beyond that distance. Occasionally, however, the scene is varied by the rich foliage of this jungle, which +here and there kisses the tide as it flows by, and in some spots on the cleared ground arise clumps of trees that would be +the pride of any park in Europe. Monkeys in great numbers frisked among the branches; and though unable to shoot them, they +amused us often by their grotesque attitudes and the tremendous leaps they made. On one occasion we saw as many as twenty +throw themselves, one after the other, from the branch of a high tree into a thick bush full forty feet below, and not one +missed his distance or hold! On our way to Sibnow the Pangeran had collected a number of men for a deer-hunt. The nets used +for this purpose are formed of rattans strongly wove together, which, being stretched along the jungle, have nooses of the +same material, at three feet apart, attached to this ridge-rope. Beaters and dogs then hunt from the opposite quarter, and +the deer, in escaping them, is caught in this trap. A length of several hundred fathoms is stretched at once, each separate +part of thirty or forty fathoms being joined on as required; and I was told that in this way many deer were taken. + +</p> +<p>“A heavy rain came on directly after we had brought up, and quickly dispelled all our preparations for supper, by putting +out our fire, cooling our hot water, and soaking our half-broiled fowls. To a hungry man such an event is very disastrous; +but nothing could exceed the kindness of our Malay friends. They took us to the best house in the village, prepared our supper, +and provided <a id="d0e665"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e665">26</a>]</span>us with comfortable mats and pillows to sleep on. Some of our party preferred a bad supper and wet bed to these accommodations; +and, to consummate their discomfort, they were kept awake a great part of the night by sandflies. Our lot in the house was +more fortunate. We heard the rattling of the pitiless rain, and commiserated those whose choice or distrust kept them in the +boat. I obtained by this means an excellent opportunity of seeing a Malay <i>ménage</i> in its primitive simplicity. Women, children, and all their domestic arrangements, were exposed to view. Nothing appeared +to be concealed, nor could anything exceed the simple, kind-hearted hospitality of the inhabitants. The women gazed upon us +freely; and their children, with the shyness natural to their age, yet took a glance at the strangers. Never having seen a +white man, their curiosity was naturally excited; but it was never offensive. Our supper consisted of an excellent curry, +and cold venison broiled on a stick, flavored with a glass of sherry, and concluded by a cigar. We retired to a dry bed, laying +our head on the pillow with as entire a feeling of security as though reposing in England. + +</p> +<p>“A description of this Malay dwelling, situated so far up this hitherto unknown river, may be interesting. Built, like other +Malay houses, on posts, floored with split bamboo, and covered with the leaf of the Nepa palm, it presents the very <i>beau ideal</i> of fragility, but affords, at the same time, many advantages, and with a little improvement might be rendered admirably calculated +for a new settler in any warm country. It is built at very small expense, is remarkably roomy, free from damp, and weather-proof. +The interior of the house consists of four rooms, the center one large and commodious, the front narrower, but thirty-six +feet in length, a family sleeping-apartment on one side, and a kitchen at the back. These apartments are divided one from +the other by partitions made of the Nepa; the floors were nicely spread with strong mats of Dyak manufacture, and on our arrival +finer white mats were laid over these. The entrance of the house is approached by a steep ladder, which in case of attack +is easily removed. The river Samarahan is admirably calculated for trade, <a id="d0e675"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e675">27</a>]</span>and, indeed, the same may be said of the whole country, from the great facility it offers of inland communication. There is +no impediment for small vessels of 200 or 300 tons navigating as far as Sibnow, the stream being deep and clear of danger. +The tides in the river are strong, but not dangerously so; and, sounding occasionally in every reach, we never found less +water than three fathoms. The distant mountains, called Bukar (and some other name), are inhabited by Dyaks, and are said +to offer many valuable articles of trade; and we may presume this true from the riches of the region whence the Sarāwak river +takes its rise. It is highly probable, indeed, that both these rivers, as well as the Quop and others, have their source in +the same range, and will be found to afford the same mineral productions. Tin, the natives confidently assert, can be procured, +and birdsʼ nests in very considerable quantities. The latter article, I have heretofore understood, was found only in the +vicinity of the sea, whence the material of which they are composed is gathered; but both here and at Sarāwak the best informed +and most intelligent Malays assure me it is likewise found in the interior, and brought by the Dyaks from the mountains. The +alluvial soil is a rich clay loam. The principal production at present is rice, of which considerable quantities are grown +on the banks of the river, which accounts for the clearing of so many miles of the jungle. The mode of cultivation is similar +to what is pursued in Sumatra, and so well described by Marsden. A small spot is cleared of jungle, and when the soil is exhausted +of its primeval richness, is deserted for another, which again in turn is neglected, and returns to its wild state. The rice +produced is of excellent quality, and of a smaller grain than the Java rice we have with us. It is very white and of excellent +flavor, and I am inclined to think is the ‘Padi ladang,’ or rice grown on dry ground. (For rice, cultivation of, &c., &c., +vide Marsdenʼs <i>Sumatra</i>, p. 65.) + +</p> +<p>“Beside rice, rattans are found in great quantities, and likewise Malacca canes, but whether of good quality I am not able +to say. On my expressing a wish to see one, a man was dispatched into the jungle, and returned <a id="d0e682"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e682">28</a>]</span>with one in a few minutes. Bees-wax is another article to be procured here <i>at present</i> to the amount of thirty or forty peculs per year from Sibnow, Malacca canes a small ship-load, rattans in abundance, and +any quantity of Garu wood.<a id="d0e687src" href="#d0e687" class="noteref">2</a> When we consider the antimony of Sarāwak, beside the other things previously mentioned (to say nothing of gold and diamonds), +we cannot doubt of the richness of the country: but allowance must be made for the exaggeration of native statements. + +</p> +<p>“It must likewise be borne in mind, that these articles are collected in small quantities in a country thinly populated; and +for the purposes of trade it would be necessary to have a resident European on the spot to gather the produce of the country +ready for exportation. I have no doubt that permission might be obtained for an English merchant to reside in the country, +and that during the lifetime of the Rajah Muda Hassim he would be secure from outrage. The produce of the country might likewise +be obtained (at first) at a low rate in exchange for European goods suited to native tastes. In addition to the articles I +have already mentioned, I must here add pins, needles, and thread, both gold and white, showy cheap velvets, yellow, green, +and red cloth, Surat silks, cottons, colored beads (for the Dyaks), nankeens in small quantities, gold-lace of various qualities, +gunpowder, muskets, pistols, flints, &c., &c. The head man of Sibnow (Orang Kaya), when I asked him why he did not collect +the produce of the country, replied, that the inhabitants were few, and unless an English merchant was settled at Kuching +to buy the things, it was no use collecting them. The uncertainty of sale, as well as the very small prices to be obtained +from trading Malays, prevents these people using the advantages of their country, and as yet they seemed to consider it impossible +that vessels would come for them. That they will one day or other be convinced to the contrary, I am sure; that it will be +soon, I sincerely hope; for I can see no reason, with a population and rulers so pacific, why a trade highly advantageous +to <a id="d0e695"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e695">29</a>]</span>Singapore should not be opened. I considered our reception as an additional proof how much better the natives are disposed +where they have had no intercourse with Europeans; how perfectly willing they are to extend a friendly hospitality when never +previously injured or aggravated; and as the first white men who ever visited their country, we can bear the most cordial +testimony to their unaffected kindness. + +</p> +<p>“It is true that we were under the protection of the rajah and accompanied by a Pangeran, and could have insisted on obtaining +what was readily granted. But in case the natives had shown any aversion or antipathy toward us, it would easily have been +observed. + +</p> +<p>“<i>23d.</i>—Heavy rain all the morning. Our salt provisions being exhausted, we procured a goat, which was cooked to last during our +upward passage. + +</p> +<p>“At 12, the flood making, we quitted Sibnow, and passing through the same description of country, reached the village of Guntong, +consisting of eight houses, and about sixty or seventy inhabitants. The scattered population on the banks of the river amounts, +however, to an equal, or probably greater number than in the villages. Beyond Guntong the country becomes wild, but beautiful, +and the river gradually narrows until not above twenty-five yards wide. The depth, however, was three fathoms at high water, +where we brought up for the night, about five hoursʼ pull from Guntong. The course of the river is so tortuous, that in one +place two reaches are only divided by a neck of land five yards across! + +</p> +<p>“We were now fairly in the bush, and beyond the range of our Pangeranʼs knowledge; and I was not therefore surprised (though +disappointed) when he intimated the necessity of returning. ‘There was nothing to see; the river was narrow, rapid, and obstructed +by trees; the Dyaks hostile; the rajahʼs enemies in ambush.’ + +</p> +<p>“I had nothing to answer, save my desire to proceed; but I felt, at the same time, bound in honor to return; for to abuse +the indulgence of a native prince on our first excursion would have been a poor way to obtain his future permission to visit +other places. +<a id="d0e710"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e710">30</a>]</span></p> +<p>“I did everything man could do to shake the Pangeranʼs resolution; and I believe I should have been successful, had his stock +of tobacco and sīrih<a id="d0e713src" href="#d0e713" class="noteref">3</a> not been expended. My last resource was resorting to the means found efficient with most men to induce them to alter their +opinion. I was content to gain a consent to our proceeding some miles farther up the stream in the morning, and then returning +with the ebb. Nothing during this contention could be more polite than the Pangeranʼs manner; for he not only expressed but +looked his regret, and urged on me his responsibility to the rajah. The plea was unanswerable, though I could not help suspecting +the want of tobacco and betel as the leading motive. + +</p> +<p>“<i>24th.</i>—We proceeded, as previously agreed, up the river some ten or twelve miles farther, during which distance it narrows to an +inconsiderable but deep stream. In many places it was not above eighteen feet wide, with trees overhanging the water. The +depth was 2½ fathoms high water; but being the rainy season, it would not be deeper than necessary for boats all the year +round. In the early morning the jungle presented a charming scene. Long vistas of noble trees with a diversity of richest +foliage were before us—in some places overarching the water, and forming a verdant canopy above our heads. Birds were numerous, +and woke the woods with their notes, but rarely approached within shot. Pigeons in numbers and of several varieties were seen, +but very shy and wild. + +</p> +<p>“We pushed on ahead of our attendant Pangeran, and pulled up long after the ebb had made. He had a long chase, and exhausted +his lungs in shouting to us to return; and at last, from pity and according to promise, I did so. Poor fellow, he was very +glad, fired his swivel-gun, and then brought up for breakfast. I believe a few hoursʼ progress would have brought us to the +vicinity of the hills and into the country of the Dyaks; and although disappointed at not being allowed to proceed thither, +I nevertheless comfort myself that we have penetrated a <a id="d0e723"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e723">31</a>]</span>hundred miles up a Borneon river hitherto unknown—a river likewise (as far as we have yet examined it) admirably calculated +for the purposes of navigation and trade, and which may at some future period become of importance not only to the trade of +our settlement of Singapore, but even to the commercial interests of Great Britain. The general character of the Samarahan +is similar to that of other rivers flowing through alluvial soils; the stream is deep, with muddy banks and bottom, and apparently +free from danger or obstruction. Of course these remarks are not meant to prevent the necessity of caution in any vessel proceeding +up, as our survey was necessarily very brief; and, like other rivers, one bank will usually be found deep, the other shallow; +which must be attended to. + +</p> +<p>“It now remains for us to proceed up the river from its mouth to its junction with the Ugong Passer; and should it prove to +have sufficient water for vessels on the bar, nothing more will be desired. + +</p> +<p>“Returning, it took us five hours with a fair tide to Sibnow; the next ebb we reached Samarahan in three hours, where we stopped +for the night. A heavy rain set in after we brought to, and continued till morning. + +</p> +<p>“<i>25th.</i>—The morning was cold and raw; but cleared up as the sun rose. At 7 we started, and at a quarter past 10 reached the mouth +of the Ugong Passer and thence into the Riam. Thus it took us 11¼ hours, with a strong ebb tide, to pull the distance. We +had ascended the river from the junction of the Ugong Passer. Mr. Murrayʼs plan of the river will show the distance as taken +of each reach, together with its bearing. The ebb tide lasted us some distance up the Riam; but the flood making, we entered +a small creek, called Tarusongong, scarce wide enough for the boat to get through, and entirely overarched with the Nepa palm. +The general direction of the creek was N.W., and we emerged from it into the Boyur river; and pulling through several reaches, +got into the Quop,<a id="d0e734src" href="#d0e734" class="noteref">4</a> and thence, after a while, into the Morotaba; from the Morotaba <a id="d0e737"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e737">32</a>]</span>into the Sarāwak river, reaching the schooner at sunset, all well and happy. Thus ended our first cruise into the interior +of Borneo.” + + + + +</p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e639" href="#d0e639src" class="noteref">1</a></span> The old name for the town of Sarāwak. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e687" href="#d0e687src" class="noteref">2</a></span> Aloes wood, <i lang="la-x-bio">Lignum aloes</i>. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e713" href="#d0e713src" class="noteref">3</a></span> The Malay name for the betel, the aromatic leaves of which are chewed along with the pinang or areca nut, a little pure lime, +and various spices. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e734" href="#d0e734src" class="noteref">4</a></span> The banks of the Boyur and Quop are Nepa palm. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e739" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER III.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Second Cruise: up the River Lundu.—The Sibnowan Dyaks—Their Town of Tungong.—Their Physical Proportions, and Words of their +Language.—Their Customs.—Skull-trophies.—Religious Ceremonies and Opinions.—Their Ornaments.—Appearance of both Sexes.—Dress +and Morals.—Missionary Prospects of Conversion, and Elevation in the Social Scale.—Government, Laws, and Punishments.—Dances.—Iron +Manufacturing.—Chinese Settlement.—Excursion continued. +</p> +</div> +<p>“<i>Aug. 30th.</i>—Our flotilla, constituted as before, quitted Sarāwak with the ebb tide, and reached Santobong, at the mouth of the river, +soon after the flood had made. We waited for the turn of the tide; and in wandering along the sand, I had a shot at a wild +hog, but unluckily missed. I likewise saw a deer, very like a red deer, and nearly as large. The hog I fired at was a dirty +white, with a black head, very unlike in this particular to any wild hogs I have hitherto seen either in India or Europe; +but several young pigs, likewise seen, were black. + +</p> +<p>“With the flood we weighed anchor, intending to bring up at the mouth of the Seboo river; but the Skimalong outsailing the +prahus, foolishly parted company, causing me much uneasiness, and keeping the prahus under weigh all night. I was at this +time aboard the Pangeranʼs boat, where I usually slept. About 10 on the 31st we reached Lobrek Bay, and rejoined our boat. + +</p> +<p>“With the flood tide we proceeded up Lundu river, which has Gunong Gading on the right hand. The course of the river is very +tortuous, but it appears every where of more than sufficient depth. The Dyak village of Tungong is situated about eighteen +miles from the mouth, and takes its name from a small stream which joins the Lundu just below, on the left hand. It was dark +when we arrived, and we ran against a boom formed of large trees run across the river as a defense against adverse Dyak tribes. +We could see nothing of the <a id="d0e754"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e754">33</a>]</span>town, save that it appeared longer than any we had yet visited. + +</p> +<p>“<i>September 1st.</i>—The River Lundu is of considerable breadth, about half a mile at the mouth, and 150 or 200 yards off Tungong. Tungong stands +on the left hand (going up) close to the margin of the stream, and is inclosed by a slight stockade. Within this defense there +is <i>one</i> enormous house for the whole population, and three or four small huts. The exterior of the defense between it and the river +is occupied by sheds for prahus, and at each extremity are one or two houses belonging to Malay residents. + +</p> +<p>“The common habitation, as rude as it is enormous, measures 594 feet in length, and the front room, or <i>street</i>, is the entire length of the building, and 21 feet broad. The back part is divided by mat partitions into the private apartments +of the various families, and of these there are forty-five separate doors leading from the public apartment. The widowers +and young unmarried men occupy the public room, as only those with wives are entitled to the advantage of separate rooms. +The floor of this edifice is raised twelve feet from the ground, and the means of ascent is by the trunk of a tree with notches +cut in it—a most difficult, steep, and awkward ladder. In front is a terrace fifty feet broad, running partially along the +front of the building, formed, like the floors, of split bamboo. This platform, as well as the front room, besides the regular +inhabitants, is the resort of pigs, dogs, birds, monkeys, and fowls, and presents a glorious scene of confusion and bustle. +Here the ordinary occupations of domestic labor are carried on—padi ground, mats made, &c., &c. There were 200 men, women, +and children counted in the room and in front while we were there in the middle of the day; and, allowing for those abroad +and those in their own rooms, the whole community can not be reckoned at less than 400 souls. Overhead, about seven feet high, +is a second crazy story, on which they stow their stores of food and their implements of labor and war. Along the large room +are hung many cots, four feet long, formed of the hollowed trunks of trees cut in half, which answer the purpose of seats +by day and beds by night. The Sibnowan <a id="d0e769"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e769">34</a>]</span>Dyaks are a wild-looking but apparently quiet and inoffensive race. The apartment of their chief, by name Sejugah, is situated +nearly in the center of the building, and is larger than any other. In front of it nice mats were spread on the occasion of +our visit, while over our heads dangled about thirty ghastly skulls, according to the custom of these people. The chief was +a man of middle age, with a mild and pleasing countenance and gentle manners. He had around him several sons and relations, +and one or two of the leading men of his tribe, but the rest seemed by no means to be restrained by his presence, or to show +him any particular marks of respect: certainly nothing of the servile obsequiousness observed by the Malays before their prince. +Their dress consists of a single strip of cloth round the loins, with the ends hanging down before and behind, and a light +turban, composed of the bark of trees, twined round the head, and so arranged that the front is stuck up somewhat resembling +a short plume of feathers. + +</p> +<p>“Their figures are almost universally well made, showing great activity without great muscular development; but their stature +is diminutive, as will be seen by the following measurements, taken at random among them, and confirmed by general observation: + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<p>“Sejugah, the chief, height, 5 ft. 1¾ in. Head round, 1 ft. 9 in. Anterior portion, from ear to ear, 1 foot; posterior, 9 +in.; across the top, 1¼ ft. + + +</p> +<p>“Kalong, the chiefʼs eldest son, height, 5 ft. 2¼ in. Anterior portion of head, 1 ft.; posterior, 8¾ in.; across the top, +1 ft., wanting a few lines. +</p> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<div class="table"> +<table width="100%"> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"><b> </b></td> +<td valign="top" colspan="2"><b>Height + +</b></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Man from the crowd </td> +<td valign="top">5 ft. </td> +<td valign="top"> 1¾ in. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Another </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">5 </td> +<td valign="top"> 1½ + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Another </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">5 </td> +<td valign="top"> 4 + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Another </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">4 </td> +<td valign="top">10 + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Another </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">5 </td> +<td valign="top"> 3 + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Another </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">5 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 4</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>“The following is a specimen of their names, and some few words of their dialect, the only ones I could get not Malayan. The +fact, indeed, appears to be that, from constant intercourse, their Dyak language is fast fading away; and, while retaining +their separate religion and customs, they have substituted the soft and fluent Malay for their own harsher jargon. The names +<a id="d0e830"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e830">35</a>]</span>are, Jugah or Sejugah, Kalong, Bunshie, Kontong, Lang, Rantie. + +</p> +<p>The vocabulary: + +</p> +<table> +<tr valign="top"> +<td> +<ul> +<li>hairs, <i>bōk</i> (similar to the Lundu Dyaks). + +</li> +<li>thigh, <i>pāh</i>. + +</li> +<li>woman, <i>indo</i>. + +</li> +<li>father, <i>api</i>. + +</li> +<li>sea, <i>tasiek</i>. + +</li> +<li>slave, <i>ulon</i>. + +</li> +<li>spear, <i>sancho</i>. + +</li> +<li>black, <i>chelum</i>. + +</li> +<li>good, <i>badass</i>. + +</li> +<li>bad, <i>jaĭe</i>. + +</li> +<li>quick, <i>pantass</i>. + +</li> +<li>slow, <i>bagadĭe</i>. + +</li> +</ul> +</td> +<td> +<ul> +<li>that, <i>kneah</i> (nasal, like <i>kgneah</i>). + +</li> +<li>this, <i>to</i>. + +</li> +<li>to go, <i>bajalĭ</i>. + +</li> +<li>there, <i>kein</i>. + +</li> +<li>come, <i>jalĭ</i> + +</li> +<li>here, <i>keto</i>. + +</li> +<li>come here, <i>jalĭ keto</i>. + +</li> +<li>to give, <i>bri</i>. + +</li> +<li>give all, <i>bri samonia</i> (M). + +</li> +<li>to bring, <i>bĭī</i>. + +</li> +<li>bring that, <i>bĭī kneah</i>. + +</li> +<li>bring here, <i>bĭī keto</i>. +</li> +</ul> +</td> +</tr> +</table><p> + +</p> +<p>“The corruptions of the Malay are <i>langan</i> for <i>tangon</i>, arm; <i>ai</i> for <i>ayer</i>, water; <i>menua</i> for <i>benua</i>, country; <i>komah</i> for <i>rumah</i>, house; <i>besi</i> for <i>besar</i>, great. + +</p> +<p>“Like the rest of the Dyaks, the Sibnowans adorn their houses with the heads of their enemies; but with them this custom exists +in a modified form; and I am led to hope that the statements already made public of their reckless search after human beings, +<i>merely</i> for the purpose of obtaining their heads, will be found to be exaggerated, if not untrue; and that the custom elsewhere, +as here and at Lundu, will be found to be more accordant with our knowledge of other wild tribes, and to be regarded merely +as a triumphant token of valor in the fight or ambush; similar, indeed, to the scalps of the North American Indian. + +</p> +<p>“Some thirty skulls were hanging from the roof of the apartment; and I was informed that they had many more in their possession; +all, however, the heads of enemies, chiefly of the tribe of Sarebus. On inquiring, I was told that it is indispensably necessary +a young man should procure a skull before he gets married. When I urged on them that the custom would be more honored in the +breach than the observance, they replied that it was established from time immemorial, and could not be dispensed with. Subsequently, +however, Sejugah allowed that heads were very difficult to obtain now, and a young man might sometimes get married by giving +presents to his lady-loveʼs parents. At all times they <a id="d0e998"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e998">36</a>]</span>warmly denied ever obtaining any heads but those of their enemies; adding, they were bad people, and deserved to die. + +</p> +<p>“I asked a young unmarried man whether he would be obliged to get a head before he could obtain a wife. He replied, ‘Yes.’ +‘When would he get one?’ ‘Soon.’ ‘Where would he go to get one?’ ‘To the Sarebus river.’ I mention these particulars in detail, +as I think, had their practice extended to taking the head of any defenseless traveler, or any Malay surprised in his dwelling +or boat, I should have wormed the secret out of them. + +</p> +<p>“The men of this tribe marry but one wife, and that not until they have attained the age of seventeen or eighteen. Their wedding +ceremony is curious; and, as related, is performed by the bride and bridegroom being brought in procession along the large +room, where a brace of fowls is placed over the bridegroomʼs neck, which he whirls seven times round his head. The fowls are +then killed, and their blood sprinkled on the foreheads of the pair, which done, they are cooked, and eaten by the new-married +couple <i>alone</i>, while the rest feast and drink during the whole night. + +</p> +<p>“Their dead are put in a coffin, and buried; but Sejugah informed me that the different tribes vary in this particular; and +it would appear they differ from their near neighbors the Dyaks of Lundu. + +</p> +<p>“Like these neighbors, too, the Sibnowans seem to have little or no idea of a God. They offer prayers to Biedum, the great +Dyak chief of former days. Priests and ceremonies they have none; the thickest mist of darkness is over them: but how much +easier is it to dispel darkness with light than to overcome the false blaze with the rays of truth! + +</p> +<p>“The manners of the men of this tribe are somewhat reserved, but frank; while the women appeared more cheerful, and more inclined +to laugh and joke at our peculiarities. Although the first Europeans they had ever seen, we were by no means annoyed by their +curiosity: and their honesty is to be praised; for, though opportunities were not wanting, they never on any occasion attempted +to pilfer any thing. Their color resembles the Malay, and is fully as dark; and the cast of their countenance <a id="d0e1013"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1013">37</a>]</span>does not favor the notion that they are sprung from a distinct origin. They never intermarry with the Malays, so as to intermingle +the two people, and the chastity of their women gives no presumption of its otherwise occurring. Their stature, as I have +before remarked, is diminutive, their eyes are small and quick, their noses usually flattened, and their figures clean and +well formed, but not athletic. Both sexes generally wear the hair long and turned up, but the elder men often cut it short. +As is natural, they are fond of the water, and constantly bathe; and their canoes are numerous. I counted fifty, besides ten +or twelve small prahus, which they often build for sale to the Malays, at a very moderate price indeed. The men wear a number +of fine cane rings, neatly worked (which we at first mistook for hair), below the knee or on the arm, and sometimes a brass +ring or two; but they have no other ornaments. The ears of a few were pierced, but I saw nothing worn in them except a roll +of thin palm-leaf, to prevent the hole closing. The women are decidedly good-looking, and far fairer than the men; their figures +are well shaped, and remarkable for their <i>embonpoint</i>. The expression of their countenance is very good-humored, and their condition seems a happy one. Their dress consists of +a coarse stuff, very scanty (manufactured by the Sakarran Dyaks), reaching from the waist to the knee; around the waist they +have rings of ratan, either black or red, and the loins are hung round with a number of brass ornaments made by their husbands. +Above the waist they are entirely naked, nor do they wear any covering or ornament on the head. They have a few bracelets +of brass, but neither ear-rings nor nose-rings; and some, more lucky than the rest, wear a necklace of beads. They prefer +the smallest Venetian beads to the larger and more gaudy ones of England. The labor of the house, and all the drudgery, falls +on the females. They grind the rice, carry burdens, fetch water, fish, and work in the fields; but though on a par with other +savages in this respect, they have many advantages. They are not immured; they eat in company with the males; and, in most +points, hold the same position toward their husbands and children as European women. <a id="d0e1018"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1018">38</a>]</span>The children are entirely naked; and the only peculiarity I observed is filing their teeth to a sharp point, like those of +a shark. The men marry but one wife, as I have before observed. Concubinage <span id="d0e1020" class="corr" title="Source: in">is</span> unknown; and cases of seduction or adultery very seldom arise. Even the Malays speak highly of the chastity of the Dyak women; +yet they are by no means shy under the gaze of strangers, and used to bathe before us in a state of nudity. + +</p> +<p>“That these Dyaks are in a low condition there is no doubt; but, comparatively, theirs is an innocent state, and I consider +them capable of being easily raised in the scale of society. The absence of all prejudice regarding diet, the simplicity of +their characters, the purity of their morals, and their present ignorance of all forms of worship and all idea of future responsibility, +render them open to conviction of truth and religious impression. Yet, when I say this, I mean, of course, only when their +minds shall have been raised by education; for without previous culture I reckon the labors of the missionary as useless as +endeavoring to read off a blank paper. I doubt not but the Sibnowan Dyaks would readily receive missionary families among +them, provided the consent of the Rajah Muda Hassim was previously obtained. That the rajah would consent I much doubt; but +if any person chose to reside at Tungong, for the charitable purpose of leading the tribe gradually, by means of education, +to the threshold of Christianity, it would be worth the asking, and I would exert what influence I possess with him on the +occasion. I feel sure a missionary would be safe among them, as long as he strictly confined himself to the gentle precepts +and practice of his faith; he would live abundantly and cheaply, and be exposed to no danger except from the incursion of +hostile tribes, which must always be looked for by a sojourner amid a Dyak community. + +</p> +<p>“I must add, that this day, when so many of my friends are destroying partridges, I have had my gun in my hand, to procure +a few specimens. + +</p> +<p>“<i>2d.</i>—To continue my account of the Sibnowan Dyaks. I made particular inquiry about the superstition stated to exist regarding +birds, and the omens said to be <a id="d0e1032"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1032">39</a>]</span>drawn from their flight; but I could trace no vestige of such a belief, nor did they seem at all acquainted with its existence. +The government of the Sibnowans may be called patriarchal. The authority of the chief appears limited within very narrow bounds; +he is the leader in war, and the dispenser of the laws; but possesses no power of arbitrary punishment, and no authority for +despotic rule. The distinction between Sejugah and the lowest of his tribe is not great, and rather a difference of riches +than of power. A few ornamented spears, presented by the Malays, seem his only insignia of office; and these were never displayed +in our presence, save in the dance. The chiefship would appear to be elective, and not hereditary; but I could not distinctly +understand whether the appointment rested with the rajah or the tribe. The former claims it; but the latter did not speak +as though his right were a matter of necessity or certainty. On asking Kalong, the eldest son of Sejugah (a young man of twenty +years of age, active, clever, and intelligent), whether he would succeed his father, he replied, he feared he was not <i>rich </i> enough; but two or three of the tribe, who were present, asserted that he would be made chief. The Rajah Muda Hassim told +me that the only hold he had on the Dyaks was through the chief and his family, who were attached to him; but that the tribe +at large cared nothing for the Malays. I can easily believe this, as any ill treatment or cruelty directed against a Dyak +community would soon drive them beyond the power and the territory of the prince. This is the best safeguard of the Dyaks; +and the Malays are well aware that a Dyak alliance must be maintained by good treatment. They are called subjects and slaves; +but they are subjects at pleasure, more independent and better used than any Malay under his native prince. + +</p> +<p>“The laws of this Dyak tribe are administered by the chief and the two principal men. They have no fixed code, nor any standard +of punishment, each case of crime being judged according to its enormity. In the event of murder in their own tribe, the murderer +suffers death by decapitation, <i>provided he be in fault</i>. Theft is punished by fine, and adultery (stated as a heinous <a id="d0e1042"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1042">40</a>]</span>offense) by severe beating and heavy mulct<a id="d0e1046src" href="#d0e1046" class="noteref">1</a>. Other crimes are, in like manner, punished by fine and beating—one or both, according to their various shades of evil. The +latter varies greatly in degree, sometimes being inflicted on the head or arm, with a severity which stops short only of death. +The arm is often broken under this infliction; so, according to their representation, it is a risk to be dreaded and avoided. + +</p> +<p>“Slavery holds among them; and, as among the Malays, a debtor is reduced to this state until his debt be discharged. Children +are likewise bought, and must be considered as slaves. + +</p> +<p>“In the evening I requested Sejugah to collect his tribe, and to show me their dances and musical instruments. They readily +consented, and about nine at night we went to witness the exhibition. The musical instruments were, the tomtom, or drum, and +the Malayan gong; which were beat either slow or fast, according to the measure of the dance. The dances are highly interesting, +more especially from their close resemblance, if not identity, with those of the South Sea Islanders. Two swords were placed +on the mat, and two men commenced slowly, from the opposite extremities, turning the body, extending the arms, and lifting +the legs, in grotesque but not ungraceful attitudes. Approaching thus leisurely round and round about, they at length seize +the swords, the music plays a brisker measure, and the dancers pass and repass each other, now cutting, now crossing swords, +retiring and advancing, one kneeling as though to defend himself from the assaults of his adversary; at times stealthily waiting +for an advantage, and quickly availing himself of it. The measure throughout was admirably kept, and the frequent turns were +simultaneously made by both dancers, accompanied by the same eccentric gestures. The effect of all this far surpasses the +impression to be made by a meager description. The room partially lighted by damar torches; the clang of the noisy instruments; +the crowd of wild spectators; their screams of encouragement to the performers; the flowing hair and rapid evolutions of the +dancers, formed a scene I wish could have been reduced to painting by such a master as Rembrandt <a id="d0e1053"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1053">41</a>]</span>or Caravaggio. The next dance was performed by a single person, with a spear, turning like the last; now advancing, retiring, +poising, brandishing, or pretending to hurl his weapon. Subsequently we had an exhibition with the sword and shield, very +similar to the others, and only differing in the use of the weapons; and the performance was closed by a long and animated +dance like the first, by two of the best performers. + +</p> +<p>“The dance with the spear is called Talambong; that with the sword, Mancha. The resemblance of these dances to those of the +South Seas is, as I have observed, a remarkable and interesting fact, and one of many others which may, in course of time, +elucidate the probable theory that the two people are sprung from a common source. The Malays of Sarāwak, and other places +in the neighborhood of the Dyak tribes, dance these dances; but they are unknown to Borneo Proper, and the other Malay islands; +and although the names may be given by the Malays, I think there is no doubt that the dances themselves belong to the Dyaks: +a correcter judgment can be formed by a better acquaintance with other Dyak tribes. + +</p> +<p>“The household utensils in use here are few and simple. The mode of grinding padi clear of the husk is through the trunk of +a tree cut into two parts, the upper portion being hollow, the lower solid; small notches are cut where the two pieces fit, +and handles attached to the upper part, which being filled with padi and kept turning round, the husk is detached and escapes +by the notches. + +</p> +<p>“The Dyaks, as is well known, are famous for the manufacture of iron. The forge here is of the simplest construction, and +formed by two hollow trees, each about seven feet high, placed upright, side by side, in the ground; from the lower extremity +of these, two pipes of bamboo are led through a clay-bank, three inches thick, into a charcoal fire; a man is perched at the +top of the trees, and pumps with two pistons (the suckers of which are made of cocksʼ feathers), which being raised and depressed +alternately, blow a regular stream of air into the fire. Drawings were taken of these and other utensils and instruments. +The canoes are not peculiar, but the <a id="d0e1061"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1061">42</a>]</span>largest prahus (some forty feet long, with a good beam) are constructed, in the first place, exactly like a small canoe: a +single tree is hollowed out, which forms the keel and kelson, and on this foundation the rest of the prahu is built with planks, +and her few timbers fastened with ratans. A prahu of fifty feet long, fitted for service, with oars, mast, attops, &c., was +ordered by the Panglima Rajah while we were with him, which, completed, was to cost thirty reals, or sixty Java rupees, or +£6 English. During the course of the day we ascended the river to visit the settlement of Chinese lately established here. +It is situated about two and a half miles up the river, on the same side as Tungong, and consists of thirty men (real Chinese), +and five women of the mixed breed of Sambas. Nothing can be more flourishing than this infant settlement, and I could hardly +credit their statement that it had only been formed between four and five months. The soil they represented as most excellent, +and none are better judges; many acres were cleared and under cultivation; rice, sirih, sweet potatoes (convolvulus), Indian +corn, &c., &c., were growing abundantly; and they were able to supply us with seven pecul, or 933 pounds of sweet potatoes, +without sensibly diminishing their crop. They showed me samples of birdsʼ nests, beesʼ wax, garu wood (lignum aloes), and +ebony, collected in the vicinity, chiefly from Gunong Gading. Several peculs of birdsʼ nests and beesʼ wax, and the wood in +large quantity, could <i>now</i> be brought to market; and no doubt, when demand stimulates industry, the quantities would greatly increase. The Dyaks, they +told me, collected ratans, and likewise canes, which are plentiful. The mixed breed of the Chinese with the Malay or Dyak +are a good-looking and industrious race, partaking much more of the Chinese character than that of the natives of this country. +This mainly arises from education and early-formed habits, which are altogether Chinese; and in religion and customs they +likewise follow, in a great measure, the paternal stock. The race are worthy of attention, as the future possessors of Borneo. +The numbers of this people can not be stated, but it must amount to many thousand persons: 3000 were said to be on their way +to the Borneon territory. +<a id="d0e1066"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1066">43</a>]</span></p> +<p>“The head man of this settlement, a Chinese of Quantung, or Canton, but long resident in the vicinity of Sambas, gave me some +valuable information respecting the Sarāwak mountains. He had, with a considerable party of his countrymen, been employed +there at the gold-mines, and he spoke of them as abundant, and of the ore as good. Tin they had not found, but thought it +existed. Antimony ore was to be had in any quantities, and diamonds were likewise discovered. I mention these facts as coming +from an intelligent Chinese, well able from experience to judge of the precious metals, and the probability of their being +found. + +</p> +<p>“<i>3d.</i>—Night, as usual, set in with torrents of rain, which lasted until the morning: the days, however, are fine, though cloudy. +Got sights in the afternoon; and, leaving our Dyak friends, we dropped down to the mouth of the river, where we slept. + +</p> +<p>“<i>4th.</i>—At 2 A.M. got under weigh for the Samatan river, which we reached at 8 A.M. I had been given to understand that the Lundu +and Sibnowan Dyaks were to be found on this river; but on arriving, I was informed we must proceed to Seru, where we should +see plenty of Dyaks. I accordingly started immediately after breakfast, and reached Seru after mid-day. Here we found a small +Malay fishing village, with two or three stray Dyaks of the Sibnowan tribe; and, on inquiring, we were told by them that their +country was far away. Being convinced that the Pangeran had dragged me all this distance to answer some purpose of his own, +I re-embarked on the instant, and set off on my return to Lundu, indignant enough. However, I had the poor satisfaction of +dragging them after me, and making them repent their trick, which I believe was nothing else than to visit the island of Talang +Talang for turtlesʼ eggs. We were pretty well knocked up by the time we reached Samatan, having been pulling thirteen hours, +the greater part of the time under a burning sun. + +</p> +<p>“The Samatan river, like the others, is inclosed in a bay choked with sand: the boat-passage is on the right-hand side, going +in near Point Samatan. The sands are mostly dry at low water, and stretch out a considerable distance. There is a fishing +station here, though not so <a id="d0e1081"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1081">44</a>]</span>large as at Seru, and the fish at both places are very plentiful, and are salted for exportation to Sambas, and along their +own coast. Seru is a shallow creek; the village may consist of 50 or 60 inhabitants, and the sands stretch a long way out. +We thus lost two days, through the cunning of our Malay attendant; and the only advantage gained is being enabled to fill +up the details of our survey of this bay. + +</p> +<p>“<i>5th.</i>—The day consumed returning along the coast to the Lundu, and we did not reach Tungong till late. + +</p> +<p>“<i>6th.</i>—Remained at Tungong. Every impediment was thrown in my way to prevent my reaching the Lundu Dyaks; the distance was great, +the tribe small and unsettled, there was little probability of finding them, &c. I would, however, have gone; but another +cause had arisen of a more serious nature. My feet, from the heat of the sun, musqueto-bites, and cuts (for I foolishly went +without shoes that unlucky day to Seru), had become so painful and inflamed that I felt great doubt whether, if I walked in +pain to Lundu, I could come back again. With the best grace I could, I yielded the point; with a vow, however, never to have +the same Pangeran again. I did <i>manage</i> to be civil to him, from policy alone. He was superfluously kind and obliging. + +</p> +<p>“<i>7th.</i>—Left Tungong on our return to the vessel, and brought-to for the night at Tanjong Siri. In the evening I walked along the +fine sandy beach as far as the entrance of the Sumpudin river. We saw many wild hogs; and on one occasion I was able to get +within twenty yards of some ten of them together, among some large drift-wood. Just as I was crawling over a tree and balancing, +I found myself confronted by these animals; but they were out of sight almost before I could cock my gun and fire. They were +of a large size, and most of them we saw during the evening either dirty white, or white and black. At night, after we had +retired to our quarters in the Pangeranʼs boat, she filled with water, and was near going down. The first intimation we had +of it was the water wetting our mats on which we were sleeping. She was beached and baled out, and a hand kept baling all +night, as they had laden her so deep that she leaked considerably. +<a id="d0e1101"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1101">45</a>]</span></p> +<p>“<i>8th.</i>—In the morning we got our anchor at daylight, and breakfasted on the island of Sumpudin. There are deer, hogs, and pigeons +on Sumpudin Island; but what was more interesting to me was, the discovery of the wild nutmeg-tree in full flower, and growing +to the height of twenty or thirty feet. The nutmegs lay in plenty under the trees, and are of considerable size, though elongated +in shape, and tasteless, as usual in the wild sorts. While the East India Company were sending Captain Forest from their settlement +of Balambangan as far as New Guinea in search of this plant, how little they dreamed of its flourishing so near them on the +island of Borneo! The soil on which they grow is a yellowish clay, mixed with vegetable mould. I brought some of the fruit +away with me. After breakfast, a breeze springing up, we sailed to the mouth of the Sarāwak river, waited for the tide, and +pushed on for the vessel, getting aboard about half past three in the morning. Our Malay attendants were left far, far behind, +and there is little chance of their being here to-morrow, for their boats sail wretchedly.” + + + + +</p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e1046" href="#d0e1046src" class="noteref">1</a></span> fines—J.H. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e1107" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER IV.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Renewed intercourse with the Rajah.—Prospects of trade.—Ourang-outang, and other animals.—The two sorts of mĭas.—Description +of the Rajah, his suite, and Panglimas, &c.—The character of the natives.—Leave Sarāwak.—Songi Dyaks.—Visit Seriff Sahib.—Buyat +tongue.—Attack by pirates.—Sail for Singapore. +</p> +</div> +<p>Having returned to Sarāwak, Mr. Brooke renewed his intercourse with the rajah; and his Journal proceeds: + +</p> +<p>“<i>Sept. 9th.</i>—Visited the rajah; civil and polite—I ought indeed to say friendly and kind. Der Macota was on board, speaking on the trade, +and very anxious for me to arrange the subject with the rajah. I could only say, that I would do so if the rajah wished, as +I believed it would be greatly for the benefit of their country and Singapore. + +</p> +<p>“<i>10th.</i>—Laid up with my bad legs, and hardly able <a id="d0e1125"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1125">46</a>]</span>to crawl. Muda Hassim presented us with another bullock, which we salted. At Lundu we bought eight pigs, which arrived to-day +in charge of Kalong, the young Dyak. He is a fine fellow. I gave him a gun, powder-flask, powder, &c. He was truly delighted. +Our Pangerans arrived at the same time. + +</p> +<p>“<i>11th.</i>—Very bad; got a novel, and read all day. Went ashore to see Muda Hassim in the evening. He gave us a private audience: and +we finished our discussion respecting the trade, and I think successfully. + +</p> +<p>“I began by saying, that I as a private gentleman, unconnected with commerce, could have no personal interest in what I was +about to speak; that the rajah must clearly understand that I was in no way connected with the government of Singapore, and +no way authorized to act for them: that he must, therefore, look upon it merely as my private opinion, and act afterward as +his wisdom thought fit. I represented to him that the kingdom of Borneo was the last Malay state possessing any power, and +that this might be in a great measure attributed to the little intercourse they had had with European powers. I thought it +highly advisable to call into play the resources of his country, by opening a trade with individual European merchants. Sarāwak, +I stated, was a rich place, and the territory around produced many valuable articles for a commercial intercourse—bees-wax, +birds-nests, rattans, beside large quantities of antimony ore and sago, which might be considered the staple produce of the +country. In return for these, the merchants of Singapore could send goods from Europe or China which his people required, +such as gunpowder, muskets, cloths, &c.; and both parties would thus be benefited by their commercial interchange of commodities. +I conceived that Singapore was well fitted for trade with this place. The rajah must not suppose I was desirous of excluding +other nations from trading here, or that I wished he should trade with the English alone; on the contrary, I thought that +the Americans, the French, or any other nation, should be admitted on the same terms as the English. + +</p> +<p>“Of course, I was not allowed to proceed without much questioning and discussion; many of the views <a id="d0e1136"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1136">47</a>]</span>were urged and re-urged, to remove their false notions. That Mr. Bonham had the supreme command of the trade of Singapore +was the prominent one; and when he died, or was removed, would not the next governor alter all kind intentions and acts? ‘What +friend should they have at Singapore then?’ + +</p> +<p>“Again they thought that a few ships might come at first; but then they would deceive them, and not come again. It was very +difficult to explain, that if they procured cargoes at an advantageous rate, they would come here for their own benefit; if +not, of course it would not be worth their while to come at all. The entire discussion proceeded with the utmost good-will +and politeness. + +</p> +<p>“That the political ascendency of the English is paramount here is apparent. They might if they pleased, by means of an offensive +and defensive alliance between the two powers, gain the entire trade of the northwest coast of Borneo, from Tanjong Datu to +Malludu Bay. + +</p> +<p>“I obtained subsequently from Macota the following list of imports and exports; which I here commit to paper, for the information +of those whom it may concern. + +</p> +<p>“<i>From Singapore.</i>—Iron; salt, Siam; nankeen; Madras, Europe, and China cotton cloth, coarse and fine; Bugis and Pulicat sarongs; gold and other +threads, of sorts and colors; brass wire, of sizes; iron pans from Siam, called qualis; chintzes, of colors and sorts; coarse +red broadcloth, and other sorts of different colors; China crockery; gunpowder; muskets; flints; handkerchiefs (Pulicat and +European); gambir; dates; Java tobacco; soft sugar; sugar-candy; biscuits; baharri; common decanters; glasses, &c. &c.; China +silk, of colors; ginghams; white cottons; nails; beside other little things, such as Venetian beads; ginger; curry-powder; +onions; ghee; &c. &c. + +</p> +<p>“The returns from Sarāwak are now: antimony ore, sago, timber (lackah, garu), rattans, Malacca canes, bees-wax, birds-nests, +rice, &c. Other articles, such as gold, tin, &c. &c., Macota said, would be procured after the war, but at present he need +say nothing of them; the articles above mentioned might subsequently be greatly increased by demand; and, in short, as every +person of <a id="d0e1151"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1151">48</a>]</span>experience knows, in a wild country a trade must be fostered at first. + +</p> +<p>“To the foregoing list I must add, pipeclay, vegetable tallow, which might be useful in commerce, being of fine quality; and +the ore, found in abundance round here, of which I can make nothing, but which I believe to be copper. + +</p> +<p>“<i>12th.</i>—I received from the rajah a present of an ourang-outang, young, and like others I have seen, but better clothed, with fine +long hair of a bright chestnut color. The same melancholy which characterizes her race is apparent in Betsyʼs face; and though +but just caught, she is quite quiet unless teased. + +</p> +<p>“From the man who brought Betsy I procured a <i>Lemur tardigradus</i>, called by the Malays <i>Cucan</i>, not <i>Poucan</i>, as written in Cuvier—Marsden has the name right in his dictionary—and at the same time the mutilated hand of an ourang-outang +of <i>enormous</i> size. This hand far exceeds in length, breadth, and power, the hand of any man in the ship; and though smoked and shrunk, +the circumference of the fingers is half as big again as an ordinary human finger. The natives of Borneo call the ourang-outang +the <i>Mĭas</i>, of which they say there are two distinct sorts; one called the <i>Mĭas rombĭ</i> (similar to the specimen aboard and the two in the Zoological Gardens), and the <i>Mĭas pappan</i>, a creature far larger, and more difficult to procure. To the latter kind the hand belongs. The mĭas pappan is represented +to be as tall or taller than a man, and possessing vast strength: the face is fuller and larger than that of the mĭas rombĭ, +and the hair reddish, but sometimes approaching to black. The mĭas rombĭ never exceeds four or four and a half feet; his face, +unlike the pappan, is long, and his hair redder. I must own myself inclined to this opinion from various reasons:—1st. The +natives appear so well agreed on the point, and so well acquainted with the distinction and the different names, that it is +impossible to suppose it a fabrication for our peculiar use. Of the many whom I asked respecting them, at different times +and in different places, the greater part of their own accord mentioned the difference between the mĭas pappan and the mĭas +rombĭ. The animal <a id="d0e1183"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1183">49</a>]</span>when brought aboard was stated to be the mĭas rombĭ, or small sort. In short, the natives, whether right or wrong, make the +distinction. 2d. The immense size of the hand in my possession, the height of the animal killed on the coast of Sumatra, and +the skull in the Paris Museum, can scarcely be referred to an animal such as we know at home; though by specious analogical +reasoning, the great disparity of the skulls has been pronounced the result merely of age. + +</p> +<p>“However, facts are wanting, and these facts I doubt not I can soon procure, if not actual proof; and whichever way it goes, +in favor of Buffonʼs Pongo or not, I shall be contented, so that I bring truth to light. + +</p> +<p>“<i>19th.</i>—From the 12th to the 19th of September we lay, anxious to be off, but delayed by some trifling occurrence or other, particularly +for the letters which I was to receive for the merchants of Singapore. Our intercourse the whole time was most friendly and +frequent; almost daily I was ashore, and the rajah often visited the vessel. How tedious and <i>ennuyant</i> to me can only be known by those who know me well, and how repugnant these trammels of society and ceremony are to nature. +Nevertheless, I suffered this martyrdom with exemplary outward patience, though the spirit flagged, and the thoughts wandered, +and the head often grew confused, with sitting and talking trifling nonsense, through a poor interpreter. + +</p> +<p>“I here bid adieu to these kind friends, fully impressed with their kindness, and the goodness of their dispositions. To me +they are far different from anything I was at all prepared to meet, and devoid of the vices with which their countrymen are +usually stigmatized by modern writers. I expected to find an indolent and somewhat insolent people, devoted to sensual enjoyments, +addicted to smoking opium, and eternally cock-fighting or gambling: let me speak it to the honor of the Borneons, that they +neither cock-fight nor smoke opium; and in the military train of their rajah they find at Kuching few conveniences and fewer +luxuries. Like all the followers of Islam, they sanction polygamy; and the number of their women, and, probably, the ease +and cheerfulness of the seraglio, contrasted with the ceremonial <a id="d0e1197"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1197">50</a>]</span>of the exterior, induce them to pass a number of their hours amid their women, and excite habits of effeminacy and indolence. +I should pronounce them indolent and unwarlike; but kind and unreserved to foreigners, particularly to Englishmen. They are +volatile, generally speaking very ignorant, but by no means deficient in acuteness of understanding; and, indeed, their chief +defects may be traced entirely to their total want of education, and the nature of their government. The lower orders of people +are poor and wretched, and the freemen are certainly poorer and more wretched than the slaves. They are not greatly addicted +to theft, and yet, unlike the scrupulous honesty of the Sibnowans, they pilfered some trifling articles occasionally when +left in their way. The retainers of the court showed much the same mean intriguing spirit which is too often found in courts, +and always in Eastern ones; and the rajah himself seldom requested any favor from me directly, but employed some intermediate +person to sound me—to get whatever was required for himself if possible, if not for the rajah. I took the hint, and always +expressed my wishes through the interpreter when not present myself. In this way we were enabled to grant or refuse without +the chance of insult or offence. The suite of the rajah consists principally of slaves, either purchased or debtors: they +are well treated, and rise to offices of some note. The Panglima rajah was a slave-debtor, though we did not know it for some +time after our arrival. I never saw either cruelty or undue harshness exercised by the great men during my stay, and in general +their manners were affable and kind to those about them. The Rajah Muda Hassim is a remarkably short man, and slightly built; +about 45 years of age; active and intelligent, but apparently little inclined to business. His disposition I formed the highest +estimate of, not only from his kindness to myself, but from the testimony of many witnesses, all of whom spoke of him with +affection, and gave him the character of a mild and gentle master. Muda Hassimʼs own brother, Muda Mahammed, is a reserved +and sulky man, but they spoke well of him; and the rajah said he was a good man, but given to fits of sulkiness. +<a id="d0e1199"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1199">51</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Der Macota, unlike other Malays, neither smokes tobacco nor chews sīrih. He sought our society, and was the first person +who spoke to me on the subject of the trade. His education has been more attended to than that of others of his rank. He both +reads and writes his own language, and is well acquainted with the government, laws, and customs of Borneo. From him I derived +much information on the subject of the Dyaks, and the geography of the interior; and if I have failed to put it down, it is +because I have not departed from my general rule of never giving any native statements unless they go far to verify my own +actual observations. I parted from the rajah with regret, some six or seven miles down the river. Never was such a blazing +as when we left Sarāwak; twenty-one guns I fired to the rajah, and he fired forty-two to me—at least we counted twenty-four, +and they went on firing afterward, as long as ever we were in sight. The last words the Rajah Muda Hassim said, as I took +my leave, were—‘Tuan Brooke, do not forget me.’ + +</p> +<p>“Among the curiosities in my possession are spears, swords, and shields, from various tribes; a coat of mail, made to the +northward of Borneo, and worn by the pirates; specimens of Sakarran Dyak manufacture of cloth, and Sarebus ditto; ornaments +and implements of the Sibnowans; and, last not least, a gold-handled kris, presented me by the rajah, which formerly belonged +to his father, and which he constantly wore himself. I likewise presented him with a small English dagger, with a mother-of-pearl +handle; and my favor was so high with him, that he used always to wear my gift, and I, to return the compliment, wore his. + +</p> +<p>“The climate of Sarāwak is good, and is seldom hot: the last eight or ten days were oppressive, but until then we could sleep +with a blanket, and seldom found it too warm in the day. Rain at this season falls in great quantities; and from imprudence, +our crew suffered on their first arrival from colds and rheumatism; but getting more careful, we had latterly no sick-list. + +</p> +<p>“Farewell to Sarāwak! I hope to see it again; and have obtained a promise from the rajah that he will go <a id="d0e1208"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1208">52</a>]</span>with me to Borneo, and show me every part of the country by the way. + +</p> +<p>“I may here state the result of some inquiries I have made respecting the government of Borneo. The form of government may +be considered aristocratic rather than oligarchical: it is ruled by the sultan, but his power is kept in check by four great +officers of government. These are, the Rajah Muda Hassim, the Bandar, in whose hands is the government of the country; Pangeran +Mumin, the Degadon, the treasurer, or, as Mr. Hunt says, controller of the household of the sultan; Pangeran Tizudeen, Tumangong, +or commander-in-chief; and Pangeran Kurmaindar, the Pen-dāmei, or mediator and interceder. This officer is the means of communication +or mediation between the sultan and his Pangerans; and in case of condemnation, he sues for the pardon or mercy of his sovereign. +Mr. Hunt, in his short but excellent paper on Borneo, mentions some other officers of state: I will not follow him, but in +the names, as well as duties of these officers, his account agrees with my information. Further than this, I have not yet +learned, therefore state not; for I am not <i>manufacturing</i> a book, but gaining information. I may add, however, that these offices are elective, and not hereditary: as far as I yet +know, I am inclined to believe the election rests with the chief Pangerans of the state; not only those in office, but others. +When I reach Borneo I can procure more ample details. + +</p> +<p>“<i>23d.</i>—Quitted the Royalist at the entrance of the Morotaba, and accompanied by Pangerans Subtu and Illudeen, set sail for the river +Sadung. + +</p> +<p>“The town called Songi is of considerable size, and the entire population along the river may certainty be reckoned at from +2000 to 3000 persons, independent of Dyaks. The country has a flourishing aspect, but the soil is represented as bad, being +soft and muddy. There is a good deal of trade from this river, and it annually sends several large prahus to Singapore: two +were lying off the town when we arrived, and two others had sailed for that place twenty days before. The produce of the country +is bees-wax, birdsʼ-nests, rice, &c. &c., but they seem to be procured in less abundance than in the <a id="d0e1222"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1222">53</a>]</span>other contiguous rivers. There is nothing peculiar about the Malay population, except that, generally speaking, it struck +me, they appeared better off than the people of Sarāwak, or others I have visited hereabouts. We ascended the river by night, +anchored a short distance from the Songi, in a tide-way like a sluice, and entered the smaller river shortly after daylight. +Having sent the Pangerans ahead to advise Seriff Sahib of our arrival, we pulled slowly up to the campong of the Data Jembrong, +where we brought up to breakfast. Data Jembrong is a native of Mindanao, an Illanun and a pirate; he is slightly advanced +in years, but stout and resolute-looking, and of a most polite demeanor—as oily-tongued a cut-throat as a gentleman would +wish to associate with. He spoke of his former life without hesitation, and confessed himself rather apprehensive of going +to Singapore. He was remarkably civil, and sent us a breakfast of some fruit, salt fish, stale turtlesʼ eggs, and coffee sweetened +with syrup; but spite of all this, his blood-thirsty education and habits prejudiced me against him. Breakfast finished, we +went forward to visit Seriff Sahib, who received us in an open hall; promised to get us as many animals as he could now; regretted +our short stay, and assured me he would collect more by the time I returned. Among these is to be a mĭas pappan, living or +dead. I at the same time offered ten dollars for the skeleton belonging to the hand already in my possession, and a less sum +for the parts. Being the first Europeans Seriff Sahib had ever met, he was rather puzzled to know what we were like; but we +had every reason to be satisfied with his kindness and the civility of his people: the inhabitants, though crowding to see +us, are by no means intrusive, and their curiosity is too natural to be harshly repressed. I need hardly remark here how very +erroneously the position of the Sadung river is laid down in the charts, it being placed in the bay, to the westward of Santobong, +and nearly in the position of the Samatan river. + +</p> +<p>“<i>25th.</i>—The last night was passed off Datu Jembrongʼs house, and I left him with a firm impression that he is still a pirate, or +at any rate connected with them. He resides generally at Tawarron, to the northward <a id="d0e1229"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1229">54</a>]</span>of Borneo Proper, where his wives and children now are, and he has come here to superintend the building of a prahu. The people +about him speak of his pursuits without disguise, and many informed us the prahu near his house is intended for a piratical +vessel. Nothing could exceed the polite kindness of our rascally host, and I spent the rainy evening in his house with some +satisfaction, acquiring information of the coast to the northward, which he is well able to give. + +</p> +<p>“In the morning we dropped down with the last of the ebb to the mouth of the Songi, and took the young flood to proceed up +the Sadung. Beyond the point of junction with the Songi the Sadung retains an average breadth of from three-quarters of a +mile to a mile. The banks continue to be partially cleared, with here and there a few Dyaks residing in single families or +small communities on their ladangs or farms. The Dyak campong, which terminated our progress up the stream, consists of three +moderately long houses inhabited by Sibnowans. The manners, customs, and language of the Sibnowans of the Sadung are the same +as those of their Lundu brethren; they are, however, a wilder people, and appear poor. Like other Dyaks, they had a collection +of heads hanging before the entrance of their chiefʼs private apartments. Some of these heads were fresh, and, with the utmost +<i>sang-froid</i>, they told us they were womenʼs. They declared, however, they never took any heads but those of their enemies, and these +women (unhappy creatures) had belonged to a distant tribe. The fresh heads were ornamented with fowlʼs feathers, and suspended +rather conspicuously in separate rattan frames of open work. They professed themselves willing to go with me up the river +to the mountains; and on the way, they informed me, were some large Malay towns, beside some more campongs of their own countrymen. +Farther up they enumerated some twenty tribes of Dyaks, whose names I thought it useless to preserve. Late in the evening +we set off on our return, and anchored once again near Datu Jembrongʼs house. + +</p> +<p>“<i>26th.</i>—Again visited Seriff Sahib. His name and descent are Arabic; his father, an Arab, having married <a id="d0e1241"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1241">55</a>]</span>a daughter of the Borneo Rajah. The Malays evidently honor this descent, and consider his birth very high. His power, they +say, equals his family; as he is, in some measure, independent; and were he to instigate the Sadung country to take arms against +Borneo, it is very probable he would overthrow the government, and make himself Sultan of Borneo. In person, this noble partakes +much of his fatherʼs race, both in height and features, being tall and large, with a fine nose and contour of face. His manners +are reserved but kind; and he looks as if too indolent to care much about acquiring power; too fat for an active traitor, +though a dangerous man to oppress. We were the first Europeans he had ever seen; but, on our second visit, he lost much of +his previous reserve, and was curious in examining our arms and accoutrements. We, as usual, <i>exchanged</i> presents; mine consisting of some nankeen, red cloth, knife, scissors, and handkerchief; while he gave me the shield of a +great Kayan warrior, a Bukar spear, a goat, fowls, and our dinner and breakfast daily. He promised me specimens of the arms +of all the Dyak tribes, and plenty of animals, particularly my much-desired mĭas pappan; and I, in return, agreed to bring +him two small tables, six chairs, and a gun. Subsequently to our interview he sent me a tattooed Dyak, the first I had seen. +The lines, correctly and even elegantly laid in, of a blue color, extended from the throat to his feet. I gained but little +information; yet the history of the poor man is curious, and similar to that of many other unfortunates. He represented himself +as a chief among his own people in the country of Buyat, five daysʼ journey up the Cotringen river (<i>vulgo</i> Coti river). Going in his canoe from the latter place to Banjamassim, he was captured by Illanun pirates, with whom he was +in bondage for some time, but ultimately sold as a slave to a resident of Sadung. It was now five years since he became first +captive; but having lately got money enough to buy his liberty, he is again a freeman; and having married, and turned to the +religion of Islam, desires no longer to revisit his native country. The language of the tribe of Buyat he represents as entirely +Malay. I made him a small present for <a id="d0e1249"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1249">56</a>]</span>the trouble I had given him, and he departed well content. + +</p> +<p>“About three oʼclock in the afternoon we had a heavy thunder-storm, with lightning as vivid as the tropics produce. Torrents +of rain descended, and continued a great part of the night; but, sheltered by our kajangs or mats, we managed to keep tolerably +dry. Indeed, the voyager on this coast must be prepared for exposure to heavy rains, and considerable detention from thick +and cloudy weather. The latter obstruction, of little moment or even agreeable to those making a passage, is a cause of much +vexation in surveying the coast, as for days together no observations are to be had. + +</p> +<p>“<i>27th.</i>—About 7 A. M. we quitted Songi, and dropped down as far as Tanjong Balaban, a low point forming the larboard entrance into +the Sadung river, and bounding the bay, which lies between it and Tanjong Sipang. Coming to this point gave us a good offing +for our return, and enabled me to take a round of angles to finish the survey as far as this point and Pulo Burong, which +lies off it. We crossed over the sand flats with a light breeze, and reached the Royalist at 4 P.M. In the evening the Datu +Jembrong, who had preceded us from Sadung, spent the evening aboard. He expressed his willingness to accompany me next season: +whether I shall take him is another question; but, could he be trusted, his services might be highly useful. + +</p> +<p>“Our Pangerans arrived early this morning from Sadung; and to-morrow was fixed for our departure, when an unforeseen occurrence +caused a farther detention. The day passed quietly: in the evening I was ashore, and took leave of the Pangerans Subtu and +Illudeen, who returned to Sarāwak, leaving the Panglima Rajah to pilot us out. The first part of the night was dark; and the +Panglima in his prahu, with twelve men, lay close to the shore, and under the dark shadow of the hill. About nine, the attention +of the watch on deck was attracted by some bustle ashore, and it soon swelled to the wildest cries; the only word we could +distinguish, however, being ‘Dyak! Dyak!’ All hands were instantly on deck. I gave the order to charge and fire a gun with +a blank cartridge, and in the mean time lit a <a id="d0e1260"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1260">57</a>]</span>blue light. The gig was lowered, a few muskets and cutlasses thrown into her, and I started in the hope of rescuing our poor +Malay friends. The vessel meanwhile was prepared for defence; guns loaded, boarding-nettings ready for running up, and the +people at quarters; for we were ignorant of the number, the strength, or even the description of the assailants. I met the +Panglimaʼs boat pulling toward the vessel, and returned with her, considering it useless and rash to pursue the foe. The story +is soon told. A fire had been lit on the shore; and after the people had eaten, they anchored their boat, and, according to +their custom, went to sleep. The fire had probably attracted the roving Sarebus Dyaks, who stole upon them, took them by surprise, +and would inevitably have cut them off but for our presence. They attacked the prahu fiercely with their spears; five out +of twelve jumped into the water, and swam ashore; and the Panglima Rajah was wounded severely. When our blue light was seen +they desisted; and directly the gun fired, paddled away fast. We never saw them. The poor Panglima walked aboard with a spear +fixed in his breast, the barb being buried, and a second rusty spear-wound close to the first; the head of the weapon was +cut out, his wounds dressed, and he was put to bed. Another man had a wound from a wooden-headed spear; and most had been +struck more or less by these rude and, luckily, innocuous weapons. A dozen or two of Dyak spears were left in the Malay boat, +which I got. Some were well-shaped, with iron heads; but the mass simply pieces of hard wood sharp-pointed, which they hurl +in great numbers. Fire-arms the Dyaks had none, and during the attack made no noise whatever; while the Malays, on the contrary, +shouted lustily, some perhaps from bravery, most from terror. The force that attacked them was differently stated; some said +the boat contained eighty or a hundred men, others rated the number as low as fifty; and, allowing for an exaggeration, perhaps +there might have been thirty-five—not fewer, from the number of spears thrown. Being fully prepared, we set our watch, and +retired as usual to our beds; the stealthy and daring attack, right under the guns of the schooner, having given me a lesson +to keep the guns <a id="d0e1262"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1262">58</a>]</span>charged in future. The plan was well devised; for we could not fire without the chance of hitting our friends as well as foes, +and the deep shadow of the hill entirely prevented our seeing the assailants. + +</p> +<p>“<i>29th.</i>—I considered it necessary to dispatch a boat to Sarāwak to acquaint the rajah with the circumstance of the attack made on +his boat. The wound of the Panglima was so severe, that in common humanity I was obliged to wait until all danger for him +was past. He was soon well; and, as with natives in general, his wound promises favorably; to a European constitution a similar +wound would be imminently dangerous. + +</p> +<p>“<i>30th.</i>—Took the long boat, and sounded along the edge of the sand; soundings very regular. In the evening Mr. Williamson returned +in the gig, and a host of Pangerans; the Pangeran Macota at the head. He urged me much to go and see Muda Hassim. The rajah, +he said, desired it so much, and would think it so kind, that I consented to go up to-morrow. I am very desirous to fix their +good feelings toward us: and I was prompted by curiosity to see the rajahʼs <i>ménage</i> as his guest. + +</p> +<p>“<i>October 1st.</i>—We had a heavy pull against tide, and arrived at Sarāwak about 4 P.M. We had eaten nothing since breakfast at 8; and we had +to sit and talk, and drink tea and smoke, till 8 in the evening; then dinner was announced, and we retired to the private +apartments—my poor men came willingly too! The table was laid <i lang="fr">à lʼAnglaise</i>, a good curry and rice, grilled fowls, and a bottle of wine. We did justice to our cheer; and the rajah, throwing away all +reserve, bustled about with the proud and pleasing consciousness of having given us an English dinner in proper style; now +drawing the wine; now changing our plates; pressing us to eat; saying, ‘You are at home.’ Dinner over, we sat, and drank, +and smoked, and talked cheerfully, till, tired and weary, we expressed a wish to retire, and were shown to a private room. +A crimson silk <span id="d0e1285" class="corr" title="Source: matress">mattress</span>, embroidered with gold, was my couch: it was covered with white gold-embroidered mats and pillows. Our men fared equally +well, and enjoyed their wine, a luxury to us; our stock of wine and spirits having been expended some time. +<a id="d0e1288"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1288">59</a>]</span></p> +<p>“<i>2d.</i>—Once more bade adieu to our kind friends; reached the vessel at 4 P.M., and got under weigh directly. At dusk anchored in +the passage between the sands. + +</p> +<p>“<i>3d.</i>—Five A.M. under weigh. Clear of the sands about mid-day, and shaped our course for Singapore. + +</p> +<p>“<i>4th.</i>—Strong breeze from w.s.w. Beating from leeward of Datu to Pulo Murrundum, in a nasty chop of a head sea.” + + + +</p> +</div> +<div id="d0e1304" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER V.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Summary of information obtained during this visit to Borneo.—Geographical and topographical observations.—Produce.—Various +Dyak tribes.—Natural history.—Language.—Origin of Races.—Sail from Singapore.—Celebes.—Face of the country.—Waterfall. +</p> +</div> +<p>Mr. Brookeʼs journal continues his observations on the people and country he had just left; and, I need hardly say, communicates +much of novelty and interest in his own plain and simple manner. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Oct. 5th.</i>—Just laying our course. I may here briefly recapitulate the information acquired during the last two months and a half. Beginning +from Tanjong Api, we have delineated the coast as far as Tanjong Balaban, fixing the principal points by chronometer and observation, +and filling in the details by personal inspection. The distance, on a line drawn along the headlands, may be from 120 to 130 +miles, the entire coast being previously quite unknown. + +</p> +<p>“Within this space are many fine rivers, and some navigable for vessels of considerable burden, and well calculated for the +extension of commerce, such as Sarāwak, Morotaba, and Sadung. The others, equally fine streams, are barred, but offer admirable +means for an easy inland communication; these are the Quop, Boyur, Riam, Samarahan, Lundu, Samatan, &c. In our excursions +into the interior of the island, most of these streams have been ascended to a distance of 25 or 30 miles, and some further. +We traced the Samarahan river for 70 or <a id="d0e1319"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1319">60</a>]</span>80 miles from its mouth, and passed through portions of the intermediate streams of the Riam, Quop, and Boyur. The Morotaba, +which is but another mouth of the Sarāwak, we passed through several times from the sea to its junction with that river. The +Lundu and Sadung rivers were likewise ascended to the distance of near 30 miles; and plans of all these rivers have been taken +as accurately as circumstances would permit, by observations of the latitude and longitude, and various points, and an eye-sketch +of the distance of each reach and the compass bearing. The entrances into the Sarāwak and Morotaba were carefully examined, +and the former accurately laid down. The productions of the country attracted our attention, and the articles best fitted +for commerce have been already enumerated. Among these are, first, minerals; say gold, tin, probably copper, antimony-ore, +and fine white clay for pipes. Secondly, woods of the finest descriptions, for ship-building, and other purposes; besides +aloes wood (<i lang="la-x-bio">lignum aloes</i>), and arang or ebony wood, canes, and ratans. To these may be added, among vegetable productions, sago, compon, rice, &c., +&c. + +</p> +<p>“The wild nutmeg was found growing on the islands of Sadung and Sumpudin in abundance and perfection, proving that by cultivation +it might be brought into the market as cheap, and probably as good, as those produced in the Moluccas. We have various specimens +of ores and stones, which, on being tested, may prove valuable commodities. Among these is decomposed granite rock (I believe), +containing minute particles of what we conceive to be gold, and an ore believed to be copper. Besides the articles above enumerated, +are birdsʼ nests and beesʼ wax in considerable quantities, and others not worth detailing here. We have been able, during +our residence with the Borneons, to continue on the most friendly terms with them, and to open a field of research for our +subsequent inquiries in the proper season. My attention has been anxiously directed to acquiring a knowledge of the Dyak tribes; +and for this purpose I passed ten days among them at Lundu. I have made such vocabularies of the language of the Sibnowans +and Lundus as my means allowed; and a further addition of their <a id="d0e1326"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1326">61</a>]</span>various dialects will furnish, I conceive, matters of high importance to those interested in tracing the emigration of nations. +I may here briefly notice, that the nation of Kayans, included under the common denomination of Dyak, are a tattooed race, +who use the sumpitan, or blow-pipe; while the other Dyak tribes (which are very numerous) are not tattooed, and never use +the blow-pipe. + +</p> +<p>“The arms and instruments of many tribes are in my possession; and among the Sibnowans I had the opportunity of becoming acquainted +with their habits, customs, and modes of living. + +</p> +<p>“The appellation of the Dyak tribes near the coast is usually the same as the rivers from which they originally came. The +Dyaks of Sibnow come from the river of that name, just beyond Balaban Point, though large communities are dispersed on the +Lundu and the Sadung. The same may be said of the Sarebus tribe (the most predaceous and wild on the coast), which has powerful +branches of the original stock on the Skarran river. Beyond Point Balaban is a bay—between that point and Point Samaludum; +the first river is the Sibnow; the next the Balonlupon, which branches into the rivers of Sakarran and Linga; passing Tanjong +Samaludum you come to the two islands of Talison; and between it and the next point, or Banting Marron, lies the Sarebus river. +Between Banting Marron and Tanjong Siri are the Kaleka river, a high mountain called Maban, and then Rejong, the chief river +of the Kayans. I may here likewise correct some of the statements and names usually current in England. The Idaan, represented +as a Dyak tribe, are a hill people, and probably not Dyaks; and the name Marat is applied by the natives of Borneo to the +various wild tribes, Dyaks and others, without any specific meaning. + +</p> +<p>“In natural history the expedition has done as much as was in its power, by forming collections of birds, animals, and reptiles; +but these collections are as small as our means. Specimens of woods and seeds have been preserved; but the season was not +the proper one for flowers, as very few indeed were seen. The specimen of the hand of the mĭas pappan and the head of an adult +<a id="d0e1334"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1334">62</a>]</span>mĭas rombĭ will, I believe, go far to establish the existence of an animal similar to the Pongo of the Count Buffon. I have +little doubt that I shall be able in the ensuing season to establish the fact, or set it at rest forever; though I confess +myself greatly inclined to think that the former will be the case. I here leave the coast with an excellent prospect for the +coming year; and I would not now have quitted it so soon, but for the want of provisions, added to which, the change of the +monsoon, bringing squally and dark weather, greatly interferes with our further progress in surveying. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Nov. 22d, 1839.</i>—The Malayan language has been compared to the <i>lingua franca</i> of Europe. They are both, indeed, used by various nations in their commercial transactions; but, beyond this, nothing can +be more unjust or absurd than the comparison. The <i>lingua franca</i> is a jargon compounded at random, devoid of grammar or elegance; the Malayan, on the contrary, is musical, simple in its +construction, and well calculated for the expression of poetry. It boasts many dialects, like the Italian, of superior softness, +and, like the Italian, it is derived from many sources, refining all to the most liquid sounds by the addition of a final +vowel. I fully concur with Mr. Marsden in his opinion that the Malayan tongue, though derived from the Sanscrit, the Arabic, +the Hindoostani, &c., &c., is based on the language which he calls the Polynesian; a language which may be considered original +(as far as we know), and which embraces so vast an extent of geographical surface. The proof of this rests mainly on the fact +that the simple wants of man, as well as the most striking features of nature, are expressed in the Polynesian; while the +secondary class of ideas is derived from the Sanscrit, or some other language, and usually grafted in a felicitous manner +on the original stem. By an original language, I must be understood, however, to mean only a language which can not be derived +from any other known tongue. I seek not to trace the language of Noah, or to raise a theory which shall derive the finished +and grammatical Sanscrit, the pure and elegant Greek, from some barbarous stock, whether Celtic or Teutonic. Such inquiries +are fitted for those with leisure and patience to undertake a hopeless <a id="d0e1347"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1347">63</a>]</span>task, and learning enough to achieve better things. When we look for the origin of languages we are lost, for those existing +afford us no help. They present some affinities, as might be expected; but their discrepancies are irreconcilable; and, amid +many equally good claims, who shall be able to demonstrate the only one which is right? Supposing even that all languages +agreed as to primary ideas, it would be difficult to determine the original; but when this primary class of ideas is expressed +by sounds entirely and totally different, the task becomes utterly hopeless, and the labor as vain as that of Sisyphus. Indeed, +it would be very difficult to show how languages, derived from one stock, could possibly differ so far in their expression +of the simplest ideas and wants as not to be mutually traceable: and truly, until this is done (which I conceive impossible), +I am content to rest in the belief that there are more original languages <i>than one</i>—a conclusion agreeable to common sense, and consonant with the early history of the Hebrews. + +</p> +<p>“To trace the original identity of distant races, and their early migrations, through the affinity of language, is indeed +a limited task compared with the other, but one both feasible and useful. To further this labor, the smallest additional information +is valuable; and the dialects of the rude people inhabiting the interior of the islands of Borneo and Celebes would be highly +important. Previously, however, to instituting such a comparison, as far as in my power, I propose taking a brief glance at +the different races whose languages may be included under the common name of Polynesian. + +</p> +<p>“In the first place, the Malayan. Issuing from the interior of Sumatra, there is reason to conjecture, and even facts to prove, +that originally the dialect of Menangkābau resembled the other dialects of its birthplace. The gradual extension of a warlike +race gave a polish to the language; additional wants, increasing luxury, extended knowledge, and contact with the merchants +of many Eastern nations, all combined to produce the Malayan in its present form. But, during the progress of this change, +the radical Polynesian stock remained; and we find, consequently, that the words necessary to mankind in their earliest stage +bear a striking and convincing <a id="d0e1356"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1356">64</a>]</span>resemblance to the dialects of Rejong and Lampung, in Sumatra. Subsequent improvements were largely adopted from the Sanscrit +and the Arabic; but the fact of the primary ideas being expressed in the Polynesian must preclude the conclusion of either +of these being the source whence the Malayan is derived, its improvement and extension being alone referable to them. Marsden +positively states his inability to trace the Polynesian to any other Eastern language; and, at the same time, he has demonstrated, +in what he considers a convincing manner, the identity of this language from Madagascar and the islands of the Pacific to +the Philippines and Sumatra. + +</p> +<p>“It may here be incidentally remarked, that while so many authors are endeavoring to prove that the Asiatic archipelago was +peopled from the Western Continent,<a id="d0e1360src" href="#d0e1360" class="noteref">1</a> they overlook the fact of the radical difference of language. Unless the roots of the language can be traced either to India, +Cambodia, or other parts, it must follow, as a matter of course, that the islands were peopled at a time previous to the introduction +of the language now spoken on the Continent; else how are we to account for the simple dialects of a rude people being radically +distinct from the language of the mother country? If the Dyaks of Borneo and the Arafuras of Celebes and New Guinea speak +a dialect of the Polynesian, it will go far to prove an original people as well as an original language, that is, as original +as the Celtic, the Teutonic, the South American; original because not derived from any known source. + +</p> +<p>“These brief remarks on the Malayan will, I believe, apply to the language of the Island of Java, which, equally improved +and enlarged by the addition of Sanscrit and Arabic words, and differently modified, retains, nevertheless, its radical Polynesian +stock and its distinct written character, as do likewise the dialects of the islands of Bally and Lombock. The districts of +Rejong, Lampung, &c., in Sumatra, retain the original language in a much higher degree, possess distinctive written characters, +and have little intermixture of Sanscrit or <a id="d0e1365"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1365">65</a>]</span>Arabic. Celebes, or Bugis-land, with a distinct language and character, will probably be found to follow the same rule; and +the Philippines, including Mindanao, according to Marsden, possess the same language, though altered and modified into the +Tagala tongue. + +</p> +<p>“Madagascar, so far removed, exhibits in its language a dialect of Tagala, or, strictly speaking, of Polynesian; and the South +Sea islands present striking and almost convincing proofs of the same origin. + +</p> +<p>“The inquiry ought to be pushed to the languages of the Mexicans and Peruvians of South America; and, as far as our knowledge +permits, their identity established or disproved; for the language of this by-gone people would go far toward tracing the +course of emigration, it being evident that a strong argument would be raised in favor of the migration proceeding from east +to west, if the language is common to South America and Sumatra, and not traceable to any country of the Continent of India. + +</p> +<p>“It remains, however, to inquire into the language of the interior tribes of Borneo, Celebes, and New Guinea; and, on such +inquiry, should they be found to possess the same primary roots as the rest, I believe the conclusion must ultimately be arrived +at of the existence of a Polynesian language common to this vast geographical extent, and distinct from the languages of Asia. +In tracing this identity, we can only, of course, find it in few instances in the cultivated Javanese and Malayan languages. +Discrepancies must naturally be great from the intermixture, from early recorded times, of all languages in the archipelago; +but, nevertheless, if the radical affinities be striking, they will be conclusive in establishing the original identity of +all the races before mentioned; for, without this original identity, how can we account for these affinities of language? +It may, indeed, be urged that this language has gradually crept into the dialects of Java and Menangkābau. But, in the first +place, the affinities will be found in the very roots of the language—in the expressions for the primary and necessary ideas, +which seldom alter in any people; in the next, there is a high degree of improbability in supposing a rude dialect to supplant +a substantial portion of <a id="d0e1373"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1373">66</a>]</span>a more polished one; and, thirdly, we must not overlook the collateral evidence of the similarity of conformation pervading +the entire race from Polynesia to the archipelago—distinct alike from the Caucasian and the Mongolian. + +</p> +<p>“In tracing the identity of this language, we may reckon the dialects of the Dyaks of Borneo, &c., as the lowest step of the +ladder; those of the Pacific islands next; and so through the dialects of Sumatra and Tagala, up to the Malayan and Javanese. +For this purpose, a comparative view of all must be attained; and Eastern scholars should point out, when possible, the words +taken from Sanscrit and other languages. For my own part, these remarks are made as a sketch to be enlarged on, and to assist +in obtaining the vocabularies of the Dyaks and Arafuras. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Dec. 6th.</i>—In looking over Marsdenʼs admirable Introduction to his Malayan Grammar, I find I have taken many of his views in the foregoing +remarks; but I consider that his opinions may be pushed to conclusions more extended than he has ventured upon. Having described +the ‘exterior circumstance’ of the Malayan language, he proceeds to point out those more original languages from whence we +may presume it to be derived. + +</p> +<p>“‘The words of which it consists may be divided into three classes, and that two of these are Hindoo and Arabic has been generally +admitted. The doubts that have arisen respect only the third, or that original and essential part which, to the Malayan, stands +in the same relation as the Saxon to the English, and which I have asserted to be one of the numerous dialects of the widely-extended +language found to prevail, with strong features of similarity, throughout the archipelago on the hither side of New Guinea, +and, with a less marked resemblance, among the islands of the Pacific Ocean.... To show the general identity, or radical connection +of its dialects, and, at the same time, their individual differences, I beg leave to refer the reader<a id="d0e1384src" href="#d0e1384" class="noteref">2</a> to the tables annexed to a paper on the subject which I presented, so long ago as the year 1780, to the Society of Antiquaries, +<a id="d0e1390"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1390">67</a>]</span>and is <span id="d0e1392" class="corr" title="Source: printde">printed</span> in vol. vi. of the <i>Archæologia</i>; also, a table of comparative numerals, in the appendix to vol. iii. of Captain Cookʼs last voyage; and likewise to the chart +of ten numerals, in two hundred languages, by the Rev. R. Patrick, recently published in Valpyʼs <i>Classical, Biblical and Oriental Journal</i>.’ + +</p> +<p>“Again, Marsden states: + +</p> +<p>“‘But whatever pretensions any particular spot may have to precedence in this respect, the so wide dissemination of a language +common to all bespeaks a high degree of antiquity, and gives a claim to originality, as far as we can venture to apply that +term, which signifies no more than the state beyond which we have not the means, either historically or by fair inference, +of tracing the origin. In this restricted sense it is that we are justified in considering the main portion of the Malayan +as original, or indigenous, <i>its affinity to any Continental tongue not having yet been shown</i>; and least of all can we suppose it connected with the monosyllabic, or Indo-Chinese, with which it has been classed.’ + +</p> +<p>“When we find an original language bearing no traces of being derived from any Continental tongue, we must conclude the people +likewise to be original, in the restricted sense, or to have emigrated with their language from some source hitherto unknown. +The Sanscrit and Arabic additions to the original stock are well marked, though the period of the introduction of the former +is hidden in darkness. It may be inferred, however, that it came with the Hindoo religion, the remains of which are yet in +existence. It is evident that the question resolves itself into two distinct branches: first, the original language, its extent, +the coincidence of its dialects, its source, &c.; secondly, its discrepancies, whence arising, &c.; together with the inquiry +into the probable time and mode of the introduction of the Sanscrit. With the latter of these inquiries I have nothing to +do; on the former subject I may collect some valuable information by adding the dialects of the savage tribes in the interior +of Borneo and Celebes. + +</p> +<p>“The alphabets of the island of Java, of the Tagala, and the Bugis of Celebes, are given by Corneille, Le Brun, Thevenot, +and Forrest.” +<a id="d0e1412"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1412">68</a>]</span></p> +<p>Of Mr. Brookeʼs sojourn at Singapore it is unnecessary to speak; and I accordingly resume my extracts with his ensuing voyage +from that port, and again for the Indian archipelago, but contenting myself, for reasons which need not be entered into at +length, with only that portion of his excursion to Celebes and among the Bugis which particularly bears upon his Borneon sequel. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Dec. 7th, 1839.</i>—Off Great Solombo. Never was there a more tedious passage than ours has been from Singapore. Sailing from that place on the +20th of November, we have encountered a succession of calms and light winds—creeping some days a few miles, and often lying +becalmed for forty-eight hours without a breath to fill the sails. Passing through the straits of Rhio and Banca, and watering +at the islands of Nanka, we stood thence for Pulo Babian, or Lubeck, lay a night becalmed close to the Arrogants Shoal, of +which, however, we saw nothing, owing, probably, to the smoothness of the water. The depths are greater than laid down on +Horsburghʼs chart, varying from thirty-six to thirty-eight fathoms. A calm now keeps us off the greater Solombo, which it +is my intention to visit when in my power. + +</p> +<p>“<i>8th.</i>—Drifted past Solombo in the calm, and, reluctant to return, I continued on my voyage with a light breeze from the eastward. +This island is well laid down: from the sea we made its longitude 113° 31′; Horsburgh gives it 113° 28′, which, considering +that both observations were made afloat, is a near enough approximation. The land is low, with a single hill, showing round +from the westward, flat or wedge-shaped from the eastward. The smaller Solombo is low: both wooded. + +</p> +<p>“<i>10th.</i>—In sight of Laurots islands. + +</p> +<p>“<i>11th.</i>—In the evening stood within four miles of the southern island of Laurots. These islands are high and steep, covered with +wood, and uninhabited. The easternmost island seems, by bearings, badly laid down, being not far enough to the southward and +eastward. The southern island is called by the Bugis, Mata Siri; the eastern, Kadapangan; the northern one, Kalambow. A few +rocks and islets lay off them; water deep, and apparently clear of all danger. +<a id="d0e1435"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1435">69</a>]</span></p> +<p>“<i>15th.</i>—Turatte Bay. After experiencing continued calms and light winds, and falling short of water, we at length reached this bay, +and anchored in 7½ fathoms. The first impression of Celebes is highly favorable. The mountains present a bold outline, and +rise in confused masses, until crowned by what is commonly called <i>Bonthian Hill</i>. The sides of the mountains slope gradually to the sea, and present an inviting and diversified aspect of wood and cleared +land. I dispatched a boat for water to a small village; and the crew were well received by the natives, after they became +assured that they were not pirates. + +</p> +<p>“The outline of this bay, in Norieʼs chart, is not badly laid down; but on either side there is great room for improvement +and survey. Turatte Bay may be fairly so called, as the district (or <i>negri</i>) generally bears that name. The larboard point of Turatte Bay (approaching) is called Malăsaro, which comes next to Tanjong +Layken in the charts. The starboard point is Tanjong Uju Loke, and from Uju Loke the land runs low to the point of Galumpang, +the entrance of a river marked in the charts. From Uju Loke (named Bolo Bolo in Norieʼs chart) the coast-line runs for 12 +or 15 miles to Bolo Bolo, which space is entirely omitted. Bolo Bolo forms the entrance of Bonthian Bay. + +</p> +<p>“<i>16th.</i>—Bonthian Bay. Called Banthi by the natives: is in lat. 5° 37′ <span class="smallcaps">S</span>.; long. 119° 33′ <span class="smallcaps">E</span>. + +</p> +<p>“The bay is pretty well laid down by Dalrymple. The small Dutch fort, or intrenchment, stands rather on the eastern bight +of the bay, and is composed of a few huts, surrounded by a ditch and green bank. Two guns at each corner compose its strength, +and the garrison consists of about thirty Dutchmen and a few Javanese soldiers. We were cordially and hospitably received +by the officers, and, after a great deal of trouble and many excuses, here procured horses to carry us to the waterfall. Bonthian +Hill is immediately over this place; a flat space of rice-ground, some miles in extent, only intervening. The hill (so called) +may with more propriety be designated as a range of mountains, which here attain their utmost height and sink down gradually +almost across the peninsula. The view is most attractive; <a id="d0e1462"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1462">70</a>]</span>the green and refreshing rice-grounds in the front and behind, the slopes of the mountain and its various peaks, verdant grass, +wooded chasms, and all the inequalities which mark a mountain region. I am very anxious to mount to the summit; but so many +difficulties are thrown in the way, that I almost despair—horses and guides are not to be procured. The Dutch say the natives +are lazy: the natives say they dare not go without authority—either way we are the losers; but the officers certainly exert +themselves in our favor. Coming into this bay, there is some difficulty in distinguishing the fort; but coming from the westward, +its position may readily be known by steering for two lumps on the S.E. declivity of the mountain. + +</p> +<p>“<i>18th.</i>—Got ashore by seven oʼclock to start for the waterfall; till nine we were detained by want of horses, but after much trouble +the animals were procured, and off we started. Our party consisted of three doctors (him of the fortification, a German gentleman, +Treacher, and Theylingen) and myself, with native guides. The road lay for a short way along the beach, then struck into the +thicket, and we commenced a gradual ascent. The scenery was most striking and lovely; glades and glens, grassy knolls and +slopes, with scattered trees, and the voice of a hidden river which reached our ears from a deep valley on the left hand. +Proceeding thus for some distance, we at length plunged into the wood, and descending a short space, found ourselves by the +sides of the stream below the waterfall. Here, breakfast being finished, we all stripped to our trowsers, entered the water, +and advanced along the bed of the river to the fall. The banks on either hand, steep and woody, prevented any other mode of +approach, and the stream, rushing down and falling over huge rocks, rendered the only available one any thing but easy. At +times we were up to the arms, then crawling out and stealing with care over wet and slippery stones, now taking advantage +of a few yards of dry ground, and ever and anon swimming a pool to shorten an unpleasant climb. In this manner we advanced +about half a mile, when the fall became visible; thick trees and hanging creepers intervened; between and through the foliage +we first saw the water glancing <a id="d0e1469"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1469">71</a>]</span>and shining in its descent. The effect was perfect. After some little further and more difficult progress, we stood beneath +the fall, of about 150 feet sheer descent. The wind whirled in eddies, and carried the sleet over us, chilling our bodies, +but unable to damp our admiration. The basin of the fall is part of a circle, with the outlet forming a funnel; bare cliffs, +perpendicular on all sides, form the upper portion of the vale, and above and below is all the luxuriant vegetation of the +East; trees, arched and interlaced, and throwing down long fantastic roots and creepers, shade the scene, and form one of +the richest sylvan prospects I have ever beheld. The water, foaming and flashing, and then escaping amid huge gray stones +on its troubled course—clear and transparent, expanding into tranquil pools, with the flickering sunshine through the dense +foliage—all combine to form at scene such as Tasso has described.<a id="d0e1471src" href="#d0e1471" class="noteref">3</a> + +</p> +<p>“Inferior in body of water to many falls in Switzerland, it is superior to any in sylvan beauty; its deep seclusion, its undisturbed +solitude, and the difficulty of access, combine to heighten its charms to the imagination. Our descent was like our upward +progress. Having again dressed ourselves, we rested for a time, and then started for Bonthian—wearing away the rest of the +day shooting amid the hills. Theylingen and myself procured many specimens, and returned laden with our spoil, and charmed +with our dayʼs excursion. The waterfall is called Sapo, from the neighboring green peak of that name. The height of our resting-place +(not the highest point of the dayʼs ascent) was 750.5 feet, by Newmanʼs two barometers; yet this is the bottom of the mountain +on its western slope. The officers dined with us; they are very polite and kind; and we retired early to rest, all the better +for our excursion. + +</p> +<p>“<i>19th.</i>—At 6 A.M. went with the Dutch officers shooting, and reached the same stream which forms the waterfall. The scenery delightful; +water cool, and pleasant for bathing, a luxury I enjoyed in high perfection. Aboard again to a late breakfast.” + + +<a id="d0e1481"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1481">72</a>]</span></p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e1360" href="#d0e1360src" class="noteref">1</a></span> Western as regards Polynesia. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e1384" href="#d0e1384src" class="noteref">2</a></span> Also, vol. iv. of the <i>Bengal Asiatic Researches</i>. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e1471" href="#d0e1471src" class="noteref">3</a></span> Canto xv., stanza 55, 56. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e1482" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER VI.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Dain Matara, the Bugis,—Excursions in Celebes.—Dispute with the Rajahʼs son-in-law.—Baboon shot.—Appearance of the country.—Visit +the Resident.—Barometrical observations.—The Bugis.—Geography.—Coral reefs.—Visit the Rana of Lamatte.—Population and products +of the country. +</p> +</div> +<p>“I may here, indulge in a brief episode to introduce my Bugis companion, Dain Matara,—which properly I should have done long +since,—a man well born, and, for his country, affluent and educated: he offered at Singapore, to accompany me on this expedition, +refusing all pay or remuneration, and stating that the good name to be acquired, and the pleasure of seeing different places, +would recompense, him. At first, I must own this disinterestedness rendered me suspicious; but conceiving that the greatest +utility might accrue from his assistance, I agreed to take him with his servant. Our long passage seemed to make us well acquainted, +and, I believe, raised a mutual confidence. Dain, cheerful, good-tempered, and intelligent, gained daily on my esteem; and, +by the time we reached Bonthian, I was rejoiced that he accompanied me. + +</p> +<p>“On this day we succeeded in procuring horses and guides for the <i>hill</i>, as it is called. + +</p> +<p>“<i>20th.</i>—By 8 A.M. our preparations were complete, and we mounted our horses; a motley group we formed, composed of Treacher, Theylingen, +and myself, two seamen (Spence and Balls), Dain Matara, a son-in-law of the Bonthian Rajah, and six footmen. Provisions for +four days were on one of the horses, and a goodly stock of fowling-pieces, beside my mountain barometer. The plain was soon +cleared; and three hoursʼ ride by a good horse-path brought us to the village of Senua, consisting of a dozen houses. We found +the inhabitants hospitable, and took refuge from a heavy squall of wind and rain in the best house the place afforded. During +the rain the thermometer sunk to 76°, but rose directly afterward. At half-past one the rain cleared away, but we were detained +until three by the Bugis getting their dinner. During this time I strayed along the sparkling <a id="d0e1500"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1500">73</a>]</span>stream which runs by the village, and after enjoying a bathe, called to horse, in order to proceed. Great was my surprise, +however, to be told by the rajahʼs son-in-law that he supposed we were going back. A discussion arose,—he declaring there +was no road for the horses, and that we could not go farther; while I insisted, if he would not advance, I should continue +my journey on foot. After much time had been lost, our guide set off slowly and reluctantly, and we proceeded for two or three +miles, when, finding our head turned to the southward, and the road descending, I again called a halt, and was once more told +it was not possible to mount farther. A scheme had been formed to lead us round about, and take us gradually down, until too +late to mount again. A long parley ensued; both parties seemed resolute; and it finished by our unloading the baggage-horse, +and making a small parcel of necessaries to carry on foot. Our guide, however, never intended matters to go so far, and we +finished at last by taking half the horses, and allowing him (the rajahʼs son-in-law) to descend with the rest. This being +done, we had to retrace our road nearly to Senua; and a little before sunset our party crossed an awkward stream, and struck +into the path up the mountains. + +</p> +<p>“A short walk brought us to Lengan Lengang about dusk, where we put up for the night. For the first time, this day I saw the +cockatoo in his wild state; I was within easy shot of two of them, but the stream lay between us, and I felt some compunction +at shooting these favorite birds. + +</p> +<p>“Lourikeets were in great plenty, and many varieties of pigeons and doves, beside other birds. Near Lengan Lengang we encountered +a community of dusky baboons, many of them very large and powerful: after a hard scramble I got within shot of them; on my +firing the first barrel, the young ones and females made off, but the leaders of the band disdained to retreat, and, with +threatening gestures and grimaces, covered the retreat of their party. The consequence was, I sacrificed one of these heroes, +of a large size: he fell from the branch on which he was seated into a deep valley, and his fall completed the rout of the +rest. Spence, in the mean <a id="d0e1506"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1506">74</a>]</span>time, having arrived, I dispatched him to secure the prize; but at the bottom of the valley the baboons again showed themselves, +and manifested every inclination to fall on him; another barrel put them to flight, and between us we dragged the fallen hero +to the horses. + +</p> +<p>“The village of Lengan Lengang consists of about a dozen houses, is situated in a nook of the hills, and surrounded by cocoanut-trees. +We were accommodated in the principal house, and treated with every hospitality. The people of the hills are poor, though +their land is fertile, and produces abundance of rice and Indian corn. Theft is said to be common, especially of horses, and +the care of the horses belonging to travelers devolves on the villagers; for, in case a horse is stolen, a fine is imposed +on the population in general. To prevent this misfortune, our hosts kept playing, as long as we could bear it, on an instrument +like a clarinet; but at twelve oʼclock, after trying in vain to sleep, we were obliged to stop the noise and risk the horses. + +</p> +<p>“This instrument is about three feet long, with five or six holes, and a flat mouthpiece on the cane-tube; the sound is musical +when gently breathed into, but in their usual mode of playing, it emits frightful shrieks. During the night the thermometer +sunk to 69°, and we were glad of our blankets. + +</p> +<p>“<i>21st.</i>—Rose between five and six. Took some barometrical observations, and at half-past six continued our upward way. As far as +Lengan Lengang the country presents beautiful woodland and mountain scenery, with luxuriant vegetation, thickly wooded valleys, +and sparkling streams. The flats and valleys are occupied by rice-grounds, and the pasturage is of the very finest description +for all sorts of cattle: the grass short and rich. Lengan Lengang is the last point where the cocoanut or other palms is seen; +but there it grows remarkably well, and attains a great height. Above this point the wood, generally speaking, becomes smaller, +and the vegetation more coarse, the hills being covered with a rank high grass, and ferns, similar to those in England. Three +hoursʼ slow traveling brought us to the village of Lokar, situated at the foot of the peak of that name. I mounted, while +breakfast was <a id="d0e1517"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1517">75</a>]</span>preparing, nearly to the top, and up to the belt of thick wood which surrounds the last 100 or 150 feet. Observations were +repeated here, showing a great fall of the mercury, and afterward taken at the village. Lokar consists of a few scattered +huts, situated amid gardens of fruit and vegetables: the mango, the guava, the jack, and the plantain, with cabbages and Indian +corn, compose the stock of the inhabitants; the latter constitutes their principal food, and is granaried for use in large +quantities, not only in the house, but on frameworks of bamboo without, on which it is thickly hung in rows, with the head +downward, to protect it from the weather. The highest summit, called Lumpu Balong, was visible when we first arrived, some +miles in advance: at breakfast-time the clouds entirely covered it, and rolled down upon Lokar in heavy rain, driving us into +a miserable hut for shelter. + +</p> +<p>“During the rain the thermometer fell to 70°. At 3 P.M. started for some huts we saw at the foot of Lumpu Balong, having first +sent our horses back to Lengan Lengang, being assured their farther progress was impracticable. When, however, our guide from +Lokar understood our intention of reaching Lumpu Balong, he objected to proceed, on the plea that the village in advance was +inhabited by people from Turatte. We managed to coax him on, and, after two and a half hoursʼ walk, reached Parontalas. The +country, ascending gradually, becomes more and more wild; the wood stunted; and the streams, finding their way through masses +of rock, leave strong traces of their occasional violence. Parontalas stands on the edge of the forest which skirts Lumpu +Balong, from which it has not long been retrieved. It consists of a few scattered huts, far apart. Potatoes, tobacco, and +coffee are grown here, the former in great abundance. Like the rest of the people, their food consists of Indian corn; and, +as in the other villages, they breed horses. Our host of Parontalas was very polite, and gave us some fowls and the accommodation +of his house; the latter, indeed, was needful, for we were all badly provided with covering, and the mountain air was raw +and cold. To our request for guides to ascend the mountain <a id="d0e1521"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1521">76</a>]</span>he replied, that it was necessary to consult the head man of the district, who lived some little distance off. In the interim +we made ourselves very happy, determined to ascend with or without a guide or guides. We lay down at nine, in order to be +ready for the morningʼs work, the thermometer standing at 59° in the house. + +</p> +<p>“<i>22d.</i>—At five, when we rose, the thermometer stood at 56° in the air. The head man had arrived, and willingly gave us guides, warning +us only of the difficulty of the ascent. Nothing could exceed the kindness and attention of this simple old man. He remembered +the time the English had the country, and spoke of his peopleʼs respect for our nation, and their regret that we had left +the country. At 6 A.M. we started, and, after walking about a mile, plunged into the belt of forest which environs Lumpu Balong. +From six till half-past two, we were alternately ascending and descending, scrambling over rocks or fallen timber, or cutting +a path through the most tangled thicket that ever tore the wayfarer. To add to our difficulty, during the latter half of the +ascent, we could procure no water, which caused us considerable suffering. At length, however, we stood at the summit of Lumpu +Balong, and looked, on either side, over a vast sea of fleecy clouds which rolled beneath. The top is a narrow ridge, covered +with stunted trees and luxuriant moss; and a second peak to the westward, of rather less elevation, is separated from it by +a declivity. I climbed to the top of a tree to look along the mountain, and make certain that we were at the highest point; +and having convinced myself of this, I proceeded with the barometric observations, which were concluded by 3 P.M.; for it +was highly necessary to get down before night overtook us in the dreary and inhospitable forest. Our thirst, too, was tormenting, +and increased by hearing the fall of a torrent deep in the valley to the northward. + +</p> +<p>“As far as I could observe, the northern face of the mountain was perpendicular, and the ascent on that side would have been +attended with greater difficulty than from the point we chose. Our way down was easier, <a id="d0e1530"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1530">77</a>]</span>and the descent was made as expeditiously as the nature of the ground would allow. Having fairly worn our shoes off our feet, +we were pierced by brambles and thorns in a cruel manner. Our guide, in going down, discovered a tree with a bee-hive in it +containing great store of honey. The Bugis instantly attacked the tree, on seeing which my first impression was, that it would +be prudent to retreat to a distance; but their composure induced me to remain; and, to my surprise, when the tree was laid +open, the honey was taken out in large quantities, and the bees brushed off the comb without offering to sting. Though flying +round about us, and on the hands of all the people, they were quite innocent of harm; and I conclude, therefore, they were +different from the common honey-bee. The honey was excellent, and refreshed us for a few minutes, but ultimately only added +to our thirst. At length, about five, we reached a stream of water, and quenched our thirst with draughts of the coolest and +most limpid mountain stream. The Bugis, though, like ourselves, they had been, without any water from nine oʼclock in the +morning till five in the evening, refused to drink, alleging that it was highly injurious after eating honey! Glad were we, +just at dark, to get clear of the forest; and a short walk farther brought us to our temporary dwelling. We were much knocked +up, and very much torn with the thorns. A brief dinner and a delicious cigar, and we lay down to sleep—not even incommoded +by the cold, which kept us awake the last night. + +</p> +<p>“<i>23d.</i>—Having, through mistake, forgotten to bring up any money, I had no means of repaying the obligations received from these +simple hill-people except <i>by promises</i>. My old friend ordered the guide of yesterday to accompany us to the plains, to receive his own payment, and to bring some +things, for others, up there. At ten we hobbled forth, very foot-sore, and lacking proper covering for our feet. The prospect +of four or five hoursʼ walk to Lengan Lengang was very unpleasant; and in proportion to our expected pain was our gratification +on meeting <i>all</i> our horses within three miles of Parontalas—<i>all</i> the horses, which all the men swore could not, by any possibility, ascend, were there; <a id="d0e1546"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1546">78</a>]</span>and though without saddles and bridles, or the Bugis, we were too glad to mount. We went down by another road. Four hours +brought us to Lengan Lengang, where we rested for two hours, and, remounting, reached Bonthian at about seven oʼclock in the +evening. Thus concluded this interesting excursion into a hill-region, where we attained the summit of Lumpu Balong, never +before reached by European. The Dutch officers informed me that three successive residents of Bonthian had attempted it and +failed. + +</p> +<p>“Before I conclude, I may take a brief survey of the country. The hills are generally rounded or flat at top, and not offering +any rugged or broken peaks. The scenery about Senua and Lengan Lengang is the perfection of woodland, with the picturesque +characteristics of a mountain region; the climate admirably suited, thence to the summit, for Europeans, and capable of producing +most European and tropical plants to perfection. Coffee plantations on these hills might be undertaken with certainty of success, +and there is much in the character of the natives which would facilitate the operation. To the westward of Lokar, and somewhat +lower, is a fine extensive plain, which we just skirted coming down; it was cultivated in every part, apparently with rice. +The vegetable productions of the hills I have briefly mentioned; but I may add that the wild raspberry was found, and that +wild guavas grow in the greatest abundance, as well as oranges and grapes. + +</p> +<p>“The animal kingdom, of course, we had no time to examine; but the babi rupa is said to be found in the higher regions; and +in the forest, toward the summit of Lumpu Balong, we saw the dung of wild cattle, which, I am told, are a species of urus. +The birds we saw were, paroquets of two sorts, viz., the lourikeet and a small green paroquet; a large green pigeon, specimens +of which we got; the cream-colored pigeon of Borneo, beside many others. + +</p> +<p>“The geological formation of the region I must leave to others. I brought down some specimens of the rocks and loose stones, +which are, I believe, pummice; if so, I presume the formation volcanic, similar to Java. + +</p> +<p>“<i>24th.</i>—Called on the resident, and saw the rajah. +<a id="d0e1559"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1559">79</a>]</span></p> +<p>“<i>25th.</i>—Christmas, with his jolly nose and icy hands. Here it is hot enough! Were I to live in this country, I should retire for +the season up in the mountains. Dined with the Resident of Bonthian; by no means surprised that he and his congeners had failed +in their attempt to climb the mountain: the resident is a native! In the evening, celebrated the day with all sorts of sports. + +</p> +<p>“<i>26th.</i>—Mid-day, quitted Bonthian, and ran to Boele Comba or Compa. + +</p> +<p>“<i>27th.</i>—I have little to say of Boele Comba. It is situated in the bight of the bay, eastward of Bonthian. There appears to be much, +confusion an Horsburghʼs Directory about the latitude and longitude, and the hill called after the place. This hill is the +last of the mountain-range, somewhat detached, covered with wood, of moderate elevation, and peaked. From our anchorage, two +miles from the fort, it bore N.N.W. The fort is similar to the one at Bonthian, the country pretty, and nearly level. The +Bonthian mountains (<i>i. e.</i> Lumpu Balong and the range) show steep and well in the background. Game abounds, by report. Europeans are subject to complaints +of the eyes, and occasionally to fever. Any vessel running in should be very careful, for the charts are defective, and Boele +Comba reef is said to project farther to the westward of the fort than laid down. + +</p> +<p>“I here subjoin a list of our barometric observations, the upper barometer reduced to the rate of the lower and standard one:— + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<p> <i>Senua, 20th December, 1839.</i> + + +</p> +<div class="table"> +<table width="100%"> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> </td> +<td valign="top">Bar. </td> +<td valign="top">A. </td> +<td valign="top">D. + + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">1. </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">30.054 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">86 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">87 </td> +<td valign="top" rowspan="2">3<sup>h</sup> 15<sup>m</sup> P.M. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">2. </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">28.385 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">79 </td> +<td valign="top">80 + +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p><i>Lengan Lengang, 21st December.</i> + +</p> +<div class="table"> +<table width="100%"> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> </td> +<td valign="top">Bar. </td> +<td valign="top">A. D. + + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">1. </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">30.119 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">79 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">78.5 </td> +<td valign="top">6<sup>h</sup> 30<sup>m</sup> A.M. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">2. </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">27.988 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">70 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">69.5 </td> +<td valign="top">6<sup>h</sup> 0<sup>m</sup> ” + +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p><i>Lokar Peak, 21st December, 100 feet below summit.</i> + +</p> +<div class="table"> +<table width="100%"> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> </td> +<td valign="top">Bar. </td> +<td valign="top">A. </td> +<td valign="top">D. + + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">1. </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">30.095 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">90 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">90 </td> +<td valign="top" rowspan="2">10<sup>h</sup> 30<sup>m</sup> A.M. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">2. </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">25.975 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">79 </td> +<td valign="top">79 + +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div><p> + +<a id="d0e1711"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1711">80</a>]</span> + + +</p> +<p><i>Hill on the way to Lumpu Balong, 22d December.</i> + +</p> +<div class="table"> +<table width="100%"> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> </td> +<td valign="top">Bar. </td> +<td valign="top">A. </td> +<td valign="top">D. + + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">1. </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">30.144 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">90 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">90 </td> +<td valign="top">Mean between 8<sup>h</sup> and noon. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">2. </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">23.612 ... </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">66 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">65.5 </td> +<td valign="top">10<sup>h</sup> 40<sup>m</sup> A.M. + +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p><i>Lumpu Balong Peak, 22d December.</i> + +</p> +<div class="table"> +<table width="100%"> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> </td> +<td valign="top">Bar. </td> +<td valign="top">A. </td> +<td valign="top">D. + + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">1. </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">30.146 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">89.5 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">90.5 </td> +<td valign="top">2<sup>h</sup> 0<sup>m</sup> P.M. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">2. </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">23.718 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">64 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">63.5 </td> +<td valign="top">2<sup>h</sup> 30<sup>m</sup> ” + +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div><p> + +</p> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p><i>28th.</i>—Leaving Boele Comba after breakfast, we shaped our course for Point Berak. + +</p> +<p>“With the richest country, the natives of these places are poor, and they bear no good-will to their rulers. It is likewise +certain that few active measures are resorted to for forwarding the development of the native character and local resources. +The resident is a Macassar-born native, and this fact alone speaks volumes for the mode and manner of government. The people +of the country I found a kind and simple race; and though they are accused of pride and laziness by their masters, I could +not, circumstances taken into consideration, discover any trace, of the latter vice, and the former I can readily forgive +them. That the Bugis are not an indolent race is well proved by their whole conduct, wherever circumstances offer any inducement +to exertion. Even here, the cleared country and the neat cultivation prove them far otherwise; and traces are visible everywhere +on the mountains of their having been more highly cultivated than at present. Coffee plantations once flourished, and being +destroyed during a war, years ago, have never been renewed. Inclosures and partition walls in decay are very frequent, marking +the former boundary of cultivation. That they are independent enough to be proud, I honor them for! The officers allowed they +were courageous, and one designated them as ‘<i lang="fr">fier comme un Espagnol</i>;’ and, on the whole, no doubt exists in my mind that they are people easily to be roused to exertion, either agricultural +or commercial; their sullen and repulsive manners toward their masters rather indicating a dislike to their sway, and the +idleness complained of only proving that the profits of labor are lower than they ought to be. +<a id="d0e1818"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1818">81</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Nothing so strongly marks the degradation of a race or nation as a cheerful acquiescence under a foreign rule. The more virtuous, +the more civilized, the more educated a people, the more turbulent, indolent, and sullen, when reduced to a state of subjection; +the fewer qualities will they have to please their masters, when foreign rule is oppressive, or looks solely to the advantage +of the country of the conquerors, and not of the conquered. There is no race will willingly submit: the bayonet and the sword, +the gallows and the whip, imprisonment and confiscation, must be constantly at work to keep them under. + +</p> +<p>“Leaving Boele Comba, as I before said, we shaped our course for Tanjong Berak, passing between that point and the north island. +The passage is excellent, clear of all danger, as far as we could see, with deep water. The rocks reported to exist by Horsburgh, +and put down on Norieʼs chart, have no existence. The Bugis prahus always use this channel, and know them not; and the captain +of a Dutch cruiser informed me that he had often run through the passage at night, and that it was clear of all danger or +obstruction. + +</p> +<p>“My own observation went to verify the fact, for every part of the passage appears deep and clear, and we passed over the +spots where these rocks are marked. Approaching Tanjong Berak, there is a sandy beach, where a vessel may get anchorage in +case the wind dies away. The tides in the channel are strong; here, and along the south coast, the ebb runs from the eastward, +the flood from the west. Having cleared the channel, we hauled into the Bay of Boni, which, although running in a north and +south direction, has some headlands extending to the eastward. There are two places marked on the chart, viz. Berak and Tĭero; +but these, instead of being towns or villages, are names of districts; the first, reaching from Tanjong Berak, about 15 miles, +till it joins Tĭero; Tĭero, extending from the northern confine of Berak to Tanjong Labu, 15 miles in all. To the northward +and eastward is a high island called Balunrueh. From Tanjong Berak the water along the coast is very deep; no soundings with +50 fathoms. Toward evening we went into Tĭero Bay, a pretty secluded <a id="d0e1825"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1825">82</a>]</span>spot. The southern part of the bay is foul, having a reef visible at low water, The northern headland has a spit running from +it, with 14 fathom half a mile (or little more) off. Within the bay there is no bottom with 50 fathom till near its northern +extremity, where the water shoals suddenly. Running in, in a squall, we got into 3¼ fathom, where we anchored. This country +belongs to the Dutch as far as Point Labu. + +</p> +<p>“<i>29th.</i>—Calm all day. Sounded the bay: the southern point has a steep coral reef nearly a quarter of a mile off. The southern part +of the bay is inclosed by a reef, part of which seems to me artificial, for the purpose of catching fish, and is shallow: +outside the reef the water is deep dose to. The western shore is lined by a reef close to it, and the water is deep. The center +part of the bay is very deep; and within 100 yards of where we lay we got no bottom at 17 fathoms. The next cast was 6, and +the next 3 fathoms—hard clay bottom. A small river discharges itself, in the northern part, inside the anchorage: there is +a considerable depth within, but the bar is shallow. The scenery on the river is beautiful; wild at first, and gradually becoming +undulating and cultivated. Birds are plenty: cockatoos abound, of which I shot two. This part of the country possesses considerable +geological interest: the hills round the bay are of slight elevation; and 80 or 100 feet from the sea level are large masses +of coral rock, upheaved by some convulsion. + +</p> +<p>“<i>30th.</i>—Under weigh. Brought up in 23 fathoms, amid the coral shoals. + +</p> +<p>“<i>31st.</i>—Visited the island of Balunrueh for sights. + +</p> +<p>“Tanjong Labu is bluff and bold, and of moderate elevation. The land from thence trends away westward, forming a long bay, +which, for distinction, may be called Labu Bay, at the N.W. part of which is the town of Songĭ, the principal place about +here. Between Labu and Songĭ are the following countries: Kupi Kajang, Pakah, Buah, Kalaku, Baringan, and Magnarabunbang; +each with a separate petty rajah. The country is moderately well cleared; about an average height, near the shore, of 300 +feet; with few habitations about, but no towns or villages. The mountain <a id="d0e1844"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1844">83</a>]</span>range throws a spur downward to the sea in the vicinity of Songĭ and the fine peaks of Lumpu Balong; and Wawa Karang, with +the <i>confusion</i> of mountains, form a magnificent background to the prospect. From Magnarabunbang the land runs away to the eastward toward +Tanjong Salanketo, which must be described on a future occasion. In the offing are several islands and numerous reefs. The +principal island is Balunrueh, 400 or 500 feet high; bold, steep, and covered with trees, except at its northern extremity; +where it is low, with a sandy point. Off this north point runs a coral reef; direction 354°, and extent about two miles. At +the S.W. angle of the island there is likewise a reef stretching half a mile; and the shores all round, for a short distance, +are lined with coral, outside of which the water is apparently very deep. We could get no soundings with a hand lead, half +a mile to the westward. + +</p> +<p>“Off Balunrueh, to the S.E., is the islet of Liang Liang; next to Liang Liang, Tanbunoh, which is larger; then Cadingareh +Batantampeh (the largest), Cotingduan Lariahriah, and two islands to the northward called Canallo. Balunrueh and Batantampeh +have both indifferent fresh water; the former near the low point at the north end. From the S.W. end of Liang Liang a reef +runs out. The bearing, from the small hill, over the watering place of Balunrueh, was 77°. The reef extends to 104°, and stretches +to the southward beside: near Liang Liang it is narrow. Its limits I could not define. + +</p> +<p>“Between Liang Liang and Tanbunoh a narrow reef, and spits from most of the islands. Two patches lay off Balunrueh about two +miles and a half: the first, bearing 319°, is narrow, and about half a mile long; the other smaller, and bearing 287°. Part +of the day we passed on Balunrueh was very hot; but we got satisfactory sights, and sailed round the island, returning to +the vessel about six in the evening. + +</p> +<p>“I must now return to Labu, to give some account of the channel between the reefs; as, from the appearance of the charts, +it would seem impossible to navigate the western side of the bay. Having passed Tanjong Labu <a id="d0e1855"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1855">84</a>]</span>at a distance of 3½ or 4 miles, get the flat-topped hill called Bulu Tanna ahead. Close to the Bulu Tanna, in the foreground, +is another smaller hill, with two remarkable tufts on the top: this hill, just open to the eastward of Bulu Tanna, is the +leading mark for Songĭ, which stands to the westward. This mark will lead clear, or very nearly so, of all the reefs; but +as there is uncertainty in the distance from Tanjong Labu, it may be necessary to diverge from the straight course in order +to avoid some of the patches. In the daytime the coral is seen with the greatest ease; and a vessel with a lookout aloft, +and a breeze, may proceed with safely. The first reef is on the starboard hand; part was dry, and shoal-water about. This +first patch is in the proximity of the great reef called Melompereh, which runs to the eastward. Beside these, the channel +is occasionally lined by patches on either hand; but is nowhere narrower than a mile and a half, and is anything but difficult +navigation, so far, in clear weather. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Jan. 4th, 1840.</i>—Arrived off Songĭ on the 1st, and dispatched a boat to the old Rajah, or Rana, of Lamatte. Our answer was, that not, having +been to Boni, she feared receiving us, as she felt inclined; but if we would come to her house, she should be glad to see +us. On the following day, accordingly, we paid our visit at her residence, which is situated about four miles up the river +Tanca. + +</p> +<p>“The old lady is about sixty-five years of age, and (as she herself informed us) very poor. Her house, indeed, bears every +mark of great poverty; having a leaky roof, and not sufficient matting to cover the bamboo floors. She was kind, and seemed +pleased to see us; said I should henceforward be her son, and that nothing but her fear of the Boni Rajah prevented her receiving +me in the best way in her power; but pointing to the roof and to the floor, she repeated, ‘I have nothing.’ I presented her +with such articles as I thought would be acceptable to her; and, in return, she gave me a sarong. + +</p> +<p>“The population of the country is considerable. The last district I mentioned was Magnarabunbang. The town of that name, on +the sea-side, consists of forty-five <a id="d0e1866"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1866">85</a>]</span>houses, beside a roving population of Badjows. Along the coast to the eastward, and close to Magnarabunbang, is the river +of Songĭ. Proceeding up this shallow river, the first village is Tacolompeh, situated on the right bank, and consisting of +twenty houses; nearly opposite the village of Pangassa, of thirteen houses; and farther up, about four miles from the riverʼs +mouth, stands Songĭ, consisting of 164 houses on the right bank, and 60 on the left. These places are all on the low ground, +and surrounded with cocoanut-trees. + +</p> +<p>“Joining the district of Magnarabunbang, on the coast, is Lamatte, the rajanate of our old friend. The river, like the Songĭ, +is shallow, and running through very low ground. On the left bank is Luppa, consisting of twenty-five houses; then, on the +right, Ulo, twenty-two houses; and above Ulo comes Ulluē, of twelve houses. Nearly opposite Ulluē is Balammepa, with thirty +houses, superior to the others, and inhabited by merchants who have made money in trading voyages. This village sends yearly +two prahus to Singapore. Just above Ulluē stand seven houses; and above Balammepa is Tanca, the residence of the Rajah of +Lamatte, consisting of ten houses. The streams, as I have said, are shallow, and the ground low, neatly cultivated with Indian +corn, and abounding in cocoanut-trees. Behind Magnarabunbang there is a narrow strip of low ground, which becomes wider as +it advances to the eastward, with here and there moderate elevations. + +</p> +<p><span id="d0e1871" class="corr" title="Source: ">“</span>The chief product of the country is coffee, which is grown in great quantities on the hills, but brought down as it ripens, +when it is collected by the Bugis merchants for their yearly shipments. The yearly produce is stated to be 2000 coyans or +80,000 peculs. The price is from fifteen to sixteen Java rupees the pecul; to which must be added the trouble and expense +of storing and clearing from the inner skin. Tortoise-shell is brought in by the Badjows; and mother-of-pearl shells in any +quantity there is demand for. Taking the number of houses in this small space, above described, the total will be 308 houses, +which reckoned at the low estimate of eight persons for each house, will give 2464 inhabitants; this, however, is far below +the proper estimate, <a id="d0e1874"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1874">86</a>]</span>as there are villages scattered between the rivers, and numbers of detached houses; in all, therefore, safely computed at +5000 persons<span id="d0e1876" class="corr" title="Source: ,">.</span> The villages, with the exception of Balammepa, have an aspect of poverty, and the country is ravaged by that frightful scourge +the small-pox, and likewise some cases apparently of cholera, from the account given of the complaint. Near the hill of Bulu +Tanna there is a hot spring, and likewise, by the report of the natives, some slight remains of an old building. I regretted +much not seeing these; but the natives, with much politeness, begged me not to go previous to my visit to Boni, as they would +be answerable for allowing strangers to see the country without orders from the chief rajah. All I see and hear convinces +me that the Rajah of Boni has great power over the entire country. On a friendly communication with him, therefore, depends +our chance of seeing something of the interior. + +</p> +<p>“The inhabitants here are polite, but shy and reserved: and the death of the Rana of Songĭ and the absence of the Rajah Mooda, +her reported successor, have been against us. + +</p> +<p>“<i>5th.</i>—Sailing from Songĭ about 4 <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span>, we directed our course for Tanjong Salanketo. The breeze was stiff, which caused us to use considerable precaution in sailing +among the shoals. Assisted by a native Nacòdah, by name Dain Pativi, we were enabled to keep the tortuous channel, of which +otherwise we should have been ignorant. A little farther than the Tanca river is a shoal stretching from the shore, to avoid +which we kept Canallo on our lee bow: this being cleared, we gradually luffed up, ran between two shoals, and passed several +others.” + + + +<a id="d0e1889"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1889">87</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e1890" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER VII.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Mr. Brookeʼs second visit to Sarāwak.—The civil war.—Receives a present of a Dyak boy.—Excursion to the seat of war.—Notices +of rivers, and settlements on their banks.—Deaths and burials.—Reasons for and against remaining at Sarāwak.—Dyak visitors.—Council +of war.—Why side with the Rajah.—Mode of constructing forts.—State of enemyʼs and Rajahʼs forces.—Conduct of the war. +</p> +</div> +<p>Mr. Brooke continued his cruise for some time, and made very interesting collections of natural history, beside acquiring +much insight into the native history, language, and customs, his detailed remarks on which it is to be hoped he will at a +future day give to the public. He then returned to Singapore, where he was detained for several months by ill health; but +availed himself of the opportunity to recopper and refit the Royalist, and set everything else in order for his next visit +to Sarāwak, the remarkable results of which are related in the following pages. Still sick and languid though he was, the +very air of Borneo, and the prospect of activity, seemed to restore him to life, after the listless rest at Singapore, with +“nothing to observe;” and only cheered by the kindest attentions and hospitalities of the inhabitants of that interesting +and important settlement. + +</p> +<p>On the second visit of Mr. Brooke to Sarāwak, about the end of August, 1840, he found the inhabitants in nearly the same state +as at first, although there was much talk of reinforcements, and decisive measures for bringing the war to a close. The two +parties lay within thirty miles of each other, the rebels holding the upper part of the river, and communication with the +interior. The sultan, however, had sent down the Orang Kaya de Gadong to take more active measures, and his arrival stimulated +Muda Hassim to something like exertion. This occurred on the fourth September, 1840, as appears by Mr. Brookeʼs journal, from +which I shall give various extracts indicative not only of the character of my friend, whose ideas were written down at the +time the impressions were made, but also supplying a distinct picture of the progress of this novel and amusing civil warfare, +<a id="d0e1900"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1900">88</a>]</span>and demonstrating the unwarlike character of the Sarāwak Borneons. + +</p> +<p>“An army of mixed Malays and Dyaks was raised to attack the Dyak tribes in rebellion, and this service was successfully performed; +the rebel Dyaks were defeated, and most of them have since come over to the rajah. Their forces being weakened by desertion, +were reported not to amount to more than 400 or 500 men, in four or five forts situated on the river; and it now remained +to drive them from their last stronghold of resistance. It was confidently asserted by the rajah and Macota, that, were it +not for the underhand assistance of the Sultan of Sambas, who had constantly supplied them with food and ammunition, the insurgents +would long since have been dispersed. + +</p> +<p>“At the period in question they were said to be in great distress for want of provisions; and as a force was collecting to +attack them from various quarters, it was greatly to be hoped that the war was verging to a termination. During my weekʼs +stay I have frequently visited Muda Hassim, and he has likewise been on board: our good understanding knows no interruption; +and these savage, treacherous, bloodthirsty Borneons are our good friends, with whom we chat and laugh every evening in familiar +converse. I find no cause to alter my last yearʼs opinion, that they have few active vices; but indolence is the root of their +evils. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Sept. 7th.</i>—Last night I received a strange and embarrassing present, in the shape of a young Dyak boy of five years old—a miserable +little prisoner, made during this war, from the tribe of Brong. The gift caused me vexation, because I knew not what to do +with the poor innocent; and yet I shrink from the responsibility of adopting him. My first wish is to return him to his parents +and his tribe; and if I find I cannot do this, I believe it will be bettor to carry him with me than leave him to become the +slave of a slave: for should I send him back, such will probably be his fate. I wish the present had been a calf instead of +a child. + +</p> +<p>“<i>9th.</i>—Situ, my Dyak boy, seems content and happy; and judging by his ways, and his fondness for tobacco, he must be older than +I at first supposed. In pursuance <a id="d0e1916"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1916">89</a>]</span>of my desire to restore him to his parents I made every inquiry as to their probable fate; but have learned nothing that leaves +me any hope that I shall be able to do so. The Brong tribe having taken part with the rebels, were attacked by the rajahʼs +people; and many were killed and the rest scattered. Pino, the Brong, knows not whether Situʼs parents are alive or dead; +nor, if the former, whither they have fled. Supposing my endeavors to restore the child fail, I have resolved to keep him +with me, for many reasons. The first is that his future prospects will be better, and his fate as a freeman at Singapore happier, +than as a slave in Borneo; the second, that he can be made a Christian. I can easily provide for him in some respectable household, +or take him to England, as may hereafter be most advantageous for him; and at the former place he can always be made a comfortable +servant with good training. Yet with all this, I cannot disguise from myself that there is responsibility—a heavy moral responsibility—attached +to this course, that might be avoided: but then, <i>should</i> it be avoided? Looking to the boyʼs interests—temporal, perhaps, eternal—I think it ought not; and so, provided always I +cannot place him where humanity and nature dictate, I will take the responsibility, and serve this wretched and destitute +child as far as lies in my power. He is cast on my compassion; I solemnly accept the charge; and I trust his future life may +bear good fruit and cause me to rejoice at my present decision. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Oct. 2d.</i>—Lying at Sarāwak, losing valuable time, but pending the war difficult to get away; for whenever the subject is mentioned, +Muda Hassim begs me not to desert him just as it is coming to a close; and daily holds out prospects of the arrival of various +Dyak tribes. The rajah urged upon me that he was deceived and betrayed by the intrigues of Pangerans, who aimed at alienating +his country; and that if I left him, he should probably have to remain here for the rest of his life, being resolved to die +rather than yield to the unjust influence which others were seeking to acquire over him; and he appealed to me that after +our friendly communication I could not, as an Engliah gentleman, desert him under such circumstances. I felt that honorably +I could not do so; and <a id="d0e1926"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1926">90</a>]</span>though reluctantly enough, I resolved to give him the aid he asked;—small indeed, but of consequence in such a petty warfare. + +</p> +<p>“<i>3d.</i>—I started to join Macota at Leda Tanah. At 4h. 30m. <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span> a pouring rain delayed us some time: and darkness setting in, rendered our pull a long and very disagreeable one. We did +not reach Leda Tanah until eleven, when we found <i>the army</i> in their boats, and a small fort they had built on the bank of the river. I moved into Macotaʼs large boat, and slept there; +while he, as commander-in-chief, went backward and forward from one post to another during the night. + +</p> +<p>“<i>4th.</i>—At Leda Tanah the river divided into two branches; one part running past Siniawan, and the other to the left—likewise to +another point of the mountain-range. Above Siniawan is Sarambo, a high detached mountain, perhaps 3000 feet in height, with +a notch in the center. Off Leda Tanah is a sand and pebble bank formed by the junction of the two streams, and the country +around is well cleared for this part; while the graves on the right bank bear witness to the population of former days. It +is represented to have been a flourishing place, and the neighborhood well inhabited, until the breaking out of this unhappy +war. The situation is delightful, and advantageously chosen at the confluence of the two streams. + +</p> +<p>“<i>5th.</i>—Ascended that to the left for a short distance. On the left hand, just above Leda Tanah, is the small creek of Sarāwak, the +original settlement, and from which the larger river now takes its name. I intended to have returned to-day; but as the weather +threatened another deluge, I stopped till the following morning. It was a curious sight to see the whole army bathe, with +the commander-in-chief at their head, and his Pangerans. The fare of these people is anything but luxurious, for they get +nothing but rice and salt; and they were thankful in proportion for the small supplies of tea, sugar, and biscuit I was able +to spare them. + +</p> +<p>“<i>6th.</i>—Quitted Leda Tanah, and reached the Royalist in five hours, one of which we were delayed by the way. The river is remarkably +pretty; banks cleared of jungle, with fine trees, and a view of the <a id="d0e1954"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1954">91</a>]</span>mountains. Many parts are exceedingly shallow; but the natives state there is a channel for a moderate-sized vessel as far +as Leda Tanah.” + +</p> +<p>On Mr. Brookeʼs return on board the Royalist, he found his steward Rankin, who had been lingering some time, still alive; +and a seaman named Daniel, whom he had left with a slight fever, suddenly expired at ten at night in a fainting fit. He writes +in his journal: “It is difficult to allege the immediate cause of his death, which probably arose from some organic complaint +of the heart or the brain, quite independent of fever. Five minutes before his decease the manʼs pulse was high and full. +The steward will follow in a few days; and death, which has never before entered on board, will thus strike two blows. To +me it is a satisfaction that neither is in any way attributable to climate. + +</p> +<p>“<i>7th.</i>—Muda Hassim rendered me every assistance. A grave was prepared, and wood for a coffin, so that by two oʼclock we proceeded +to inter the dead. His last resting-place was situated on a gently rising ground behind the Chinamenʼs houses. The ensign +was placed over his simple bier, and he was carried by his shipmates to the grave. All who could be spared attended, and I +performed the service—that impressive and beautiful service of the Church of England. + +</p> +<p>“<i>8th.</i>—Having the melancholy duty of yesterday over was a relief, only alloyed by the sad prospect of a near recurrence. I now turned +my mind seriously to departure, having well weighed the pros and cons of the subject. + +</p> +<p>“In the first place, the greatest advantage would result from my accompanying the rajah along the coast of Borneo; and if +I could hope a reasonable time would leave him free to go there, I would wait spite of the season: for it is evident that +by myself I should have to form fresh connections among the chiefs, and without that I reckon it next to impossible to penetrate +even a moderate distance from the coast in a strange place. The next reason is, that it has been intimated to me that a rival +faction, headed by Pangeran Usop, exists in Borneo Proper, and that that Pangeran, from <a id="d0e1970"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1970">92</a>]</span>my known friendship to Muda Hassim, might endeavor to injure me, <i>i. e.</i> kill me. At any rate, during Muda Hassimʼs absence, I should be obstructed in all my proceedings, and could not do more than +sketch the bare coast-line. These are strong and cogent reasons for remaining <i>for a time</i>, if the ultimate object be attainable; and to these may be added my own feelings—my reluctance to quit the rajah in the midst +of difficulty and distress, and his <i>very very sad face</i> whenever I mention the topic. + +</p> +<p>“On the other hand must be weighed the approach of the adverse monsoon, the loss of time, and the failure of provisions, which, +though but luxuries to gentlemen which they can readily dispense with, are nevertheless necessaries to seamen, without which +they get discontented, perhaps mutinous. There are good reasons on both sides. + +</p> +<p>“<i>9th.</i>—I sent Williamson to intimate my approaching departure; and when I went in the evening the little man had such a sorrowful +countenance that my heart smote me. When I told him I would remain if there were the slightest chance of a close to the war, +his countenance cleared, and he gaily repeated that my fortune and his would bring this struggle to an end, though others +forsook him. I then consented to await the issue a few days longer, and to revisit Leda Tanah to ascertain if the news were +true. It ran to the effect that the rebels, under the Patingi and Tumangong, are fortified at the foot of the mountain of +Sarambo, on which hill are three Dyak tribes below that of Sarambo; over them Bombak; and on the summit the Paninjow. The +Bombak and Paninjow have already, in part, joined Macota, and the Sarambo are to come in as to-day. These three last Dyak +tribes deserting the rebels will leave them surrounded in their forts, which are commanded by the rest of the hill; and everything +promises well, if the opportunity be vigorously used. The Sow and the Singè are in part at Leda Tanah, and more Dyaks daily +joining. I must push the rajah on to action, for help from without is not likely to come. Yet I wish still more to accommodate +matters; and if he would spare the leaders’ lives, I believe they would <a id="d0e1988"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1988">93</a>]</span>lay down their arms on my guaranty. But though he does not say that he will kill them, he will listen to no terms of compromise; +and when I reflect that a European monarch, in the same circumstances, would act in the same way—that the laws of my own country +would condemn the men for the same offence—I cannot urge the subject into a personal matter. + +</p> +<p>“<i>16th.</i>—Rankinʼs (my stewardʼs) death having been some time inevitable, it was a relief when the event occurred. He was cut off in +the flower of manhood, from the effects of hard drinking, which even his fine constitution could not resist. I buried him +near the other man, and had a neat inscription, with the name of the individual, his ship and age, placed over each. + +</p> +<p>“Days passed on, but not quite unrelieved by events. And now I may positively state, that the war will be over in a few days, +or not over at all. The first of these events was the desertion of the Dyaks, and the arrival of their chiefs with Macota. +Next arrived 200 Chinese from Sambas, under a very intelligent capitan. Rajah Ali came next, bringing some ourang-outangsʼ +heads; then Datu Naraja; and lastly, Pangeran Jedut from Sarebus, with the information that the Dyaks of that name, in consequence +of a war with Linga, would not come here. Thus they not only refused to come themselves, but obliged the Linga people to stay +at home to defend their country. To quiet this coast the Sarebus should receive a severe lesson. + +</p> +<p>“<i>17th.</i>—I had a large party of Dyaks on board in the evening, viz. the Singè, Sow, Bombak, and Paninjow, in all about fifteen men +and two old chiefs. They ate and drank, and asked for everything, but stole nothing. One man wore a necklace of beads set +with human teeth, taken of course in war, which I got from him for two yards of red cloth. Another was ornamented with a necklace +of bearsʼ teeth; and several had such a profusion of small white beads about their necks as to resemble the voluminous foldings +of the old fashioned cravat. As far as I could observe, they all seemed in earnest about attacking Siniawan; and their allegiance +to the rajah was as warm now (in words) as it had been heretofore defective in action. +<a id="d0e2002"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2002">94</a>]</span></p> +<p>“<i>18th.</i>—Proceeded in the long-boat to Leda Tanah, which we reached in three and a half hoursʼ pulling, and just in time to witness +the start of 150 Malays and 100 Dyaks of Lundu for the mountain of Sarambo, at the foot of which Siniawan and the enemiesʼ +forts are situated. + +</p> +<p>“<i>19th.</i>—Did everything in my power to urge Macota to advance and divert the attention of the rebels from the party going up the mountain, +but in vain: Malay-like, he would wait. + +</p> +<p>“<i>20th.</i>—I have before remarked that two rivers formed a junction at Leda Tanah; and this day I ascended the left hand stream, or, +as they call it, the Songi besar (<i>i. e.</i> great Songi). The scenery is picturesque; the banks adorned with a light and variegated foliage of <span id="d0e2021" class="corr" title="Source: fruit-itrees">fruit-trees</span>; and everywhere bearing traces of former clearing and cultivation. In the background is the range of mountains, among which +Stat is conspicuous from his noble and irregular shape. On our return, the white flag (a Hadjiʼs turban) was descried on the +mountain, being the prearranged signal that all was well. No news, however, came from the party; and in spite of the white +banner Macota took fright at the idea that the rebels had surrounded them. + +</p> +<p>“<i>21st.</i>—Detachments of Dyaks are coming in. Ten of the tribe of Sutor were dispatched as scouts; and in a few hours returned with +the welcome intelligence that the detachment was safe on the top of the mountain, and that the three tribes of Paninjow, Bombak, +and Sarambo, had finally decided on joining the rajah, and surrendering their fortified houses. Soon after this news the chiefs +of the tribes arrived with about 100 men, and were of course well received; for if chargeable with deserting their cause, +it is done with the utmost simplicity, and perfect confidence in their new associates. From their looks it was apparent they +had suffered greatly from want of food; and they frankly confessed that starvation was their principal motive for coming over. +I did all in my power to fix their new faith by presents of provisions, &c. &c.: and I think they are trustworthy; for there +is a straightforwardness about the Dyak character far different from the double-faced dealings of the <a id="d0e2029"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2029">95</a>]</span>Malay. Their stipulations were, forgiveness for the past, and an assurance that none of the Dyaks from the sea (<i>i. e.</i> Sarebus and Sakarran) should be employed; for they were, they said, hateful to their eyes. These terms being readily conceded—the +first from interest, the second from necessity—they became open and communicative on the best means of attacking the forts. +A grand council of war was held, at which were present Macota, Subtu, Abong Mia, and Datu Naraja, two Chinese leaders, and +myself—certainly a most incongruous mixture, and one rarely to be met with. After much discussion, a move close to the enemy +was determined on for to-morrow, and on the following day to take up a position near their defences. To judge by the sample +of the council, I should form very unfavorable expectations of the conduct in action. Macota is lively and active; but whether +from indisposition or want of authority, undecided. The Capitan China is lazy and silent; Subtu indolent and self-indulgent; +Abong Mia and Datu Naraja stupid. However, the event must settle the question; and, in the mean time, it was resolved that +the small stockade at this place was to be picked up, and removed to our new position, and there erected for the protection +of the fleet. I may here state my motives for being a spectator of, or participator (as may turn out), in this scene. In the +first place I must confess that curiosity strongly prompted me; since to witness the Malays, Chinese, and Dyaks in warfare +was so new, that the novelty alone might plead an excuse for this desire. But it was not the only motive; for my presence +is a stimulus to our own party, and will probably depress the other in proportion. I look upon the cause of the rajah as most +just and righteous: and the speedy close of the war would be rendering a service to humanity, especially if brought about +by treaty. At any rate much might be done to ameliorate the condition of the rebels in case of their defeat; for though I +cannot, perhaps ought not to, save the lives of the three leaders, yet all the others, I believe, will be forgiven on a slight +intercession. At our arrival, too, I had stated that if they wished me to remain, no barbarities must be committed; and especially +that the women and children must not be <a id="d0e2034"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2034">96</a>]</span>fired upon. To counterbalance these motives was the danger, whatever it might amount to, and which did not weigh heavily on +my mind. So much for reasons, which, after all, are poor and weak when we determine on doing anything, be it right or be it +wrong. <i>If</i> evil befall, I trust the penalty may be on me rather than on my followers. + +</p> +<p>“<i>22d.</i>—At daylight the fleet was astir; and in an hour the defences were cut down, the timber, bamboos, &c., formed into rafts ready +for transportation, and the stockade, by breakfast-time, had as completely vanished as though it had been bodily lifted away +by some genius of the Wonderful Lamp. Everything was ready for a start, and we waited lazily for the flood-tide; but when +it did make, the usual procrastination ensued, and there was no move till it was near done. Then, indeed, we proceeded up +about two-thirds of the way, and brought up with two good hoursʼ daylight, in spite of my remonstrances. No place could be +better calculated than where we rested for an attack upon boats: high banks covered with grass and trees offered a safe shelter +for musketry, against which no return could be made. The night, however, passed away quietly. + +</p> +<p>“<i>24th.</i>—Dawn found us on the advance to our proper position. A thick fog concealed us, and in half an hour the people were on shore +busy reërecting our fort, less than a mile from two forts of the enemy, but concealed from them by a point of the river. No +opposition was offered to us; and in a few hours a neat defence was completed from the <i>débris</i> of the former. The ground was cleared of jungle; piles driven in a square, about fifteen yards to each face; and the earth +from the center, scooped out and intermixed with layers of reeds, was heaped up about five feet high inside the piles. At +the four corners were small watch-towers, and along the parapet of earth a narrow walk connecting them. In the center space +was a house crowded by the Chinese garrison, a few of whose harmless gingalls were stuck up at the angles to intimidate rather +than to wound. While they labored at the body of the defence, the Dyaks surrounded it by an outer work, made of slight sticks +run into the ground with cross binding of split bamboo, and <a id="d0e2052"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2052">97</a>]</span>bristling with a <i lang="fr">chevaux de frise</i> (if it may be so styled) of sharpened bamboos about breast-high. The fastenings of the entire work were of rattan, which +is found in plenty. It was commenced at 7 A.M. and finished about 3 P.M., showing how the fellows can get through business +when they choose. This stockade, varying in strength according to circumstances, is the usual defence of the Sambas Chinese. +The Malays erect a simple and quicker-constructed protection by a few double uprights, filled in between with timber laid +lengthwise and supported by the uprights. Directly they are under cover, they begin to form the ranjows or sudas, which are +formidable to naked feet, and stick them about their position. Above our station was a hill which entirely commanded both +it and the river; to the top of which I mounted, and obtained an excellent view of the country around, including the enemiesʼ +forts and the town of Siniawan. A company of military might finish the war in a few hours, as these defences are most paltry, +the strongest being the fort of Balidah, against which our <i>formidable</i> assault was to be leveled. It was situated at the waterʼs edge, on a slight eminence on the right bank of the river; and +a large house with a thatched roof and a lookout house on the summit; a few swivels and a gun or two were in it, and around +it a breastwork of wood—judging from a distance, about six or seven feet high. The other defences were more insignificant +even than this; and the enemiesʼ artillery amounted, by account, to three six-pounders and numerous swivels; from 350 to 500 +men, about half of whom were armed with muskets, while the rest carried swords and spears. They were scattered in many forts, +and had a town to defend, all of which increased their weakness. Their principal arm, however, consisted in the ranjows, which +were stated to be stuck in every direction. These ranjows are made of bamboo, pointed fine and stuck in the ground; and there +are beside, holes about three feet deep, filled with these spikes, and afterward lightly covered, which are called patobong. +Another obstacle consists of a spring formed by bending back a stiff cane with a sharp bamboo attached to it, which, fastened +by a slight twine, flies forcibly against any object passing through <a id="d0e2060"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2060">98</a>]</span>the bush and brushing against it: they resemble the mole-traps of England. The Borneons have a great dread of these various +snares; and the way they deal with them is by sending out parties of Dyaks during the night to clear the paths from such dangers. + +</p> +<p>“Though I have stated the insignificant nature of the enemiesʼ lines, it must not be supposed I imagined them at all inferior +to our own resources. Our grand army consisted of 200 Chinese, excellent workmen, but of whose qualities as soldiers I can +say nothing. They were, however, a stout, muscular set of men, though wretchedly armed, having no guns and scarcely any muskets; +but swords, spears, and shields, together with forty long thin iron tubes with the bore of a musket and carrying a slug. These +primitive weapons were each managed by two men, one being the carrier of the ordnance, the other the gunnery for while one +holds the tube over his shoulder, the other takes aim, turns away his head, applies his match, and is pleased with the sound. +Their mode of loading is as curious as the piece and its mode of discharge. Powder is poured in, the end knocked on the ground, +and the slug with another knock sent on the powder, without either ramming or cartridge. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine +any weapon more rude, awkward, or inefficient. + +</p> +<p>“Of Malays we had 250, of whom 150 were on the Sarambo mountain, occupied in defending the Dyak houses. Of the hundred remaining +with the grand army, about half were armed with muskets. A few brass guns composed our artillery; and in the boats were a +good many swivels. The Dyaks amounted to about 200, of various tribes, viz., Sibnowans, Paninjows, Bombak, Sarambo, Kampit, +Tabah, Sanpro, Suntah; but these were merely pioneers, and would not face the report of fire-arms. The Borneons, in fighting, +wear a quilted jacket or spencer, which reaches over the hips, and from its size has a most unservicelike appearance: the +bare legs and arms sticking out from under this puffed-out coat, like the sticks which support the garments of a scarecrow. +Such was our incongruous and most inefficient array; yet with 300 men who would fight, nothing would have been easier than +to take <a id="d0e2066"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2066">99</a>]</span>the detached defences of the enemy, none of which could contain above thirty or forty men. But our allies seemed to have little +idea of fighting except behind a wall; and my proposal to attack the adversary was immediately treated as an extreme of rashness +amounting to insanity. At a council of war it was consequently decided that advances should be made from the hill behind our +fort to Balidah by a chain of posts, the distance being a short mile, in which space they would probably erect four or five +forts; and then would come a bombardment, noisy but harmless. + +</p> +<p>“During the day we were not left quiet. The beating of gongs, shouts, and an occasional shot, gave life to the scene. With +my glass I could espy our forces at the top of the hill, pleased no doubt to see us coming to their support. At night loud +shouts and firing from the rebels caused us to prepare for an attack; but it proved to be nothing but lights moving about +the hill-side, with what intent we were ignorant. The jungle on the left bank having been cleared, we did not much expect +any skirmishers; but some spies were heard near our boats. With this exception the night passed away unbroken on our part, +though the rebels kept up an incessant beating of gongs, and from time to time fired a few stray shots, whether against an +enemy or not was doubtful. + +</p> +<p>“<i>25th.</i>—The grand army was lazy, and did not take the field when they possessed themselves of two eminences, and commenced forts +on each. About 11 <span class="smallcaps">A.M.</span> we got intelligence that the enemy was collecting on the right bank, as they had been heard by our scouts shouting one to +another to gather together in order to attack the stockades in the course of building. Even with a knowledge of their usual +want of caution, I could not believe this, but walked nevertheless to one of the forts, and had scarcely reached it when a +universal rebel shout, and a simultaneous beating of the silver-tongued gongs, announced, as I thought, a general action. +But though the shouts continued loud and furious from both sides, and a gun or two was discharged in the air to refresh their +courage, the enemy did not attack, and a heavy shower damped the ardor of the approaching armies, and reduced all to inaction. +Like the heroes of <a id="d0e2078"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2078">100</a>]</span>old, however, the adverse parties spoke to each other: ‘We are coming, we are coming,’ exclaimed the rebels; ‘lay aside your +muskets and fight us with swords.’ ‘Come on,’ was the reply; ‘we are building a stockade, and want to fight you.’ And so the +heroes ceased not to talk, but forgot to fight, except that the rebels opened a fire from Balidah from swivels, all of which +went over the tops of the trees. Peace, or rather rest, being restored, our party succeeded in entrenching themselves, and +thus gained a field which had been obstinately assaulted by big words and loud cries. The distance of one fort from Balidah +was about 800 yards, and manned with sixty Malays; while a party of Chinese garrisoned the other. Evening fell upon this innocent +warfare. The Borneons, in this manner, contend with vociferous shouts; and, preceding each shout, the leader of the party +offers up a prayer aloud to the Almighty, the chorus (or properly response) being the acclamation of the soldiery. We, on +our side, kept up a firing and hallooing till midnight, to disguise the advance of a party who were to seize and build a stockade +within a shorter distance of Balidah. When they reached the spot, however, the night being dark, the troops sleepy, and the +leaders of different opinions, they returned without effecting anything.” + + + + +</p> +</div> +<div id="d0e2080" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER VIII.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Appearance of the country.—Progress of the rebel war.—Character of the Sow and Singè Dyaks.—Their belief in augury.—Ruinous +effects of protracted warfare.—Cowardice and boasting of the Malays.—Council of war.—Refuse to attack the enemyʼs forts.—Rebels +propose to treat.—The Malays oppose.—Set out to attack the rebels, but frustrated by our allies.—Assailed by the rebels.—Put +them to flight.—Treat with them.—They surrender.—Intercede with the Rajah for their lives.—Renewed treachery of the Malays. +</p> +</div> +<p>“<i>26th.</i>—I must here pause in my account of this extraordinary and novel contest, briefly to describe the general appearance of the +country. + +</p> +<p>“It is one delightful to look upon, combining all the requisites of the picturesque, viz. wood, water, mountain, <a id="d0e2093"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2093">101</a>]</span>cliff, and a foreground gently undulating, partially cultivated, and of the richest soil. The mountain of Sarambo, about 3000 +feet in height, is the principal feature in the scene, situated at a short distance from the left bank of the river. The remainder +of the ground slopes gradually; and the town of Siniawan, likewise on the left bank, is close to the water, and at the foot +of the eminence called Gunga Kumiel. + +</p> +<p>“The advance of the party last night was, as I have said, disguised by firing, drumming, and shouting from the fleet and forts; +and, in the deep stillness of the fine night, the booming of the guns, the clamor of the gongs, and the outcries raised from +time to time, came on our ears like the spirit of discord breaking loose on a fair and peaceful paradise. About one oʼclock +the noises died away, and I enjoyed as quiet a slumber till daylight as though pillowed on a bed of down in the heart of Old +England. About six I visited the three forts. The Chinese, Malays, and Dyaks were taking their morning meal, consisting of +half a <span id="d0e2097" class="corr" title="Source: coacoanut-shell">cocoanut-shell</span> full of boiled rice with salt. The Dyaks were served in tribes; for as many of them are at war, it is necessary to keep them +separate; and though they will not fight the enemy, they would have no objection to fall out with one another, and the slightest +cause might give rise to an instant renewal of hostilities. + +</p> +<p>“About 9 <span class="smallcaps">A.M.</span> a party proceeded to the elevation previously marked, within 300 yards of Balidah, and worked quietly till 2 <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span>, by which time they had made considerable progress; and being then reinforced, they soon finished this new stockade, with +a strong face toward their adversaries, and an outer fence. This erection, however, being below the brow of the hill, is useless +as a post whence to assault Balidah; and to-morrow another stockade is to be made close to it on the summit, the present being +intended to cover the working party at the next. The enemy, about 4 <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span>, having discovered the stockade, opened a fire for half an hour; but finding it ineffectual, they sank into their usual apathy. +It is difficult to attribute this quietude to any other cause than weakness; and they are doubtless harassed by the want of +Dyak light troops, as they <a id="d0e2111"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2111">102</a>]</span>are unable to oppose stockade to stockade. Our party, by these successful advances, seem to gain confidence; and it must soon +come to an issue one way or other. To make it favorable, I have sent for two six-pounder carronades, guns of vast caliber +here, together with a small addition to our force. I had the curiosity to inquire of Macota the progress of his former campaign, +when he had 1000 Malays with only a few Dyaks. He represented the enemy as active and daring then, and very different from +their want of spirit now. They had, he declared, combats by sea and by land; stockade was opposed to stockade, and the fighting +was constant and severe; but he never lost a man killed during the two months, and only boasted of killing five of the enemy! +The principal danger in Malay warfare is the ‘Mengamuk’ (<i>Anglicè</i>, running a-muck), which is the last resource of a desperate man. + +</p> +<p>“<i>27th.</i>—The night passed quietly as usual. About 6 A.M. I started for the hills, and inspected each post in turn. They are about +commencing another fort. I visited the spot to reconnoiter it; and the enemy opened a fire directly they perceived me, which +we returned. They shot wretchedly ill; and the position is good, but exposed. About 10 A.M. they again began to fire from +their fort, and detached thirty or forty men, who crept out between our forts in order to interrupt the work. The Malays, +however, received them steadily; while the Chinese placed them between two fires, and, by a discharge from a tube, knocked +down <i>one</i> man. The rebels showed anxiety to possess themselves of their fallen comrade, while the opposite party shouted, ‘Cut off +his head;’ but he was carried off; and the enemy, when they had saved his body, fled in all directions, dropping a number +of their small bamboo powder flasks on the way. Some fierce alarms were given of an attack by water, and I went up the river +to ascertain really whether there was any mischief to be expected; but there was no appearance of any adversary. A slack fire +from the hill proclaimed that our work was going on there; and toward evening all was in repose. + +</p> +<p>“<i>28th.</i>—The stockade was completed in the evening, with ranjows stuck round the outer defence. It was <a id="d0e2129"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2129">103</a>]</span>excellently situated for battering Balidah; but Balidah, I fear, is too loosely constructed to be battered to the best advantage. +During the day the Sow and Singè Dyaks joined, to the amount of about 150 men, and other tribes have been gradually dropping +in; so that altogether there are not fewer than 500 of these men joined to our equipment. Most of them show all the characteristics +of a wild people; never openly resisting their masters, but so obstinate that they can always get their own way in every thing; +to all threats and entreaties opposing a determined and immovable silence. Many of them depend upon us for their food and +salt, and their applications are endless. Three women of Singè are our regular pensioners; for their sex excludes them from +the rations granted to the men. By these means we had many excellent opportunities of judging of their habits and temper. +Among all these tribes the language differs but slightly—so slightly, indeed, that it is needless to note the variations in +detail. They have the same superstition about particular birds, and I often heard this omen alluded to in conversation; but +their birds are not the same as those of the sea Dyaks.... The chief of the Sarambo, explaining his reasons for leaving the +rebels, urged the constant unfavorable omen of the birds as one. Often, very often, he said, when he went out, the bird cried, +and flew in the direction of Siniawan, which will be explained by what I have before stated; for if they hear the bird to +the right, they go to the left, and <i>vice versá</i>; so that the bird may be considered as warning them from evil. + +</p> +<p>“The Sow Dyaks brought in the head of an unfortunate Malay whom they had decapitated in the jungle. This species of warfare +is extremely barbarous, and in its train probably brings more evil than the regular campaigns of civilized nations. Not that +it is by any means so fatal to human life directly; but it is the slow poison which wastes the strongest frame, the smoldering +fire which does its work of destruction slowly but surely. Year after year it is protracted; few fall in open fight, but stragglers +and prisoners are murdered; and while both weak parties, gradually growing weaker, hold their own ground, the country becomes +a desert. First, trade <a id="d0e2136"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2136">104</a>]</span>stagnates, agriculture withers, food becomes scarce, all are ruined in finances, all half-starved and most miserable—and yet +the war drags on, and the worst passions are aroused, effectually preventing the slightest concession, even if concession +would avail. But each combatant knows the implacable spirit—the deep desperation—of the other too well to trust them; and +if at length the fortunes of famine decide against them, they die rather than yield; for a Dyak can die bravely, I believe, +though he will not fight as long as life has any prospect. This is also the case here: for the rebel chiefs know there is +no pardon, and the Bandar is disgraced if he fails. It is indeed a slow process, but one of extermination. + +</p> +<p>“<i>29th.</i>—Our guns arrived with a welcome reinforcement. In the evening I dropped up the river to reconnoiter; but the adversary discovered +us, as we were dressed in white clothes. + +</p> +<p>“<i>30th.</i>—Fort not finished. All quiet. + +</p> +<p>“<i>31st.</i>—Got the guns and ammunition up, and while fixing them opened a fire from one of our swivels to overbear the fire of the enemy. +The little piece was well served; and, in a quarter of an hour, we silenced their fire entirely, and knocked about the timber +considerably, making a breach which several men could enter together. Seeing the effect, I proposed to Macota to storm the +place with 150 Chinese and Malays. The way from one fort to the other was protected. The enemy dared not show themselves for +the fire of the grape and canister, and nothing could have been easier; but my proposition caused a commotion which it is +difficult to forget, and more difficult to describe. The Chinese consented, and Macota, the commander-in-chief, was willing; +but his inferiors were backward, and there arose a scene which showed me the full violence of the Malay passions, and their +infuriated madness when once roused. Pangeran Houseman urged with energy the advantage of the proposal, and in the course +of a speech lashed himself to a state of fury; he jumped to his feet, and with demoniac gestures stamped round and round, +dancing a war-dance after the most approved fashion; his countenance grew livid, his eyes glared, his features inflamed; and, +for my part, not being able to interpret <a id="d0e2153"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2153">105</a>]</span>the torrent of his oratory, I thought the man possessed of a devil, or about to ‘run a-muck.’ But after a minute or two of +this dance, he resumed his seat, furious and panting, but silent. In reply, Subtu urged some objections to my plan, which +was warmly supported by Illudeen, who apparently hurt Subtuʼs feelings; for the indolent, the placid Subtu leapt from his +seat, seized his spear, and rushed to the entrance of the stockade, with his passions and his pride desperately aroused. I +never saw finer action than when, with spear in hand, pointing to the enemyʼs fort, he challenged any one to rush on with +him. Houseman and Surradeen (the bravest of the brave) like madmen seized their swords to inflame the courage of the rest—it +was a scene of fiends—but in vain; for though they appeared ready enough to quarrel and fight among themselves, there was +no move to attack the enemy. All was confusion; the demon of discord and madness was among them, and I was glad to see them +cool down, when the dissentients to the assault proposed making a round to-night and attacking to-morrow. In the mean time +our six-pounders were ready in battery, and it is certain the assailants might walk nearly to the fort without any of the +rebels daring to show themselves in opposition to our fire. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Nov. 1st.</i>—The guns were ready to open their fiery mouths, and their masters ready to attend on them; but both had to wait till mid-day, +when the chiefs of the grand army, having sufficiently slept, breakfasted, and bathed, lounged up with their straggling followers. +Shortly after daylight the forts are nearly deserted of their garrisons, who go down at the time to the water more like a +flock of geese than warriors. The instant the main division and head-quarters of the army arrived at the battery, I renewed +my proposal for an assault, Which was variously received. If the Malays would go, the Chinese agreed; but the Malays had grown +colder and colder. In order to encourage them, I opened a fire to show the effect of our guns; and having got a good range, +every ball, as well as grape and canister, rattled against and through the wood. I then urged them again and again, but in +vain; that coward Panglima rajah displayed that dogged resolution which is <a id="d0e2160"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2160">106</a>]</span>invincible—an invincible resolution to do nothing; and the cold damp looks of the others at once told the amount of their +bravery! A council of war was called—grave faces covered timid hearts and fainting spirits. The Chinese contended with justice, +that in fairness they could not be expected to assault without the Malays did the same; Abong Mia was not brave enough. The +Datu agreed, and Panglima delivered himself of a wise harangue, to the effect that, ‘the last campaign, when they had a fort, +how had the enemy fired then?—stabbed them, speared them, &c. &c.; and without a fort, assaulting!—how could it be expected +they should succeed? how unreasonable they should go at all!’ But even his stolid head seemed to comprehend the sarcasm when +I asked him how many men had been killed during all this severe fighting. However, it was clear that it was no battle. We +were all very savage, and I intimated how useless my being with them was, if they intended to play instead of fight. ‘What,’ +I asked, ‘if you will not attack, are you going to do?’ Oh, the wise councils of these wise heads! Abong Mia proposed erecting +a fort in a tree, and thence going ‘puff, puff,’ down into Balidah, accompanying the words ‘puff, puff,’ with expressive gestures +of firing; but it was objected, that trees were scarce, and the enemy might cut down the tree, fort and all.<a id="d0e2162src" href="#d0e2162" class="noteref">1</a> + +</p> +<p>“<i>2d.</i>—Till two oʼclock last night, or thereabouts, I <a id="d0e2174"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2174">107</a>]</span>sat on our rampart and gazed upon the prospect around, shaded with gloom. The doctor was with me, and we ran over every subject—the +past, present, and the future. Such a scene—a rude fort in the interior of Borneo; such a night, dark but starlight—leaves +an indelible impression on the mind, which recurs to move it even after long years. The morning, however, found us ready, +and no one else. The fort was left to ourselves; we waited and waited until 2 P.M., when I was made aware that all thoughts +of attack were at an end. Macota, for very shame, staid below; and I must say there was not a countenance that met mine but +had that bashful and hang-dog look which expresses cowardice and obstinacy predominant, yet shame battling within. They were +now resolved not to make the attempt; and I asked them casually whether they would fly a white flag, and hold a conference +with the enemy. They caught at the alternatives; the flag was hoisted; the rebels were ready to <i>meet me</i>, and it was agreed that we should assemble on the morrow. But no sooner was the arrangement made than a thousand objections +were started, and any thing, even attack itself (though that was out of the question), was held to be preferable. I need not +dwell on this mixture of deceit and fear; in short, as they would do nothing themselves, they expected us to do nothing: and +without the courage to carry on the war, they had not either wisdom or sorcery to bring it to a conclusion. + +</p> +<p>“<i>3d.</i>—Dispatched an express during last night to the rajah, and received an answer that he was coming up in person; but my resolve +was taken, and I quitted the grand army, much to their evident surprise and vexation. Nevertheless, they were still friendly +and polite, and very very lazy about bringing down our guns. This was, however, done at last, and we were ready for a start. + +</p> +<p>“<i>4th.</i>—Reached the ship at two P.M., saw rajah, &c. &c. + +</p> +<p>“From the 4th to the 10th of November I may condense <a id="d0e2191"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2191">108</a>]</span>into the shape of a narrative. I explained to the rajah how useless it was my remaining, and intimated to him my intention +of departing; but his deep regret was so visible, that even all the self-command of the native could not disguise it. He begged, +he entreated me to stay, and offered me the country of Siniawan and Sarāwak, and its government and trade, if I would only +stop, and not desert him. I could at once have obtained this grant, but I preferred interposing a delay; because to accept +such a boon when imposed by necessity, or from a feeling of gratitude for recent assistance, would have rendered it both suspicious +and useless; and I was by no means eager to enter on the task (the full difficulties of which I clearly foresaw) without the +undoubted and spontaneous support of the rajah. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Jan. 8th, 1841.</i>—The following narrative, extracted from my journal, includes a period from the 10th of December to the 4th of January, and +it is put into its present shape to avoid the tedium of detailing each dayʼs proceedings. On the 10th of December we reached +the fleet and disembarked our guns, taking up our residence in a house, or rather shed, close to the water. The rajahʼs brother, +Pangeran Budrudeen, was with the army, and I found him ready and willing to urge upon the other indolent Pangerans the proposals +I made for vigorous hostilities. We found the grand army in a state of torpor, eating, drinking, and walking up to the forts +and back again daily; but having built these imposing structures, and their appearance not driving the enemy away, they were +at a loss what next to do, or how to proceed. On my arrival, I once more insisted on mounting the guns in our old forts, and +assaulting Balidah under their fire. Macotaʼs timidity and vacillation were too apparent; but in consequence of Budrudeenʼs +overawing presence, he was obliged, from shame, to yield his assent. The order for the attack was fixed as follows:—Our party +of ten (leaving six to serve the guns) were to be headed by myself. Budrudeen, Macota, Subtu, and all the lesser chiefs, were +to lead their followers, from 60 to 80 in number, by the same route, while 50 or more Chinese, under their captain, were to +assault by another path to the left. Macota was to make <a id="d0e2198"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2198">109</a>]</span>the paths as near as possible to Balidah, with his Dyaks, who were to extract the sudas and fill up the holes. The guns having +been mounted and their range well ascertained the previous evening, we ascended to the fort at about eight A.M., and at ten +opened our fire, and kept it up for an hour. The effect was severe: every shot told upon their thin defences of wood, which +fell in many places so as to leave storming breaches. Part of the roof was cut away and tumbled down, and the shower of grape +and canister rattled so as to prevent their returning our fire, except from a stray rifle. At mid-day the forces reached the +fort, and it was then discovered that Macota had neglected to make any road because it rained the night before! It was evident +that the rebels had gained information of our intention, as they had erected a frieze of bamboo along their defences on the +very spot which we had agreed to mount. Macota fancied the want of a road would delay the attack; but I well knew that delay +was equivalent to failure, and so it was at once agreed that we should advance without any path. The poor manʼs cunning and +resources were now nearly at an end. He could not refuse to accompany us; but his courage could not be brought to the point, +and, pale and embarrassed, he retired. Everything was ready—Budrudeen, the Capitan China, and myself, at the head of our men—when +he once more appeared, and raised a subtle point of etiquet which answered his purpose. He represented to Budrudeen that the +Malays were unanimously of opinion that the rajahʼs brother could not expose himself in an assault; that their dread of the +rajahʼs indignation far exceeded the dread of death; and in case any accident happened to him, his brotherʼs fury would fall +on them. They stated their readiness to assault the place; but in case Budrudeen insisted on leading in person, they must +decline accompanying him. Budrudeen was angry, I was angry too, and the doctor most angry of all; but anger was unavailing: +it was clear they did not intend to do anything in earnest; and after much discussion, in which Budrudeen insisted that if +I went he should likewise go, and the Malays insisted that if he went they would not go, it was resolved we should serve the +guns, <a id="d0e2200"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2200">110</a>]</span>while Abong Mia and the Chinese (not under the captain) should proceed to the assault. But its fate was sealed, and Macota +had gained his object; for neither he nor Subtu thought of exposing themselves to a single shot. Our artillery opened and +was beautifully served. The adverse troops advanced; but our fire completely subdued them, as only three rifles answered us, +by one of which a seaman (Williams) was wounded in the hand, but not seriously. Two-thirds of the way the storming-party proceeded +without the enemy being aware of their advance; and they might have reached the very foot of the hill without being discovered, +had not Abong Mia, from excess of piety and rashness, begun most loudly to say his prayers. The three rifles then began to +play on them; one Chinaman was killed, the whole halted, the prayers were more vehement than ever, and, after squatting under +cover of the jungle for some time, they all returned. It was only what I expected; but I was greatly annoyed at their cowardice +and treachery—treachery to their own cause. One lesson, however, I learned, and that was, that, had I assaulted with our small +party, we should assuredly have been victimized! The very evening of the failure the rajah came up the river. I would not +see him, and only heard that the chiefs got severely reprimanded; but the effects of reprimand are lost where cowardice is +stronger than shame. Inactivity followed; two or three useless forts were built, and Budrudeen, much to my regret and the +detriment of the cause, was recalled. + +</p> +<p>“Among the straggling arrivals I may mention Panglima Dallam, with a number of men, consisting of the Orang Bentulu, Meri +Muka, and Kayan, Dyaks from the interior. Our house—or, as it originally stood, shed—deserves a brief record. It was about +twenty feet long, with a loose floor of reeds, and an attop roof. It served us for some time; but the attempts at theft obliged +us to fence it in and divide it into apartments: one at the end served Middleton, Williamson, and myself; adjoining it was +the store-room and hospital; and the other extreme belonged to the seamen. Our improvements kept pace with our necessities. +Theft induced us to shut in our house at the sides, and the unevenness of the reeds <a id="d0e2204"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2204">111</a>]</span>suggested the advantage of laying a floor of the bark of trees over them, which, with mats over all, rendered our domicile +far from uncomfortable. Our forts gradually extended at the back of the enemyʼs town, on a ridge of swelling ground; while +they kept pace with us on the same side of the river on the low ground. The inactivity of our troops had long become a by-word +among us. It was indeed truly vexatious, but it was in vain to urge them on, in vain to offer assistance, in vain to propose +a joint attack, or even to seek support at their hands; promises were to be had in plenty, but performances never! + +</p> +<p>“At length the leaders resolved on building a fort at Sekundis, thus outflanking the enemy and gaining the command of the +river. The post was certainly an important one, and in consequence they set about it with the happy indifference which characterizes +their proceedings. Pangeran Illudeen (the most active among them) had the building of the fort, assisted by the Orang Kaya +Tumangong of Lundu. Macota, Subtu, &c. were at the next fort, and by chance I was there likewise; for it seemed to be little +apprehended that any interruption would take place, as the Chinese and the greater number of Malays had not left the boats. +When the fort commenced, however, the enemy crossed the river and divided into two bodies, the one keeping in check the party +at Pangeran Gapoorʼs fort, while the other made an attack on the works. The ground was not unfavorable for their purpose; +for Pangeran Gapoorʼs fort was separated from Sekundis by a belt of thick wood which reached down to the riverʼs edge. Sekundis +itself, however, stood on clear ground, as did Gapoorʼs fort. I was with Macota at the latter when the enemy approached through +the jungle. The two parties were within easy speaking distances, challenging and threatening each other; but the thickness +of the jungle prevented our seeing or penetrating to them. When this body had advanced, the real attack commenced on Sekundis +with a fire of musketry, and I was about proceeding to the scene, but was detained by Macota, who assured me there were plenty +of men, and that it was nothing at all. As the musketry became thicker, I <a id="d0e2208"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2208">112</a>]</span>had my doubts, when a Dyak came running through the jungle, and with gestures of impatience and anxiety begged me to assist +the party attacked. He had been sent by my old friend the Tumangong of Lundu, to say they could not hold the post unless supported. +In spite of Macotaʼs remonstrances, I struck into the jungle, winded through the narrow path, and after crossing an ugly stream, +emerged on the clear ground. The sight was a pretty one: to the right was the unfinished stockade, defended by the Tumangong; +to the left, at the edge of the forest, about twelve or fifteen of our party, commanded by Illudeen, while the enemy were +stretched along between the points and kept up a sharp shooting from the hollow ground on the bank of the river. They fired, +and loaded, and fired, and had gradually advanced on the stockade as the ammunition of our party failed; and as we emerged +from the jungle, they were within twenty or five and twenty yards of the defence. A glance immediately showed me the advantage +of our position, and I charged with my Europeans across the padi-field; and the instant we appeared on the ridge above the +river, in the hollows of which the rebels were seeking protection, their rout was complete. They scampered off in every direction, +while the Dyaks and Malays pushed them into the river. Our victory was decisive and bloodless: the scene was changed in an +instant, and the defeated foe lost arms, ammunition, &c. &c., whether on the field of battle or in the river, and our exulting +conquerors set no bounds to their triumph. + +</p> +<p>“I cannot omit to mention the name of Si Tundo, the only native who charged with us. His appearance and dress were most striking, +the latter being entirely of red, bound round the waist, arms, forehead, &c. with gold ornaments; and in his hand bearing +his formidable Bajuck sword, he danced or rather galloped across the field close to me, and mixing with the enemy was about +to dispatch a hadji or priest who was prostrate before him, when one of our people interposed and saved him by stating that +he was a companion of our own. The Lundu Dyaks were very thankful for our support, our praises were loudly sung, and the stockade +was concluded. After the rout, Macota, Subtu, and Abong Mia arrived <a id="d0e2212"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2212">113</a>]</span>on the field; the latter with forty followers had ventured half way before the firing ceased, but the detachment, under a +paltry subterfuge, halted, so as not to be in time. The enemy might have had fifty men at the attack; the defending party +consisted of about the same number; but the Dyaks had very few muskets. I had a dozen Englishmen, Seboo, one of our boatmen, +and Si Tundo. Sekundis was a great point gained, as it hindered the enemy from ascending the river and seeking any supplies. + +</p> +<p>“Macota, Subtu, and the whole tribe arrived as soon as their safety from danger allowed, and none were louder in their own +praise; but nevertheless their countenances evinced some sense of shame, which they endeavored to disguise by the use of their +tongues. The Chinese came really to afford assistance, but too late. We remained until the stockade of Sekundis was finished, +while the enemy kept up a wasteful fire from the opposite side of the river, which did no harm. + +</p> +<p>“The next great object was to follow up the advantage by crossing the stream; but day after day some fresh excuse brought +on fresh delay, and Macota built a new fort and made a new road within a hundred yards of our old position. I cannot detail +further our proceedings for many days, which consisted on my part of efforts to get something done, and on the others a close +adherence to the old system of promising everything and doing nothing. The Chinese, like the Malays, refused to act; but on +their part, it was not fear, but disinclination. By degrees, however, the preparations for the new fort were complete, and +I had gradually gained over a party of the natives to my views; and, indeed, among the Malays, the bravest of them had joined +themselves to us, and what was better, we had Datu Pangeran, thirteen Illanuns, and the Capitan China allowed me to take his +men whenever I wanted them. My weight and consequence were increased, and I rarely moved now without a long train of followers. +The next step (while crossing the river was uncertain) was to take my guns up to Gapoorʼs fort, which was about 600 or 700 +yards from the town, and half the distance from a rebel fort on the riverʼs bank. +<a id="d0e2218"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2218">114</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Panglima Rajah, the day after our guns were in battery, took it into his head to build a fort on the riverʼs side close to +the town, in front and between two of the enemyʼs forts. It was a bold undertaking for the old man, after six weeks of uninterrupted +repose. At night, the wood being prepared, the party moved down, and worked so silently that they were not discovered till +their defence was nearly finished, when the enemy commenced a general firing from all their forts, returned by a similar firing +from all ours, none of the parties being quite clear what they were firing at or about, and the hottest from either party +being equally harmless. We were at the time about going to bed in our habitation; but expecting some reverse, I set off (to +scale the hills) to the stockade where our guns were placed, and opened a fire upon the town and the stockade near us, till +the enemyʼs fire gradually slackened and died away. We then returned, and in the morning were greeted with the pleasing news +that they had burned and deserted five of their forts, and left us sole occupants of the right bank of the river. The same +day, going through the jungle to see one of these deserted forts, we came upon a party of the enemy, and had a brief skirmish +with them before they took to flight. Nothing can be more unpleasant to a European than this bush-fighting, where he scarce +sees a foe, while he is well aware that their eyesight is far superior to his own. To proceed with this narrative, I may say +that four or five forts were built on the edge of the river opposite the enemyʼs town, and distant not above 50 or 60 yards; +here our guns were removed, and a fresh battery formed ready for a bombardment, and fire-balls essayed to ignite the houses. + +</p> +<p>“At this time Seriff Jaffer, from Singè, arrived with about seventy men, Malays and Dyaks of Balow. The river Singè being +situated close to Sarebus, and incessant hostilities being waged between the two places, he, with his followers, was both +more active and more warlike than the Borneons, but their warfare consists of closing hand to hand with spear and sword. They +scarcely understood the proper use of fire-arms, and were of little use in attacking stockades. As a negotiator, <a id="d0e2223"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2223">115</a>]</span>however, the seriff bore a distinguished part; and on his arrival a parley ensued, much against Macotaʼs will, and some meetings +took place between Jaffer and a brother seriff at Siniawan, named Moksain. After ten daysʼ delay nothing came of it, though +the enemy betrayed great desire to yield. This negotiation being at an end, we had a dayʼs bombardment and a fresh treaty +brought about thus; Macota being absent at Sarāwak, I received a message from Seriff Jaffer and Pangeran Subtu to say that +they wished to meet me; and on my consenting, they stated that Seriff Jaffer felt confident the war might be brought to an +end, though alone he dared not treat with the rebels; but in case I felt inclined to join him, we could bring it to a favorable +conclusion. I replied that our habits of treating were very unlike their own, as we allowed no delays to interpose; but that +I would unite with him for one interview, and if that interview was favorable, we might meet the chiefs at once and settle +it, or put an end to all farther treating. Pangeran Subtu was delighted with the proposition, urged its great advantages, +and the meeting by my desire for that very night, the place Pangeran Illudeenʼs fort at Sekundis. The evening arrived, and +at dark we were at the appointed place, and a message was dispatched for Seriff Moksain. In the mean time, however, came a +man from Pangeran Subtu to beg us to hold no intercourse; that the rebels were false, meant to deceive us, and if any did +come, we had better make them prisoners. Seriff Jaffer, after arguing the point some time, rose to depart, remarking that +with such proceedings he would not consent to treat. I urged him to stay; but finding him bent on going, I ordered my gig +(which had some time before been brought overland) to be put into the water, my intention being to proceed to the enemyʼs +campong, and there hear what they had to say. I added that it was folly to leave undone what we had agreed to do in the morning +because Pangeran Subtu changed his mind—that I had come to treat, and treat I would. I would not go away now without giving +the enemy a fair hearing—for the good of all parties I would do it; and if the seriff liked to join me, <a id="d0e2225"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2225">116</a>]</span>as we proposed before, and wait for Seriff Moksain, good; if not, I would go in the boat to the campong. My Europeans, on +being ordered, jumped up, ran out and brought the boat to the waterʼs edge, and in a few minutes oars, rudder, and rowlocks +were in her. My companions, seeing this, came to terms, and we waited for Seriff Moksain; during which, however, I overheard +a whispering conversation from Subtuʼs messenger, proposing to seize him; and my temper was ruffled to such a degree that +I drew out a pistol, and told him I would shoot him dead if he dared to seize, or talk of seizing, any man who trusted himself +from the enemy to meet me! The scoundrel slunk off, and we were no more troubled with him. This past, Seriff Moksain arrived, +and was introduced into our fortress alone—alone and unarmed in an enemyʼs stockade, manned with two hundred men! His bearing +was firm; he advanced with ease and took his seat; and, during the interview, the only sign of uneasiness was the quick glance +of his eye from side to side. The object he aimed at was to gain my guaranty that the lives of all the rebels should be spared; +but this I had it not in my power to grant. He returned to his campong, and came again toward morning, when it was agreed +that Seriff Jaffer and myself should meet the Patingis and the Tumangong, and arrange terms with them. By the time our conference +was over, the day broke, and we descended to the boats to enjoy a little rest. + +</p> +<p>“On the 20th of December we met with the chiefs on the river; and they expressed themselves ready to yield, without conditions, +to the rajah, if I would promise that they should not be put to death. My reply was, that I could give no such promise; that +if they surrendered, it must be for life or death, according to the rajahʼs pleasure; and all I could do was to use my influence +in order to save their lives. To this they assented after a while; but then there arose the more difficult question, how they +were to be protected until the rajahʼs orders arrived. They dreaded both Chinese and Malays, especially the former, who had +just cause for angry feelings, and who, it was feared, would make an attack on them directly their surrender had taken from +them <a id="d0e2229"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2229">117</a>]</span>their means of defence. The Malays would not assail them in a body, but would individually plunder them, and give occasion +for disputes and bloodshed. These apprehensions were almost sufficient to break off the hitherto favorable negotiations, had +I not proposed to them myself to undertake their defence, and to become responsible for their safety until the orders of their +sovereign arrived. On my pledging myself to this, they yielded up their strong fort of Balidah, the key of their position. +I immediately made it known to our own party that no boats were to ascend or descend the river, and that any persons attacking +or pillaging the rebels were my enemies, and that I should fire upon them without hesitation. + +</p> +<p>“Both Chinese and Malaya agreed to the propriety of the measure, and gave me the strongest assurances of restraining their +respective followers, the former with good faith, the latter with the intention of involving matters, if possible, to the +destruction of the rebels. By the evening we were in possession of Balidah, and certainly found it a formidable fortress, +situated on a steep mound, with dense defences of wood, triple deep, and surrounded by two inclosures, thickly studded on +the outside with ranjows. The effect of our fire had shaken it completely, now much to our discomfort; for the walls were +tottering, and the roof as leaky as a sieve. On the 20th of December, then, the war closed. The very next day, contrary to +stipulation, the Malay Pangerans tried to ascend the river, and when stopped began to expostulate. After preventing many, +the attempt was made by Subtu and Pangeran Hassim, in three large boats, boldly pulling toward us. Three hails did not check +them, and they came on in spite of a blank cartridge and a wide ball, to turn them back. But I was resolved; and when a dozen +musket-balls whistled over and fell close around them, they took to an ignominious flight. I subsequently upbraided them for +this breach of promise, and Macota loudly declared they had <i>been greatly to blame</i>; but I discovered that he himself had set them on. + +</p> +<p>“I may now briefly conclude this detail. I ordered the rebels to burn all their stockades, which they did at <a id="d0e2238"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2238">118</a>]</span>once, and delivered up the greater part of their arms; and I proceeded to the rajah to request from him their lives. Those +who know the Malay character will appreciate the difficulty of the attempt to stand between the monarch and his victims; I +only succeeded when, at the end of a long debate—I soliciting, he denying—I rose to bid him farewell, as it was my intention +to sail directly, since, after all my exertions in his cause, if he would not grant me the lives of the people, I could only +consider that his friendship for me was at an end. On this he yielded. I must own that during the discussion he had much the +best of it; for he urged that they had forfeited their lives by the law, as a necessary sacrifice to the future peace of the +country; and argued that in a similar case in my own native land no leniency would be shown. On the contrary, my reasoning, +though personal, was, on the whole, the best for the rajah and the people. I stated my extreme reluctance to have the blood +of conquered foes shed; the shame I should experience in being a party, however involuntarily, to their execution; and the +general advantage of a merciful line of policy. At the same time I told him their lives were forfeited, their crimes had been +of a heinous and unpardonable nature, and it was only from so humane a man as himself, one with so kind a heart, that I could +ask for their pardon; but I added, he well knew that it was only my previous knowledge of his benevolent disposition, and +the great friendship I felt for him, which had induced me to take any part in this struggle. Other stronger reasons might +have been brought forward, which I forbore to employ, as being repugnant to his princely pride, viz. that severity in this +case would arm many against him, raise powerful enemies in Borneo Proper, as well as here, and greatly impede the future right +government of the country. However, I gained my point, and was satisfied. + +</p> +<p>“Having fulfilled this engagement, and being moreover, together with many of my Europeans, attacked with an ague, I left the +scene with all the dignity of complete success. Subsequently, the rebels were ordered to deliver up all their arms, ammunition, +and property; and last, the wives and children of the principal <a id="d0e2242"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2242">119</a>]</span>people were demanded as hostages, and obtained. The women and children were treated with kindness, and preserved from injury +or wrong. Siniawan thus dwindled away; the poorer men stole off in canoes and were scattered about, most of them coming to +Sarāwak. The better class pulled down the houses, abandoned the town, and lived in boats for a month; when, alarmed by the +delay and impelled by hunger, they also fled—Patingi Gapoor, it was said, to Sambas; and Patingi Ali and the Tumangong among +the Dyaks. After a time it was supposed they would return and receive their wives and children. The army gradually dispersed +to seek food, and the Chinese were left in possession of the once-renowned Siniawan, the ruin of which they completed by burning +all that remained, and erecting a village for themselves in the immediate neighborhood. Seriff Jaffer and many others departed +to their respective homes, and the pinching of famine succeeded to the horrors of war. Fruit being in season, helped to support +the wretched people, and the near approach of the rice-harvest kept up their spirits.” + + + +</p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e2162" href="#d0e2162src" class="noteref">1</a></span> The following is an extract from an equally sapient proposition, published in the Chinese state-papers on the 14th January, +1840; it is headed, Memorial of Toang Wangyen to the emperor, recommending plans for the extermination of barbarians: “Your +ministerʼs opinion is this: that we, being upon shore and they in their ships, it is not at all requisite to order our naval +forces to proceed out a great distance to contend with them in battle. When the commercial intercourse of the said barbarians +shall have been entirely put an end to, and their supplies grow scanty, it will be impossible for them to remain a long time +anchored in the outer seas, and they will necessarily, as formerly, enter the inner waters in order to ramble and spy about +them. We can then, by means of our naval vessels, tempt them and cause them to enter far in; and a previous arrangement having +been made, we can summon the people who live along the coasts, such as are expert and able swimmers, and those who possess +bravery and strength, to the amount of several hundreds of men: we can then cause them, during the night, to divide themselves +into companies, <a id="d0e2164"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2164">107n</a>]</span>and silently proceeding through the water, straightway board the foreign ships; and overcoming the crews in their unprepared +state, make an entire massacre of the whole of them.<span id="d0e2166" class="corr" title="Source: ">”</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e2244" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER IX.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Retrospect of Mr. Brookeʼs proceeding and prospects.—Visit of a pirate fleet.—Intercourse with the chief leaders, and other +characteristic incidents.—War dances.—Use of opium.—Story of Si Tundo.—Preparations for trading.—Conditions of the cession +of Sarāwak. +</p> +</div> +<p>I have gone into the details of this curious rebellion, and selected from my friendʼs memoranda more, perhaps, than the actual +and present importance of the circumstances might seem to require; but I have done so under the impression that in developing +the traits and lineaments of the native character, I am laying the foundation for a more accurate estimate of them and their +bearing upon futurity. The difference between the Malay and the Chinese, between the sea and the land Dyak, and even between +one tribe and another, presents a variety of elements out of which a consistent whole <a id="d0e2252"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2252">120</a>]</span>has to be compounded, and a new state of things to be established in Borneo. It is, therefore, of considerable interest to +view these elements in their earliest contact with European mind and civilization, and thence endeavor to shape out the course +which is best calculated to insure the welfare of all in the closer ties and more extended connection which is springing out +of this new intercourse. To enlarge the beneficial effects of trade and commerce, it is not enough to ascertain the products +of a strange country, nor even the chief wants of its population; but to inform ourselves of their habits, feelings, and disposition, +and so devise the wisest measures for supplying what is immediate, removing obstacles, and increasing demand by a continually +growing improvement in government and general condition. + +</p> +<p>Following the war, and receiving the investiture of the government of Sarāwak, Mr. Brooke was enabled, from the insight he +had obtained into the diversified relations and habits, motives and ways of thinking of these people, to address himself clearly +and at once to reform the evils which oppressed, and the abuses which destroyed them. Had he not mixed with them and shared +in this protracted contest, he must have begun rather as an experimentalist with a theory which might be right or might be +wrong. But he had acquired the necessary experience, and could proceed to put his finger where it was required to repress +or to foster, without danger of mistake. It was extraordinary what his energy produced within a small compass of time. Security +succeeded the utmost uncertainty, equal justice superseded tyrannical caprice, order arose out of confusion, and peace was +gradually spread over the fruitful soil so lately polluted by the murderous warfare of heads-taking and imperishable feud. +It is to be hoped that such an example will not be lost in the further prosecution of international and commercial policy +in this interesting and important quarter of the eastern world. Piracy must be put down, slavery must be effaced, industry +must be cherished and protected; and these objects, we shall see, from the model afforded by our truly illustrious countryman, +may be accomplished; and we may further learn from his example, that from the experience <a id="d0e2256"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2256">121</a>]</span>even of “a little war,” an enlightened observer may deduce the most sound data on which to commence a mighty change, leading, +probably, to the happiness of millions, and the foundation of colonial empire. + +</p> +<p>With these few retrospective remarks, I resume the sequel of my friendʼs Bornean Journal. + +</p> +<p>“Our subsequent adventures,” he notes, “may be easily related. We lay for some days, after winding up our affairs, in order +to have an agreement drawn out between the rajah and myself, and during this time heard the bruit of a pirate fleet being +on the coast. In a day or two after, certain news arrived of their having taken two Sadung boats, bound from Singapore, and +Datu Pangeran was, in consequence, dispatched to communicate with them. He returned from Tanjong Datu, bringing the fleet +with him to the mouth of the river, whence they requested permission to visit Sarāwak, and pay their respects to the rajah. +I was consulted on the subject whether I would meet them; and as I preferred a pacific to a hostile rencounter, and had, moreover, +a considerable curiosity to see these roving gentry, I consented without hesitation. Reports—a greater curse in Malay countries +than elsewhere—stated their object to be the capture of the Royalist, as they had, it was averred, received positive accounts +of her having fifty lacks of dollars on board, and that her figure-head was of solid gold. As, however, we had no such treasure, +and the meeting was unavoidable, and might be hostile, I put myself into a complete posture of defense, with a determination +neither to show backwardness nor suspicion. The day arrived, and the pirates swept up the river; eighteen prahus, one following +the other, decorated with flags and streamers, and firing both cannon and musketry; the sight was interesting and curious, +and heightened by the conviction that these friends of the moment might be enemies the next. Having taken their stations, +the chief men proceeded to an interview with the rajah, which I attended to witness. Some distrust and much ceremony marked +the meeting; and both parties had numerous followers, who filled the hall of audience and the avenues leading to it; and as +few of the Illanuns spoke Malay, the communication was rendered difficult and <a id="d0e2262"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2262">122</a>]</span>troublesome. The pirates consisted of Illanuns and Malukus from Gillolo. The Illanuns are fine athletic men, with a strong +resemblance in appearance to the Bugis; their bearing was haughty and reserved, and they seemed quite ready to be friends +or foes, as best suited their purpose. The Malukus are from a bay in Gillolo, and their country is now in possession of the +Dutch; they are a darker and an uglier race, but their manners more supple and pliant. They were the principal talkers, while +the Illanuns maintained a dignified silence. + +</p> +<p>“These Malukus, from their own account, since the capture of their rajah, and the subjugation of their country, have led a +wandering, piratical life; they represent their force at about twenty-five boats, of which three are now joined by the Illanuns, +as a matter of mere convenience. Beyond the usual formalities, this meeting had nothing to distinguish it; one party retired +to their boats, while the other went to their respective houses, and every thing betokened quiet. In the evening I pulled +through the fleet, and inspected several of the largest prahus. The entire force consisted of eighteen boats, viz., three +Malukus and fifteen Illanuns; the smallest of these boats carried thirty men, the largest (they are mostly large) upward of +a hundred; so that, at a moderate computation, the number of fighting men might be reckoned at from five to six hundred. The +Illanum expedition had been absent from Magindano upward of three years, during which time they had cruised among the Moluccas +and islands to the eastward, had haunted Boni Bay and Celebes, and beat up the Straits of Makassar. Many of their boats, however, +being worn out, they had fitted out Bugis prize prahus, and were now on their return home. They had recently attacked one +of the Tambelan islands, and had been repulsed; and report said they intended a descent upon Sirhassan, one of the Southern +Natunas group. These large prahus are too heavy to pull well, though they carry thirty, forty, and even fifty oars: their +armament is one or two six-pounders in the bow, one four-pounder stern-chaser, and a number of swivels, besides musketry, +spears, and swords. The boat is divided into three sections, and <a id="d0e2266"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2266">123</a>]</span>fortified with strong planks, one behind the bow, one amidships, and one astern, to protect the steersman. The women and children +are crammed down below, where the unhappy prisoners are likewise stowed away during an action. Their principal plan is boarding +a vessel, if possible, and carrying her by numbers; and certainly if a merchantman fired ill, she would inevitably be taken; +but with grape and canister fairly directed, the slaughter would be so great that they would be glad to sheer off before they +neared a vessel. This is, of course, supposing a calm, for in a breeze they would never have the hardihood to venture far +from land with a ship in sight, and would be sorry to be caught at a distance. Their internal constitution is as follows: +one chief, a man usually of rank, commands the whole fleet; each boat has her captain, and generally from five to ten of his +relations, free men: the rest, amounting to above four fifths, are slaves, more or less forced to pursue this course of life. +They have, however, the right of plunder, which is indiscriminate with certain exceptions; viz., slaves, guns, money, or any +other heavy articles, together with the very finest description of silks and cloths, belonging to the chiefs and free men; +and the rest obey the rule of ‘First come, first served.’ No doubt the slaves become attached to this predatory course of +life; but it must always be remembered that they are slaves and have no option; and it appears to me that, in the operation +of our laws, some distinction ought to be drawn on this account, to suit the circumstances of the case. The Datus, or chiefs, +are incorrigible; for they are pirates by descent, robbers from pride as well as taste, and they look upon the occupation +as the most honorable hereditary pursuit. They are indifferent to blood, fond of plunder, but fondest of slaves: they despise +trade, though its profits be greater; and, as I have said, they look upon this as their ‘calling,’ and the noblest occupation +of chiefs and free men. Their swords they show with boasts, as having belonged to their ancestors who were pirates, renowned +and terrible in their day; and they always speak of their ancestral heir-loom as decayed from its pristine vigor, but still +deem the wielding of it as the highest of earthly existences. That it is in reality <a id="d0e2268"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2268">124</a>]</span>the most accursed, there can be no doubt, for its chief support is slaves they capture on the different coasts. If they attack +an island, the women and children, and as many of the young men as they require, are carried off. Every boat they take furnishes +its quota of slaves; and when they have a <i>full cargo</i>, they quit that coast or country and visit another, in order to dispose of their human spoil to the best advantage. Thus +a cargo of slaves, captured on the east coast of Borneo, is sold on the west; and the slaves of the south find ready purchasers +to the northward, and <i>vice versâ</i>. As the woolly-haired Papuas are generally prized by the natives, constant visits are made to New Guinea and the easternmost +islands, where they are procured, and afterward sold at high prices among any Malay community. The great nests of piracy are +Magindano, Sooloo, and the northern part of Borneo; and the devastation and misery they inflict on the rest of the Archipelago +are well known; yet are no measures adopted for their suppression, as every European community, be it English, Dutch, or Spanish, +seems quite satisfied to clear the vicinity of its own ports, and never considers the damage to the native trade which takes +place at a distance. To be attacked with success, they must be attacked on their own coasts with two or three steamers. A +little money would gain every intelligence as to where they were preparing; and while the steamers were so worthily engaged +in suppressing piracy, they might at the same time be acquiring information respecting countries little known, and adding +to our stock of geography and science. A few severe examples and constant harassing would soon cure this hereditary and personal +mania for a roverʼs life; and while we conferred the greatest blessings on the rest of the Archipelago, Magindano itself would +be improved by the change. + +</p> +<p>“The Illanun Datus and the Gillolo chiefs visited the schooner constantly, and were always considerate enough to bring but +few followers. We conversed much upon piracy in general, their mode of life, their successes, and their privations. They seemed +to have but few fears of the Dutch or English men-of-war being able to <a id="d0e2278"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2278">125</a>]</span>take them, and during their three yearsʼ cruise had never been chased by any of them. + +</p> +<p>“After being three or four days in company with these worthies, <i>i. e.</i>, the fleet of Illanuns and Malukus, the Royalist dropped down the river to Santobong, while Williamson and myself stayed +yet a few days with Muda Hassim in his house. We had a weekʼs incessant torrent of rain. Nothing could exceed the kindness +of the rajah during our stay, with his brothers, of all ages, as our constant companions. We had one day a dance of the Illanuns +and Gillolos: they might both be called war-dances, but are very different. The performer with the Illanuns is decked out +with a <i>fine helmet</i> (probably <i>borrowed</i> from our early voyagers), ornamented with bird-of-paradise feathers. Two gold belts, crossed, like our soldiersʼ, over the +breast, are bound at the waist with a fantastical garment reaching half way down the thigh, and composed of various-colored +silk and woolen threads one above another. The sword, or ‘kempilan,’ is decorated at the handle with a yard or two of red +cloth, and the long upright shield is covered with small rings, which clash as the performer goes through his evolutions. +The dance itself consists of a variety of violent warlike gestures, stamping, striking, advancing, retreating, turning, falling, +yelling, with here and there bold stops, and excellent as to <i>àplomb</i>, which might have elicited the applause of the opera-house; but, generally speaking, the performance was outrageously fierce, +and so far natural as approaching to an actual combat; and in half an hour the dancer, a fine young man, was so exhausted +that he fell, fainting, into the arms of his comrades. Several others succeeded, but not equal to the first; and we had hardly +a fair opportunity of judging of the Maluku dance from its short continuance; but it is of a more gentle nature, advancing +with the spear stealthily, easting it, then retreating with the sword and shield. The Maluku shield, it should be observed, +is remarkably narrow, and is brandished somewhat in the same way as the single stick-player uses his stick, or the Irishman +his shillelah, that is to say, it is held nearly in the center, and whirled every way round. I procured some of the instruments, +and found that the sword of the Malukus of Gillolo is <a id="d0e2294"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2294">126</a>]</span>similar to that of the Moskokas of Boni Bay, in Celebes. All these pirates are addicted to the <i>excessive</i> use of opium; but the effects of it are by no means so deleterious or so strongly marked as has been represented; and it +must likewise be remembered that they are in other respects dissolute and debauched. Among the Chinese it would be difficult—nay, +impossible—to detect the smokers of the drug. Here and there you may see an emaciated man; but, out of a body of five hundred, +some are usually emaciated and unhealthy. I do not mean to deny the bad effects of opium; but the stories of its pernicious +results are greatly exaggerated where the habit exists in moderation. The Chinese themselves, when I spoke to them of the +bad consequences, always argued that, taken moderately, it was a stimulus to industry and activity; but they allowed, at the +same time, that excess was highly injurious. + +</p> +<p>“The time at length came for my departure, but I was pressed to stay one day after another, for our society was a relief to +the usual monotonous tenor of their lives. The papers were signed which made me Resident of Sarāwak. I started to Santobong, +and reached the vessel on the 13th of February; and after waiting two days, in the vain hope of a lull or change of wind, +we beat out of the channel.” + +</p> +<p>Mr. Brooke did not remain long at Singapore. His principal object was to procure a vessel to trade between that place and +Sarāwak. Trading, however, was not his forte; but he already felt the deepest interest in the welfare of those people. By +accident—or, more properly, by Providence—he appears to have been sent to put a stop to an unnatural war, and to save the +lives of the unfortunate rebels; and the benefit he had conferred on so many of his fellow-creatures, the good he had already +done, and the infinity of good which he saw he still might do, made him anxious to return. + +</p> +<p>After some difficulty, he succeeded in purchasing a schooner of 90 tons, called the Swift, which I recollected in the Malacca +Straits as the Zephyr, then a cruiser in the East India Companyʼs service. Having put a suitable cargo into her, he sailed +with his squadron (Royalist and Swift) for Sarāwak early in April, 1841. +<a id="d0e2305"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2305">127</a>]</span></p> +<p>The rajah, already described as an indolent, weak-minded man, had promised Mr. Brooke the government of the country; but, +among other obstacles with which he would have to contend in accepting it, I do not think my friend calculated on jealousy, +low cunning, and treachery, or the dangerous enemy he had made in Pangeran Macota. He had been an eye-witness to his cowardice, +and had more than once detected and exposed his cunning and trickery; sins not to be forgiven, especially by a Malay. Notwithstanding +this, firmness, courage, and straightforward honesty gained the victory, as the sequel will show. + +</p> +<p>Among the characters with whom Mr. Brooke got acquainted during the rebel war was a young chief named Si Tundo, who was constantly +by his side whenever there was danger. He was an Illanun, and had been sent from Sadung, with some thirteen of his countrymen, +by Seriff Sahib, to offer his services to Macota, commander-in-chief of the rajahʼs forces; and I resume Mr. Brookeʼs memoranda, +with the following interesting account of this poor fellowʼs fate: “On my arrival at Sarāwak, we were received with the usual +honors; and the first thing I heard of was the decease of my poor companion, Si Tundo of Magindano, who had been put to death +by the rajahʼs orders. The course of justice, or, rather, injustice, or perhaps, more justly, a mixture of both, is so characteristic +of the people, that I am tempted to give the particulars. Si Tundo fell in love with a woman belonging to an adopted son of +Macota, and the passion being mutual, the lady eloped from her master and went to her loverʼs house. This being discovered +in a short time, he was ordered to surrender her to Macota, which he reluctantly did, on an understanding that he was to be +allowed to marry her on giving a proper dowry. Either not being able to procure the money, or the terms not being kept, Si +Tundo and a relation (who had left the pirate fleet and resided with him) mounted to Macotaʼs hill, and threatened to take +the woman and to burn the house. The village, however, being roused, they were unable to effect their purpose, and retired +to their own residence. Here they remained for some days in a state of incessant watchfulness; <a id="d0e2310"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2310">128</a>]</span>and when they moved, they each carried their kempilan, and wore the krisses ready to the hand. The Rajah Muda Hassim, being +well aware of the state of things, sent, at this crisis, to order Si Tundo and his friend to his presence; which order they +obeyed forthwith, and entered the balei, or audience-hall, which was full of their enemies. According to Muda Hassimʼs account, +he was anxious to save Si Tundoʼs life, and offered him another wife; but, his affections being fixed on the girl of his own +choice, he rejected the offer, only praying he might have the woman he loved. On entering the presence of the rajah, surrounded +by foes, and dreading treachery (which most probably was intended), these unfortunate men added to their previous fault by +one which, however slight in European estimation, is here of an aggravated nature—they entered the presence with their kempilans +in their hands, and their sarongs clear of the kris-handle; and instead of seating themselves cross-legged, they only squatted +on their hams, ready for self-defense. From that hour their doom was resolved on: the crime of disrespect was deemed worthy +of death, though their previous crime of abduction and violence might have obtained pardon. It was no easy matter, however, +among an abject and timid population, to find executioners of the sentence against two brave and warlike men, well armed and +watchful, and who, it was well known, would sell their lives dearly; and the subsequent proceeding is, as already observed, +curiously characteristic of the people, and the deep disguise they can assume to attain their purposes. It was intimated to +Si Tundo that, if he could raise a certain sum of money, the woman should be made over to him; and to render this the more +probable, the affair was taken out of Macotaʼs hands, and placed at the decision of the Orang Kaya de Gadong, who <i>was friendly</i> to the offenders, but who received his private orders how to act. Four men were appointed to watch their opportunity, in +order to seize the culprits. It is not to be imagined, however, that a native would trust or believe the friendly assurances +held out to him; nor was it so in the case of Si Tundo and his companion; they attended at the Orang Kaya de Gadongʼs <a id="d0e2315"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2315">129</a>]</span>house frequently for weeks, with the same precautions, and it was found impossible to overpower them; but the deceit of their +enemies was equal to the occasion, and delay brought no change of purpose. They were to die, and opportunity alone was wanting +to carry the sentence into effect. Time passed over, suspicion was lulled; and as suspicion was lulled the professions to +serve them became more frequent. Poor Si Tundo brought <i>all</i> his little property to make good the price required for the woman, and his friend added his share; but it was still far short +of the required amount. Hopes, however, were still held out; the Orang Kaya advanced a small sum to assist, and other <i>pretended</i> friends, slowly and reluctantly, at his request, lent a little money. The negotiation was nearly complete; forty or fifty +reals only were wanting, and the opposite party were ready to deliver the lady whenever the sum was made good. A final conference +was appointed for the conclusion of the bargain at the Orang Kayaʼs, at which numbers were present; and the devoted victims, +lulled into fatal security, had ceased to bring their formidable kempilans. At the last interview, the forty reals being still +deficient, the Orang Kaya proposed receiving their gold-mounted krisses in pledge for the amount. The krisses were given up, +and the bargain was complete, when the four executioners threw themselves on the unarmed men, and, assisted by others, overpowered +and secured them. Si Tundo, wounded in the scuffle, and bound, surrounded by enemies flourishing their krisses, remarked, +‘You have taken me by treachery; openly you could not have seized me.’ He spoke no more. They triumphed over and insulted +him, as though some great feat had been achieved, and every kris was plunged into his body, which was afterward cast, without +burial, into the river. Si Tundoʼs relation was spared on pleading for mercy; and after his whole property, even to his clothes, +was confiscated, he was allowed to retire to Sadung. Thus perished poor Si Tundo, a Magindano pirate, with many, if not all, +the vices of the native character, but with boldness, courage, and constancy, which retrieved his faults, and raised him in +the estimation of brave men. In person he was tall, elegantly made, with <a id="d0e2323"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2323">130</a>]</span>small and handsome features, and quiet and graceful manners; but toward the Malays, even of rank, there was in his bearing +a suppressed contempt, which they often felt, but could not well resent. Alas! my gallant comrade, I mourn your death, and +could have better spared a better man; for as long as you lived, I had one faithful follower of tried courage among the natives. +Peace be with you in the world to come, and may the great God pardon your sins and judge you mercifully! + +</p> +<p>“The case of poor Si Tundo proves that the feeling of love is not quite dead among Asiatics, though its power is obscured +by their education and habits of polygamy; and that friendship and relationship may induce a man here, as elsewhere, to risk +his life and sacrifice his property without any prospect of personal advantage. An old Magindano man, a sort of foster-father +of Si Tundoʼs, when he saw me for the first time, clasped my arm, and repeatedly exclaimed, ‘Si Tundo is dead; they have killed +him;’ adding, ‘had you been here, he would not have been killed.’ I was touched by the old manʼs sorrow, and his expression +of feeling.” + +</p> +<p>Datu Jembrong was likewise an Illanum, and retired to Sadung when the rebel war had closed, and died after a few daysʼ illness. +Mr. Brooke writes: “Thus I have lost the two bravest men—men whom I would rather trust for fair dealing than any score of +Borneons; for the Magindanos, though pirates by descent and education, are a far superior people to any in the Archipelago, +with the exception of the Bugis. Whatever may be their vices, they are retrieved by courage to a certain degree; and where +we find a manly character, we may presume that the meaner arts of <i>finesse</i> and treachery are less prevalent. Dampier and Forrest both give them an excellent character; and it is a pity that of late +years little is known of them, and so little pains taken to hold a friendly intercourse either with them or the Sooloos.” + +</p> +<p>The important changes which ensued on the return of Mr. Brooke to Sarāwak, in the spring of 1841, now demand attention; and, +as heretofore, I proceed to describe them from the data intrusted to my charge. + +</p> +<p>“In a former part of my journal,” says Mr. Brooke, “I have mentioned briefly the occasions which led to my <a id="d0e2336"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2336">131</a>]</span>invitation, and the reasons which induced me to accept the offer of the Rajah Muda Hassim; but I will repeat these, in order +to bring the narrative at once more distinctly before the memory. When I returned here for the second time, in August of last +year, it was with the determination of remaining for a few days only on my way to the northward; and nothing but my feeling +for the miserable situation of Muda Hassim induced me to alter my intention. The rebellion, which he had come from Borneo +to quell, had defied every effort for nearly four years; and the attacks he had made on the rebels had failed entirely and +almost disgracefully. His immediate followers were few in number, and aid from the neighboring countries was either denied, +or withheld on trivial excuses; while the opposition of Pangeran Usop in Borneo paralyzed the efforts of his supporters in +the capital, and, in case of non-success, threatened his own power. The pride, the petty pride of the Malay prince bent before +these circumstances, and induced him to state his difficulties to me, and to request my assistance. His failure was strongly +dwelt on, and his resolution to die here rather than abandon his undertaking—to die disgraced and deserted! Under these circumstances, +could I, he urged upon me, forsake him? could I, ‘a gentleman from England,’ who had been his friend, and knew the goodness +of his heart, could I leave him surrounded and begirt with enemies? It was possibly foolish, it was perhaps imprudent, but +it accorded with my best feelings; and I resolved not to abandon him without at any rate seeing the probabilities of success; +and it must always be remembered that, in doing so, I had no ulterior object, no prospect of any personal advantage. I joined +his miserable army, which, in numbers, barely exceeded that of the rebels, strongly stockaded. I joined them at the outset +of their campaign; and in a few days (ten days) witnessed such scenes of cowardice, treachery, intrigue, and lukewarmness +among his followers, such a determination not to take advice or to pursue any active measures, that I left them and returned +to my vessel. The Chinese I do not include in this representation; they were true and willing, but wretchedly armed, and very +justly refused to be thrust forward into <a id="d0e2338"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2338">132</a>]</span>posts of danger, which the Malays in their own country would not share. On my return to the vessel, I frankly stated how useless +my presence was among men who would not do any thing I desired, yet would do nothing for themselves; and, under the circumstances, +I intimated my intention of sailing. Here, again, I was pressed with the same entreaties; every topic was exhausted to excite +my compassion, every aid was at my disposal; and lastly, if I would stay, and we were successful, the country was offered +to me. The only inquiry was, whether the rajah had the right and authority to make over the country to me, and this I was +assured he had. The government, the revenue (with slight deductions for the sultan), and one of his brothers to reside here +in order to insure the obedience of the Malays, were all comprehended in this cession, freely and without condition. I might, +at this point of the negotiation, have insured <i>the title</i> to the government as far as a written agreement could give it; but for two sufficient reasons I declined all treaty upon +the subject until the war was over. The first of these reasons was, that it would have been highly ungenerous to take advantage +of a manʼs distress to tie him down to any agreement which, in other circumstances, he might not be willing to adopt; and +by acting thus ungenerously, it would be tempting the rajah to deceive me when the treaty came to be ratified. The second +reason was equally cogent; for a mere barren bond, which I had no means to enforce, was worse than useless, and no man would +be nearer possession by merely holding a written promise. I may add, likewise, that I saw so many difficulties in the way +of the undertaking, that I was by no means over-anxious to close with it; and, previously to accepting and entering on so +bold a project, I was desirous thoroughly to be assured of the good faith of the promiser. To the Rajah Muda Hassimʼs proposal +I, therefore, replied, that I could not accept it while the war was pending, as I considered it wrong to take any advantage +of his present situation; and that, if he conferred authority on me in the camp, I would once more go up the river and assist +him to the utmost of my power. It is needless to repeat any details of the war, except to say that I found every support from +him, and <a id="d0e2343"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2343">133</a>]</span>the highest consideration, both in personal attentions and the bestowal of influence. He conquered, I may say without self-praise, +through my means; and on the close of hostilities our negotiation about the country was revived. In its progress I stated +to him that Malay governments were so bad, that the high were allowed so much license, and the poor so oppressed, that any +attempt to govern without a change of these abuses was impossible; and as a foundation of my acceptance was the proposition, +that all his exertions must be employed to establish the principle that one man was not to take any thing from another, and +that all men were to enjoy the produce of their labor, save and except at such times as they were engaged in working for the +revenue. That the amount of the revenue was to be fixed and certain for three years, at a stated quantity of rice per family; +in lieu of which, should a man prefer it, he might pay in money or in labor: the relative price of rice to money or labor +being previously fixed at as low a rate as possible. That the officers, viz., Patingi, Bandar, and Tumangong, were to receive +stated salaries out of this revenue, in order to prevent any extortion, either by themselves or in their name; and that they +were to be answerable for the whole revenue under my superintendence. That the Dyaks were to be treated the same as the Malays, +their property protected, their taxes fixed, and their labor free. At the same time, I represented to him the difficulty of +doing this, and that nothing but his power could effect it; as any foreigner, without his unlimited support and confidence, +would have no chance of finding obedience from the numerous inferior Pangerans and their followers. This, with much more, +was the theme of my conversation; to which was replied, <i>imprimis</i>, That their customs and religion must not be infringed. That with regard to the violence and rapacity of the higher classes, +and the uncertainty of taxation, which led to so much oppression, they were by no means any part of the Ondong Ondong, <i>i. e.</i>, the written law of Borneo, but gross abuses which had arisen out of lax government. That it was the wish of his heart to +see these things mended; and that nothing should be wanting on his part to assist me in accomplishing objects so desirable, +particularly <a id="d0e2351"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2351">134</a>]</span>with respect to the Dyaks, who were so grossly abused. On this, a written agreement was made out, merely to the purport that +I was to reside at Sarāwak in order to ‘seek for profit;’ and on my remarking that this paper expressed nothing, he said I +must not think that it was the one understood between us, but merely for him to show to the sultan at Borneo in the first +place. I accepted this version of the story, though it looked suspicious; and on my part, over and above our written agreement, +which expressed nothing, I consented to buy a vessel, and bring down trade to the place, in return for which I was assured +of antimony ore in plenty; and though I knew that profit was not to be expected, I was desirous to comply, as, without a vessel +regularly trading here, it would be impossible to develop the resources of the country. While I went to Singapore, the rajah +promised to build me a house, in which I was to take up my residence. I sailed accordingly, and returned within three months, +having performed all my engagements; but on reaching Sarāwak, the first disappointment I experienced was, that the house was +not commenced. I urged them to begin it, and after the most provoking delays at length got it finished. I mention this because +it was the only instance in which good faith was kept. + +</p> +<p>“<i>August 3d.</i>—The two schooners, Royalist and Swift, having arrived at Sarāwak, I found myself with a heavy monthly expense, and was naturally +anxious to dispatch them as speedily as possible. I was assured that 6000 peculs of antimony ore would be down immediately, +and that whenever the people were set to work, any quantity might be procured without difficulty; which, indeed, I knew to +be true, as Macotah had loaded a ship, a brig, and three native vessels in six weeks. The procrastination, therefore, was +the more provoking; but as I had determined to arm myself with patience, and did not anticipate foul play, I was content to +wait for a time. The Swift being leaky and requiring repairs, was another inducement to me to lie by and land her cargo, which, +ever since my arrival, the rajah petitioned to have ashore, giving every pledge for a quick and good return. At length I consented +to let him have the cargo into his own hands, on the assurance that the antimony ore” (<i>i. e.</i>, <a id="d0e2361"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2361">135</a>]</span>the 6000 peculs which were ready?) “should be brought down directly. Nothing could be more correct than the way they received +the cargo, taking an account of each separate article, comparing it with the invoice, and noting down the deficiency; and +the rajah himself superintended this interesting process from morning till dark. At this time, having agreed with him for +the whole, as the easiest and best mode of dealing under the circumstances, I did not much trouble myself about the deposit; +and my attention was first roused by the extreme apathy of the whole party directly the cargo was in their possession—overhauled, +reckoned, and disposed of among them.” + + + + +</p> +</div> +<div id="d0e2363" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER X.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Obstacles in the way of coming to a satisfactory conclusion with Muda Hassim.—The law of force and reprisal considered.—Capabilities +of Sarāwak.—Account of Sarebus and Sakarran pirates.—Excursion up the river.—Visit to the Singè Dyaks.—Description of Mr. +Brookeʼs house at Sarāwak.—Circumstances relating to the wreck off Borneo Proper. +</p> +</div> +<p>During the succeeding pages of my friendʼs journal, one hardly knows which to admire most; his firmness, his cool courage, +his determined perseverance, or his patience. On the other hand, it is difficult to decide whether the rajahʼs indolence and +ingratitude, or Macotaʼs low cunning and treachery are the more disgusting. But I continue the narrative, and readers will +judge for themselves. + +</p> +<p>“Yet,” says Mr. Brooke, “I had confidence, and was loth to allow any base suspicion to enter my mind against a man who had +hitherto behaved well to me, and had not deceived me before. From the time the cargo had been disposed of, I found myself +positively laid on the shelf. No return arrived; no steps were taken to work the antimony ore; no account appeared of the +positive amount to be received: a promise was tendered; and all my propositions—nay, my very desire to speak of the state +of the country—were evaded. I found myself clipped like Samson, while delay was heaped upon delay, excuse piled on excuse, +and all covered <a id="d0e2373"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2373">136</a>]</span>with the utmost show of kindness and civility. It was provoking beyond sufferance; but with several strokes which I considered +important, I bore it with saint-like patience. I remonstrated mildly but firmly on the waste of my money, and on the impossibility +of any good to the country while the rajah <span id="d0e2375" class="corr" title="Source: conducteded">conducted</span> himself as he had done. I urged upon him to release the poor women whom he had kept confined for nearly five months; and +I guarantied the peaceful disposition of the people if it were done. I might as well have whistled to the winds, or have talked +reason to stones. I was overwhelmed with professions of affection and kindness, but nothing ensued. I had trusted—my eyes +gradually opened—I feared I was betrayed and robbed, and had at length determined to be observant and watchful, when an event +occurred which finished the delusion, and woke me fully to the treachery, or at any rate the weakness, at work against me. +My house was finished, and I had just taken possession of it, when I understood that an overwhelming body of Dyaks, accompanied +by Malays, were proceeding up the river, with the avowed purpose of attacking a hostile tribe, but with the real design of +slaughtering all the weak tribes in their way. Upward of 100 boats, with certainly not fewer than 2500 men, had been at Sarāwak +a week, asking permission for this expedition; and I was informed there was not the slightest chance of its being granted, +when to my surprise I saw the expedition start. + +</p> +<p>“On being convinced that they really were going up the country, I instantly quitted the house and returned on board the Royalist, +sending to know whether the rajah had granted leave for their entrance into the interior. By him the whole blame of the transaction +was thrown upon Macota and the Orang Kaya de Gadong; and he himself was said to be so ill that he could not be seen; but it +was added, as I disliked the measure so greatly, the same parties who had sent the Dyaks up could recall them down, which +indeed I had insisted on being done. They accordingly retrograded and left; after which I continued sulky on board and the +rajah, shamming sick, sulked in his harem. That any man beside the rajah himself would have been <a id="d0e2380"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2380">137</a>]</span>bold enough to grant the permission, I knew, from experience, was impossible. I accepted his denial as the groundwork of a +reconciliation. In the mean time, as he continued indisposed, I intimated my intention of proceeding to Borneo in three days, +and dispatching the Swift at the same time to proceed to Singapore; part of her cargo, 750 peculs of antimony ore, having +been at length put on board. On this being made known to the rajah, he forgot his sickness, and came out and proffered me +a meeting to discuss affairs, which I postponed until the following day. In the mean time I took a candid view of my position, +and considered the best means of extricating myself from my difficulties with as little trouble and inconvenience as possible +to either party. + +</p> +<p>“I had lost much valuable time, spent much money, and risked my life and the lives of my crew, in order to render assistance +to Rajah Muda Hassim in his distress; in return for which he had voluntarily offered me the country. The conditions of my +acceptance had been discussed and mutually understood, and I had, in fulfillment of my part, brought vessel and cargo. Profit +I did not much care about; the development of the country was my chief, I may say my only, aim; and on my arrival I had been +delayed and cheated by false promises, which showed too plainly that he neither meant to adhere to his former agreement, nor +to pay for what he had on false pretences obtained. It may appear to many that no measures ought to be kept with one who had +so behaved; but for the following reasons I resolved still to wait his pleasure. In the first place, it was barely possible +that indolence, and not treachery, might have actuated him; and in the next place, if it was possible to arrange so as to +get back the amount of the Swiftʼs cargo, I was in duty and justice bound to use every endeavor before resorting to measures +of force. As for the cession of the country, and all the good which must have resulted from it, I put these considerations +altogether out of the question. I had been deceived and betrayed, and had met with the grossest ingratitude; but I had no +claim, nor would any written agreement have given me one; and I was therefore constrained to submit without returning evil +for evil. Every point weighed, I felt, <a id="d0e2384"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2384">138</a>]</span>from every motive, inclined, nay desirous, to avoid a rupture, or taking an equivalent for my property by force. The Swift, +with the part of her cargo received on board, after three monthsʼ detention, and no more even talked of, I therefore resolved, +as already stated, to dispatch to Singapore. My first intention on arriving here had been to send the Royalist back to that +port and dispose of her; but a native rumor being afloat that the crew of a shipwrecked vessel were in Borneo Proper, I deemed +it incumbent on me to visit that place and effect their release. I had used every means in my power since my arrival to induce +the Rajah Muda Hassim to send one or two of his Pangerans and a letter from himself to the sultan by the Royalist, in order +to insure that object; but although, day by day, I had received promises, they were never performed. Seeing now that this +duty of humanity could no longer be delayed with propriety, I resolved to dispatch the Royalist to Borneo, and myself to remain +here, to endeavor, if I could, to obtain <i>my own</i>. Each vessel was to return as quickly as possible from her place of destination; and I then resolved to give two additional +months to the rajah, and to urge him in every way in my power to do what he was bound to do as an act of common honesty. Should +these means fail, after making the strongest representations and giving amplest time, I considered myself free to extort by +force what I could not gain by fair means. + +</p> +<p>“Having determined on these steps, I met the rajah by appointment, and repeated all my grievances, and set strongly before +him the injury done in consequence; and lastly, plainly told him that I only came and now only stayed in his country at his +request, but that the property he had taken must be repaid, and subsequently to that, if he had any proposition to make, I +would endeavor to meet his wishes. To all this I received <i>no one satisfactory answer</i>, and, from the shuffling on every complaint, I formed the worst opinion of his intentions. + +</p> +<p>“My determination, however, having been previously made, the result of this conversation had no effect upon me; and at the +end of three days, the time I had limited, no letter for the sultan being forthcoming, on the fourth morning the two schooners +proceeded to sea, one <a id="d0e2396"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2396">139</a>]</span>for Borneo, the other for Singapore, while, with three companions, I remained in my new house.<a id="d0e2398src" href="#d0e2398" class="noteref">1</a> + +</p> +<p>“I wish now to discuss a question which has often occupied my mind, and upon which I have been very desirous to arrive at +a right conclusion. It is certain that a British subject cannot wrongfully attack or injure any prince or person in his own +country without rendering himself liable to be punished by the laws of England. It is both right and just that it should be +so, because in demi-civilized or savage countries the natives are often unable to protect themselves, and an attack upon them +savors of piracy. On the other hand, if the native prince be the party to blame; if he fraudulently possess himself of property +under false pretences, make promises which he breaks, and enter into agreements before witnesses which he never intends to +fulfill; then, I ask, is a British subject to submit to the loss, when the party defrauding him is able to pay and will not? +I answer decidedly, he is not bound to submit to be cheated, and, if he have the means, he has the right to enforce repayment. +It may be urged that trust ought not to be reposed; but trust is the ordinary course of trade, and cannot alter the question. +Again, it may be said, Apply to the government; but it is well known and acknowledged that the government will not interfere +in any case of the sort. Seek redress by law! there is no law to meet the contingency. Bear the loss, <i>i. e.</i> be betrayed, deceived, and cheated, and submit! It cannot be; for although the law may properly inquire into the circumstances, +yet as it will not protect me here, or give me any redress for <i>fraud</i> or <i>murder</i>, it cannot punish, if right be on my side. Am I quite sure that the right <a id="d0e2412"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2412">140</a>]</span>is on my side? It is, as far as I can judge; and having candidly stated every fact and circumstance, I am convinced there +can be but one opinion on the subject. I am sure that if I seize property to the amount of that taken from me, I act justly, +though perhaps not legally; yet I firmly believe legally likewise, although law and justice do not necessarily go always hand +in hand. On the whole, there was the old sore rankling—the false promises, the gross deceit, the base ingratitude to a man +who had done everything to relieve this equivocating rajah from disgrace, defeat, and perhaps death. But here I close this +account for the present, to be resumed on the return of the Royalist from Borneo. + +</p> +<p>“<i>August 4th.</i>—Both retrospectively and prospectively the grounds for all these transactions were ever pressing on my mind and guiding my +actions. The capabilities of the Sarāwak country were very great. It could abundantly supply the richest produce of the vegetable +kingdom; it abounded in mineral wealth, and especially in a vast staple commodity of antimony ore; with a considerable population +of Dyaks, whose condition was decidedly improvable; a Malay population, by no means large, which was advantageous; and a Chinese +population ready to immigrate with even a moderate prospect of protection. Beside these inducements, must be added its propinquity +to the Pontiana river, and the trade which by that route might flow even from the center of this little-known island. To crown +all, there were the credit to myself in case of success, the amelioration of the native condition, however partial, and the +benefit to commerce in general. These were the reasons that induced me to enter on this arduous task; and to these I may add +a supplementary one, viz., that when I had struggled for a time, I might rouse the zeal of others, and find efficient support +either from government or the mercantile body. + +</p> +<p>“I have in a former part of my journal mentioned the Illanun pirates, and my meeting with them here. On our return we heard +of their being still on the coast, and from that time to this they have been ravaging and plundering between Tanjong Datu, +Sirhassan, and Pontiana. Malays and Chinese have been carried off in great numbers; <a id="d0e2421"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2421">141</a>]</span>Borneo and Sambas prahus captured without end; and so much havoc committed, that the whole coast, as far as the natives are +concerned, may be pronounced in a state of blockade. + +</p> +<p>“Beside the Illanuns, there are two other descriptions of pirates infesting these seas: one, the Dyaks of Sakarran and Sarebus, +two predatory tribes already mentioned; the other called Balagnini, a wild people represented to come from the northward of +Sooloo. I have not seen them; but their boats are said to be very long and swift, with sometimes outriggers; and one particular +in their mode of attack is too curious to omit. In closing on their victims they use long poles, having a hook made fast at +the extremity, with which, being expert, they hook their opponents at a distance and drag them overboard, while others are +fighting with saligis and spears. + +</p> +<p>“I have before mentioned the arrival of one hundred Dyak boats at Sarāwak, to request permission from the rajah to ascend +the river and attack a tribe toward Sambas. What a tale of misgovernment, tyranny, and weakness, does this request tell! These +Dyaks were chiefly from Sakarran, mixed with the Sarebus, and with them three boats of the Malo tribe, whose residence is +toward the Pontiana river. The Sakarrans are the most powerful, the most predatory, and the most independent tribe on the +N.W. coast, their dependence on Borneo being merely nominal. The latter are likewise predatory and numerous, but they are +on good terms with all the coast tribes and with the Malays, while the Sarebus are against all, and all are against them. +Speaking generally, they are a remarkably fine body of people, handsome, intelligent, powerful, well-made, beautifully-limbed, +and clear-skinned. They are somewhat fairer than the Malays and the mountain Dyaks; but in manners, customs, and language, +exactly resemble the Sibnowans, except that the last, from misfortune, have become a peaceful tribe. The Sarebus and Sakarrans +are only distinguishable by the numerous rings they wear in their ears. On one man I counted fourteen of brass, various sizes, +in one ear only. They are rather fond of ornament, and wear grotesque caps of various-colored <a id="d0e2427"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2427">142</a>]</span>cloths (particularly red), some of them square, others peaked, and others like a cocked hat worn athwart-ships, and terminating +in sharp points on the top of the head. These head-dresses are ornamented with tufts of red hair or black human hair, shreds +of cloth, and sometimes feathers; but what renders them laughable to look at is, that the hair is cut close to match the shape +of the cap; so that when a man displaces it, you find him bare of hair about the forehead and posterior part of the skull, +that over the ears cut into points, and the rest of the skull showing a good crop of black bristles. + +</p> +<p>“The commanders of this party were yclept poetically by their own people, as <i lang="fr">noms de guerre</i>, the Sun and the Moon, <i>i. e.</i>, <i>Bulan</i>, for moon, and <i>Matari</i> for sun. The Sun was as fine a young man as the eye would wish to rest upon; straight, elegantly yet strongly made, with +a chest and neck, and head set on them, which might serve Apollo; legs far better than his of Belvidere; and a countenance +mild and intelligent. I became very good friends with both Sun and Moon, and gave them a great deal of good advice about piracy, +which, of course, was thrown away. + +</p> +<p>“Their boats are built very long, raised at the stern, and the largest pulling as many as sixty paddles; but I should not +think them fast, and any boat with a swivel might cut them up. The least average I could give the hundred boats is twenty-five +men per boat, making, as already observed, 2500 in all. We counted ninety, and there were others down the reach we could not +see; and they themselves stated their force to be 140 boats and 4000 men. The manners of these Dyaks toward us were reserved, +quiet, and independent. They stole nothing, and in trading for small quantities of rice, bees-wax, cotton, and their cloths, +showed a full knowledge of the relative value of the articles, or rather they priced their own at far above their proper worth. +I may indeed say of all the Dyaks I have seen, that they are anxious to receive, but very loth to give; and when they have +obtained cloth, salt, copper, beads, &c. to the amount of two or three dollars as a present, will bring in a bunch of plantains +or a little rice, and ask you <i>to buy</i>. The Sibnowans are the chief exceptions to this, and they are <a id="d0e2448"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2448">143</a>]</span>my pet tribe. The language of Sakarran and Sarebus is the same as the Sibnowan; and with all the word God, the <i>Allah Talla</i> of the Malays, is expressed by <i>Battara</i>, from which we may infer that their notion of the Deity, as probably was all the religion of these regions, was derived from +the Hindoos. + +</p> +<p>“When this force of Dyaks was, contrary to the assurance given to me, sweeping up the river, I had just finished a late dinner. +I was <i>angry enough</i>, and resolved instanter to leave the house, when who should come in, <i>as if by pure accident</i>, but Pangeran Budrudeen, the rajahʼs brother. I controlled myself, spoke strongly withal but civilly, and sent him away wishing +he had not come near me; and the boat being ready, I retired from the house to the Royalist. Their immediate recall was the +consequence; for the rajah having denied his permission, those who fathered the act dared not persist in it when I told them +it was an act of disobedience. They tried to frighten me with the idea that the Dyaks would attack us; but as I felt sure +we could blow them away in ten minutes, it had not the desired effect. They had in the mean time reached Leda Tanah, whence +they were brought down again sulky enough, and did show a slight inclination to see whether the people on board the Swift +were keeping watch; for several of their boats dropped close to her, and one directly under the bowsprit, as silently as death; +but on being challenged, and a musket leveled near them, they sheered off, and the next day finally departed. The poor Dyaks +in the interior, as well as the Chinese, were in the greatest state of alarm, and thence I gained some credit among them for +my interference on their behalf. The very idea of letting 2500 wild devils loose in the interior of the country is horrible; +for though they have one professed object, they combine many others with it, and being enemies of all the mountain tribes, +they cut them up as much as they can. What object, it may be inquired, can the Malays have in destroying their own country +and people so wantonly? I must endeavor to explain, to the best of my belief and knowledge. The Malays take part in these +excursions, and thirty men joined the Sakarrans on the present occasion, and consequently <a id="d0e2464"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2464">144</a>]</span>they share in the plunder, and share largely. Probably Muda Hassim would have got twenty shares (women and children); and +these twenty being reckoned at the low rate of twenty reals each, makes four hundred reals, beside other plunder, amounting +to one or two hundred reals more. Inferior Pangerans would of course partake likewise. Muda Hassim <i>must</i> have given his consent, must have been a participator in this atrocity, nobody being desperate enough to do such a thing +without his orders. In fact, they dare not move up the river themselves without leave, much less send up the Dyaks. It is +a hateful feature in this government, newly developed since the close of the war. + +</p> +<p>“<i>August 5th.</i>—One excursion I made up the river over our old ground, staying a week, visiting various places. Where the village of Siniawan +once stood is now a small Chinese settlement, and their garden bespeaks the fertility of the soil. From Siniawan I walked +over to Tundong, now the principal Chinese station. The scenery was beautiful all the way from Siniawan to Tundong—gently +undulating ground rising into respectable hills, and backed by noble mountains, and valleys so quiet and still, and looking +so fertile, that I sighed to think manʼs cultivating hand was not here. We paused, and rested at a farm of the Paninjow. Their +mode of cultivation is the same as described by Marsden—cutting, clearing, planting, and abandoning after one or two crops. +They seem likewise to prefer the upland to the wet ground. Tundong is quite a new settlement, situated close on the banks +of the river, which is here quite narrow and shallow. The distance may be ten miles by water, as it took our boat four hours +and a half to pull against stream. We spent the same time walking, but diverged from the road. Wherever the Chinese are, the +sound of the axe and the saw is to be heard in the woods as you approach, and all are industriously employed. They have their +carpenters, sawyers, blacksmiths, and housebuilders, while the mass work the antimony ore, or are busy constructing the trench +where they find and wash the gold. With such inhabitants a country must get on well, if they are allowed fair play. I was +quite tired, and stayed all <a id="d0e2474"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2474">145</a>]</span>night at Tundong. On the following morning I started for the Singè mountain, which is the residence of the Dyak tribe of the +same name. The walk, including a rest, occupied nearly three hours, the latter part uphill, and we reached the village a good +deal knocked up from the heat of the sun and the badness of the way. Our entertainment was not of the best; yet the Singè +were not inhospitable, but suspicious that we came to rob them. The rice and the fowls we required, although we paid for them +at double their value, were reluctantly produced; while at the same time they showed themselves anxious enough to obtain the +salt we had brought to exchange, without giving the equivalent. + +</p> +<p>“The village is built on the shoulder of a mountain, not half way up, and only accessible by a ladder-like path on either +side. It consists of about 200 miserable huts, and is as dirty and filthy as any place I ever was in, with numerous half-starved +pigs and dogs running about it. The houses are small and mean, and detached from each other, contrary to the usage of the +other Dyaks, who inhabit one large house containing numerous partitions for families; here, however, they have one or two +public halls or council-houses, which are built and thatched in a circular form, and in which their young men and bachelors +sleep; here likewise are deposited the heads, of which they have more than enow, as above one hundred ghastly remnants of +mortality ornamented the abode in which we slept. I could not on this occasion find out that they professed to take the heads +of friends or strangers, though the latter may fall victims if on enemiesʼ ground. They seem to have no idea of cannibalism +or human sacrifice, nor did they accuse their enemies of these practices. They have a custom, that in case of sickness in +a house, or child-bearing, the house is forbidden to the males and strangers, which is something similar to the tabboo of +the South-Sea Islands. This plea was urged as a reason why the head man or Orang Kaya Parembam could not receive us in his +dwelling. The Dyaks are always decorous in their behavior, rarely give way to mirth, and never annoy by their curiosity. Toward +the Malays they are extremely sulky and mulish; but they have good reasons, as the <a id="d0e2478"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2478">146</a>]</span>Malays are ever extorting from them, and threatening them with the anger of the rajah or the incursion of the Sakarrans. The +women wear black bamboo stays, which are sewn on when they arrive at the age of puberty, and never removed save when <i>enceinte</i>. These Singè Dyaks, like the others, attend to the warning of birds of various sorts, some birds being in more repute than +others. On starting for a hunting excursion we met one of them on the hill-side, who said, ‘You will be fortunate: I heard +the bird behind you.’ Here, if a bird is before you, it is a sign that enemies are there too, and they turn back: if behind, +they proceed in good spirits. They have a prejudice against the flesh of deer, which the men may not eat, but which is allowed +to women and children. The reason given for this is, that if the warriors eat the flesh of deer, they become as faint-hearted +as that animal. These may be called their superstitions, but religion they have none; and though they know a name for God, +and entertain some faint notion of a future state, yet it is only in the abstract, for practically the belief seems to be +a dead letter. At their marriage they kill fowls, as I have narrated; but this is a ceremony, not a sacrifice. They have no +priests or idols, say no prayers, make no offerings to propitiate the Deity, and it is little likely therefore that human +sacrifice should exist among them. In this respect they are different from any known people who have arrived at the same state +of civilization. The New Zealanders, the inhabitants of the South Seas, &c. &c., for instance, all bow to their idols, toward +which the same feelings of reverence and devotion, of awe and fear, obtain as with more civilized beings in regard to the +invisible Deity; but here are the mere words, barren and without practice. + +</p> +<p>“The day following our arrival at Singè we descended into the plains, amid their former rice-fields, to shoot deer. The place +is called Pasar (bazaar or market), though it could scarcely ever have been one. The rice-cultivation was formerly very extensive, +and the low ground all about the mountain is well cleared of wood by the industry of these Dyaks. But the country becoming +unsettled and troubled, and roving parties of strange Dyaks landing on the coast near Onetong, <a id="d0e2485"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2485">147</a>]</span>cut off the people employed in the fields, and they consequently were abandoned. We took up our quarters in a ruinous little +deserted hovel, and in the evening walked over the neighboring district, where the cocoanut and betel-trees mark its former +state of prosperity. The sago is likewise planted in considerable quantity, and serves for food, when rice falls short. Deer, +the large deer of Borneo, abound, and in a walk of a few miles we saw from fifteen to twenty, and from their tracks they must +be very numerous indeed. The walking was difficult, for owing to the softness of the ground, we often sank in up to our thighs, +and generally to our knees: and a short distance in this sort of wading in stiff mud serves to knock a man up. I was fortunate +enough to kill one of the deer, and have no doubt that with more favorable light a man might get many. The nightʼs repose +in the hut was broken and uncomfortable, and our people were busy for several hours curing the flesh of the animal, which +is done as follows: first it is slightly salted, and then burnt over a quick wood-fire in slices or lumps, and thus keeps +for many days, and is very palatable. Seriff Hussein (formerly of Siniawan) was my companion on this excursion. He had three +followers, while I had three Javanese with me, beside my Bugis boy Situ, who walks with the best of us. The morning after +killing the deer we ascended the Singè again by a desperately steep path; and after resting an hour or two, walked to our +boats, and descended the stream to Siniawan. The night was marked by torrents of rain, thunder, and lightning, which left +the roads so bad that I resigned my intention of walking up to Sarambo, and in the evening dropped down to Leda Tanah, and +tried unsuccessfully for another deer. We saw some, but could not get near them. Here likewise are plenty of rice-fields deserted, +but which a little labor would bring again into cultivation. The day following we rejoined the schooner, and, as usual, found +everything at a stand-still on shore. + +</p> +<p>“I may here mention our house, or, as I fondly styled it, our palace. It is an edifice fifty-four feet square, mounted upon +numerous posts of the Nibong <a id="d0e2489"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2489">148</a>]</span>palm, with nine windows in each front. The roof (<i>atap</i>) is of Nipah leaves, and the floor and partitions are all of plank: furnished with couches, tables, chairs, books, &c. the +whole is as comfortable as man would wish for in this out-of-the-way country; and we have, beside, a bathing-house, cook-house, +and servantsʼ apartments detached. The view from the house to the eastward comprises a reach of the river, and to the westward +looks toward the blue mountains of Matang; the north fronts the river, and the south the jungle; and but for the uncertainty +of our affairs, I would have had a garden ere this, and found amusement in clearing and improving. Farewell, I fear, to these +aspirations; our abode, however, though spacious, cool, and comfortable, can only be considered a temporary residence, for +the best of all reasons—that in the course of a year it will tumble down, from the weight of the superstructure being placed +on weak posts. The original plan was to have had a lower story, but about this I am now indifferent. The time here passes +monotonously, but not unpleasantly. Had we but the animation of hope, and the stimulus of improvement, time would pass rapidly, +though without a companion to converse with. + +</p> +<p>“<i>August 6th.</i>—The Royalist, as I mentioned before I reverted to the subject of the pirate fleet, started for Borneo Proper, to inquire +respecting the crew of an English vessel, reported to have been shipwrecked. Pangeran Sulieman brought the intelligence from +Borneo, but he knew very few particulars; and having been here four months before my arrival, the chances were that with the +change of the monsoon they had sailed for Manilla. As, however, he assured me he had seen European men and women, and a numerous +Lascar crew, I thought it right, at all events, to ascertain the fact; and in case of their being there still, to endeavor +to obtain their release. For this purpose I was very desirous of procuring a letter from Muda Hassim to the sultan, conveyed +by a Pangeran of rank; which, in addition to my own application, would most likely insure the object in view. This, however, +though promised, I could not accomplish; delay coming <a id="d0e2499"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2499">149</a>]</span>upon delay, and the plague of my own affairs also intervening, postponed my intention till I could see the Swift fairly off +for Singapore. The Royalist then went out with her on the Sunday, July 25th, proceeding to Borneo to demand the crew, if there: +and the other to Singapore. On the 2d of August I was surprised by the receipt of a letter brought from Sadong, and bearing +date the 10th of July. The gentleman who writes it can best tell his own story. + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<div class="body"> +<div class="div1"> +<div class="opener">‘Island Sirhassan, off Tan Datu, + +<div class="dateline">‘July 10th, 1841.</div> + +</div> +<p>‘A boat leaves this to-morrow for Sarāwak; perhaps this may fall into the hands of Mr. Brooke, or some of my countrymen, which, +should I not succeed in getting to Singapore, I trust will lose no time in letting the authorities know, so that steps may +be taken for the release of the remaining thirty-six British subjects now at Borneo; which I fear nothing but one of H. M. +ships will effect. The pirates are cruising in great force between Sambas and this, and have taken thirteen Borneo prahus, +or more; they know that there are Europeans in the prahu, and have expressed a wish to take them. Our situation is not very +enviable. The bearer of this has just escaped from them. I have been living ashore with Abduramon, a native of Pulo Pinang, +who knows Mr. Brooke, and has been very kind to me. Trusting penmanship and paper will be excused, + + + +</p> +<div class="signed">‘I remain, &c. &c. +<br>‘<span class="smallcaps">G. H. W. Gill</span>.’ + +</div> +</div> +</div> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>“On the reverse was the following attestation, which threw more light on the circumstances:— + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<p>‘I, G. H. Willoughby Gill, late chief officer of the ship Sultana, of Bombay, do hereby certify that the said ship was totally +destroyed by lightning, thirty miles N. E. of the Bombay shoal, coast of Palawan, on the 4th of January, 1841. Part of the +crew, forty-one in number, succeeded in reaching Borneo on the 16th of January, in a state of starvation and misery not to +be described; the remainder are reported to have landed on the coast of Borneo per long-boat:—Captain John Page; G. H. W. +Gill, chief officer; Alexander Young, second officer; one gunner; five sea-cunnies; two carpenters; twenty-three natives and +Lascars; two Nakodas. Passengers:—Mrs. Page (of a daughter, 31st of March); Mr. and Miss de Souza; Mrs. Anderson, servant; +one Ayah; in all <a id="d0e2525"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2525">150</a>]</span>forty-two souls. The sultan has permitted myself, Mr. and Miss de Souza, with three servants, to proceed to Singapore in one +of his prahus, where I hope to succeed in procuring the release of the remainder of my companions from their present very +uncomfortable situation. I dare not say more. Mr. de Souza and myself left on the 24th of May, and put in here dismasted on +the 20th of June; since then have been detained by a fleet of piratical prahus, which arrived on the 24th, and left 9th of +July. Should nothing prevent, we expect to be ready by the 15th; but am very doubtful of ever getting to Singapore, as I fear +they are on the look-out for us outside.’ +</p> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>“This is the contents of the paper, which arriving after I had retired to rest, effectually banished sleep from my pillow. +The ‘uncomfortable situation,’ coupled with ‘I dare say no more,’ gives the worst suspicions of their treatment in Borneo; +while the chance of the party at Sirhassan falling into the hands of the pirates is extremely shocking. I instantly, on the +receipt of the letter, sent to the rajah to request that he would dispatch a boat for Sirhassan, with a person competent to +treat with the pirates; and on the morning of the 3d I succeeded in dispatching a boat to Songi, in the Sadong, to get some +of the Datu Pangeranʼs people, who are Illanuns; but up to this time they have not returned. I can only hope these poor people +at Sirhassan will be wise enough to stay there, instead of risking a capture by the pirates. Should the Royalist return shortly, +and have obtained the crew, we may fight our way to that place and release the party, who, I have little doubt, are still +detained there. If the Royalist is long away, and the captain goes in search of the missing boatʼs crew, we may yet have the +Illanuns from Sadong here in time to dispatch. As for myself, I am tied, and have not the means at present of locomotion; +my situation is an anxious one. The Swift must have been liable to fall in with this great force of pirates on her way to +Singapore, and will be again liable on her return. The doubt and uncertainty about the poor fellows in Borneo and Sirhassan, +and the wretched condition of my own affairs, all cause unpleasant reflections to my mind; yet I yield not, but will fight +it out. + +</p> +<p>“I have just brought up my history to the present <a id="d0e2532"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2532">151</a>]</span>time; and, like a log on the water, must wait for events to develop themselves. + +</p> +<p><span id="d0e2535" class="corr" title="Source: ">“</span><i>7th.</i>—A report arrived this morning that the Sirhassan party sailed for Singapore on the 3d of the moon; and as Mr. Gill says they +would be ready for sea about the 15th of last month, I consider it likely to be true. I trust they may escape the pirates, +and safely reach their destination.” + + + + +</p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e2398" href="#d0e2398src" class="noteref">1</a></span> I need hardly remark on the singular courage and disregard of personal safety and life itself evinced by my friend on this +occasion. At issue with the rajah on points of great temptation to him, beset by intrigues, and surrounded by a fierce and +lawless people, Mr. Brooke did not hesitate to dispatch his vessels and protectors, the one on a mission of pure humanity, +and the other in calm pursuance of the objects he had proposed to himself to accomplish; and with “three companions,” place +himself at the mercy of such circumstances, regardless of the danger, and relying on the overruling Providence in which he +trusted, to bring him safely through all his difficulties and perils.—H. K. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e2540" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XI.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Return of the Royalist from Borneo Proper with intelligence of the sufferers from the wreck of the Sultana.—Effect of the +arrival of the Diana on the negotiations for their release.—Outrage and oppression of Macota.—Fate of the Sultana and her +crew.—Mr. Brooke made Rajah of Sarāwak.—Liberation of rebel prisoners.—State of Dyak tribes.—Court of justice opened.—Dyak +burials, and respect for the dead.—Malay cunning and treachery. +</p> +</div> +<p>While waiting events, Mr. Brooke amused himself by writing down such accounts of the interior as he was enabled to collect, +from time to time, from the natives visiting Sarāwak, as well as a brief description of the constitution and government, as +enacted in Borneo Proper. But as my object now is to trace the progress of my friend up to the time when he embarked on board +the Dido, I shall refer to these matters hereafter. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Tuesday, August 17th, 1841.</i>—Three weeks the Royalist has now been absent, and I begin, in spite of my determination to the contrary, to be somewhat uneasy +about her. Suspense is certainly more difficult to bear than misfortune, for the certainty of an event arouses within us some +of our best feelings to resist it; but suspense lets loose our imagination, and gives rise to that sickening feeling of ‘hope +deferred,’ so truly characterized in the Scriptures. + +</p> +<p>“<i>18th.</i>—The Royalist arrived near Sarāwak, having come into the river on the 16th, and in one tide from the Morotaba entrance as +far as the Paduman<a id="d0e2558src" href="#d0e2558" class="noteref">1</a> rocks. They reported that they had not effected the release <a id="d0e2561"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2561">152</a>]</span>of the prisoners, were very rudely treated, the boat detained at a fort near the entrance of the Borneo river, all communication +denied with the Europeans, a letter for them seized from the native crew, and provisions and water refused. In addition to +this, a letter from the sultan, addressed to me, stated to the effect, that the crew of the Sultana having entered into a +treaty with him, the merchant and mate (Messrs. de Souza and Gill) had gone to Singapore to fulfill that agreement. The captain +having a wife in the family way, preferred staying in Borneo, as the vessel was a small one, and therefore the sultan did +not grant my request on this occasion; and further, having an agreement, he did not wish to be deceived regarding it. This +was a falsehood from beginning to end, as will be clear by comparing it with Mr. Gillʼs statement, though I fear the poor +men have been rash enough to enter into some arrangement to ransom themselves.” + +</p> +<p>On the 19th of August the Swift arrived; but the journal was laid by until the 24th of October, when it thus recommences: + +</p> +<p>“I may now continue my narrative of events which have happened since I last used my pen, together with fresh details of my +present intentions, and such additional knowledge as has been acquired. After the arrival of the Swift, I still adhered to +my former resolution of waiting patiently for a settlement. I made several strong remonstrances, and urged for an answer to +a letter I had addressed to Muda Hassim, in which was recapitulated our entire negotiation. This letter was acknowledged to +be perfectly true and correct, and the rajah, in the conference which followed, again pledged himself to give me the country, +saying he always intended to do so, but was involved in difficulties of the nature of which I could not be aware. Thus far +things went well, and there appeared, indeed, a frankness in his manner which had formerly pleased me, but had long been in +abeyance. + +</p> +<p>“On the return of the Royalist from Borneo, I had assured them that a government vessel would be sent to demand the captives; +but, taking this assurance for a mere boast, they paid little attention to it, and were <a id="d0e2569"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2569">153</a>]</span>therefore excessively frightened when, a week after the Swift, the Diana steamer entered the river. I had the pleasure of +calming their fears, and was too generous to push matters to a settlement during the two days the steamer remained. + +</p> +<p>“Muda Hassim now expressed himself desirous of sending some Pangerans to Borneo, and I wished him likewise to do so on account +of the reflective power of the steamer, which, in that case, would have shone upon him. With his usual delay, however, he +failed to be ready, and these Pangerans did not quit the river for two days afterward, when they proceeded in a native prahu. +I accompanied the steamer to the mouth of the river, and wishing them success, pulled back to the capital of Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Oct 30th.</i>—The Swift was slowly laden with antimony ore, worked by the Chinese; and I gradually robbed the Royalist of furniture for +my house on shore. But I had no intention of allowing either vessel to sail until the time arrived which I had fixed on for +the final adjustment of my affairs. By degrees, however, I learned many of the difficulties of poor Muda Hassimʼs situation, +and much of the weakness of his character. The dissensions in Borneo; the intrigues of Macota; the rapacity of his own people, +and their total want of fidelity; the bribes from the Sultan of Sambas; the false representations of numerous Borneo Pangerans +who asserted the immense profit to be derived from the country; the dilatory movements of the Chinese; some doubts of my good +faith; and, above all, the natural tenacity of power, all conspired to involve the rajah in the utmost perplexity, and would, +but for counterbalancing circumstances, have turned the scale against me. Muda Hassim knew Macota to be false and in league +with the Sultan of Sambas; and he felt that he had no power, and that if he broke with me, it would be extremely difficult +to support himself against the former rebels. He was fond of me, and trusted me more than he trusted any one else; and pecuniary +considerations had no doubt some weight, for with all Macotaʼs promises he could not get sufficient ore to repay one quarter +of his debt to me<span id="d0e2578" class="corr" title="Source: ">.</span> However, all these conflicting considerations, instead <a id="d0e2581"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2581">154</a>]</span>of inducing Muda Hassim to take one course, only served to encourage his dilatory temper, and although puzzled, ashamed, and +fearful, he could not decide. + +</p> +<p>“At this period a robbery was committed up the river by some of Macotaʼs followers on a Chinese hadji, a converted Mohammedan. +They beat the old man, threw him into the water, and robbed him of a tael of gold. The beating and attempt at drowning were +certain, for the Chinese hadji was so ill for several days under my care, that he was in considerable danger. He complained +to me loudly of Macota; and from other sources I gained a pretty accurate account of that gentlemanʼs proceedings. By threats, +by intrigue, by falsehood, and even by violence, he had prevented or driven all persons from daring to visit or come near +me, whether abroad or ashore. He was taxing the poor Dyaks, harassing the Siniawans, and leagued with the Borneo Pangerans +to plunder and get all he possibly could. Every Dyak community was watched by his followers, and a spear raised opposite the +chiefʼs house, to intimate that no person was to trade or barter except the Pangeran. The mode of plunder is thus perpetrated. +Rice, clothes, gongs, and other articles are sent to a tribe at a fixed price, which the Dyaks dare not refuse, for it is +at the risk of losing their children! The prices thus demanded by Macota were as follows: one gantong of rice for thirty birdsʼ +nests. Twenty-four gantongs here is equal to a pecul of rice—a pecul of rice costs one dollar and a half; whereas thirty birdsʼ +nests weigh one catty, and are valued at two rupees, so that the twenty-fourth part of one and a half dollars is sold for +two rupees. Was it surprising that these people were poor and wretched? My astonishment was, that they continued to labor, +and, indeed, nothing but their being a surprisingly industrious race can account for it, and they are only enabled to live +at all by secreting a portion of their food. Yet war and bad government, or, rather, no government, have had the effect of +driving more than half the Dyak tribes beyond the limits of Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p>“The rapacity of these Malays is as unbounded as it is short-sighted; for one would think that the slightest degree of common +sense would induce some of the chiefs <a id="d0e2587"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2587">155</a>]</span>to allow no one to plunder except themselves. But this is so far from being the case, that, when their demand has been enforced, +dozens of inferior wretches extort and plunder in turn, each according to his ability; and though the Dyak is not wanting +in obstinacy, he can seldom withstand these robberies, for each levy is made in the name of the rajah, or some principal Pangeran; +and the threat of bringing the powerful tribe of Sakarrans or Sarebus to deprive them of their heads and wives and families, +generally reduces them to obedience. While on this subject, I may as well mention a fact that came later to my knowledge, +when several of the Dyak chiefs, and one of particular intelligence, Si Meta by name, assured me that each family paid direct +revenue from thirty to fifty pasus (tubs) of padi, besides all the other produces, which are extorted at merely nominal prices. + +</p> +<p>“To return to my relation: the Chinese hadji recovered, and I determined to punish the aggressors, for which purpose I seized +an Illanun said to be concerned, but who was innocent. In the mean time the steamer returned from Borneo, and once more put +in here for wood and water. She brought Captain and Mrs. Page, Mr. Young, the second officer, and all the rest of the crew, +save only a few who had landed at the north part of Borneo, and there been seized and sold as slaves, and brought afterward +as slaves to Borneo Proper. As the history of the shipwreck and detention is curious, I may here relate it as nearly as I +can. + +</p> +<p>“The Sultana, a fine ship of 700 tons, the day previous to her being struck by lightning, found the French frigate Magicienne +aground and deserted on the Bombay shoal; Captain Page boarded her, and discovered every thing as it had been left by the +crew—provisions, water, &c., in abundance. The day after, the Sultana met with a worse fate, being struck, and the cotton +in the hold, fore and aft, fired by the electric fluid. They had scarcely time to hoist out the boat when the flames burst +forth, and they quitted her very short of provisions, and saving only some money and jewels. Captain Page bore up for the +wreck of the French frigate, intending to refit his long-boat aboard her, and take provisions and arms to last them to Singapore; +but, on making her, there <a id="d0e2593"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2593">156</a>]</span>was so great a wash of the sea on the lee part of the reef, that it was totally impossible to reach the Magicienne. Under +these unfortunate circumstances they bore up once more, still intending to prosecute the voyage to Singapore, and made the +land to the southward of Palawan; and, being then short of water and provisions, landed on a small islet off Balabac, or Balambangan. +Here they procured a few shell-fish and some very bad water; but seeing some natives in prahus on a neighboring islet, and +being-unarmed and apprehensive, they lighted large fires in the evening to mislead these people, and, as night advanced, silently +put to sea, and made the best of their way along the coast. With a heavy sea, and often high wind, they reached as far as +Labuan, off the entrance of the Borneo river; and here, being in the utmost want, and reduced to an allowance of half a biscuit +and a cup of water per day, they were forced to put into Borneo Proper, not without hopes of being well used, and enabled +to buy provisions and stores sufficient to carry them to Singapore or Sambas. I have omitted to mention that, on making the +land the first time, they parted from the cutter, in consequence of the tow-rope breaking in the night; but as they were then +within sight of Borneo, and the wind fair, there was no doubt of its making the land somewhere. This, indeed, it did at Malludu +Bay, where the native crew were seized and sold as slaves. + +</p> +<p>“The arrival of Captain Page in his long-boat caused, as may well be imagined, considerable sensation in the campong; and +they reached the sultanʼs house, thinking it the best place to seek shelter and protection. In this, however, they were soon +undeceived; for neither the one nor the other was granted, but a message sent that they must deliver up all their property +into the sultanʼs hands, as otherwise he was afraid they would be plundered by his people. Accordingly, having possessed himself +of their money, some jewels, their boat, &c., he gave them a miserable shed to live in. Here they passed the time, and were +gradually robbed of every thing they had in the world, even to the baby-linen which Mrs. Page had prepared for an expected +infant. Sometimes, indeed, when Captain Page refused to yield to <a id="d0e2597"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2597">157</a>]</span>the sultanʼs demands, their provisions were stopped till they could no longer hold out; and in this way they were compelled +to sign bonds for considerable sums, with the understanding that, till these were procured and paid, they should be detained. + +</p> +<p>“In this sad situation Mrs. Page was confined of a daughter, on the 31st of March; and this miserable life continued from +the 4th of January, 1841, to August of the same year. Their first ray of hope was the Royalist coming to fetch them: the steamer +followed, and they were released. + +</p> +<p>“After a stay of two or three days, the steamer once more sailed; though I would fain have persuaded Captain Congleton to +search for the piratical fleet, of which I had excellent information; but he considered himself not authorized, or, in other +words, he declined the responsibility. + +</p> +<p>“As there was a chance that Mr. Gill and the De Souzas were either at Sirhassan or Tambelan, the steamer decided to touch +at the latter place, and a native chuliah brig was directed to call at the former. I afterward learned that the pirates were +then at Sirhassan; but as the brig knew nothing about Sirhassan, it is probable she never went there. In the evening the Diana +sailed, and I reached Sarāwak about two oʼclock in the morning. + +</p> +<p>“I now return to my concerns. The Chinese hadji, whom I had protected, continued to reside with my servants, till one evening +we were alarmed at an attempt to poison my interpreter, a native of the name of Mia. Arsenic had certainly been put into his +rice; but as the servants endeavored to point suspicion on this hadji, and as I learned, at the same time, that they did not +agree with the old man, I cleared him in my own mind, and rather leaned to the opinion of Mia having placed the arsenic in +the plate himself, for the express purpose of accusing the hadji. Connecting this event with all Macotaʼs former intrigues, +I determined to bring matters to a crisis, and test at once the strength of the respective parties. Accordingly, after complaining +of the matter previously mentioned to the rajah, I landed a party of men, fully armed, and loaded the shipʼs guns with grape +<a id="d0e2607"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2607">158</a>]</span>and canister; after which I once more proceeded to Muda Hassim, and, while I protested my kindness toward him, exposed Macotaʼs +machinations and crimes, his oppression and his deceit, and threatened him with an attack, as neither Muda Hassim nor myself +were safe while he continued practicing these arts. Muda Hassim was frightened; but how Macota felt I can not say, as he never +moved out of his house, and it was long afterward before he was seen. From my knowledge, however, of his temperament, I can +well conceive that he was reduced to a pitiable state of terror. The Siniawans took my part directly; and their chiefs came +to me to say that 200 men were all ready whenever I pleased to call for them. The Chinese and the rest of the inhabitants +took no side; and Macota did not get a single follower besides his immediate slaves, perhaps about twenty in number. After +this demonstration affairs proceeded cheerily to a conclusion. The rajah was active in settling; the agreement was drawn out, +sealed, and signed; guns fired, flags waved; and on the 24th of September, 1841, I became the Governor of Sarāwak, with the +fullest powers.” + +</p> +<p>Being now regularly established in his government, Mr. Brooke, with his usual activity and circumspection, applied himself +to the discharge of the onerous duties it imposed upon him; and his first acts were such as equally displayed his wisdom, +firmness, and humanity. His journal runs thus: + +</p> +<p>“<i>Nov. 3d.</i>—I have a country; but, oh! how beset with difficulties, how ravaged by war, torn by dissensions, and ruined by duplicity, +weakness, and intrigue! Macotaʼs underhand dealings, after the conclusion of my agreement with Muda Hassim had been ratified, +soon brought letters from his Sambas friends, <i>i. e.</i>, one from the sultan, one from the Tumangong, and one from another Pangeran—an immense effort of conspiracy and correspondence! +Of these letters the sultanʼs alone was curious; for the rest only dealt in professions of devoted attachment to the person +and interests of Muda Hassim. But the sultan, for want of some better plea, made use of the following singular specimen of +reasoning, viz., that the Chinese Kunsi were indebted to him a <a id="d0e2619"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2619">159</a>]</span>sum of money, which they had agreed to pay him in antimony ore; the agreement was not to pay him in gold, or money, or other +commodity—only in antimony ore; therefore he wanted antimony ore. To this it was properly replied, that an arrangement had +been made with me, and that the Chinese could not agree to give antimony ore without his (Muda Hassimʼs) consent. + +</p> +<p>“My first object, on holding the reins of government, was to release the unfortunate women confined for a whole year by the +rajah. This, indeed, was not only necessary to inspire confidence in my just intentions, but was dictated by humanity. I found +Muda Hassim not averse to take the measure, <i>now</i> that he had really resolved to adhere to my advice, and consequently I had the sincere satisfaction, within a few days, of +liberating upward of a hundred females and young children, and of restoring them to their husbands and fathers; this act being +somewhat alloyed by Muda Hassim detaining twelve females, and among them <i>two wives</i>. I urged as strongly as I could, but without success, the advisability of releasing the whole; and I was obliged, at last, +to content myself with the mass, and yield the few whom I could only have got <i>by force</i> or the utter abrogation of our infant treaty. When I pressed the affair, it was answered that, except for me, <i>none</i> would have regained their liberty; and that the release was an act of great kindness and unexampled confidence toward me; +that what had been done was perfectly accordant with their customs; and that the women detained were for the rajahʼs brothers—so +far, indeed, from being intended as an injury to the women, it was a great honor and advantage. I explained the circumstances +to the Patingi and Tumangong, and they acquiesced in the decision—allowing the custom—and said they had gained so much more +than they had ever hoped for, that they could submit to the rest. + +</p> +<p>“The next step was to assemble the Siniawans, who, since the close of the war, would run away, and whom it was found impossible +to keep here. Some had retired to Sambas; some (among them Patingi Ali) had gone to Sariki; and others had built a village +on the borders of the Sambas territory. The whole aim and object of <a id="d0e2637"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2637">160</a>]</span>Macotaʼs government was to get these people back; and those who were already here were constantly plying backward and forward +to recall their companions; but as soon as they succeeded in getting one family, another absconded. Confidence alone could +restore them; and I therefore intimated to the Patingi and Tumangong that there was no occasion for their seeking them; that +I by no means desired their return; and that any of their people who wished to leave the country were at liberty to do so +whenever they felt inclined. This had the desired effect, in a short time, of bringing back the fugitives from Pankalon Nibong; +and they continued daily to arrive from Sambas. + +</p> +<p>“My next measure was to inquire into the state of the Dyaks, to gain their confidence, and, as much as it was within my power, +prevent the oppressions of the Malays. It was necessary, likewise, to fix a rate of tax to be levied yearly; and the prospect +seemed fair, as the chief people of the following tribes had come in, and agreed that such a tax on rice, amounting to sixteen +gantongs, would be required from each man, and that for the rest they would be obliged to labor; that they could trade at +pleasure; that no man could demand any thing from them; that their wives and children were safe; and that, in case any trouble +arose, they were to let me know, and I would myself come to their assistance. The tribes were, Lundu, Sarambo, Bombak, Paninjow, +and Sow. The only other tribe on the right-hand river were the Singè, a powerful and stiff-necked people, with good reason +to be shy; but when once they are treated justly, their strength will be advantageous, and give them confidence to resist +oppression. + +</p> +<p>“The story told me by the three heads of the Sow Dyaks brought tears into my eyes, as they each in turn related their grievances. +One of them, a remarkably intelligent person, addressed me nearly in the following terms: ‘From former times we have been +the subjects of the Patek of Borneo. The Borneons are the elder brothers, we the younger; and the custom of old was, that +we should pay revenue and find protection. But they forgot what was right, and departed from the custom, and robbed the Dyaks, +and oppressed them. We <a id="d0e2643"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2643">161</a>]</span>have done no wrong: we listened to the commands of the Patingi who was put over us by the Patek. If he did wrong, he should +be punished; but we have suffered because we obeyed the commands of the officer legally appointed. You might, sir, a few years +ago, have sought in this river, and not have found a happier tribe than ours. Our children were collected around us; we had +rice in plenty, and fruit-trees; our hogs and fowls were in abundance; we could afford to give what was demanded of us, and +yet live happily. Now we have nothing left. The Sadong people and the Sakarran Dyaks attacked us: they burned our houses, +destroyed our property, cut down our fruit-trees, killed many of our people, and led away our wives and young children into +slavery. We could build another house; we could plant fruit-trees and cultivate rice; but where can we find wives? Can we +forget our young children? We have asked the Patek to restore them; we have asked Pangeran Macota to restore them: they have +told us they would, but have not; we can not trust them; their words are fair, but in their hearts they do not mean to help +us. We have now no one to trust but you—will you help us? Will you restore our wives and children? If we get our families, +you will never repent it: you will find us true.’ + +</p> +<p>“What could I answer? I could not deceive them, as I knew not how to obtain their object; I therefore told them I feared it +was impossible; but I would try, and they themselves should go and try at the same time. Poor, unhappy people, who suffer +for the crimes of others! God knows, I will aid you to the utmost of my power. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Nov. 5th.</i>—To-day the greatest, and I hope the final, struggle of the opposing faction was developed by the arrival of a brig from Sambas, +with two of the sultanʼs sons on board; Macota in high spirits, and my party looking rather desponding; and, in fact, I can +not trust them against Sambas. For good or for bad, for success or for failure, for life or for death, I will act justly, +and preserve the high hand over Macota. + +</p> +<p>“After the steps I have mentioned, I determined to open a court for the administration of justice, wherein I <a id="d0e2654"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2654">162</a>]</span>should preside, together with such of the rajahʼs brothers as liked to assist me. As for a jury, or any machinery of form +or law, it was rejected, because it must be inefficient, if not corrupt; and the only object I aimed at was, keeping witnesses +out of ear-shot of each other, hearing the evidence, deciding as appeared best, and in future punishing. This simple plan +insured substantial redress; and it gave all the people confidence in me, and a notion of what was right. + +</p> +<p>“The first case was a follower of the rajahʼs, of the name of Sunudeen; and a greater villain could not exist either in this +or any other land. It was as follows: A man from Samarahan, named Bujong, had undertaken to marry his daughter to a Sarāwak +man called Abdullah; but Abdullah proving a dissolute character, and greatly in debt, Bujong broke off the engagement before +the proper authorities, and returned the presents which Abdullah, according to custom, had made. Abdullah, it appeared, was +indebted a small sum to Matassim (Mohammed Orsin), and, between Sunudeen and Matassim, they resolved to lay the debt on Bujongʼs +shoulders; in other words, to plunder Bujong under false pretenses. Accordingly, Sunudeen, with his comrade, went to Samarahan; +and, in his capacity of follower of the rajah, demanded the debt due by Abdullah to Matassim. Bujong having no money, Sunudeen +proceeded and seized his nephew, a boy, and a slave-man belonging to him, as <i>his slaves</i>. Poor Bujong resisted, and recovered his nephew, but yielded his slave; he appealed, however, to the Orang Kaya de Gadongʼs +sons, and they failing, a Nakodah stated the case secretly to me. I investigated it, and ordered the return of the slave in +my presence, which was obeyed. This may give an idea of the state of the country, and the power of every petty scoundrel hanging +about the rajah to rob and plunder at pleasure. + +</p> +<p>“<i>7th.</i>—I have before mentioned that the Dyaks of Sibnow bury their dead; but I always found a reluctance on their part to show me +their place of sepulture. Once, indeed, chance led me to the burial-ground of part of that tribe settled at Simunjang; but, +as they seemed restless to get away, I only took a hasty survey. The reason, I have lately learned, for this is, that in their +<a id="d0e2666"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2666">163</a>]</span>graves they deposit the golden ornaments and other property of the person deceased, amounting frequently to a considerable +value in the precious metals, brass swivels, gongs, &c. + +</p> +<p>“The tribe now at Lundu were formerly settled on the Samarahan river for many years; and their burial-place there contained +the ashes of the parents and grandparents of the present chief, who, with his followers, were not long ago driven to Lundu; +and their former settlement being deserted, it has been the employment of some of the rascals here to rob these graves of +their contents, and to desecrate the repose of the dead. The Orang Kaya of Lundu complained to me sadly, but mournfully, on +this account, and said that if he could not find redress from the rajah, he must obtain it himself by taking the heads of +those who had disinterred the bones of his ancestors. His whole manner convinced me that they hold the burying-places in great +respect; and my advice, to remove the wealth and bones to a place of security at Lundu, was rejected on the ground that they +could not disturb the remains of those whom they had once deposited in the earth. + +</p> +<p>“While there is so much of right feeling and manly principle in the actions of these Dyaks, the miserable race who pretend +to be their superiors have no single virtue or good intention. I do not, however, mean to confound the inhabitants of Sarāwak, +or the other rivers, with those of Borneo Proper. The latter are thoroughly corrupt and profligate. The former are Malays, +but have their good qualities, and certainly are not possessed with the spirit of intrigue which seems the life, the only +moving principle of the Borneons. It may truly be said of the latter, that they would tell a lie when the truth would serve +them better. They will employ duplicity and treachery on every slight occasion; defeat their own purpose by their meanness, +and yet continue in the same crooked paths. They will conspire without any object, or one too mysterious to arrive at; and, +while they raise a cloud of doubts in the mind of the poor, their own equals look on and detect the game. Yet, after all, +they gain but little individually; because so many are practicing the same arts at the same time with <a id="d0e2672"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2672">164</a>]</span>equal skill; and the country is so exhausted by their oppressions and rapacity, that in the end there is nothing to be got +by their tricks and manœuvers. It is a strange state of society, and it is only wonderful how it can exist; but they have +their reward in being poor and ill-provided, though living in the midst of a marvelously fertile and luxurious country. + +</p> +<p>“<i>December 31st.</i>—The last day of the year, in which I must bring up the arrears of my account. + +</p> +<p>“The Sambas brig left only yesterday, after exhausting every effort of intrigue, and every artifice which Malays can invent, +to compass their ends. + +</p> +<p>“With the Sambas brig came Seriff Hussein, a relation of the Sultan of Pontiana, and half Arab half Bugis by descent. He came +with the avowed purpose of entering into the most friendly communication with me, and residing here, provided I gave him any +encouragement. His real motive (if he has one) not being obvious, I, in the mean time, treated him with all kindness; and +he is an intelligent and pleasing person, and, moreover, connected with the Siniawans, who have a good opinion of him.” + + + + +</p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e2558" href="#d0e2558src" class="noteref">1</a></span> Now called Samarang. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e2683" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="lable">CHAPTER XII.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Reflections on the new year.—The plundered village, and other wrongs.—Means for their suppression.—The new government proceeds +to act.—The constitution.—Preparations for an expedition against the Sea Dyaks.—Form of a treaty.—Wreck of the Viscount Melbourne.—Administration +of justice.—Difficulties and dangers.—Dyak troubles.—Views and arrangements of the Chinese.—Judicial forms.—Wrongs and sufferings +of the Lundus. +</p> +</div> +<p>“<i>Jan. 1st, 1842.</i>—The past year is in the bosom of eternity, into which bourne we are all hurrying. Here we have no merry-making, no reunion +of families, no bright fires or merry games, to mark the advent of 1842; but we have genial weather, and are not pinched by +cold or frost. This is a year which to me must be eventful; for at its close I shall be able to judge whether I can maintain +myself against all the circumstances and difficulties <a id="d0e2694"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2694">165</a>]</span>which beset me, or whether I must retreat, broken in fortune, to some retirement in my native land. I look with calmness on +the alternative, and God knows no selfish motives weigh on me; and if I fail, my chief regret will be for the natives of this +unhappy country. Let the year roll on, let the months pass; and whatever they bring—whether it be life or death, fortune or +poverty—I am prepared; and in the deep solitude of my present existence I can safely say that I believe I could bear misfortune +better than prosperity. In this, probably, I am not singular; for there is something in prosperity which, if it does not make +us worse, makes us more foolish and more worldly—which decks passing time with wreaths of gay flowers, and gilds the things +of this life with tinsel hopes and wishes, to the exclusion of the pure gold of reflection for the life to come. What are +all these gewgaws, these artificial flowers, these momentary joys, these pleasures of the sense, before the war of time? Nothing! +And yet, if exertion can benefit our race, or even our own country—if the sum of human misery can be alleviated—if these suffering +people can be raised in the scale of civilization and happiness—it is a cause in which I could suffer, it is a cause in which +I <i>have</i> suffered and <i>do suffer</i>; hemmed in, beset, anxious, perplexed, and the good intent marred by false agents—surrounded by weakness, treachery, falsehood, +and folly, is suffering enough; and to feel myself on the threshold of success, and only withheld by the want of adequate +means, increases this suffering. Hail, however, 1842! Come good, come ill, still hail! and many as are the light hearts which +have already greeted thee, mine will be more ready to bow to the decrees of Providence which thy twelve months will develop. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Jan. 3d.</i>—I have mentioned that the Sanpro had been attacked from Sadong; and I now learn that, at the time, the men were out of the +village, and thus the women and children alone suffered; twenty-two have been carried away into slavery. The village was burned +after being plundered, and the unfortunate people have since been living in the jungle, with only such food as they could +get there. The head of the tribe and about <a id="d0e2707"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2707">166</a>]</span>six of his followers came down the river on a raft to ask assistance from me, and I had the story from them. They were relieved +as far as my means admitted, and returned far happier than they came. The very same day arrived news that six men of the Sows +were cut off by a wandering party of the Sakarrans. + +</p> +<p>“This leads me naturally to consider the means by which these atrocities may be prevented. I propose first to send letters +to Seriff Sahib of Sadong, Seriff Muller of Sakarran, and Seriff Jaffer of Singè, stating that I wish to be on good terms +with my neighbors, but am determined to attack any place which sends Dyaks to rob in my country; and that I call on them to +restrain their subjects from making incursions here. In case this warning is neglected, I must strike one blow suddenly, as +a farther warning, and keep a good lookout at sea to destroy any Dyak fleet that may be prowling outside. A good-sized boat, +with a six-pounder and a swivel or two, will effect the latter object, backed by two or four light, fast-pulling boats, with +musketry, which, when the Dyak prahus fly, may keep pace with them and thin their pullers, till the heavier boat can come +up. To carry one of their campongs, I must have twenty-five Europeans, and from some thirty to fifty Bugis, who, coming from +Singapore, may proceed at once to Sadong, or, rather, the campong Tangi. Seriff Sahib is a great freebooter, and dispatches +his retainers to attack the weak tribes here for the sake of the slaves, calculating, on the rajahʼs presumed weakness, that +he can do so with impunity. He may find himself mistaken. + +</p> +<p>“Seriff Muller is a brother of Seriff Sahib, and lives at Sakarran, which powerful Dyak tribe are always willing to be sent +by either brother on a forage for heads and slaves. It is certain, however, that they could never come from the Sadong side +without Seriff Sahibʼs permission; and on the late attack on Sanpro they were accompanied by a party of Malays. + +</p> +<p>“Seriff Jaffer is by no means mixed up with these brothers, and there is no love lost between them; nor would he, I think, +do anything to annoy me. This is the foreign policy. +<a id="d0e2715"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2715">167</a>]</span></p> +<p>“The domestic policy is as disturbed as the foreign. The rajah weak, Macota intriguing, and my ministers—viz., the Patingi +(Abong Mia), the Bandar, and Tumangong—all false and foolish, and Macotaʼs men; with me, however, are the Siniawans. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Jan. 6th.</i>—The Sambas brig returned, having been baffled and beat about, and nearly lost at sea, unable to weather Tanjong Datu. The +crew say she was one hour under water. She now remains here to wait the change of the monsoon, and her intriguing Pangerans +return by land. + +</p> +<p>“<i>8th.</i>—Seriff Hussein returned from Sambas, having been nearly stabbed while there. The assassins, it was understood, were here, +and I endeavored to apprehend them; but, having heard of the seriffʼs arrival, they made off. + +</p> +<p>“<i>10th.</i>—This day the first laws and regulations are to be promulgated in Sarāwak; and as the event is a rare one, I here inscribe +a copy for the benefit of future legislators, observing that there is an absolute necessity for mildness and patience, and +that an opposite course would raise such a host of enemies as to crush every good seed; for, as it is, the gentlest course +of justice brings down much odium, and arouses intense dislike among a people who have had no law but their own vile intrigues +to guide or control them. + +</p> +<p>“Two cases have lately come to notice, which will serve as examples of their singular crimes. + +</p> +<p>“One poor man owed another sixteen reals, and the debtor was away trading for a few days, when the creditor sold the daughter +(a free woman) for thirty reals, to a person of influence. + +</p> +<p>“The second case, a respectable man, or a respectably born man, owed a Pangeran fifty peculs of ore, and proposed to make +over to him in payment, a slave woman and her four children. The woman <i>had been</i> a slave of his grandfatherʼs, but was adopted as his daughter, and enfranchised publicly; yet by intimidation, they were +near getting her and her offspring. Here the Pangerans and Nakodas bully a man into silence and acquiescence; and the people +dare not, as yet, bring their complaints to me. But I hear these things, <a id="d0e2742"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2742">168</a>]</span>call the parties together, and often prevent the commission of a premeditated crime; by which means I save myself from the +odium of punishing. + +</p> +<p>“There is great difficulty in acting at once with temper and firmness, so as to appear the benefactor rather than the tyrant. +It is, indeed, an arduous and troublesome task; but <i>I think I see</i> a ray of light to encourage me. + +</p> +<p>“Here are the regulations, which I had printed at Singapore in the Malayan language:— + +</p> +<p>“James Brooke, esquire, governor (rajah), of the country of Sarāwak, makes known to all men the following regulations:— + +</p> +<p>“‘1st. That murder, robbery, and other heinous crimes will be punished according to the ondong-ondong (<i>i.e.</i> the written law of Borneo); and no person committing such offences will escape, if, after fair inquiry, he be proved guilty. + +</p> +<p>“‘2d. In order to insure the good of the country, all men, whether Malays, Chinese, or Dyaks, are permitted to trade or labor +according to their pleasure, and to enjoy their gains. + +</p> +<p>“‘3d. All roads will be open, that the inhabitants at large may seek profit both by sea or by land; and all boats coming from +others are free to enter the river and depart, without let or hinderance. + +</p> +<p>“‘4th. Trade, in all its branches, will be free, with the exception of antimony ore, which the governor holds in his own hands, +but which no person is forced to work, and which will be paid for at a proper price when obtained. The people are encouraged +to trade and labor, and to enjoy the profits which are to be made by fair and honest dealing. + +</p> +<p>“‘5th. It is ordered that no person going among the Dyaks shall disturb them, or gain their goods under false pretences. It +must be clearly explained to the different Dyak tribes, that the revenue will be collected by the three Datus, bearing the +seal of the governor; and (except this yearly demand from the government) they are to give nothing to any person; nor are +they obliged to sell their goods except they please and at their own prices. +<a id="d0e2766"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2766">169</a>]</span></p> +<p>“‘6th. The governor will shortly inquire into the revenue, and fix it at a proper rate; so that every one may know certainly +how much he has to contribute yearly to support the government. + +</p> +<p>“‘7th. It will be necessary, likewise, to settle the weights, measures, and money current in the country, and to introduce +doits, that the poor may purchase food cheaply. + +</p> +<p>“‘8th. The governor issues these commands, and will enforce obedience to them; and while he gives all protection and assistance +to the persons who act rightly, he will not fail to punish those who seek to disturb the public peace or commit crimes; and +he warns all such persons to seek their safety, and find some other country where they may be permitted to break the laws +of God and man.’ + +</p> +<p>“<i>Jan. 11th.</i>—I have frequently said that all law and custom have been long banished from this country; but I may here retrace the customs +which once obtained, the best of which I wish to restore. + +</p> +<p>“The inhabitants were all considered the property of the sultan—serfs rather than slaves—and were divided into four classes. +Imprimis, the Dyaks (the aborigines); the Bruni, or people of the soil, probably the descendants of the first Malay emigrants; +the Awang-Awang, the meaning of which I am ignorant of; and the Hamba Rajah, or rajahʼs slaves. There is every reason to believe +the Dyaks are an aboriginal people; but between the Bruni and Awang-Awang it is difficult to decide the priority. The Hamba +Rajah speaks for itself. + +</p> +<p>“These three distinctions have been long confounded by intermarriage; and the names rather than the reality are retained. +The governors of the country are the Patingi, a Bandar, and a Tumangong, who are appointed from Borneo. Each of the classes +was formerly ruled by its particular officer, and the Dyaks were appropriated likewise among them; the Patingi holding the +tribes on the right-hand river, the Bandar to the left, and the Tumangong on the sea-coast. The annual revenue paid to Borneo +was 300 reals; but they were subject to extra demands, and to the extortions of the powerful chiefs. +<a id="d0e2782"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2782">170</a>]</span></p> +<p>“The government of the Dyaks I have already detailed; and though we might hope that in a more settled state of things they +would have been more secure from foreign pillage, yet they were annually deprived of the proceeds of their labor, debarred +from trade, and deprived of every motive to encourage industry. The character of their rulers for humanity alone fixed the +measure of their suffering, and bad was the best; but it seems to be a maxim among all classes of Malays, that force alone +can keep the Dyaks in proper subjection; which is so far true, that force alone, and the hopelessness of resistance, could +induce a wild people to part with the food on which they depend for subsistence. At a distance I have heard of and pitied +the sufferings of the negroes and the races of New Holland—yet it was the cold feeling dictated by reason and humanity; but +now, having witnessed the miseries of a race superior to either, the feeling glows with the fervor of personal commiseration: +so true is it that visible misery will raise us to exertion, which the picture, however powerfully delineated, can never produce. +The thousands daily knelled out of the world, who lie in gorgeous sepulchres, or rot unburied on the surface of the earth, +excite no emotion compared to that conjured up by the meanest dead at our feet. We read of tens of thousands killed and wounded +in battle, and the glory of their deeds, or the sense of their defeat attracts our sympathy; but if a single mangled warrior, +ghastly with wounds and writhing with pain, solicited our aid, we should deplore his fate with tenfold emotion, and curse +the strife which led to such a result. Among the thousands starving for want of food we trouble not ourselves to seek one; +but if the object is presented before our eyes, how certain a compassion is aroused! To assist is a duty; but in the performance +of this duty, to be gentle and feeling is god-like; and probably between individuals, there is no greater distinction than +in this tender sympathy toward distress. Poor, poor Dyaks! exposed to starvation, slavery, death! you may well raise the warmest +feelings of compassion—enthusiasm awakes at witnessing your sufferings! To save men from death has its merit; but to alleviate +suffering, to ameliorate all the ills of slavery, <a id="d0e2785"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2785">171</a>]</span>to protect these tribes from pillage and yearly scarcity, is far nobler; and if, in the endeavor to do so, one poor life is +sacrificed, how little is it in the vast amount of human existence! + +</p> +<p>“<i>18th.</i>—A Chinese boat with four men was chased into the river by four Dyak prahus, and escaped with difficulty. On the intelligence +reaching me, I, with some trouble, mustered three canoes, and we proceeded down, about one oʼclock in the morning, in search +of the enemy. After rowing in the dark for some hours, we discovered a light gliding up the river, and gave chase, but did +not succeed; and at daybreak returned, wet and tired, without seeing anything more, when we learnt that the chase was a Sarāwak +boat, which, mistaking us for Dyaks, as we did them, pulled with all speed home, and gave the alarm of being nearly captured. + +</p> +<p>“In the evening I ordered a fine boat to be prepared for the war with Sarebus and Sakarran, which appears to me inevitable; +as it is impossible, laying all motives of humanity aside, to allow these piratical tribes to continue their depredations, +which are inconsistent with safety, and a bar to all trade along the coast. Eighty prahus of Sarebus and Sakarran are reported +to be ready, and waiting for further reinforcements before putting to sea. + +</p> +<p>“<i>19th.</i>—Information of three more of my Dyaks being cut off in the interior by the predatory tribes. + +</p> +<p>“<i>20th.</i>—Opened the subject of restoring the old Patingi, Bandar, and Tumangong, and found Muda Hassim quite willing, but wishing +to wait till he hears from Borneo; at the same time telling me that I might employ them in their respective situations. This +matter I consider, therefore, settled; and as these men are natives, and have the command of all the common people, and are, +moreover, willing to serve under me, I conceive it a great advance in my government. Since my return here they have proved +themselves faithful and ready; but though true in adversity, will they continue equally so in prosperity? I hope the best +from them, especially as their circumstances will be easy; and I will endeavor to pay them as much as I can. Pay well, and +men may be trusted. Either way, it is a great <a id="d0e2804"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2804">172</a>]</span>advance; for every change will not occur immediately; and, in the mean time, I shall be strengthened by in-comers, especially +Chinese, so that the parties may be balanced, and each look to me as the link which holds them together. The government must +be a patchwork between good and evil, abolishing only so much of the latter as is consistent with safety. But never must I +appear in the light of a reformer, political or religious; for to the introduction of new customs, apparently trivial, and +the institution of new forms, however beneficial, the disgust of the semi-barbarous races may be traced. People settled like +myself too often try to create a Utopia, and end with a general confusion. The feeling of the native which binds him to his +chief is destroyed, and no other principle is substituted in its stead; and as the human mind more easily learns ill than +good, they pick up the vices of their governors without their virtues, and their own good qualities disappear, the bad of +both races remaining without the good of either. + +</p> +<p>“We are in active preparation to fit out a fleet to meet the piratical Dyaks. The rajah has a fine prahu, which I have taken +in hand to repair, and I have purchased a second; and the two, with three or four small canoes, will be able to cope with +a hundred or a hundred and fifty Dyak boats. The largest of these boats is worth a description. Fifty-six feet in length and +eight in breadth; built with a great sheer, so as to raise the bow and stern out of the water, and pulling thirty paddles, +she is a dangerous customer when mounting four swivels and carrying a crew of twenty men with small arms. She is called the +‘Snake,’ or ‘Ular.’ The second boat, somewhat shorter and less fast, is named the ‘Dragon;’ her complement of paddles twenty, +and her fighting-men twenty, make one hundred and forty in, two boats. The long canoes carry fifteen men each, which will +bring the force up to one hundred and eighty-five; and one boat of the rajahʼs will complete two hundred men, of whom nearly +one hundred are armed with muskets. + +</p> +<p>“To show the system of these people, I may mention that one of the principal men proposed to me to send to Sakarran and Sarebus, +and intimate that I was about to attack Siquong (a large interior tribe), and invite <a id="d0e2810"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2810">173</a>]</span>them to assist. ‘They will all come,’ he said: ‘nothing they will like so well; and when they are up the Samarahan river, +we will sally forth, attack; and destroy them at one blow.’ My answer was, that I could not deceive; but if they did come, +I would attack them. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Feb. 1st.</i>—Matari, or ‘the Sun,’ the Sakarran chief I have already mentioned, arrived with two boats, and paid me several visits. He +assured me he wanted to enter into an agreement, to the effect that neither should injure the other. To this treaty I was +obliged to add the stipulation, that he was neither to pirate by sea nor by land, and not to go, under any pretence, into +the interior of the country. His shrewdness and cunning were remarkably displayed. He began by inquiring, if a tribe, either +Sakarran or Sarebus, pirated on my territory, what I intended to do. My answer was, ‘To enter their country and lay it waste.’ +<span id="d0e2817" class="corr" title="Source: Bnt">But</span> he asked me again, ‘You will give me, your friend, leave to steal a few heads occasionally?’ ‘No,’ I replied, ‘you cannot +take a single head; you cannot enter the country: and if you or your countrymen do, I will have a hundred Sakarran heads for +every one you take here.’ He recurred to this request several times: ‘just to steal one or two!’ as a schoolboy would ask +for apples. There is no doubt that the two tribes of Sakarran and Sarebus are greatly addicted to head-hunting, and consider +the possession as indispensable. The more a man has, the greater his honor and rank; nor is there anything without to check +or ameliorate this barbarous habit; for the Malays of all classes, on this coast, take the same pride in heads as the Dyaks +themselves, with the exception that they do not place them in their houses, or attach any superstitious ideas to them. + +</p> +<p>“I asked Matari what was the solemn form of agreement among his tribes; and he assured me the most solemn was drinking each +otherʼs blood, in which case it was considered they were brothers; but pledging the blood of fowls was another and less solemn +form. + +</p> +<p>“On the 26th of January the Royalistʼs boat, with Captain Hart and Mr. Penfold, second mate, of the Viscount Melbourne, arrived +here. The reason, it appears, of the Royalist coming was, to seek the missing <a id="d0e2824"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2824">174</a>]</span>crew of the Viscount Melbourne, a large ship wrecked on the Luconia shoal. The captain in the launch, with some Coolies; the +first and third mates, with Colonel Campbell of the 37th, M.N.I., in a cutter; the second mate, Mr. Penfold, and the surgeon, +in the second cutter; a fourth boat with twenty-five Lascars, and the jolly-boat, making in all five boats, left the vessel +well provisioned, and steered in company for the coast, which they made somewhere between Borneo and Tanjong Barram. The fourth +boat was missed the night they made the land; and being all at anchor, and the weather fine, it was strongly suspected that +the twenty-five Lascars deserted with her. + +</p> +<p>“The other four boats proceeded a day or two, when the first cutter, with Colonel Campbell on board, went in the evening in +search of water; and though the rest showed lights all night, returned no more. They were, on the following day, attacked +by a prahu, which fired into them and severely wounded one man, and succeeded in capturing the jolly-boat; but finding nothing +in her, set her on fire—Lascars and all. The crew, however, was rescued, and she was abandoned; and the two remaining boats, +in course of time, arrived at Singapore. The Royalist was taken up by government to seek the missing boats, and just touched +here for an hour or two, the boat coming up while the vessel kept the sea. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Feb. 9th.</i>—Mr. Williamson returned from Sanpro, where I sent him to watch a party of natives who had gone among the Dyaks; the Panglima +Sadome, of the tribe of Sanpro, came with him, and brought the lamentable account of the death of eight more Dyaks, cut off +by the Sakarrans. It frets me dreadfully; however, on the whole I see a vast improvement, and a degree of confidence in me +arising among the Dyaks, greater than I expected. + +</p> +<p>“<i>14th.</i>—I have now entered on the most difficult task, and the one most likely to cause an ultimate failure in my undertaking, but +which is indispensably necessary. I mean, the administration of justice. As long as my laws are applied to the people of the +country, there is no trouble; but directly <i>equal</i> justice is administered, it causes heartburn and evasion; the rajahs and Pangerans <a id="d0e2841"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2841">175</a>]</span>are surrounded by a gang of followers who heretofore have robbed, plundered, and even murdered, without inquiry being made. +It was enough that a follower of the rajah was concerned, to hush up all wrongs; and any of the oppressed, who were bold enough +to lodge a complaint, were sure to rue it. All the rascals and ruffians who follow the great men find this species of protection +the best and the only reward; and as the slaves are looked upon as personal property, any punishment inflicted upon them is +likewise inflicted upon their masters. I have all along foreseen these obstacles, and the necessity of at once combating them—whether +successfully or not signifies little; but they must be encountered, and the result left to the Almighty. + +</p> +<p>“Equal justice is the groundwork of society; and unless it can be administered, there can be no hope of ultimate improvement. +The country may have bad laws; but such laws as it has must be enforced, gently and mildly as may be toward the superiors, +but strictly toward the guilty; and all crimes coming under my cognizance must meet with their punishment. These remarks are +preliminary to two cases, in which the rajahʼs followers have been concerned. + +</p> +<p>“The first of these was a man stealing sago, which is stored without the houses at the waterʼs edge; he was convicted. The +other occurred some time since, but has only just been traced. A party at night gutted a house, getting a booty of upward +of 200 reals; the goods have been discovered; but the three followers of the rajah have absconded since the affair has been +blown; whether to return or not is uncertain. There can be no doubt, however, that they have been sent away to keep clear +of the consequences, by one of the rajahʼs brothers named Abdul Khadir, who, when they were off, accused two accomplices, +people of the country! + +</p> +<p>“Another most shameful mode of exaction and tyranny is practiced by these Borneo people, particularly their Nakodas. It consists +in lending small sums of money to the natives (that is, Sarāwak people), and demanding interest at the rate of fifty per cent +per month; by this means a small sum is quickly converted into one <a id="d0e2849"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2849">176</a>]</span>which is quite out of the power of the poor man to pay; and he, his wife, and children, are taken to the house of the creditor +to work for him, while the debt still accumulates, and the labor is endless. I intend to strike at this slavery in disguise, +but not just yet; the suppression of robbery, the criminal department of justice, being more immediately important. + +</p> +<p>“<i>15th.</i>—I may, in continuation of yesterday, mention another instance in illustration of this oppressive system. Si Pata (a Siniawan), +son of the Tumangong, lost in gambling to Nakoda Ursat eighteen reals, which in eighteen months has now arisen to a debt of +170 reals; but all prospect of payment of such an accumulated sum being impossible from a poor man, Nakoda Ursat consigns +the debt to Pangeran Abdul Khadir, who can demand it by fair means or by foul; and if Si Pata cannot pay, make his father +pay. Thus a gambling transaction is run up to ten times its original amount, and a whole family involved in distress by these +iniquitous proceedings. Such things must not be; and odious as they seem to a European, and indignant as they make him, yet +he must not proceed with the strong hand. Reflection, too, teaches us that vice is comparative; and in forming a judgment, +we must not forget a manʼs education, the society in which he lives, the absence of restraint, and the force of example from +childhood; so that what would be heinous in a Christian long under a settled government, is light by comparison in a Malay, +who is a nominal professor of Islam, and brought up with the idea that might makes right, and has no one external cause to +deter him from crime. + +</p> +<p>“<i>March 12th.</i>—On the whole getting on very well, but with many reasons for vexation, and more for anxiety. The chief of these is, whether +Mr. Bonham will come here, as I have suggested, or rather pressed. Another feature of inquietude is from the Chinese of Sipang, +who certainly aim at greater power than I shall allow them, and perhaps, some day or other, it will come to a struggle<span id="d0e2861" class="corr" title="Source: ,">.</span> + +</p> +<p>“Petty troubles I do not reckon, though there are enow on all sides, and for the last few days I have felt as if sinking under +them; but that is not my usual temperament. <a id="d0e2866"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2866">177</a>]</span>I now look impatiently for intelligence. Blow, fair breezes, and waft Royalist here! + +</p> +<p>“<i>25th.</i>—A period of wearing uncertainty since my last, having news neither of the Royalist nor of Mr. Bonham, and kept on the <i>qui vive</i> by a schooner or two at the entrance of the river. The plot thickens in and around; and for the sake of keeping up a register +of events in something like order, I will here mention the leading features. Seriff Sahib, of Sadong, pretends to be friendly, +but is treacherous in his heart, as is his brother, Seriff Muller of Sakarran. We have been quite clear of Dyaks, and our +own tribes enjoying rest and peace; and one tribe from without, namely Serang, has come in and claimed my protection. The +only tribe at all troublesome is the Singè, the chief of which (the Orang Kaya Parembam) is decidedly opposed to me, and swears +by Macota. I am given to believe, however, that the majority of his people do not agree with him; and I shall dispossess him +of his dignity, and substitute a friendly chief. The Singè Dyaks are the most powerful and numerous in my territory, and the +only ones who have not been attacked and plundered by the Sakarrans. + +</p> +<p>“At Lundu are the Sibnowan Dyaks, under the Orang Kaya Tumangong; and the Lundu Dyaks, once a flourishing tribe, now, by ill-treatment +of all sorts, reduced to twenty persons. I may mention among my other difficulties, that many, nay most, of the Dyak tribes +are held as <i>private property</i>: any rascally Borneon making a present to the sultan, gets a grant of a Dyak tribe, originally to rule, now to plunder or +sell; and in this way the portion of the Sibnowans settled at Lundu are under Bandar Sumsu; but, being a resolute people, +he cannot do them much wrong. This Bandar Sumsu has lately been disturbing the Lundu Dyaks in the following manner: a Sibnowan +Dyak lived with the Lundu Dyaks, which gave him an opening to demand of the Lundus the sum of fifty reals (100 rupees), which +was paid; but unluckily the Sibnowan died in the course of a few months, still with the Lundus, and a farther sum of eighty +reals, or 160 rupees, was demanded, which not being raised, the daughter of one of the <a id="d0e2881"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2881">178</a>]</span>head people was seized, and sold for that sum to a Chinaman! + +</p> +<p>“Pangeran Macota has likewise been injuring these poor people, though I shall find it difficult to bring it home to him. His +agent, Bandar Dowud (a man involved in debt), took fifteen Dyak cloths and sold them, or rather forced them to take them, +at an exorbitant rate; in a month or two after, he returns and demands 200 reals over and above the large price already paid +for articles worth seven or eight reals; the poor Dyaks not being able to pay, he seizes the chiefʼs daughter (a married woman), +and demands four other women in lieu of the sum. Happily for the poor Dyaks, this news came to my ears, and I sent to Lundu +in haste. They had all fled, having <i>stolen</i> their two women, one from each Bandar, and carried them away. On the Patingi and Tumangong reaching Lundu, they found two +of the tribe, one the Pangeran, the other the father of the girl sold to the Chinaman, after a long search in the jungle. +These two men I have now with me, and wait for the Orang Kaya Tumangong before going into the case. The Pangeran is the same +Dyak whose conversation I have detailed at large on my first visit to the place. He is a man of intelligence; and this tribe +(if it may yet be so called) has always borne the character of being the most hospitable and generous among the Dyaks. I may +at some future time revert to them. + +</p> +<p>“There is a rumor of war between the Sarebus and Sakarran Dyaks, in consequence of the former tribe seizing a Balow woman +on the territory of the latter, and refusing to restore her. Let these two predatory tribes employ and weaken one another, +and it will be well for us and all the other people of this country, and they will afterward be the more easily brought into +subjection. + +</p> +<p>“From Borneo we have news, but as uncertain as everything else regarding the capital. A hundred vessels, it is reported, are +coming to attack them; and they, in consequence, are building <i>a fort</i>. The Royalist had been there and departed. + +</p> +<p>“Pangeran Usop, it is said, was about to come here, <a id="d0e2897"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2897">179</a>]</span>when the arrival of the Royalist induced him to postpone his design. + +</p> +<p>“There is every reason to believe that the Chinese of Sambas, particularly those of Montrado, are extremely dissatisfied; +and a report yesterday states that a man sent by the sultan to demand gold had been killed by them, and that the sultanʼs +letter to the Kunsi, after being defiled, was publicly burned. Our own Chinese of Sipang are certainly intriguing with Sambas; +and, as the rajah well expresses it, ‘their clothes-box is here, but their treasure-chest is at Sambas.’ + +</p> +<p>“It is impossible to say what quantity of gold the Kunsi may get; but their pretence that they <i>get none</i> must be false, when every common Malay obtains from half to one bunkal per month. + +</p> +<p>“To counteract the chance of evil, I have intimated that the Simbock Kunsi are to come here; and on the whole, they (of Sipang) +have taken it more quietly than I expected. They are not in a state for war; but they have vague notions and intentions provided +they can keep out opposition, to make this place subservient to them, as it would indeed be, provided they were allowed to +strengthen themselves while the other parties remained stationary. But ‘divide and rule’ is a good motto in my case; and the +Chinese have overlooked the difference between this country and Sambas. There they have numerous rivers in the vicinity of +their settlements—here but one; and, the Dyak population being against them, starvation would soon reduce them to terms. The +Royalist arrived about the end of March, and sailed again on the 9th April. + +</p> +<p>“I have before mentioned the difficulty of administering justice; and experience teaches me that the risk to myself, on this +score, is more to be apprehended than on any other. The forms I have not much alluded to; and the following is as nearly as +possible the Malay custom:—The rajahʼs brothers and myself sit at one end of the long room in my house; at the sides are the +Patingis and Tumangong, and other respectable people; in the center the parties concerned; and, behind them, anybody who wishes +to be present. We hear both parties; question, if necessary; and decide—and from this <a id="d0e2910"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2910">180</a>]</span>decision there is no appeal. One only condition I insist upon; and that is, that in any intricate case, or whenever I dread +confederacy, I do not allow the witnesses to hear each other. The laws of evidence, in a <i>free country</i>, prohibit any leading questions being put to witnesses: here, for the purposes of justice, it is indispensable; for the people, +being ruled by fear, and apprehensive of consequences, often falter before the face of the accused, and their testimony has +to be wrung from them. To decide also according to the technicalities of construction would be here ridiculous, and defeat +the ends of justice. The people are rude and uncivilized; their oppressors crafty and bold, who have no hesitation about lying, +and bringing others to lie for them. Oaths are a farce to them. The aggrieved are timid, vacillating, and simple, and cannot +readily procure even necessary evidence; for their witnesses are afraid to speak. Under these circumstances, I look at the +leading features of the case, the probability, the characters, the position of parties, and determine according to my judgment. +It is not, indeed, a very difficult task; for the disputes are generally glaring, and, when bolstered up, usually fail in +their most important links; and at a touch of cross-questioning, the witnesses, resolved to tell the same story, fall into +opposite ones. In one case, about a slave, three witnesses had resolved on the sex; but, questioned separately as to size +and age, all disagreed. They were not prepared. One represented her a woman grown and marriageable; another, as high as my +walking-stick; the third, a little child. + +</p> +<p>“I have now on hand a serious matter, of robbery to a large extent, and three of the rajahʼs followers are implicated. Would +it were over and well!—but done it must be. How little can those at a distance know my difficulties—alone, unaided, the unceasing +attention by day, the anxiety and sleeplessness by night, the mountain of doubt upon mountain piled, and the uncertainty of +necessary support or assistance! + +</p> +<p>“The Pangeran of the Lundu Dyaks lived with me three weeks, and I was able to do him substantial justice; and hope for the +future that his life, and that of the remnant of his tribe, may be rendered more endurable. +<a id="d0e2919"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2919">181</a>]</span></p> +<p>“His residence with me was doubly advantageous, as it enabled me to ascertain his character, and him to see something of our +habits and manners. The impression on my part was highly favorable; for I found him a quiet, intelligent man, and a keen observer; +and I believe the impression he received was equally favorable. The <i>poetry</i> of the Dyak expressions is remarkable; and, like most wild people, they seem to delight in oratory, and to be a good deal +swayed by it. For hours I have talked with the Pangeran, listened to his history, heard his complaints, sympathized in the +misfortunes of his tribe, and shuddered at the wrongs and sufferings they have endured. ‘We are few,’ he exclaimed, ‘and therefore +our oppressions are aggravated; the same demands are made upon us as though we were many, and we have not the means of resisting +or complying. We fly to the jungle; we are like deer—we have no home, no perch. Our wives and children are taken from us; +our sufferings are very great.’ On another occasion he said, ‘I have felt my sufferings to be so great, that I wished to die, +if Jovata would permit it. I wished to die; for I remembered how happy we were once, and how miserable now.’ I could dwell +largely on these and suchlike language and descriptions, which appear to me highly pathetic and touching—at least I found +them so in reality; and I cannot forbear adding one or two more such, highly characteristic. + +</p> +<p>“‘Our home,’ said the Pangeran, ‘was a happy one; none who came to us wanted. The fruit on the trees was saved; the fish in +the river near us was never destroyed. Rice was plenty; if it was scarce, we kept it, and fed ourselves upon vegetables, that +we might give it to those who visited our habitation. The fish, the fruit, and the rice were preserved,<a id="d0e2927src" href="#d0e2927" class="noteref">1</a> that the men of the seas (Malays) might eat of them; yet they had no pity on us. We were free men, yet they treated us worse +than slaves. We are now but few; and unless you protect us, we shall soon cease to be.’ Again: ‘The Tumangong <a id="d0e2930"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2930">182</a>]</span>was severe to us; and when Macota came, he said the Tumangong was a bad man, and he would shield us; but he was much worse +than the Tumangong. Now, you say you will cherish us; we believe you; but you are at a distance, and perhaps may not be able.’ +Further: ‘Pangeran Macota kept me nine months in his house, and wanted to make me a slave; but I escaped, and traveled through +the woods, and swam the rivers, till I came to my own country. He thought the Dyak had no eyes except in the jungle; he thought +he had no ears except to listen to the bird of omen; he thought he had no wit except to grow rice; but the Dyak saw, and heard, +and understood, that while his words were sweet, his heart was crooked, and that, whether they were men of the sea or Dyaks, +he deceived them with fair sayings; he said one thing to one man, and another to a second; he deceived with a honied mouth. +I saw and understood it all while I lived in his house. How could I trust him afterward?’ These expressions were concluded +by significantly twisting his two fore-fingers round each other, to show the intrigues that were carried on. I grew very fond +of this poor naked savage; for if honesty and a kind heart entitle a man to our esteem, he is worthy of it. + +</p> +<p>“I had a long conference with Si Nimook, the Sow Dyak, and hope to recover his wife. Amid all the wealth and all the charity +of England, how well bestowed would a small portion be for the purpose of restoring one hundred and fifty women and children +to their husbands and parents, and releasing them from slavery! A small rill from the plenteous river would cheer this distant +misery, and bestow the blessing of fertility on the now barren soil of these poor Dyaks. Oh, that I had the brass to beg—to +draw out a piteous tale so as to touch the heart!” + + + +<a id="d0e2934"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2934">183</a>]</span></p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e2927" href="#d0e2927src" class="noteref">1</a></span> This I found on inquiry, to be strictly true—a most amiable trait!—B. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e2935" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XIII.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Ascent of the left-hand river to the Stabad.—Remarkable cave in the Tubbang.—Diamond works at Suntah.—Return.—Infested by +Dyak pirates.—A meeting of prahus, and fight.—Seriff Sahibʼs treatment of the Suntah Dyaks.—Expedition against the Singè.—Their +invasion of the Sigos, and taking heads.—The triumph over these trophies.—Arms and modes of war.—Hot and cold council-houses.—Ceremonies +in the installation of the Orang Kaya Steer Rajah.—Meeting of various Dyak tribes.—Hostile plans of Seriff Sahib, and their +issue.—Resolves to proceed to Borneo Proper. +</p> +</div> +<p>The next portion of Mr. Brookeʼs Journal details another excursion up the country, and then proceeds to describe the early +incidents of his infant government. As he advanced on his way, affairs began to assume more important aspects; and yet they +could hardly be painted with greater force or interest than in his simple notes. + +</p> +<p>“<i>April 25th.</i>—Ascended the left-hand river, in order to introduce the Kunsi Simbock to their new territory; passed the night on a pebbly +bank; moon at full, bright and unclouded, tinging the luxuriant foliage, and glancing on the clear rapid stream. Four distinct +and distant races met on this lonely and lovely spot—English, Chinese, Malays, and Dyaks! What a scope for poetry and reflection—the +time, the clime, the spot, and the company! + +</p> +<p>“<i>26th.</i>—After our morning meal and bath, entered the small river Stabad, which, according to report, runs from a source two or three +daysʼ journey further into the interior. At present it is so obstructed by fallen trees, that we were forced to return, after +ascending about four miles. We left our boats near its entrance, and walked to the small but steep mountain, Tubbang. Its +length may be about 400 feet. After mounting, by a winding path, about half-way up toward the top, we arrived at the entrance +of a cave, into which we descended through a hole. It is fifty or sixty feet long, and the far end is supported on a colonnade +of stalactites, and opens on a sheer precipice of 100 or 150 feet. Hence the spectator can overlook the distant scene; the +forest lies at his feet, and only a few trees growing <a id="d0e2953"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2953">184</a>]</span>from the rock reach nearly to the level of the grotto. The effect is striking and panoramic; the grotto cheerful; floored +with fine sand; the roof groined like Gothic, whence the few clear drops which filter through form here and there the fantastic +stalactites common to such localities. The natives report the cave to be the residence of a fairy queen; and they show her +bed, pillow, and other of her household furniture. Within the cave we found a few remnants of human bones; probably some poor +Dyak who had crawled there to die. + +</p> +<p>“Having finished our survey of the place, and wandered sufficiently about the mount, we reëmbarked, and dropped a short way +down the river, and started again into the jungle to look for antimony ore, but without success, our guide having forgotten +the road. After a couple of hoursʼ wandering, the latter part in a heavy storm of rain, we reached the boats; and I thence +ascended to Suntah, where we were all glad to house ourselves, as the deluge continued. + +</p> +<p>“<i>27th.</i>—I will say nothing of my works at Suntah, except that they run away with my money, are badly conducted by my Chinese hadji, +and, above all, that I have great reason to suspect the integrity and steadiness of this said hadji. I must therefore make +up my mind either to change him when the business is finished, or to watch him very narrowly; for the honesty of a diamond-worker, +like the virtue of Cæsarʼs wife, must be above suspicion, or he must be watched closely; but how? + +</p> +<p>“<i>28th.</i>—Descended the river, and, arriving at Sarāwak, found both work and cause for inquietude. The rajah had heard of Dyak pirates, +and dispatched four boats, two large and two small: the Snake, weakly manned by the Tumangongʼs people, and the rest led by +Pangerans (who neither work nor fight) and a wretched crew, chiefly Borneons. Mr. Crimble, taking my servant Peter and four +Javanese, went most imprudently in the second of the large boats. The whole, being dispatched in haste (foolish haste), insufficiently +provided in every respect, may fall into trouble, and involve me in very unpleasant circumstances. + +</p> +<p>“The other cause for uneasiness is the attack of a <a id="d0e2969"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2969">185</a>]</span>Chinese boat at the mouth of the river. The boat that attacked her is a small one, with eight or ten men, which came out of +Sadong, and had been lying here for a week or more. She is commanded by a Pangeran named Badrudeen, has some Illanuns on board, +and is bound on a piratical cruise. As she descended the river, she met with the small China boat, likewise from Sambas, with +eight men, which she treacherously assailed, desperately wounding one man and severely another; but the China boatʼs consort +heaving in sight, the pirate pulled away. I must redress this, if it be in my power; and have ordered the Datus to gather +men to follow the rascals, as it is probable they will be lurking not far from hence. In the mean time it gave me great pain +dressing the hurts of these poor Chinese, one of whom I think must die, being cut along the back and side—across the body +from the side nearly to the backbone, a ghastly gaping wound, beside having his arm slashed through. The other man is very +severely, and perhaps, without medical attendance, mortally, hurt, having his arm half cut through at the muscular development +between the shoulder and elbow—poor fellow! I must say for the Chinese, they seem very grateful for any attention shown them. + +</p> +<p>“<i>29th.</i>—My birthday. Men collected, and to-morrow we start for Telang Telang. This morning, much to my relief, our fleet returned, +after an encounter with thirteen Dyak boats. About one oʼclock on the 28th, pulling into a bay between Morotaba and Tanjong +Poe, they came unexpectedly on them. One Borneon boat had lagged behind; the Pangeran who commanded deserted the second, and +sought refuge with the Tumangong, trying to induce him to fly; and the crew of the third, a large boat with my two Europeans +on board, was, by their account, in a state of fear, which totally incapacitated them from acting. All rose, none would pull; +all shouted, none would serve the guns; all commanded, none obeyed; most were screaming out to run; all bellowing out, in +hopes of frightening the enemy; none to direct the helm. The Tumangong, with only seventeen men in all, insisted on advance; +and the Borneons, encouraged by threats from the Europeans, and <a id="d0e2976"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2976">186</a>]</span>the good example of the Javanese, did not fly. The two boats opened their fire; the Dyaks retreated in confusion and alarm: +but from the tumult, the noise, and the rocking of the boat, Mr. Crimble could only fire three times with the bow six-pounder +carronade, and from other guns loaded with grape and canister, while the rascally Borneons never fired at all. The Dyaks suffered +loss, and left behind them clothes, rice, fish, cooking-pots, swords, &c.; and, considering the state of the Borneons, it +was lucky the dread of our prowess put them to flight so easily. Crimble assured me that, with a Siniawan crew, he could have +destroyed half their force. The Dyaks behaved very well, pulling off with great steadiness and without noise. + +</p> +<p>“<i>June 20th.</i>—The events of the month may be compressed into a narrative comprising the internal and external. + +</p> +<p>“The internal state of the country is decidedly improving and flourishing, and bears the aspect of gradually increasing prosperity. +Justice has been strictly administered. Robberies, which a few months ago were of nightly occurrence, are now rarely heard +of; and that vile intriguing to make poor people slaves, from debt or false claims, is entirely stopped. + +</p> +<p>“The people who had scattered at the close of the war have been collected, and are building their houses a short way up the +river at the Campong Jekiso, which, when finished, will be a neat-looking village. + +</p> +<p>“The Pangeran Macota is intriguing; but as he is sure to do that, it need not be insisted upon. + +</p> +<p>“Muda Hassim is true and agreeable, and entirely reconciled to the Patingi and Tumangongs; so far, indeed, nothing can be +better than our internal state: there is peace, there is plenty; the poor are not harassed, and justice is done to all. + +</p> +<p>“The Dyaks of the interior are improving and content, and gaining courage daily to complain of any wrong that may be offered +them. To the sena, or forced trade, I have almost put a stop, by confiscating the goods wherever met with; and this plan once +acted on, the Dyaks have not been slow to bring me bundles of bidongs (Dyak cloths), iron, and the like. +<a id="d0e2993"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e2993">187</a>]</span></p> +<p>“The tribes that continue unsettled are the Suntah and Singè: the affairs of the latter I will mention hereafter. + +</p> +<p>“Suntah has been for a long time under the government of Seriff Sahib of Sadong, and through his <i>paternal</i> charge has dwindled away from four hundred to fifty or sixty families. Shortly after my assuming the reins of government, +he dispatched (according to custom) a mixed party of Malays and Dyaks, and falling on my helpless tribe of Sanpro, killed +some, and carried away twenty women and children into captivity. I was not strong enough to resent the injury; but wrote him +a strong letter, demanding the women, and telling him he was not to send, under any pretext, into my country. The women I +did not get; but I heard that the communication frightened him: for, of course, they deem I am backed by all the power of +my country. While the Royalist still lay here, I heard that his people were raising the revenue from the Suntah Dyaks; but +it must be remarked, that the Suntah are on the edge of my territory, having left the former location. As this was done in +the face of my caution not to intermeddle without my consent, I resolved at once to put the matter to the issue; and having +armed four boats, went up and seized all the rice and padi collected for my neighborsʼ use. The Suntah Dyaks were and are +alarmed to a pitiable degree; for they fear Seriff Sahib with good reason; and yet my being on the spot gave them no option +of evading my demand. Thus the matter was brought to a crisis; and having taken the revenue (as it was called) for the poor +Dyaks themselves, I shall be able to keep them from starvation, to the verge of which, so early in the season, they are already +reduced. The Dyaks remain unsettled; but I am now in hopes of bringing them to the interior of the Quop, which is further +within our own territory. Muda Hassim wrote to Seriff Sahib to tell him the Dyaks were no longer his, but mine; and Seriff +Sahib, sore-hearted, conspired against us, and held for some time a higher tone than his wont. + +</p> +<p>“I shall now narrate my proceedings at the mountain of Singè, from which I have just returned. The mountain, <a id="d0e3003"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3003">188</a>]</span>with its groves of fruit-trees, has been already described; and as a preface to my present description, I must particularize +the circumstances of the Dyak tribe of Singè. The tribe consists of at least 800 males, the most ignorant, and therefore the +most wild, of the Dyaks of my country; and, from their position, they have never been overcome or ruined, and are therefore +a rich community, and proportionately independent. Their old chief is by name Parembam, and the Panglima, or head-warrior, +his younger brother, by name Si Tummo. These men have for a very long time ruled this tribe; and the elder has certainly acquired +from the Malays a portion of cunning and intrigue, and lost the general simplicity of the native Dyak character. He is unquestionably +a man of ability. His sway, however, on the mountain has for a long time been unpopular; and a large proportion of the people, +dissatisfied with his extortions, have been attached to a younger chief, by name Bibit. Some time past, finding it impossible +to manage this old chief, Parembam, and being convinced that the change might readily be made, I called Bibit, and made him +chief, or Orang Kaya of the tribe. Parembam neither was nor is inclined to give up his authority without a struggle; and though +the mass adhere to the new chief, by title ‘Steer Rajah,’ yet Parembamʼs long-established customs, his great wealth, and his +talents, render him a dangerous old man to the younger leader. One quality, however, Parembam is deficient in<span id="d0e3005" class="corr" title="Source: .">,</span> as well as his brother the Panglima, and that is <i>bravery</i>; and on this much depends in a Dyak tribe. Steer Rajah, on the contrary, has always been renowned in war, and is the envied +possessor of many heads. The Dyaks have among them a fashion which they call bunkit, or vaunting; for instance, in the present +case Steer Rajah and Parembam dared each other to go on excursions to procure heads, <i>i. e.</i> against their enemies—this is bunkit. One of Steer Rajahʼs followers went accordingly, and quickly procured the head of a +hostile warrior far out of my territory; and on the return of the party, Parembam in turn sent forty men to Simpoke, which +is a tribe attached to Samarahan, and on our immediate border. Close to the Dyaks of Simpoke live a party of <a id="d0e3014"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3014">189</a>]</span>the Sigo Dyaks, who belong to me; and this party of Parembamʼs, confounding friends and enemies, killed some of the Sigo Dyaks—how +many is not certain. The Sigos, taking the alarm, cut off their retreat, and killed two of the Singè Dyaks; and many beside +were wounded by sudas and ranjows, and, all broken, fled back to their own country. Thus, though they obtained five heads, +they lost two, and those belonging to their principal warriors. This news reaching me, I hurried up to the hill, and arrived +just after part of the war-party had brought the heads. + +</p> +<p>“I may here remark, that I have positively forbidden the Dyak tribes within my territory to war one upon the other; and this, +therefore, was a serious offence against me on the part of Parembam. At once to aim at more than this restriction would be +fruitless, and even risk my ability to effect this first step on the road to improvement. I likewise came up here to go through +the ceremony of installing the Orang Kaya Steer Rajah in his office; and thus I have had an excellent opportunity of seeing +their customs and manners. What follows will be a personal narration, or nearly so, of what I have seen; and it applies, with +slight difference, to almost all the interior tribes. + +</p> +<p>“On our ascending the mountain, we found the five heads carefully watched, about half a mile from the town, in consequence +of the non-arrival of some of the war-party. They had erected a temporary shed close to the place where these miserable remnants +of noisome mortality were deposited; and they were guarded by about thirty young men in their finest dresses, composed principally +of scarlet jackets ornamented with shells, turbans of the native bark-cloth dyed bright yellow, and spread on the head, and +decked with an occasional feather, flower, or twig of leaves. Nothing can exceed their partiality for these trophies; and +in retiring from the ‘war-path,’ the man who has been so fortunate as to obtain a head hangs it about his neck, and instantly +commences his return to his tribe. If he sleep on the way, the precious burden, though decaying and offensive, is not loosened, +but rests on his lap, while his head (and nose!) reclines on his knees. The retreat is always <a id="d0e3020"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3020">190</a>]</span>silently made until close to home, when they set up a wild yell, which announces their victory and the possession of its proofs. +It must, therefore, be considered, that these bloody trophies are the evidences of victory—the banner of the European, the +flesh-pot of the Turk, the scalp of the North American Indian—and that they are torn from enemies, for taking heads is the +effect and not the cause of war. On our reaching the Balei, or public hall, of the Orang Kaya Steer Rajah, I immediately called +a number of their chiefs together, and opened a conference with them on the subject of Parembam having attacked and killed +the Dyaks of Sigo. They <i>all</i> disapproved of it most highly, asserting that the Sigos were their younger brothers; that no sufficient cause had ever existed; +that Parembam had acted badly, and must pay to purchase <i>peace</i>. Were they, I asked, willing to force Parembam into payment? They were. Would they insist on the heads being restored to +the Sigos, and receive those of their own people? They would! + +</p> +<p>“It may be observed, that their causes for war, as well as its progress and termination, are exactly the same as those of +other people. They dispute about the limits of their respective lands; about theft committed by one tribe upon another; about +occasional murders; the crossing each other on the war-path; and about a thousand other subjects. + +</p> +<p>“When a tribe is on a warlike excursion, it often happens that their track (or ‘trailʼ) is crossed by another tribe. Those +who strike the trail guard it at some convenient spot, apprehending the party to be enemies; they plant ranjows in the path, +and wait till the returning party are involved among them to make an attack. If enemies, and they succeed, all is well; but +if friends, though no attack be made, it is a serious offence, and mostly gives occasion to war if not paid for. The progress +of the contest consists in attacking each other by these surprises, particularly about the time of sowing, weeding, and cutting +the rice-crops. When one party is weaker, or less active, or less warlike than the other, they solicit a peace through some +tribe friendly to both, and pay for the lives they have taken: the price is about <a id="d0e3032"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3032">191</a>]</span>two gongs, value 33½ reals, for each life: thus peace is concluded. This is the custom with these Dyaks universally; but it +is otherwise with the Sarebus and Sakarran. But Sarebus and Sakarran are not fair examples of Dyak life, as they are pirates +as well as head-hunters, and do not hesitate to destroy all persons they meet with. + +</p> +<p>“Parembam, having been called before me, declared that these heads belonged to the Simpoke Dyaks, and that they had not attacked +the Sigos. As I was not quite certain of the fact, I thought it unjust to proceed against him till I had stronger proof. + +</p> +<p>“On the following morning the heads were brought up to the village, attended by a number of young men all dressed in their +best, and were carried to Parembamʼs house amid the beating of gongs and the firing of one or two guns. They were then disposed +of in a conspicuous place in the public hall of Parembam. The music sounded and the men danced the greater part of the day; +and toward evening carried them away in procession through all the campongs except three or four just about me. The women, +in these processions, crowd round the heads as they proceed from house to house, and put sīrih and betel-nut in the mouths +of the ghastly dead, and welcome them! After this they are carried back in the same triumph, deposited in an airy place, and +left to dry. During this process, for seven, eight, or ten days, they are watched by the boys of the age of six to ten years; +and during this time they never stir from the public hall—they are not permitted to put their foot out of it while engaged +in this sacred trust. Thus are the youths initiated. + +</p> +<p>“For a long time after the heads are hung up, the men nightly meet and beat their gongs, and chant addresses to them, which +were rendered thus to me: ‘Your head is in our dwelling, but your spirit wanders to your own country.’ ‘Your head and your +spirit are now ours: persuade, therefore, your countrymen to be slain by us.’ ‘Speak to the spirits of your tribe: let them +wander in the fields, that when we come again to their country we may get more heads, and that we may bring the heads of your +brethren, and hang them by your <a id="d0e3040"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3040">192</a>]</span>head,’ &c. The tone of this chant is loud and monotonous, and I am not able to say how long it is sung; but certainly for +a month after the arrival of the heads, as one party here had had a head for that time, and were still exhorting it. + +</p> +<p>“These are their customs and modes of warfare; and I may conclude by saying that, though their trophies are more disgusting, +yet their wars are neither so bloody, nor their cruelties so great, as those of the North American Indian. They slay all they +meet with of their enemies—men, women, and children; but this is common to all wild tribes. They have an implacable spirit +of revenge as long as the war lasts, retort evil for evil, and retaliate life for life; and, as I have before said, the heads +are the trophies, as the scalps are to the red men. But, on the contrary, they never torture their enemies, nor do they devour +them; and peace can always be restored among them by a very moderate payment. In short, there is nothing new in their feelings, +or in their mode of showing them; no trait remarkable for cruelty; no head-hunting for the sake of head-hunting. They act +precisely on the same impulses as other wild men: war arises from passion or interest; peace from defeat or fear. As friends, +they are faithful, just, and honest; as enemies, blood-thirsty and cunning, patient on the war-path, and enduring fatigue, +hunger, and want of sleep, with cheerfulness and resolution. As woodmen they are remarkably acute; and on all their excursions +carry with them a number of ranjows, which, when they retreat, they stick in behind them, at intervals, at a distance of twenty, +fifty, or a hundred yards, so that a hotly-pursuing enemy gets checked, and many severely wounded. Their arms consist of a +sword, an iron-headed spear, a few wooden spears, a knife worn at the right side, with a sīrih-pouch, or small basket. Their +provision is a particular kind of sticky rice, boiled in bamboos. When once they have struck their enemies, or failed, they +return, without pausing, to their homes. + +</p> +<p>“To proceed with my journal. My principal object in coming up the hill was, to appoint the Orang Kaya Steer Rajah as the chief, +beside Pagise as Panglima, <a id="d0e3046"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3046">193</a>]</span>or head warrior, and Pa Bobot as Pangeran, or revenue officer. It was deemed by these worthy personages quite unfit that this +ceremony should take place in the public hall or circular house, as that was the place wherein the heads are deposited, and +where they hold councils of war. + +</p> +<p>“With the Dyaks, all council is divided into hot and cold; peace, friendship, good intentions, are all included under the +latter head—war, &c., are under the former. Hot is represented by red, and cold by white. So in everything they make this +distinction; and as the public hall is the place for war-councils and war-trophies, it is hot in the extreme, unfit for friendly +conference. A shed was therefore erected close to the Orang Kayaʼs house, wherein the ceremony was to take place. About nine +in the evening we repaired to the scene; loud music, barbarous but not unpleasing, resounded, and we took our seats on mats +in the midst of our Dyak friends. A feast was in preparation; and each guest (if I may call them such) brought his share of +rice in bamboos, and laid it on the general stock. As one party came up after another, carrying their burning logs, the effect +was very good; and they kept arriving until the place and its vicinity was literally crammed with human beings. A large antique +sīrih-box was placed in the midst; and I contributed that greatest of luxuries, tobacco. + +</p> +<p>“The feast, in the mean time, was in preparation, some of the principal people being employed in counting the number who were +to eat, and dividing the bamboos into exactly equal portions for each person. About six inches were allotted to every man; +and it took a very long time to divide it, for they are remarkably particular as to the proper size and quantity to each share. +The bamboos of rice being, however, at length satisfactorily disposed, the Orang Kaya produced as his share a large basin +full of sauce, composed of salt and chilis, and a small stock of sweetmeats; and then the ceremony of his installation commenced +as follows: + +</p> +<p>“A jacket, a turban, a cloth for the loins, and a kris (all of white) were presented to the chief as a token of sejiek dingin, +or cold, <i>i.e.</i> good. The chief then rose, and, taking a white fowl and waving it over the eatables, <a id="d0e3057"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3057">194</a>]</span>repeated nearly the following words:—(The commencement, however, is curious enough to dwell upon: the opening is a sort of +invocation, beginning with the phrase, ‘Samungut, Simungi.’ Samungut is a Malay word, Simungi signifying the same in Dyak; +the exact meaning it is difficult to comprehend; but it is here understood as some principle, spirit, or fortune, which is +in men and things. Thus the Dyaks, in stowing their rice at harvest, do it with great care, from a superstitious feeling that +the Simungi of the padi will escape. They now call this principle to be present—that of men, of pigs (their favorite animal), +of padi, and of fruits. They particularly named my Simungi, that of my ancestors, of the Pangeran from Borneo, of the Datus +and of their ancestors, and of the ancestors of their own tribe. They call them—that is, their Simungi—to be present. They +then call upon Jovata to grant their prayer, that the great man from Europe, and the Datus, might hold the government for +a length of time)—‘May the government be cold’ (good); ‘May there be rice in our houses;’ ‘May many pigs be killed;’ ‘May +male children be born to us;’ ‘May fruit ripen;’ ‘May we be happy, and our goods abundant;’ ‘We declare ourselves to be true +to the great man and the Datus; what they wish we will do, what they command is our law.’ Having said this and much more, +the fowl was taken by a leading Malay, who repeated the latter words, while others bound strips of white cloth round the heads +of the multitude. The fowl was then killed, the blood shed in a bamboo, and each man dipping his finger in the blood, touched +his forehead and breast, in attestation of his fidelity. The fowl was now carried away to be cooked: and when brought back, +placed with the rest of the feast, and the dancing commenced. The chief, coming forward, uttered a loud yell ending in ‘ish,’ +which was oftentimes repeated during the dance. He raised his hands to his forehead, and taking a dish, commenced dancing +to lively music. Three other old chief men followed his example; each uttering the yell and making the salute, but without +taking the dish. They danced with arms extended, turning the body frequently, taking very small steps, and little more than +<a id="d0e3059"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3059">195</a>]</span>lifting their feet from the ground. Thus they turned backward and forward, passed in and out of the inner rooms, and frequently +repeating the yell, and making the salutation to me. The dish, in the mean time, was changed from one to the other: there +was little variety, no gesticulation, no violence; and, though not deficient in native grace, yet the movements were by no +means interesting. The dance over, the feast commenced; and everything was carried on with great gravity and propriety. I +left them shortly after they began to eat, and retired, very fagged, to my bed, or rather, to my board; for sitting cross-legged +for several hours is surely a great infliction. + +</p> +<p>“I may add to this account that, while writing it, the Dyak land-tribes of Siquong, Sibaduh, and Goon, sent their deputies +to me. These people are not under any Malay government, and it is now for the first time they have trusted themselves as far +as Sarāwak. They have an objection to drinking the river-water, and expressed great surprise at the flood-tide. Their confidence +is cheering to me, and will, I trust, be advantageous to themselves. Their trade in rice is very considerable: and toward +Sambas they exchange eight or ten pasus of rice for one of salt. + +</p> +<p>“Our conference was pleasing. They desired protection, they desired trade. ‘They had all heard, <i>the whole world had heard</i>, that <i>a son of Europe</i> was a friend to the Dyaks.’ My visitors drank Batavia arrack with great gusto, declaring all the time it was not half so +good as their own; however, at a pinch anything will do. Some other Dyaks met these strangers; they were not adversaries, +and so they chewed sīrih, and drank grog in company; but among enemies this may not be: they can neither eat nor drink in +company without desiring a reconciliation. I may add, that the Siquong tribe consists of at least four hundred families, with +forty public halls, or baleis, for heads. A Dyak family cannot be estimated at fewer than twelve people, which will give four +thousand eight hundred or five thousand people. Sibaduh and Goon may be about seventy-five families: beside these, Si Panjong +and Sam Penex want to come in to me, which will give one hundred <a id="d0e3071"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3071">196</a>]</span>and one more families. What might be done with these people, if I had a little more power and a little assistance! + +</p> +<p>“I was going to close my account of the Dyaks; but I had scarcely penned the last sentence when a large party of Singè Dyaks +and five Dyaks of Sigo arrived—thus all these enemies meeting. In the conference which followed, the Singè allowed they were +wrong in attacking Sigo, and laid all the blame on the old chief, Parembam. They likewise allowed it to be just that Parembam +should be forced to pay, and conclude a peace. With the Goon and Sibaduh Dyaks they had long been at enmity; but they agreed +to make peace if Sibaduh would pay two gongs, formerly demanded, as the price of peace. The Sibaduh, however, did not allow +the justice of the demand; but the parties were reconciled so far as that each promised to maintain a truce and to eat together: +and the Singès declared they would not attack the Sibaduhs on account of the two gongs, but obtain them in a friendly conference. +I have (being hurried) briefly mentioned these circumstances, which took a long time to settle, as the Dyaks are very fond +of speechifying, which they do sitting, without action or vivacity, but with great fluency, and using often highly metaphysical +and elegant language. It was a great nuisance having fifty naked savages in the house all night, extended in the hall and +the anterooms. They finished a bottle of gin, and then slept; and I could not avoid remarking that their sleep was light, +such as temperance, health, and exercise bestow. During many hours I heard but one man snore, while half the number of Europeans +would have favored me with a concert sufficient to banish rest. + +</p> +<p>“I shall now briefly mention our <i>foreign policy</i> for the last few months. + +</p> +<p>“For a time we were annoyed with incessant reports of their coming to attack us in force; but, though scarcely believing they +would be bold enough, I took precautions, pushed on the completion of our boats, built a fort, and made a fence round the +village. These precautions taken, and fifteen boats in the water ready for action, I cared very little, though the news reached +me that Byong, <a id="d0e3082"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3082">197</a>]</span>the Sarebus chief, had hung a basket on a high tree which was to contain my head. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Sadong.</i>—Our relations with Seriff Sahib were very unsettled; and by the bullying tone of the people of Singè I thought it probable +he might be induced to measure his strength, backed by the Sakarran Dyaks, against us. I have already mentioned his attack +upon my Dyaks of Sanpro, and the second dispute about the Suntah Dyaks; in the first of these he came off with impunity; in +the second I met him with success, and out-manœuvered him, and wrested the Dyaks from him. Shortly after the transactions +at Suntah, a boat of Sakarran Dyaks came to Sarāwak nominally <i>to trade</i>, but in reality to tamper with the fidelity of the Datus and others. They proposed to the Tumangong to join Seriff Sahib, +stating that they were sent by him to try all the people here. ‘They had been ruined here; Seriff Sahib would restore them +their property; and if they left Muda Hassim, James Brooke, and the Chinese, they could afterward easily make a prey of the +Dyaks and Chinese, with Seriff Sahibʼs assistance, and get plenty of slaves.’ + +</p> +<p>“The plan proposed for the removal was as follows:—Seriff Sahib, with forty Malay boats, and the Sakarrans with one hundred +boats, were to request permission from Muda Hassim to attack the Dyak tribe of Siquong, and under this pretence were to come +up the river, when the Datus were to join, with their wives and children, and all were to take flight together. The Tumangong +told me this as soon as he heard it himself; and, to make sure, I sent Patingi Gapoor to fish their story out of them, which +he did most successfully. Being assured of the fact, I called the Dyaks, and, before some dozens of our people and one or +two persons from Singè, taxed them with their guilt. They were obliged to confess, and insisted upon it that Seriff Sahib +had sent them, &c. Many urged me to put these Dyaks to death; but the reluctance we all have to shedding blood withheld me, +and I had no desire to strike at a wren when a foul vulture was at hand. I dismissed the emissaries scot-free, and then both +Muda Hassim and myself indited letters to Seriff Sahib, that <a id="d0e3094"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3094">198</a>]</span>of Muda Hassim being severe but dignified. Before they were dispatched, an ambassador arrived from Singè with letters both +to the rajah and myself, disclaiming warmly all knowledge of the treachery, swearing <i>the most solemn</i> oaths in proof of his truth, and declaring that, so far from having committed so shameful an action, he had never even dreamed +of such a thing in his worst dreams, as he hoped that God would save him. Our letters were sent before his ambassador was +received, and a second disclaimer, like the first, quickly reached us. Of course it was my policy, whatever my opinion might +be, to receive his offers of friendship and to believe all he said; and, therefore, the matter ended, and ended so far well, +that Seriff Sahib lowered his former tone; and, certainly, whatever he may desire in his heart, or <i>dream</i> of, he wants to be well with us here, and, I can see, fears us. I am content, because I really wish for peace, and not war; +Muda Hassim is content, because he has humbled Seriff Sahib, and acted decisively; and the seriff is content as the fiend +in the infernal regions. I leave it to all gentle readers to form their own opinion of his truth or treachery; but I must +hint to them my private opinion that he did send agents to tempt, and would have gained the Datus if he could; and as for +his oaths, my belief is, he would swear a basketful of the most sacred before breakfast to support a lie, and yet not lose +his appetite! The Datus were too old, and knew him too well, to be caught in his trap. + +</p> +<p>“Seriff Sahib has now sent a fleet of boats up the Sarebus river; but the result I do not yet know. + +</p> +<p>“To conclude our foreign policy, I must mention Borneo Proper. + +</p> +<p>“My great object is to reconcile Muda Hassim and the sultan, and to restore the former to Borneo, before the coming of Mr. +Bonham on his diplomatic mission. To effect this, I have resolved to proceed myself; and Muda Hassim, equally anxious, has +letters and two of his brothers ready to accompany me. If we can gain this object, I shall be firmly established, and relieved +from the intriguing, mean, base Borneons. And it will be an advantage to the government measure, <a id="d0e3108"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3108">199</a>]</span>in as far as they will be enabled to form their arrangements with all instead of a single faction of the Borneo Pangerans. +From all I hear, Muda Hassim is more powerful than either the sultan or Pangeran Usop; and if he appeals to arms, I am assured +he will carry his point, and become the sovereign of Borneo virtually, if not nominally. + +</p> +<p>“The Royalist now waits for us at the mouth of the river, which I hope to reach on the 14th, this being the 12th July. Heigh +for the sea once more! But yet, though I go, I take my cares with me, and but for the necessity, the absolute necessity, of +bringing the Borneo question to a crisis, good or bad, I would fain stop where I am. For even during one short monthʼs absence +I fear my poor people will suffer from the intrigues of the rascally Borneo Pangerans. In this I do not include Muda Hassim, +who, with a most amiable private character, and with integrity and good faith, desires to do right, as far as his education +and prejudices will permit. It is sad to reflect that this very prince, who really wishes to do good, and to conduce to the +comfort of his people, should, from want of energy, have been so fearful an oppressor, through the agency of others; and it +is not here alone that vile agents for vile purposes are plentiful.” + + + + +</p> +</div> +<div id="d0e3112" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XIV.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Visit of Captain Elliott.—Mr. Brooke sails for Borneo Proper.—Arrival.—Visited by leading men.—Condition of the country.—Reception +by the Sultan.—Objects in view.—The different chiefs, and communications with them.—The Sultan and his Pangerans.—Objects +of the visit accomplished.—Return to Sarāwak.—Ceremonies of the cession.—Sail for Singapore. +</p> +</div> +<p>After Mr. Brookeʼs return from his expedition against the Singè Dyak chief Parembam, he was visited by his friend Captain +Elliott, of the Madras engineers, whose acquaintance I had the pleasure of subsequently making at Singapore. He is, as Mr. +Brooke describes him, “a man of science and education, and the best of good fellows.” During his stay at <a id="d0e3120"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3120">200</a>]</span>Sarāwak, he established his observatory, and all its apparatus; and a shed (now converted into a goat-house) will always retain +the appellation of “the Observatory.” Mr. Brooke and Captain Elliott appear to have made some very amusing and agreeable excursions +up the different rivers, an account of which is given in the journal; but I shall pass it over, as I am anxious to follow +my friend through with his government up to the time of my meeting him at Singapore. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Thursday, July 14th.</i>—We were to have started on this most lucky day at ten oʼclock, but what with innumerable preparations and delays, it was +near six before the rajah was ready to dismiss the procession; and my alarm became considerable that, Friday (an unlucky day) +having commenced by the native reckoning, we should again be postponed till Sunday. However, by making six oʼclock five, and +keeping back the watches to suit our purpose, our departure was achieved. The state spears and swords were brought forth. +The letters for the sultan, in their brass tray covered with embroidered cloth, were duly mounted, with the greatest reverence, +on the head of Bandar Sumsu; and nothing remained but to take leave. The rajah addressed a few words to his brothers, requesting +them to tell the sultan that his heart was always with him; that he could never separate from him, whether far or near; and +that he was, and always had been, true to his son. Budrudeen then rose, and approaching the rajah, seated himself close to +him, bending his head to the ground over his hand, which he had grasped. The rajah hastily withdrew his hand, and clasping +him round, embraced, kissing his neck. Both were greatly agitated and both wept, and I could have wept for company, for it +was no display of state ceremony, but genuine feeling. It is seldom, very seldom, they show their feelings; and the effect +was the more touching from being unexpected; beside, it is a part of our nature (oneʼs better nature) to feel when we see +others feel. Pangeran Marsale followed; both brothers likewise parted with Muda Mahammed in the same way, and they certainly +rose in my opinion from this token of affection toward each other. My adieus followed; we all rose; <a id="d0e3127"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3127">201</a>]</span>the rajah accompanied us to the wharf; and as we embarked, I could see the tears slowly steal from his eyes. I could not help +taking his hand, and bidding him be of good cheer; he smiled in a friendly manner, pressed my hand, and I stepped into my +boat. Our gongs struck up; the barge, decorated with flags and streamers, was towed slowly along against the flood-tide; the +guns fired from the wharf, from the Chinese houses, and from our fort, and we passed along in all the pomp and pride of <i>Sarāwak state</i>. It was dusk when we got down to the first reach, and there we brought up to wait for the ebb.” + +</p> +<p>I shall omit that part of my friendʼs journal containing his remarks and observations along the coast between Sarāwak and +the entrance of the Borneo river. On the 21st July his narration continues thus: + +</p> +<p>“I must now leave geography, and turn to politics. On casting anchor we acted on a plan previously formed, and sent off the +gig, with Seriff Hussein and Nakoda Ahmed, to the city, to intimate my arrival, and that of the rajahʼs brothers, with letters +from Muda Hassim. I trusted to their dread of and curiosity about the English expedition to insure my reception; but I gave +particular directions, in case the sultan asked about me, that my ambassadors were to say I was here; that I had been corresponding +about the English coming; that I was not a man in authority, or belonging to the East India Company; and that they were sure +I should not land unless he invited me to come and see him. To show eagerness would have raised suspicion; backwardness excites +the contrary feeling, and a desire to entertain some intercourse. + +</p> +<p>“<i>July 22d.</i>—At the unconscionable hour of 2 A.M., a mob of Pangerans came on board, in number not fewer than fifty, and with a multitude +of followers. They awoke us out of our first sleep, and crowded the vessel above and below, so that we could scarce find room +to make our toilet in public, while the heat was suffocating us. However, we did manage it, and sat talking till daylight. +Our visitors were chiefly relations or adherents of Muda Hassim, and some of the first men in the country. Pangeran Budrudeen +and Pangeran Marsale were in their <a id="d0e3141"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3141">202</a>]</span>glory, and happy; and it was evident at once that our affairs were likely to succeed to our heartʼs content. All were anxious +and eager in inquiries about Muda Hassim, and wishing his return. The sultan, Pangeran Usop, Pangeran Mumin, and others declared, +‘Borneo could never be well till he came back.’ In short, it was clear that the country was in distress and difficulty from +within: trade ruined, piracy abounding, the mouth of the river unsafe, their forts insulted by the pirates, the communication +with their dependencies cut off, food dear, and the tobacco, which comes from the northward, not to be had. Everything conspires +to forward Muda Hassimʼs views and mine; and during this conversation, it was evident they were looking to me as a friend. + +</p> +<p>“At daylight a boat from the sultan arrived to carry up the letters; but Budrudeen and his brother resolved to proceed first, +in order to make sure of an honorable reception for the chop. At 7 oʼclock there was a stir. I saw them over the side with +delight, and gave them a salute with pleasure. Breakfast done, I was too happy to lie down, and slept till past midday, having +then only to wait for Budrudeenʼs return. + +</p> +<p>“<i>23d.</i>—Budrudeen came at 3 <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span>, bringing with him good news of the most favorable reception from all parties, all wishing for reconciliation and the return +of Muda Hassim. To-morrow, boats are to come for the letters, which are to be conveyed in state. The day following I am to +go up, and am likewise to be received in all honorable form. + +</p> +<p>“<i>24th.</i>—At 7 A.M. the state-boat, a shabby concern, decorated with yellow flags, arrived, and at eight the letters were borne away +under a salute. Thus we had a second time the satisfaction of getting rid of the mob at an early hour. + +</p> +<p>“<i>25th.</i>—At 9½ A.M. I started with Williamson in the gig, with the long-boat in company, carrying the presents. On approaching the +town, before the ebb had run long, it appeared to be a very Venice of hovels, a river Cybele rising from the water. For those +who like it, the locality is not ill chosen. The hills recede from the river, and form an amphitheatre; and several other +rivers or streams flowing in, cause a muddy deposit, on which <a id="d0e3163"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3163">203</a>]</span>the houses are built. At high water they are surrounded; at low water stand on a sheet of mud. On nearing it, we were encompassed +by boats which preceded and followed us, and we passed the floating market, where women, wearing immense hats of palm-leaves, +sell all sorts of edibles, balanced in their little canoes, now giving a paddle, now making a bargain, and dropping down with +the tide, and again regaining their place when the bargain is finished. The first impression of the town is miserable. The +houses are crowded and numerous, and even the palace does not present a more captivating aspect, for, though large, it is +as incommodious as the worst. Our presentation was exactly similar to that of our first meeting with Muda Hassim at Sarāwak, +only the crowd was much greater. We had been seated but a few minutes when Pangeran Usop arrived, and directly afterward the +sultan. He gave us tea, leaf-cigars, and sīrih, and, in short, showed us every attention; and what was best of all did not +keep us very long. Our apartment was partitioned off from the public hall, a dark-looking place, but furnished with a table +brought by us, and three rickety chairs, beside matresses and plenty of mats. We were kept up nearly all night, which, after +the fatigues of the day, was hard upon us. + +</p> +<p>“Further observation confirmed us in the opinion that the town itself is miserable, and its locality on the mud fitted only +for frogs or natives; but there is a level dry plain above the entrance of the Kiangi river, admirably suited for a European +settlement; and across the Kiangi is swelling ground, where the residents might find delightful spots for their country-houses. +The greatest annoyance to a stranger is the noisome smell of the mud when uncovered; and all plated or silver articles, even +in the course of one night, get black and discolored. The inhabitants I shall estimate moderately at 10,000, and the Kadien +population are numerous amid the hills. + +</p> +<p>“<i>27th.</i>—Our objects in coming to Borneo were threefold. Firstly, to effect a reconciliation between the sultan and Muda Hassim; secondly, +to gain the sultanʼs approval and signature to my holding Sarāwak; and <a id="d0e3172"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3172">204</a>]</span>thirdly, to release the Kleeses [Hindoostanees] of the shipwrecked vessels, the Sultana and Lord Melbourne. The first object +was gained at once, as the sultan seemed really overjoyed at being good friends with his uncle; and Pangeran Usop, from whom +we anticipated difficulty, stepped forward directly to aid us while Pangeran Mumin was not averse. I will not now stop to +sketch the characters of these worthies, as I shall hereafter have a better knowledge of them; but I may remark, <i>en passant</i>, that it was evident, even to my inexperience, that no two of them were on good terms, and all probably united in a feeling +that Muda Hassimʼs return would be a personal as well as public advantage. The other principal Pangerans, namely, Tizudeen +(the sultanʼs natural brother), Kurmaindar (the father of the country), Bahar (the rajahʼs brother-in-law), Tizudeen second +(the rajahʼs natural brother), were all for Muda Hassim; and the population, as far as I could learn, decidedly desirous of +his being restored to them. + +</p> +<p>“Each day I had several interviews with the sultan, in his surow or private room; and he assured me of his fondness for Muda +Hassim, his wish to have him near him again, and the great benefit it would be. Moreover, he was pleased to express great +personal regard for me; and every five minutes I had to swear ‘eternal friendship,’ while he, clasping my hand, kept repeating, +‘amigo <i>suya</i>,’ ‘amigo <i>suya</i>,’ meaning, <i>my</i> friend, <i>my</i> friend. At the same time he professed great readiness to give me Sarāwak—inquired the amount of revenue—seemed satisfied, +and said, ‘I wish you to be there; I do not wish any body else; you are my amigo, and it is nobodyʼs business but mine; the +country is mine, and if I please to give you all, I can.’ His majesty is very proud of displaying his very small smattering +of Spanish or Portuguese; and almost all the higher people having acquired a few words, shows there must have been a communication +at no very distant date. I was also warned not to care for any of the other Pangerans,—not, indeed, to have anything to say +to them. + +</p> +<p>“With this advice I took the liberty to dispense; and sent to Pangerans Mumin and Usop to intimate my wish to visit them. +The former pleaded that his house was <a id="d0e3193"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3193">205</a>]</span>unfit to receive me; but the latter immediately sent a most polite message, that any time, either by day or night, he should +be happy to see me; and accordingly I went. The house <i>and style</i> are the best in Borneo. I was politely and kindly greeted; and I soon found that I was with a man of sense and quickness. +There was a little diplomacy at first on his part; but as I proceeded direct to my object, he at once laid it aside. In fact, +candor is the basis of our right influence with the natives; and as I desired to make Pangeran Usop my friend, I went candidly +to work, and immediately told him all that I had already told the sultan. The amount of my conversation was as follows: The +first topic being the anticipated visit of the English, ‘Were the English coming?’ ‘Was Mr. Bonham coming?’ were the first +questions; and ‘With what intent?’ I replied, that the English were certainly coming, but with no evil intentions; that it +was true they were offended by the ill usage the captain and people of the Sultana had met with; yet that I had endeavored +to put it in the best light, and had urged that a friendly communication for the future was better than a retrospect which +might give rise to unpleasant feelings: I was sure that the English desired a friendly intercourse; and I hoped, though I +could not say, that they would look to the future, and not to the past. I had, I added, no authority; but my friendship for +the sultan induced me to inform him what I had heard abroad. When Mr. Bonham came, he would be able to tell them all; but +I could say now that I thought he would demand a treaty between Singapore and Borneo for the mutual protection of trade, and +the care of individuals of each nation who were shipwrecked or otherwise sought protection at either place. + +</p> +<p>“On the whole, it is certain that the feelings of Borneo are decidedly friendly, and equally certain that the persons of influence +will receive us in their warmest manner, and grant us every thing, if we resort only to measures of conciliation. It never +can be too often repeated, that conciliation is the only policy with Malays, and particularly the Borneons, who have very +vague and confused ideas of our power. A harsh truth, a peremptory <a id="d0e3200"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3200">206</a>]</span>demand, they have never heard in their lives, and they will not hear it for the first time and remain friendly; for all who +have the least acquaintance with the native character know their acute sense of false shame. To demand, therefore, of the +chief here to acknowledge our superiority would, I am sure, be met with a haughty refusal. In a few years, if we proceed mildly +to establish a beneficial influence, they will fall into our views without reserve; for, as I have often before stated, their +government is in the last stage of destruction and decay. + +</p> +<p>“The reconciliation of Muda Hassim was soon complete; and as to the Kleeses of the Lord Melbourne, twenty in number, they +were at once surrendered to me, with a request that I would forward them to Singapore as quickly as I could. The boat of the +Lord Melbourne was likewise given to me. I had some scruples about three Kleeses of the Sultana, who had been sold at Malludu +Bay, bought there by an Arab seriff, and brought here. By all their laws and customs they were his slaves, purchased at a +distance, and, as I had no right to claim them (supposing even that to be just), and was resolved not to leave them in captivity, +I paid a fair price for them at the rate of twenty-five dollars per man. I regret to add, there is one other man not in the +place; and one is gone to Tutorga—about a dayʼs journey hence. + +</p> +<p>“<i>28th.</i>—I may here draw a brief sketch of the principal personages of this most primitive court, beginning with its worthy head, +the sultan. + +</p> +<p>“The sultan is a man past fifty years of age, short and puffy in person, with a countenance which expresses very obviously +the imbecility of his mind. His right hand is garnished with an extra diminutive thumb, the natural member being crooked and +distorted. His mind, indexed by his face, seems to be a chaos of confusion; without acuteness, without dignity, and without +good sense. He can neither read nor write; is guided by the last speaker; and his advisers, as might be expected, are of the +lower order, and mischievous from their ignorance and their greediness. He is always talking, and generally joking; and the +most serious <a id="d0e3211"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3211">207</a>]</span>subjects never meet with five minutesʼ consecutive attention. The favorable side of his character is, that he is good-tempered +and good-natured; by no means cruel; and, in a certain way, generous, though rapacious to a high degree. His rapacity, indeed, +is carried to such an excess as to astonish a European, and is evinced in a thousand mean ways. The presents I made him were +unquestionably handsome; but he was not content without begging from me the share I had reserved for the other Pangerans; +and afterward, through Mr. Williamson, solicited more trifles, such as sugar, penknives, and the like. To crown all, he was +incessantly asking what was left in the vessel; and when told the truth,—that I was stripped as bare as a tree in winter,—he +frequently returned to the charge. In the middle of the night, when our boat came up with some gifts for him, he slipped out +his royal person, that he might see what packages there were. I must say, however, that this was not intended for me to know; +and, personally, he did not behave very ill toward me, only dunning me occasionally. In regard to the Sarāwak revenue, he +was eager in his inquiries; and was very ready, on the strength of his thousand dollars, and my generosity, to give me a list +of things which amounted to 10,000 dollars in value. I may note one other feature which marks the man. He requested, as the +greatest favor,—he urged, with the earnestness of a child,—that I would send back the schooner before the month Ramban (Ramadan +of the Turks); remarking, ‘What shall I do during the fast without soft sugar and dates?’ What effect the exaggerated promises +of Mr. de Souza must have had on such a temper, may readily be imagined; and what the evil influence of such a prince on the +country, needs not be stated; for, like other fools, he is difficult to guide where the object is right, and facile whenever +it promises any immediate advantage. I will only add, that during my intercourse of six days, he has given me the impression +that he is not in his right mind; and, at any rate, that flattery and bad counsel have deprived him of the little wit he might +probably originally have possessed. +<a id="d0e3213"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3213">208</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Of Pangeran Mumin, the De Gadong and the sultanʼs son-in-law, I know little; and he is, in secret, a most determined opposer +of mine; but I believe he, as well as most, is desirous of being good friends with the English, and will readily listen to +any overtures which promise increase of trade. He seemed to me a shrewd, cunning man, fit for a Nakoda. + +</p> +<p>“Pangeran Usop is a man of middle age, short, active, and intelligent, and, I may add, ambitious. Pangeran Muda Hassim will +throw himself into the arms of the English, from his partiality, and from the hope of a better order of things, and the eventual +succession to the throne, to which he stands next,—the present sultan having no legitimate children. + +</p> +<p>“Two of my objects were thus achieved at once; and the Kleeses (twenty-three) were, much to their satisfaction, dispatched +to the vessel in the Melbourneʼs gig. My own affair of Sarāwak meets with some opposition from Mumin, who is decidedly friendly +to Macota. The sultan, however, is steady to me, gabbles daily and hourly of his intentions; and Pangeran Usop likewise pushes +on my suit with his influence, at the same time giving me this one piece of good advice, viz. that Muda Hassim must be induced +to return to Borneo, for that two persons (Muda Hassim and myself) cannot govern together; and he added, ‘If Muda Hassim returns, +you will have a fine trade at Sarāwak; but while he is there, no native prahus will visit the place.’ This is true: I have +no fear of ultimate success in my suit; but delay is formidable, and I have already intimated that I propose making my <i>congé</i> on the 2d of August. + +</p> +<p>“<i>30th.</i>—I have little more to add about Borneo, save my plaint against our dungeon, though the said dungeon be honorably situated +behind the throne, and within the royal apartments. Just below the town are several rills of the finest water; and the natives +report that they issue from a small but deep lake at a very short distance. Beneath one of these spouts we each evening took +a most delicious bath in water as cold as it is limpid. I am no great bustler at any time; but since being here, I have purposely +abstained from all manifestation of curiosity, <a id="d0e3228"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3228">209</a>]</span>and never desired or requested to see much; it rouses suspicion, and suspicion rouses distrust, and distrust draws the kris. +On the contrary, by being backward at first, you become subsequently a sort of domesticated animal, and privileged to use +your eyes and limbs. Most Europeans do themselves great injury by searching the mountains and the waters, breaking the rocks, +shooting the birds, and gathering the plants. The natives can never believe they would take so much trouble without being +well paid by the value of the treasures found, or employed by the East India Company to espy their land, in order that the +said company might seize it at their convenience. + +</p> +<p>“<i>31st.</i>—A conclave of Pangerans, when it was finally resolved to grant the country of Sarāwak to me as rajah or governor. + +</p> +<p>“<i>August 1st, 1842.</i>—An important day in my history, and I hope one which will be marked with a white stone in the annals of Sarāwak. The letters +to Muda Hassim being finished and signed, the contract giving me the government of Sarāwak came under discussion, and was +likewise completed by ten at night, signed, sealed, and witnessed. Thus I have gained every object for which I came to Borneo; +and to-morrow, God willing, I take my leave. + +</p> +<p>“The miserable state of Borneo I have already mentioned; and it is now a saying of the Balagnini pirates, that ‘it is difficult +to catch fish, but easy to catch Borneons.’ Externally and internally they are equally wretched, and torn by factions; yet, +on the whole, I am not inclined to judge harshly of the poorer order of them. They are a good-tempered, very hospitable, and +unwarlike people, the victims of their rajahs; the oppressed, but not the oppressors. In this character, however, I do not +reckon the Pangerans and their followers. It is from these latter that Europeans take their estimate of the people generally, +and consequently truly account them, from that standard, to be a wretched sample of humanity—mean, thievish, arrogant, insolent, +and ready for any wickedness. The Pangerans themselves are only a step better: but even here I must make a little allowance; +for I believe their crimes arise more from <a id="d0e3242"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3242">210</a>]</span>their poverty and impunity than from any inherent viciousness. + +</p> +<p>“<i>3d.</i>—The Pangerans Budrudeen and Marsale, and a host more, came on board this night, and kept us up as usual. + +</p> +<p>“<i>4th.</i>—Another mob arrived the middle of last night. I retreated from them, being far from well, and got some sleep. At 2 P.M. the +letters came on board; were received with honors; and as soon as we could rid ourselves of our troublesome visitors, we dropped +outside Tanjong Sapo, and sailed the following day. + +</p> +<p>“The Kleeses sold at Malludu were brought from Ambun, and reported to the authorities that a European woman was detained there. +I made particular inquires of the Borneon Pangerans, and they said they had always understood that such was the case. Unhappy +lady, if she be a lady! Is it a compassionate part to release her after many years of captivity? + +</p> +<p>“<i>14th.</i>—Anchored off the Morotaba, having had nothing but calms, light winds, and squalls. + +</p> +<p>“<i>15th.</i>—Got part of the way up the river, and at 8 <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span> dropped our anchor; and in about an hour later two boats started for Sarāwak. The night was moonlight, with a cold breeze; +and, after a pleasant pull, we arrived, and created as much sensation as we could desire. But it was better, and I was gratified +with the intelligence that everything had gone on well during our absence. At break of day I went, fagged, to bed. So ended +our mission to Borneo. + +</p> +<p>“On the evening of the 18th the sultanʼs letters were produced in all the state which could possibly be attained. On their +arrival they were received and brought up amid large wax torches, and the person who was to read them was stationed on a raised +platform; standing below him was the rajah, with a saber in his hand; in front of the rajah was his brother, Pangeran Jaffer, +with a tremendous kempilan drawn; and around were the other brothers and myself, all standing—the rest of the company being +seated. The letters were then read, the last one appointing me to hold the government of Sarāwak. After this the rajah descended, +and said aloud, ‘If any one present disowns or contests the sultanʼs appointment, <a id="d0e3271"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3271">211</a>]</span>let him now declare.’ All were silent. He next turned to the Patingis, and asked them; they were obedient to the will of the +sultan. Then came the other Pangerans—‘Is there any Pangeran or any young rajah that contests the question? Pangeran Der Macota, +what do you say?’ Macota expressed his willingness to obey. One or two other obnoxious Pangerans who had always opposed themselves +to me were each in turn challenged, and forced to promise obedience. The rajah then waved his sword, and with a loud voice +exclaimed, ‘Whoever he is that disobeys the sultanʼs mandate now received, I will separate his skull;’ at the moment some +ten of his brothers jumped from the verandah, and, drawing their long krisses, began to flourish and dance about, thrusting +close to Macota, striking the pillar above his head, pointing their weapons at his breast. This <i>amusement</i>, the violence of motion, the freedom from restraint, this explosion of a long pent-up animosity, roused all their passions; +and had Macota, through an excess of fear or an excess of bravery, started up, he would have been slain, and other blood would +have been spilt. But he was quiet, with his face pale and subdued, and, as shortly as decency would permit after the riot +had subsided, took his leave. This scene is a custom with them; the only exception to which was, that it was pointed so directly +at Macota. I was glad, at any rate, that all had gone off without bloodshed. + +</p> +<p>“<i>22d.</i>—I found that though matters had been quiet during my absence, repeated efforts had been made to disturb the country. First, +it was positively stated and industriously circulated that I was certain to be killed in Borneo; and next a report was propagated +that 6000 Chinese were on their march from Sambas, with evil intentions. These rumors did not serve any object, and my return +has set them at rest; but I regretted to hear that the Singè Dyaks had, contrary to my positive prohibition, killed a Dyak +of Sanpro. + +</p> +<p>“Other affairs are prosperous. Macota is to be sent out of the country, and the rajah himself talks of returning to Borneo; +and both these events will please me greatly. + +</p> +<p>“<i>January 1st, 1843.</i>—Another year passed and gone; <a id="d0e3288"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3288">212</a>]</span>a year, with all its anxieties, its troubles, its dangers, upon which I can look back with satisfaction—a year in which I +have been usefully employed in doing good to others. + +</p> +<p>“Since I last wrote, the Dyaks have been quiet, settled, and improving; the Chinese advancing toward prosperity; and the Sarāwak +people, wonderfully contented and industrious, relieved from oppression, and fields of labor allowed them. + +</p> +<p>“Justice I have executed with an unflinching hand; and the amount of crime is certainly small—the petty swindling very great. + +</p> +<p>“The month of January was a dreary month. A sick man in the house, and very little medicine; and what was worse, the Royalist +did not make her appearance. Yet both these troubles disappeared nearly together; for MʼKenzie got well, and the schooner, +bringing with her Dr. Treacher, arrived. She had been detained undergoing some necessary repairs. The accession of a medical +man is particularly valuable. + +</p> +<p>“I have nothing to say about the country, except that I have given Pangeran Macota orders to leave, which he is obeying in +as far as preparing his boat; and I hope that in six weeks we shall be rid of his cunning and diabolically intriguing presence. + +</p> +<p>“The Rajah Muda Hassim, his brothers, and the tag-rag following, I also hope soon to be rid of; for although they behave far +better than they did at first, it is an evil to have wheel within wheel; and these young rajahs of course expect, and are +accustomed to, a license which I will not allow. + +</p> +<p>“Budrudeen is an exception—a striking and wonderful instance of the force of good sense over evil education. + +</p> +<p>“The rest of the people go on well; the time revolves quietly; and the Dyaks, as well as the Malays and Chinese, enjoy the +inestimable blessing of peace and security. At intervals a cloud threatens the serenity of our political atmosphere; but it +speedily blows over. However, all is well and safe; and so safe that I have resolved to proceed in person to Singapore. + +</p> +<p>“My motives for going are various; but I hope to do <a id="d0e3306"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3306">213</a>]</span>good, to excite interest, and make friends; and I can find no season like the present for my absence. It is now two years +since I left Singapore, ‘the boundary of civilization.’ I have been out of the civilized world, living in a demi-civilized +state, peaceably, innocently, and usefully. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Feb. 8th.</i>—After ten daysʼ delay at the mouth of the river, got out.” + + + + +</p> +</div> +<div id="d0e3313" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XV.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Captain Keppelʼs voyage in the Dido with Mr. Brooke to Sarāwak.—Chase of three piratical prahus.—Boat expedition.—Action with +the pirates, and capture of a prahu.—Arrival at Sarāwak.—Mr. Brookeʼs reception.—Captain Keppel and his officers visit the +Rajah.—The palace and the audience.—Return royal visit to the Dido.—Mr. Brookeʼs residence and household.—Dr. Treacherʼs adventure +with one of the ladies of Macotaʼs harem.—Another boat affair with the pirates, and death of their chief. +</p> +</div> +<p>I have now followed Mr. Brookeʼs journal up to the time of our first meeting at Singapore, and his accompanying me to Sarāwak, +and have no remarks of my own to offer that could add in the slightest degree to its interest; happily, none such are needed. +I had not yet seen my friendʼs journal when I arrived at Sarāwak, nor was it until some time after that I by degrees learned +the progress of his infant government from its commencement. It was with unfeigned pleasure I then found that, while performing +my duty in the suppression of piracy, I was, at the same time, rendering the greatest assistance and support to an individual +in his praiseworthy, novel, and important position. + +</p> +<p>I had long felt a desire to explore the Island of Borneo, which the few travelers who have called there describe as not only +one of the largest and most fertile in the world, but one of the most productive in gold and diamonds, and other rich minerals +and ores; one from which the finest camphor known is brought into merchandise, and which is undoubtedly capable of supplying +every kind of valuable spice, and articles of universal traffic and consumption. Yet, with all these capabilities and inducements +to tempt the energetic spirit of trade, the internal <a id="d0e3323"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3323">214</a>]</span>condition of the country, and the dangers which beset its coasts, have hitherto prevented the interior from being explored +by Europeans; and to prove how little we are acquainted even with its shores, I actually sailed by the best Admiralty chart +eighty miles inland, and over the tops of mountains! + +</p> +<p><i>May 4th, 1843.</i>—Passed through the Tambelans, a beautiful group of between 100 and 150 small islands. They are very extensive, and but thinly +inhabited. There is good anchorage near some of them; but we had nothing less than twenty fathoms. They are placed so close +together that, after passing the first, we were to all appearance completely land-locked in a magnificent and capacious harbor. +The following morning we anchored off the mouth of the Sambas river, and sent the boats away to examine the creeks, islands, +and rivers along the coast for traces of pirates—which were discovered by the remains of their fires on different parts, although +no clew could be obtained as to the direction in which they had gone. On the morning of the 8th I again sent the pinnace and +two cutters, Mr. Partridge, Messrs. DʼAeth and Jenkins, with a weekʼs provisions, the whole under the command of Lieutenant +Wilmot Horton, Mr. Brooke kindly offering his assistance, which, from his knowledge of the Malay language, as well as of the +kind of vessels used by the pirates, was thankfully accepted. I directed them to proceed to the Island of Marundum, and, after +visiting the South Natunas, to rejoin the Dido at Sarāwak. In the mean time I proceeded leisurely along the coast, anchoring +where convenient, and finding regular soundings all the way in from four to ten fathoms: weather remarkably fine, and water +smooth. On the morning of the 9th, on rounding Tanjong Datu, we opened suddenly on a suspicious-looking boat, which, on making +us out, ran for a small, deep bay formed by Cape Datu and the next point to the eastward. Standing a little further on, we +discovered a second large boat in the offing, which likewise stood in shore, and afterward a third at the bottom of the bay. +From the description I had received, I easily made these out to be Illanuns, an enterprising tribe of pirates, of whose daring +adventures I had heard much. They inhabit a small <a id="d0e3329"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3329">215</a>]</span>cluster of islands off the N.E. coast of Borneo, and go out in large fleets every year to look for prahus bound to Singapore +or the Straits; and, after capturing the vessels, reduce their crews to slavery. It is of a cruel nature; for Mr. Brooke observes: +“Nor is the slavery of that mild description which is often attributed to the Asiatics; for these victims are bound for months, +and crowded in the bottom of the pirate vessels, where they suffer all the miseries which could be inflicted on board an African +slaver.”—Having fairly pinned these worthies into a corner, and knowing that the only two small boats I had left on board +would stand no chance with them in pulling, to make sure of my prizes I loaded the two foremost guns on each side, and, having +no proper chart of the coast, proceeded under easy sail, feeling my way into the bay with the lead. When just within musket-range, +I let go the anchor, which was no sooner done than the three boats commenced making a move. I thought at first they were coming +alongside to sue for pardon and peace; and my astonishment was great when I discovered that nothing was further from their +intention. One pulled away, close in shore, to the eastward, and the other two to the westward. They were rowed by about forty +oars each, and appeared, from their swiftness, to be flying, and that, too, from under my very nose; and what rendered it +still more ridiculous and disagreeable, owing to a strong ebb tide, the ship remained exactly in a position that no gun could +be brought to bear on either side. The dingy and jolly-boat gave chase; but the pirates had the start, and it was useless; +for although a few men were seen to drop from their oars in consequence of our fire of musketry from the forecastle, still +their pace never slackened; and when they did come within the bearing of our guns, which they were obliged to do for a minute +or two while rounding the points that formed the bay, though our thirty-two pound shot fell thickly about their heads, frequently +dashing the spray all over them, not a man flinched from his oar. We could not help admiring their plan of escape, and the +gallant manner in which it was effected. I saw that it would be quite unavailing to attempt to catch the boats that had pulled +to windward; but we lost no time in slipping our <a id="d0e3331"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3331">216</a>]</span>cable and making all sail in chase of the one that had gone to leeward. But the “artful dodger” was still too fast for us: +we lost sight of him at dusk, close off the mouth of a river, up which, however, I do not think he went; for our two boats +were there very shortly after him; and although they searched all night and next morning, they could discover no traces of +the fugitive. Besides, these pirates have no friends among the inhabitants of the province of Sarāwak who would have screened +them from us; on the contrary, they would have put them to death if once in their power. I certainly never made so sure of +any thing in my life as of capturing the three prahus after I had seen them safe at the bottom of the little bay at Tanjong +Datu: but “there is many a slip between the cup and the lip.” We returned the following day to pick up the anchor and cable, +and observed that it was a place well adapted as a rendezvous for pirates. The bay is studded with rocks; and, to my horror, +I found that I had run her majestyʼs ship Dido inside two that were a-wash at low water! A mountain stream of most delicious +water runs into the bay between two rocks, and the coast abounds with oysters. + +</p> +<p>On the 13th the Dido anchored off Tanjong Poe, outside the bar at the entrance of the river leading to Mr. Brookeʼs residence +and seat of government, at the town of Sarāwak, situated about twenty-four miles up. At half-tide on the following morning +we crossed the bar, carrying no less than three and a half fathoms, and entered the beautiful river of Morotaba, which we +ran up for the first fifteen miles under all sail, with a fresh, leading breeze. The Dido was the first square-rigged vessel +that had ever entered those waters. We came to at the junction river which unites the two principal entrances to the Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p>In the evening our boats returned on board from their expedition, having reached Sarāwak the day previous by the western entrance. +On leaving the Dido, on the morning of the 8th, they proceeded to the Island of Marundum, a favorite rendezvous for pirates, +where they came on a fleet of the Illanum tribe, who, however, did not give them an opportunity of closing; but, cutting their +sampans adrift, made a precipitate flight, opening <a id="d0e3337"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3337">217</a>]</span>fire as they ran out on the opposite side of a small bay, in which they had been watering and refitting. This, of course, +led to a very exciting chase, with a running fire kept up on both sides; but the distance was too great for the range of the +guns on either side; and the pirates, who, in addition to sailing well, were propelled by from forty to sixty oars each, made +their escape. It was not until nearly hull-down that they (probably out of bravado) ceased to fire their stern guns. As they +went in the direction of the Natunas, our boats steered for those islands, and anchored under the south end of one of them. +At daylight next morning, although in three fathoms water, the pinnace, owing to the great rise and fall of tide, grounded +on a coral reef, and Lieutenant Horton and Mr. Brooke proceeded in one of the cutters to reconnoiter. As they neared the s.w. +point, they were met by six prahus, beating their tom-toms as they advanced, and making every demonstration of fighting. Lieutenant +Horton judiciously turned to rejoin the other boats; and the pinnace having, fortunately, just then floated, he formed his +little squadron into line abreast, cleared for action, and prepared to meet his formidable-looking antagonists. Mr. Brooke, +however, whose eye had been accustomed to the cut and rig of all the boats in these seas, discovered that those advancing +were not Illanuns, and fancied there must be some mistake. The Natunas people had been trading with Sarāwak, and he was intimately +acquainted with a rich and powerful chief who resided on the island; he therefore raised a white flag of truce on his spy-glass, +and from the bow of the pinnace hailed, waved, and made all the signs he could to warn them of the danger into which they +were running; but a discharge of small arms was the only reply he got. They then detached their three smallest vessels inshore, +so as to command a cross-fire, and cut off the retreat of our boats; and the rest advanced, yelling, beating their tom-toms, +and blazing away with all the confidence of victory, their shot cutting through the rigging, and splashing in the water all +around. It was an anxious moment for the Didoʼs little party. Not a word was spoken. The only gun of the pinnace was loaded +with grape and canister, and kept pointed on the largest prahu. The <a id="d0e3339"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3339">218</a>]</span>men waited, with their muskets in hand, for permission to fire; but it was not until within pistol-range that Lieutenant Horton +poured into the enemy his well-prepared dose. It instantly brought them to a halt; yet they had the temerity to exchange shots +for a few minutes longer, when the largest cried for quarter, and the other five made for the shore, chased by the two cutters, +and keeping up a fire to the last. + +</p> +<p>The prize taken possession of by the pinnace proved to be a prahu mounting three brass guns, with a crew of thirty-six men, +belonging to the Rajah of Rhio, and which had been dispatched by that chief to collect tribute at and about the Natunas islands. +They had on board ten men killed, and eleven (four of them mortally) wounded. They affected the greatest astonishment on discovering +that our boats belonged to a British man-of-war, and protested that it was all a mistake; that the island had lately been +plundered by the Illanun pirates, for whom they had taken us; that the rising sun was in their eyes, and that they could not +make out the colors, &c. Lieutenant Horton, thinking that their story might possibly have some foundation in truth, and taking +into consideration the severe lesson they had received, directed Dr. Simpson, the assistant-surgeon, to dress their wounds; +and after admonishing them to be more circumspect in future, restored them their boat, as well as the others which belonged +to the island, two of them being a trifle smaller, but of the same armament as the one from Rhio, and the remaining three +still smaller, carrying twelve men each, armed with spears and muskets. These had been taken possession of by the cutters +after they had reached the shore and landed their killed and wounded, who were borne away from the beach so smartly by the +natives that our people had not time to ascertain the number hurt. The surgeon went ashore, and dressed the wounds of several +of them, an act of kindness and civilization far beyond their comprehension. The natives, however, appeared to bear us no +malice for the injury we had inflicted on their countrymen, but loaded our boats with fruit, goats, and every thing we required. +It afforded some amusement to find that among the slightly wounded was Mr. Brookeʼs old, <a id="d0e3343"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3343">219</a>]</span>wealthy, and respectable friend already alluded to, who was not a little ashamed at being recognized; but piracy is so inherent +in a Malay, that few can resist the temptation when a good opportunity for plunder presents itself. The fact, which I afterward +ascertained, was, that they took our boats for some coming from a wreck with whatever valuables they could collect; and their +not having seen any thing of the ship rather strengthened this conjecture; the excuse they made for continuing the fight after +they had discovered their mistake being that they expected no quarter.<a id="d0e3345src" href="#d0e3345" class="noteref">1</a> + +</p> +<p><i>May 16th.</i>—We proceeded up the river twelve miles further into the interior of this interesting country, and with my friend Mr. Brooke +on board, approached Sarāwak, his seat of government; in the reach before you near which, and off the right bank of the river, +is a long and dangerous shelf of rocks. The deep channel which lies between the bank and the rocks is not more than sixty +or seventy feet wide, and required some little care in passing; but, with the exception of the flying jibboom, which got nipped +off in the branch of a magnificent overhanging tree, we anchored without accident in six fathoms water, and greatly astonished +the natives with a royal salute in honor of Muda Hassim, the Rajah of Borneo. During the whole morning large boats, some carrying +as many as two hundred people, had been coming down the river to hail Mr. Brookeʼs return; and one of the greatest gratifications +I had was in witnessing the undisguised delight, mingled with gratitude and respect, with which each head man welcomed their +newly-elected ruler back to his adopted country. Although many of the Malay chiefs had every reason to expect that in the +Dido they saw the means by which their misdeeds were to be punished, they showed their confidence in Mr. Brooke by bringing +their children with them—a sign peculiar to the Malay. The scene was both novel and exciting; presenting to us, just anchored +in a large fresh-water river, and surrounded by a densely-wooded <a id="d0e3352"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3352">220</a>]</span>jungle, the whole surface of the water covered with canoes and boats dressed out with their various-colored silken flags, +filled with natives beating their tom-toms, and playing on their wild and not unpleasant-sounding wind-instruments, with the +occasional discharge of firearms. To them it must have been equally striking and extraordinary (as few of them had ever seen +any larger vessel than their own war-boats, or a European, until Mr. Brookeʼs arrival) to witness the Dido anchored almost +in the center of their town, her mast-heads towering above the highest trees of their jungle; the loud report of her heavy +two-and-thirty pounder guns, and the running aloft, to furl sails, of 150 seamen, in their clean white dresses, and with the +band playing, all which helped to make an impression that will not easily be forgotten at Sarāwak. I was anxious that Mr. +Brooke should land with all the honors due to so important a personage, which he accordingly did, under a salute. The next +business was my visit of ceremony to the rajah, which was great fun, though conducted in the most imposing manner. The band, +and the marines, as a guard, having landed, we (the officers) all assembled at Mr. Brookeʼs house, where, having made ourselves +as formidable as we could with swords and cocked hats, we marched in procession to the royal residence, his majesty having +sent one of his brothers, who led me by the hand into his presence. The palace was a long, low shed, built on piles, to which +we ascended by a ladder. The audience-chamber was hung with red and yellow silk curtains, and round the back and one side +of the platform occupied by the rajah were ranged his ministers, warriors, and men-at-arms, bearing spears, swords, shields, +and other warlike weapons. Opposite to them were drawn up our royal marines, the contrast between the two body-guards being +very amusing. Muda Hassim is a wretched-looking, little man; still there was a courteous and gentle manner about him that +prepossessed us in his favor, and made us feel that we were before an individual who had been accustomed to command. We took +our seats in a semicircle, on chairs provided for the occasion, and smoked cigars and drank tea. His majesty chewed his sīrih-leaf +and betel-nut, seated with <a id="d0e3354"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3354">221</a>]</span>one leg crossed under him, and playing with his toes. Very little is ever said during these audiences, so we sat staring at +one another for half an hour with mutual astonishment; and, after the usual compliments of wishing our friendship might last +as long as the moon, and my having offered him the Dido and every thing else that did not belong to me in exchange for his +house, we took our leave. + +</p> +<p><i>May 19th.</i>—This was the day fixed for the rajahʼs visit to the Dido, about which he appeared very anxious, although he had seldom been +known to go beyond his own threshold. For this ceremony all the boats, guns, tom-toms, flags, and population were put in requisition; +and the procession to the ship was a very gorgeous and amusing spectacle. We received him on board with a royal salute. He +brought in his train a whole tribe of natural brothers. His guards and followers were strange enough, and far too numerous +to be admitted on the Didoʼs deck, so that as soon as a sufficient number had scrambled on board, the sentry had orders to +prevent any more from crowding in; but whether, in so doing, the most important personages of the realm were kept out, we +did not ascertain. One fellow succeeded in obtaining a footing with a large yellow silk canopy, a corner of which having run +into the eye of one of the midshipmen, the bearer missed his footing, and down came the whole concern—as I was informed, by +<i>accident</i>! The party assembled in my cabin, and the remarks were few, nor did they manifest great astonishment at any thing. In fact, +a Malay never allows himself to be taken by surprise. I believe, however, the rajah did not think much of my veracity, when +I informed him that this was not the largest ship belonging to her Britannic majesty, and that she had several mounting upward +of 100 guns, though he admitted that he had seen a grander sight than any of his ancestors. There was much distress depicted +in the royal countenance during his visit which I afterward ascertained was owing to his having been informed that he must +not spit in my cabin. On leaving the ship, whether the cherry brandy he had taken made him forget the directions he had received, +I do not know, but he squirted a mouthful of red betel-nut juice over the white deck, and then had the temerity <a id="d0e3363"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3363">222</a>]</span>to hold out his hand to the first lieutenant, who hastily applied to him the style (not royal) of “a dirty beast,” which not +understanding, he smiled graciously, taking it as some compliment peculiar to the English. + +</p> +<p>This farce over, I had now some time to look about me, and to refit my ship in one of the prettiest spots on earth, and as +unlike a dock-yard as any thing could be. + +</p> +<p>Mr. Brookeʼs then residence, although equally rude in structure with the abodes of the natives, was not without its English +comforts of sofas, chairs, and bedsteads. It was larger than any of the others, but being, like them, built on piles, we had +to mount a ladder to get into it. It was situated on the same side of the river (the right bank), next to, but rather in the +rear of, the rajahʼs palace, with a clear space of about 150 yards between the back and the edge of the jungle. It was surrounded +by palisades and a ditch, forming a protection to sheep, goats, pigeons, cats, poultry, geese, monkeys, dogs, ducks, and, +occasionally, bullocks. The house consisted of but one floor. A large room in the center, neatly ornamented with every description +of firearms, in admirable order and ready for use, served as an audience and mess-room; and the various apartments round it +as bed-rooms, most of them comfortably furnished with matted floors, easy chairs, pictures, and books, with much more taste +and attention to comfort than bachelors usually display. In one corner of the square formed by the palisades were the kitchen +and offices. The Europeans with Mr. Brooke consisted of Mr. Douglas, formerly in the navy, a clever young surgeon, and a gentleman +of the name of Williamson, who, being master of the native language, as well as active and intelligent, made an excellent +prime minister. Besides these were two others, who came out in the yacht, one an old man-of-warʼs man, who kept the arms in +first-rate condition, and another worthy character, who answered to the name of Charley, and took care of the accounts and +charge of every thing. These were attended by servants of different nations. The cooking establishment was perfect, and the +utmost harmony prevailed. The great feeding-time was at sunset, when Mr. Brooke took his seat at the head of the table, and +all the establishment, <a id="d0e3369"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3369">223</a>]</span>as in days of yore, seated themselves according to their respective grades. This hospitable board was open to all the officers +of the Dido; and many a jovial evening we spent there. All Mr. Brookeʼs party were characters—all had traveled; and never +did a minute flag for want of some entertaining anecdote, good story, or song, to pass away the time; and it was while smoking +our cigars in the evening that the natives, as well as the Chinese who had become settlers, used to drop in, and, after creeping +up according to their custom, and touching the hand of their European rajah, retire to the further end of the room, and squat +down upon their haunches, remain a couple of hours without uttering a word, and then creep out again. I have seen sixty or +seventy of an evening come in and make this sort of salaam. All the Malays were armed; and it is reckoned an insult for one +of them to appear before a rajah without his kris. I could not help remarking the manly, independent bearing of the half-savage +and nearly naked mountain Dyak compared with the sneaking deportment of the Malay. + +</p> +<p>The following little adventure was told me during my stay at Sarāwak, by Dr. Treacher, who had lately joined Mr. Brooke, his +former medical attendant having returned to England. It appears that Dr. Treacher received a message by a confidential slave +that one of the ladies of Macotaʼs harem desired an interview, appointing a secluded spot in the jungle as the rendezvous. +The doctor, being aware of his own good looks, fancied he had made a conquest, and, having got himself up as showily as he +could, was there at the appointed time. He described the poor girl as both young and pretty, but with a dignified and determined +look, which at once convinced him that she was moved to take so dangerous a step by some deeper feeling than that of a mere +fancy for his person. She complained of the ill treatment she had received from Macota, and the miserable life she led, and +avowed that her firm resolve was to destroy (not herself, gentle creature! but) him; for which purpose she wanted a small +portion of arsenic. It was a disappointment that he could not comply with her request; so they parted—he full of pity and +love for her, and she, in <a id="d0e3373"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3373">224</a>]</span>all probability, full of contempt for a man who felt for her wrongs, but would not aid in the very simple means she had proposed +for redressing them. + +</p> +<p>While at Singapore, Mr. Whitehead had kindly offered to allow his yacht, the Emily, a schooner of about fifty tons, with a +native crew, to bring our letters to Borneo, on the arrival at Singapore of the mail from England. About the time she was +expected, I thought it advisable to send a boat to cruise in the vicinity of Cape Datu, in case of her falling in with any +of these piratical gentry. The Didoʼs largest boat, the pinnace, being under repair, Mr. Brooke lent a large boat which he +had had built by the natives at Sarāwak, and called the Jolly Bachelor. Having fitted her with a brass six-pounder long gun, +with a volunteer crew of a mate, two midshipmen, six marines, and twelve seamen, and a fortnightʼs provisions, I dispatched +her under the command of the second lieutenant, Mr. Hunt; Mr. Douglas, speaking the Malayan language, likewise volunteered +his services. One evening, after they had been about six days absent, while we were at dinner, young Douglas made his appearance, +bearing in his arms the captured colors of an Illanun pirate. It appears that the day after they had got outside they observed +three boats a long way in the offing, to which they gave chase, but soon lost sight of them, owing to their superior sailing. +They, however, appeared a second and a third time, after dark, but without the Jolly Bachelor being able to get near them; +and it now being late, and the crew both fatigued and hungry, they pulled inshore, lighted a fire, cooked their provisions, +and then hauled the boat out to her grapnel, near some rocks, for the night; lying down to rest with their arms by their sides, +and muskets round the mast, ready loaded. Having also placed sentries and look-out men, and appointed an officer of the watch, +they one and all (sentries included, I suppose), owing to the fatigues of the day, fell asleep! At about three oʼclock the +following morning, the moon being just about to rise, Lieut. Hunt happening to be awake, observed a savage brandishing a kris, +and performing his war-dance on the bit of deck, in an ecstasy of delight, thinking, in all probability, of the ease with +which he had got possession <a id="d0e3377"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3377">225</a>]</span>of a fine trading-boat, and calculating the cargo of slaves he had to sell, but little dreaming of the hornetsʼ nest into +which he had fallen. Lieut. Huntʼs round face meeting the light of the rising moon, without a turban surmounting it, was the +first notice the pirate had of his mistake. He immediately plunged overboard; and before Lieut. Hunt had sufficiently recovered +his astonishment to know whether he was dreaming or not, or to rouse his crew up, a discharge from three or four cannon within +a few yards, and the cutting through the rigging by the various missiles with which the guns were loaded, soon convinced him +there was no mistake. It was as well the men were still lying down when this discharge took place, as not one of them was +hurt; but on jumping to their legs, they found themselves closely pressed by two large war-prahus, one on each bow. To return +the fire, cut the cable, man the oars, and back astern to gain room, was the work of a minute; but now came the tug of war; +it was a case of life and death. Our men fought as British sailors ought to do; quarter was not expected on either side; and +the quick and deadly aim of the marines prevented the pirates from reloading their guns. The Illanun prahus are built with +strong bulwarks or barricades, grape-shot proof, across the fore part of the boat, through which ports are formed for working +the guns; these bulwarks had to be cut away by round shot from the Jolly Bachelor before the musketry could bear effectually. +This done, the grape and canister told with fearful execution. In the mean time, the prahus had been pressing forward to board, +while the Jolly Bachelor backed astern; but, as soon as this service was achieved, our men dropped their oars, and, seizing +their muskets, dashed on: the work was sharp, but short, and the slaughter great. While one pirate boat was sinking, and an +effort made to secure her, the other effected her escape by rounding the point of rocks, where a third and larger prahu, hitherto +unseen, came to her assistance, and putting fresh hands on board, and taking her in tow, succeeded in getting off, although +chased by the Jolly Bachelor, after setting fire to the crippled prize, which blew up and sunk before the conquerors got back +to the scene <a id="d0e3379"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3379">226</a>]</span>of action. While there, a man swam off to them from the shore, who proved to be one of the captured slaves, and had made his +escape by leaping overboard during the fight. The three prahus were the same Illanun pirates we had so suddenly come upon +off Cape Datu in the Dido, and they belonged to the same fleet that Lieut. Horton had chased off the Island of Marundum. The +slave prisoner had been seized, with a companion, in a small fishing canoe, off Borneo Proper; his companion suffered in the +general slaughter. The sight that presented itself on our people boarding the captured boat must indeed have been a frightful +one. None of the pirates waited on board for even the chance of receiving either quarter or mercy, but all those capable of +moving had thrown themselves into the water. In addition to the killed, some lying across the thwarts, with their oars in +their hands, at the bottom of the prahu, in which there was about three feet of blood and water, were seen protruding the +mangled remains of eighteen or twenty bodies. During my last expedition I fell in with a slave belonging to a Malay chief, +one of our allies, who informed us that he likewise had been a prisoner, and pulled an oar in one of the two prahus that attacked +the Jolly Bachelor; that none of the crew of the captured prahu reached the shore alive, with the exception of the lad that +swam off to our people; and that there were so few who survived in the second prahu, that, having separated from their consort +during the night, the slaves, fifteen in number, rose and put to death the remaining pirates, and then ran the vessel into +the first river they reached, which proved to be the Kaleka, where they were seized, and became the property of the governing +Datu; and my informant was again sold to my companion, while on a visit to his friend the Datu. Each of the attacking prahus +had between fifty and sixty men, including slaves, and the larger one between ninety and a hundred. The result might have +been very different to our gallant but dosy Jolly Bachelors. + +</p> +<p>I have already mentioned the slaughter committed by the fire of the pinnace, under Lieutenant Horton, into the largest Malay +prahu; and the account given of the scene which presented itself on the deck of the defeated <a id="d0e3383"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3383">227</a>]</span>pirate, when taken possession of, affords a striking proof of the character of these fierce rovers; resembling greatly what +we read of the Norsemen and Scandinavians of early ages. Among the mortally wounded lay the young commander of the prahu, +one of the most noble forms of the human race; his countenance handsome as the hero of Oriental romance, and his whole bearing +wonderfully impressive and touching. He was shot in front and through the lungs, and his last moments were rapidly approaching. +He endeavored to speak, but the blood gushed from his mouth with the voice he vainly essayed to utter in words. Again and +again he tried, but again and again the vital fluid drowned the dying effort. He looked as if he had something of importance +which he desired to communicate, and a shade of disappointment and regret passed over his brow when he felt that every essay +was unavailing, and that his manly strength and daring spirit were dissolving into the dark night of death. The pitying conquerors +raised him gently up, and he was seated in comparative ease, for the welling out of the blood was less distressing; but the +end speedily came: he folded his arms heroically across his wounded breast, fixed bis eyes upon the British seamen around, +and, casting one last glance at the ocean—the theater of his daring exploits, on which he had so often fought and triumphed—expired +without a sigh. + +</p> +<p>The spectators, though not unused to tragical and sanguinary sights, were unanimous in speaking of the death of the pirate +chief as the most affecting spectacle they had ever witnessed. A sculptor might have carved him as an Antinous in the mortal +agonies of a Dying Gladiator. + +</p> +<p>The leaders of the piratical prahus are sometimes poetically addressed by their followers as <i>Matari</i>, i. e., the sun; or <i>Bulan</i>, the moon; and from his superiority in every respect, physical and intellectual, the chief whose course was here so fatally +closed seemed to be worthy of either celestial name. + + + + +<a id="d0e3395"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3395">228</a>]</span></p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e3345" href="#d0e3345src" class="noteref">1</a></span> I am happy to say that the Lords of the Admiralty have since been pleased to promote Lieut. Wilmot Horton and Mr. W. L. Partridge, +mate, who commanded the pinnace, for their gallantry on this occasion.—H. K. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e3396" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XVI.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>The Rajahʼs letter to Captain Keppel, and his reply.—Prepares for an expedition against the Sarebus pirates.—Pleasure excursion +up the river.—The Chinese settlement.—The Singè mountain.—Interior of the residences.—Dyak festival of Maugut.—Relics.—Sporting.—Return +to Sarāwak.—The expedition against Sarebus.—State and number of the assailing force.—Ascent of the river.—Beauty of the scenery. +</p> +</div> +<p><i>May 21st.</i>—I received intimation that the rajah had written a letter, and wished me to appoint a time and place, that it might be presented +in due form. Accordingly I attended in Mr. Brookeʼs hall of audience on the following day, where I found collected all the +chiefs, and a crowd of natives, many of them having already been informed that the said letter was a requisition for me to +assist in putting down the hordes of pirates who had so long infested the coast. I believe many of those present, especially +the Borneons, to have been casually concerned, if not deeply implicated, in some of their transactions. After I had taken +my seat with Mr. Brooke at the head of the table, the rajahʼs sword-bearers entered, clearing the way for the huge yellow +canopy, under the shade of which, on a large brass tray, and carefully sewn up in a yellow silk bag, was the letter, from +which it was removed, and placed in my hands by the Pangeran Budrudeen. I opened the bag with my knife, and giving it to an +interpreter, he read it aloud in the Malayan tongue. It was variously received by the audience, many of whose countenances +were far from prepossessing. + +</p> +<p>The following is a copy of the letter, to which was affixed the rajahʼs seal: + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<p>“This friendly epistle, having its source in a pure mind, comes from Rajah Muda Hassim, next in succession to the royal throne +of the kingdom of Borneo, and who now holds his court at the trading city of Sarāwak, to our friend Henry Keppel, head captain +of the war-frigate belonging to her Britannic Majesty, renowned throughout all countries—who is valiant and discreet, and +endowed with a mild and gentle nature: + +<a id="d0e3411"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3411">229</a>]</span></p> +<p>“This is to inform our friend that there are certain great pirates, of the people of Sarebus and Sakarran, in our neighborhood, +seizing goods and murdering people on the high seas. They have more than three hundred war-prahus, and extend their ravages +even to Banjarmassim; they are not subject to the government of Bruni (Borneo); they take much plunder from vessels trading +between Singapore and the good people of our country. + + +</p> +<p>“It would be a great service if our friend would adopt measures to put an end to these piratical outrages. + + +</p> +<p>“We can present nothing better to our friend than a kris, such as it is. + + +</p> +<p>“20th day of Rahial Akhir, 1257.”</p> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>To which I sent the following reply:— + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<p>“Captain Keppel begs to acknowledge the receipt of the Rajah Muda Hassimʼs letter, representing that the Dyaks of Sarebus +and Sakarran are the pirates who infest the coast of Borneo, and do material damage to the trade of Singapore. + + +</p> +<p>“Captain Keppel will take speedy measures to suppress these and all other pirates, and feels confident that her Britannic +Majesty will be glad to learn that the Rajah Muda Hassim is ready to coöperate in so laudable an undertaking.” +</p> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>Not being prepared for the oriental fashion of exchanging presents, I had nothing to offer to his rajahship; but I found out +afterward that Mr. Brooke had (unknown to me) sent him a clock in my name. The royal kris was handsome, the handle of carved +ivory, with a good deal of gold about it. + +</p> +<p>This information about the pirates gave me good ground to make a beginning; and having arranged with Mr. Brooke to obtain +all necessary intelligence relative to their position, strength, and numbers,<a id="d0e3433src" href="#d0e3433" class="noteref">1</a> I determined on attacking them in their strongholds, commencing with the Sarebus, who, from all accounts, were by far the +<a id="d0e3436"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3436">230</a>]</span>most strongly fortified. Mr. Brooke accepted my invitation to accompany us, as well as to supply a native force of about three +hundred men, who, should we succeed in the destruction of the pirate forts, would be useful in the jungle. Mr. Brookeʼs going +to join personally in a war against (in the opinion of the Datus) such formidable opponents as the Sakarran and Sarebus pirates—who +had never yet been conquered, although repeatedly attacked by the united forces of the surrounding rajahs—was strongly opposed +by the chiefs. On his informing them that he should go, but leaving it optional whether they would accompany him or not, their +simple reply was, “What is the use of our remaining? If you die, we die; and if you live, we live; we will go with you.” Preparations +for the expedition were accordingly commenced. + +</p> +<p>No place could have suited us better for a refit. Within a few yards of the ship was a Chinese workshop. Our boats were hauled +up to repair under sheds, and we drew our fresh water alongside; and while the Dido was at Sarāwak, Mr. Jago, the carpenter, +built a very beautiful thirty-foot gig, having cut the plank up in the Chinamanʼs sawpit. + +</p> +<p>While these works were in progress, I accompanied Mr. Brooke up the river. The Royalist having been dispatched to Singapore +with our letters, we started on our pleasure-excursion. With the officers from the Dido and the chiefs, who always accompany +the “Tuan Besar,” we mustered about sixty persons; and with our guns, walking-sticks, cigars, and a well supplied commissariat, +determined to enjoy ourselves. + +</p> +<p>We were not long in making the acquaintances of the chiefs. Men who had formerly rebelled, who were conquered by Mr. Brooke, +and had their (forfeited) lives saved, their families restored to them, and themselves finally reinstated in the offices they +had previously held—these men were very naturally and faithfully attached. Our young gentlemen found their Malayan names difficult +to remember, so that the gallant old Patingi Ali was seldom called any other name than that of “Three-Fingered Jack,” from +his having lost part of his right hand; the Tumangong was spoken of as the “Father of <a id="d0e3444"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3444">231</a>]</span>Hopeful,” from one of his children, a fine little fellow, whom he was foolishly attached to, and seldom seen without. + +</p> +<p>Der Macota, who had sometime before received the appellation of “the Serpent,” had, ever since he got his orders to quit, +some six months before, been preparing his boats, but which were ready in an incredibly short time after the Didoʼs arrival; +and thus Mr. Brooke got rid of that most intriguing and troublesome rascal; a person who had, from the commencement, been +trying to supplant and ruin him. He it was that gave the Sakarran pirates permission to ascend the river for the purpose of +attacking the comparatively defenceless mountain Dyaks; and he it was that persecuted the unfortunate young Illanun chief, +Si Tundo, even to his assassination. He was at last got rid of from Sarāwak, but only to join and plan mischief with that +noted piratical chief, Seriff Sahib; he, however, met his deserts. + +</p> +<p>We ascended the river in eight or ten boats. The scene to us was most novel, and particularly fresh and beautiful. We stopped +at an empty house on a cleared spot on the left bank during the ebb-tide, to cook our dinner; in the cool of the afternoon +we proceeded with the flood; and late in the evening brought up for the night in a snug little creek close to the Chinese +settlement. We slept in native boats, which were nicely and comfortably fitted for the purpose. At an early hour Mr. Brooke +was waited on by the chief of the Kunsi; and on visiting their settlement he was received with a salute of three guns. We +found it kept in their usual neat and clean order, particularly their extensive vegetable gardens; but being rather pressed +for time, we did not visit the mines, but proceeded to the villages of different tribes of Dyaks living on the Sarambo mountain, +numbers of whom had been down to welcome us, very gorgeously dressed in feathers and scarlet. + +</p> +<p>The foot of the mountain was about four miles from the landing-place; and a number of these kind savages voluntarily shouldered +our provisions, beds, bags, and baggage, and we proceeded on our march. We did not expect to find quite a turnpike-road; but, +at the same time, I, for one, was not prepared for the dance led us <a id="d0e3452"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3452">232</a>]</span>by our wild cat-like guides through thick jungle, and alternately over rocky hills, or up to our middles in the soft marshes +we had to cross. Our only means of doing so was by feeling on the surface of the mud (it being covered in most places about +a foot deep with grass or discolored water) for light spars thrown along lengthwise and quite unconnected, while our only +support was an occasional stake at irregular distances, at which we used to rest, as the spars invariably sunk into the mud +if we attempted to stop; and there being a long string of us, many a fall and flounder in the mud (gun and all) was the consequence. + +</p> +<p>The ascent of the hill, although as steep as the side of a house, was strikingly beautiful. Our resting-places, unluckily, +were but few; but when we did reach one, the cool, fresh breeze, and the increasing extent and variety of scene—our view embracing, +as it did, all the varieties of river, mountain, wood, and sea—amply repaid us for the exertion of the lower walk; and, on +either hand, we were sure to have a pure cool rivulet tumbling over the rocks. While going up, however, our whole care and +attention were requisite to secure our own safety; for it is not only one continued climb up ladders, but such ladders! They +are made of the single trunk of a tree in its rough and rounded state, with notches, not cut at the reasonable distance apart +of the ratlins of our rigging, but requiring the knee to be brought up to the level of the chin before the feet are sufficiently +parted to reach from one step to another; and that, when the muscles of the thigh begin to ache, and the wind is pumped out +of the body, is distressing work. + +</p> +<p>We mounted, in this manner, some 500 feet; and it was up this steep that Mr. Brooke had ascended only a few months before, +with two hundred followers, to attack the Singè Dyaks. He has already described the circular halls of these Dyaks, in one +of which we were received, hung round, as the interior of it is, with hundreds of human heads, most of them dried with the +skin and hair on; and to give them, if possible, a more ghastly appearance, small shells (the cowry) are inserted where the +eyes once were, and tufts of dried grass protrude from the ears. But my eyes soon grew accustomed to <a id="d0e3458"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3458">233</a>]</span>the sight; and by the time dinner was ready (I think I may say <i>we</i>) thought no more about them than if they had been as many cocoa-nuts. + +</p> +<p>Of course the natives crowded round us; and I noticed that with these simple people it was much the same as with the more +civilized, and that curiosity was strongest in the gentler sex; and again, that the young men came in more gorgeously dressed, +wearing feathers, necklaces, armlets, ear-rings, bracelets, beside jackets of various-colored silks, and other vanities—than +the older and wiser chiefs, who encumbered themselves with no more dress than what decency actually required, and were, moreover, +treated with the greatest respect. + +</p> +<p>We strolled about from house to house without causing the slightest alarm: in all we were welcomed, and invited to squat ourselves +on their mats with the family. The women, who were some of them very good-looking, did not run from us as the plain-headed +Malays would have done; but laughed and chatted to us by signs in all the consciousness of innocence and virtue. + +</p> +<p>We were fortunate in visiting these Dyaks during one of their grand festivals (called Maugut); and in the evening, dancing, +singing, and drinking were going on in various parts of the village. In one house there was a grand <i>fête</i>, in which the women danced with the men. The dress of the women was simple and curious—a light jacket open in front, and +a short petticoat not coming below the knees, fitting close, was hung round with jingling bits of brass, which kept “making +music” wherever they went. The movement was like all other native dances—graceful, but monotonous. There were four men, two +of them bearing human sculls, and two the fresh heads of pigs; the women bore wax-lights, or yellow rice on brass dishes. +They danced in line, moving backward and forward, and carrying the heads and dishes in both hands; the graceful part was the +manner in which they half turned the body to the right and left, looking over their shoulders and holding the heads in the +opposite direction, as if they were in momentary expectation of some one coming up behind to snatch the nasty <a id="d0e3472"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3472">234</a>]</span>relic from them. At times the women knelt down in a group, with the men leaning over them. After all, the music was not the +only thing wanting to make one imagine oneself at the opera. The necklaces of the women were chiefly of teeth—bearsʼ the most +common—human the most prized. + +</p> +<p>In an interior house at one end were collected the relics of the tribe. These consisted of several round-looking stones, two +deerʼs heads, and other inferior trumpery. The stones turn black if the tribe is to be beaten in war, and red if to be victorious; +any one touching them would be sure to die; if lost, the tribe would be ruined. + +</p> +<p>The account of the deerʼs heads is still more curious: A young Dyak having dreamed the previous night that he should become +a great warrior, observed two deer swimming across the river, and killed them; a storm came on with thunder and lightning, +and darkness came over the face of the earth; he died immediately, but came to life again, and became a rumah guna (literally +a <i>useful house</i>) and chief of his tribe; the two deer still live, and remain to watch over the affairs of the tribe. These heads have descended +from their ancestors from the time when they first became a tribe and inhabited the mountain. Food is always kept placed before +them, and renewed from time to time. While in the circular building, which our party named “the scullery,” a young chief (Meta) +seemed to take great pride in answering our interrogatories respecting different skulls which we took down from their hooks: +two belonged to chiefs of a tribe who had made a desperate defence; and judging from the incisions on the heads, each of which +must have been mortal, it must have been a desperate affair. Among other trophies was half a head, the skull separated from +across between the eyes, in the same manner that you would divide that of a hare or rabbit to get at the brain—this was their +division of the head of an old woman, which was taken when another (a friendly) tribe was present, who likewise claimed their +half. I afterward saw these tribes share a head. But the skulls, the account of which our informant appeared to dwell on with +the greatest delight, were those which were <a id="d0e3481"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3481">235</a>]</span>taken while the owners were asleep—cunning with them being the perfection of warfare. We slept in their “scullery;” and my +servant Ashford, who happened to be a sleep-walker, that night jumped out of the window, and unluckily on the steep side; +and had not the ground been well turned up by the numerous pigs, and softened by rain, he must have been hurt. + +</p> +<p><i>May 25th.</i>—Having returned to our boats, we moved up another branch of the river, for the purpose of deer-shooting, and landed under +some large shady trees. The sportsmen divided into two small parties, and, under the guidance of the natives, went in search +of game, leaving the remainder of the party to prepare dinner against our return. + +</p> +<p>The distance we had to walk to get to our ground was what our guides considered nothing—some five miles through jungle; and +one of the most distressing parts in jungle-walking is the having to climb over the fallen trunks of immense trees. + +</p> +<p>A short time before sunset we came to a part of the jungle that opened on to a large swamp, with long rank grass about six +feet high, across which was a sort of Dyak bridge. The guide having made signs for me to advance, I cautiously crept to the +edge of the jungle; and after some little trouble, and watching the direction of his finger, I observed the heads of two deer, +male and female, protruding just above the grass at about sixty yardsʼ distance. From the manner the doe was moving about +her long ears, it had, to my view, all the appearance of a rabbit. Shooting for the pot, I selected her. As soon as I fired, +some of my boatʼs crew made a dash into the grass; and in an instant three of them were nearly up to their chins in mud and +water, and we had some difficulty in dragging them out: Our Malay guide more knowingly crossed the bridge; and being acquainted +with the locality, reached the deer from the opposite side, taking care to utter a prayer and cut the throat with the head +in the direction of the Prophetʼs tomb at Mecca, without which ceremony no true follower of Islam could partake of the meat. +The doe was struck just below the ear; and my native companion appeared much astonished at the distance and <a id="d0e3491"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3491">236</a>]</span>deadly effect with which my smooth-bored <i>Westley Richards</i> had conveyed the ball. + +</p> +<p>The buck had got off before the smoke had cleared sufficiently for me to see him. From what I had heard, I was disappointed +at not seeing more game. The other party had not killed anything, although they caught a little fawn, having frightened away +the mother. + +</p> +<p>My time was so occupied during my stay in Borneo, that I am unable to give any account of the sport to be found in the island. +Neither had Mr. Brooke seen much of it; unless an excursion or two he had made in search of new specimens of the ourang-outang, +or mias, may be brought under that head. This excursion he performed not only with the permission and under the protection, +but as the guest, of the piratical chief Seriff Sahib; little thinking that, in four years afterward, he would himself, as +a powerful rajah, be the cause of destroying his town, and driving him from the country. + +</p> +<p>So much for sporting. The pleasure, I believe, increases in proportion to the risk. But, while on the subject, I may mention +that of pig-shooting, which I found an amusement not to be despised, especially if you approach your game before life is extinct. +The jaws are long, tusks also, and sharp as a razor; and when once wounded, the animals evince a strong inclination to return +the compliment: they are active, cunning, and very fast. I shot several at different times. The natives also describe a very +formidable beast, the size of a large bullock, found farther to the northward, which they appear to hold in great dread. This +I conceive to be a sort of bison; and if so, the sporting in Borneo altogether is not so bad. + +</p> +<p>The following day we went to other ground for deer; but the Dyaks had now enjoyed peace so long that the whole country was +in a state of cultivation; and after scrambling over tracts of wild-looking country, in which Mr. Brooke, two years before, +had seen the deer in hundreds, we returned to our boats, and down the river to Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p>We now began to prepare in earnest for work of another <a id="d0e3506"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3506">237</a>]</span>sort. The news of our intended attack on the Sarebus pirates had soon reached them, and spread all over the country; and we +had daily accounts of the formidable resistance they intended to make. By the 4th July our preparations were complete, and +the ship had dropped down to the mouth of the river. I forgot to mention that all the adjoining seriffs had, in the greatest +consternation, sent me assurances of their future good intentions. Seriff Jaffer, who lived with an industrious but warlike +race of Dyaks up the Linga river, a branch of the Batang Lupar, had never been known to commit piracy, and had been frequently +at war with both the Sarebus and Sakarrans, offered to join our expedition. From Seriff Sahib, who lived up a river at Sadong, +adjoining the Sarebus territory, and to whom the “Serpent” Macota had gone, Mr. Brooke and myself had invitations to partake +of a feast on our way to the Sarebus river. This was accompanied with a present of a couple of handsome spears and a porcupine, +and also an offer to give up the women and children he had, with the assistance of the Sakarran pirates, captured from the +poor Sow Dyaks up the Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p>Farther to the eastward, and up the Batang Lupar, into which the Sakarran runs, lived another powerful seriff by the name +of Muller, elder brother and coadjutor of Seriff Sahib. These all, however, through fear at the moment, sent in submissive +messages; but their turn had not yet come, and we proceeded toward the Sarebus. + +</p> +<p>The island of Burong, off which the Dido was to remain at anchor, we made the first place of rendezvous. The force from the +Dido consisted of her pinnace, two cutters, and a gig; beside which Mr. Brooke lent us his native-built boat, the Jolly Bachelor, +carrying a long six-pounder brass gun and thirty of our men; also a large tope of thirty-five tons, which carried a well-supplied +commissariat, as well as ammunition. + +</p> +<p>The native force was extensive; but I need only mention the names of those from Sarāwak. The three chiefs (the Tumangong and +two Patingis, Gapoor and Ali) had two large boats, each carrying about 180 men. Then there was the rajahʼs large, heavy boat, +with the <a id="d0e3514"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3514">238</a>]</span>rascally Borneons and about 40 men, and sundry other Sarāwak boats; and, beside, a Dyak force of about 400 men from the different +tribes of Lundu, Sow, Singè, &c. Of course, it caused some trouble to collect this wild, undisciplined armament, and two or +three successive points of rendezvous were necessary; and it was the morning of the 8th before we entered the river. Lieutenant +Wilmot Horton was to command the expedition; with him, in the pinnace, were Mr. W. L. Partridge, mate; Dr. Simpson, assistant-surgeon; +Mr. Hallowes, midshipman; 14 seamen, and 5 marines. In the first cutter was Mr. DʼAeth, Mr. Douglas, from Sarāwak, and Mr. +Collins, the boatswain; in the second cutter, Mr. Elliott, the master, and Mr. Jenkins, midshipman. The Jolly Bachelor was +commanded by Lieutenant Tottenham, and Mr. Comber, midshipman, with Mr. Brookeʼs medical friend, Dr. Treacher, and an amateur +gentleman, Mr. Ruppel, from Sarāwak. The force from the Dido was about 80, officers and men. The command of the boats, when +sent away from a man-of-war, is the perquisite of the first lieutenant. My curiosity, however, would not allow me to resist +the temptation of attending the party in my gig; and I had my friend Mr. Brooke as a companion, who was likewise attended +by a sampan and crew he had taken with him to Sarāwak from Singapore. His coxswain, Seboo, we shall all long remember: he +was civil only to his master, and, I believe, brave while in his company. He was a stupid-looking and powerfully-built sort +of savage, always praying, eating, smiling, or sleeping. When going into action, he always went down on his knees to pray, +holding his loaded musket before him. He was, however, a curious character, and afforded us great amusement—took good care +of himself and his master, but cared for no one else. + +</p> +<p>In the second gig was Lieutenant E. Gunnell, whose troublesome duty it was to preserve order throughout this extensive musketoe +fleet, and to keep the natives from pressing too closely on the rear of our boats—an office which became less troublesome +as we approached the scene of danger. The whole formed a novel, picturesque, and exciting scene; and it was curious to <a id="d0e3518"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3518">239</a>]</span>contemplate the different feelings that actuated the separate and distinct parties—the odd mixture of Europeans, Malays, and +Dyaks, the different religions, and the eager and anxious manner in which all pressed forward. The novelty of the thing was +quite sufficient to excite our Jacks, after having been cooped up so long on board ship, to say nothing of the chance of a +broken head. + +</p> +<p>Of the Malays and Dyaks who accompanied us, some came from curiosity, some from attachment to Mr. Brooke, and many for plunder, +but I think the majority to gratify revenge, as there were but few of the inhabitants on the north coast of Borneo who had +not suffered more or less from the atrocities of the Sarebus and Sakarran pirates—either their houses burned, their relations +murdered, or their wives and children captured and sold into slavery. + +</p> +<p>We did not get far up the river the first day, as the tope was very slow, and carried that most essential part of all expeditions, +the commissariat. Patingi Ali, who had been sent the day before to await the force in the mouth of the Sarebus, fell in with +five or six native boats, probably on the look-out for us, to which he gave chase, and captured one, the rest retreating up +the river. + +</p> +<p>On the 9th June, 1843, we had got some thirty miles in the same direction; every thing was in order; and, as we advanced, +I pulled from one end of my little fleet to the other, and felt much the same sort of pride as Sir William Parker must have +experienced when leading seventy-five sail of British ships up the Yeang-tse Keang river into the very heart of the Celestial +Empire. It rained hard; but we were well supplied with kajans, a mat admirably adapted to keep out the wet; and securely covered +in, my gig had all the appearance of a native boat, especially as I had substituted paddles for oars. In this manner I frequently +went a little in advance of the force; and on the 9th I came on a couple of boats, hauled close in under the jungle, apparently +perfectly unconscious of my approach. I concluded them to be part of the small fleet of boats that had been chased, the previous +day, in the mouth of the river; and <a id="d0e3526"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3526">240</a>]</span>when abreast of them, and within range, I fired from my rifle. The crews of each boat immediately precipitated themselves +into the water, and escaped into the jungle. They were so closely covered in, that I did not see any one at first; but I found +that my ball had passed through both sides of an iron kettle, in which they were boiling some rice. How astonished the cook +must have been! On coming up, our Dyak followers dashed into the jungle in pursuit of the fugitives, but without success. + +</p> +<p>We moved on leisurely with the flood-tide, anchoring always on the ebb, by which means we managed to collect our stragglers +and keep the force together. Toward the evening, by the incessant sound of distant gongs, we were aware that our approach +was known, and that preparations were making to repel us. These noises were kept up all night; and we occasionally heard the +distant report of ordnance, which was fired, of course, to intimidate us. During the day, several deserted boats were taken +from the banks of the river and destroyed, some of them containing spears, shields, and ammunition, with a few fire-arms. + +</p> +<p>The place we brought up at for the night was called Boling; but here the river presented a troublesome and dangerous obstacle +in what is called the bore, caused by the tide coming in with a tremendous rush, as if an immense wave of the sea had suddenly +rolled up the stream, and, finding itself confined on either side, extended across, like a high bank of water, curling and +breaking as it went, and, from the frightful velocity with which it passes up, carrying all before it. There are, however, +certain bends of the river where the bore does not break across: it was now our business to look out for and gain these spots +between the times of its activity. The natives hold them in great dread. + +</p> +<p>From Boling the river becomes less deep, and not safe for large boats; so that here we were obliged to leave our tope with +the commissariat, and a sufficient force for her protection, as we had received information that thirteen piratical boats +had been some time cruising outside, and were daily expected up the river on their return, when our unguarded tope would have +made them <a id="d0e3534"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3534">241</a>]</span>an acceptable prize. In addition to this, we were now fairly in the enemyʼs country: and for all we knew, hundreds of canoes +might have been hid in the jungle, ready to lanch. Just below Boling, the river branches off to the right and left; that to +the left leading to another nest of pirates at Pakoo, who are (by land) in communication with those of Paddi, the place it +was our intention to attack first. + +</p> +<p>Having provisioned our boats for six days, and provided a strong guard to remain with the tope, the native force not feeling +themselves safe separated from the main body,—we started, a smaller and more select party than before, but, in my opinion, +equally formidable, leaving about 150 men. This arrangement gave but little satisfaction to those left behind, our men not +liking to exchange an expedition where a fight was certain, for a service in which it was doubtful, although their position +was one of danger, being open to attack from three different parts of the river. Our party now consisted of the Didoʼs boats, +the three Datus from Sarāwak, and some Sow Dyaks, eager for heads and plunder. We arrived at our first resting-place early +in the afternoon, and took up a position in as good order as the small space would admit. + +</p> +<p>I secured my gig close to the bank, under the shade of a large tree, at some little distance from the fleet of boats; and, +by myself, contemplated my novel position—in command of a mixed force of 500 men, some seventy miles up a river in the interior +of Borneo; on the morrow about to carry all the horrors of war among a race of savage pirates, whose country no force had +ever yet dared to invade, and who had been inflicting with impunity every sort of cruelty on all whom they encountered, for +more than a century. + +</p> +<p>As the sun went down, the scene was beautiful, animated by the variety and picturesque appearance of the native prahus, and +the praying of the Mussulman, with his face in the direction of the Prophetʼs tomb, bowing his head to the deck of his boat, +and absorbed in devotions from which nothing could withdraw his attention. For a time—it being that for preparing the evening +meal—no noise was made: it was a perfect calm; and <a id="d0e3542"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3542">242</a>]</span>the rich foliage was reflected in the water as in a mirror, while a small cloud of smoke ascended from each boat, to say nothing +of that from my cigar, which added much to the charm I then experienced. + +</p> +<p>Late in the evening, when the song and joke passed from boat to boat, and the lights from the different fires were reflected +in the water, the scenery was equally pleasing; but later still, when the lights were out, there being no moon, and the banks +overhung with trees, it was so dark that no one could see beyond his own boat. + +</p> +<p>A little after midnight, a small boat was heard passing up the river, and was regularly hailed by us in succession; to which +they replied, “We belong to your party.” And it was not until the yell of triumph, given by six or eight voices, after they +had (with a strong flood-tide in their favor) shot past the last of our boats, that we found how we had been imposed on. + + + + +</p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e3433" href="#d0e3433src" class="noteref">1</a></span> Piratical habits are so interwoven with the character of these Sarebus people, that the capture at sea of a few prahus would +have but small effect in curing the evil; while a harassing duty is encountered, the result is only to drive the pirates from +one cruising-ground to another; but, on the contrary, a system which joins conciliation with severity, aiming at the correction +of the native character as well as the suppression of piracy, and carrying punishment to the doors of the offenders, is the +only one which can effectually eradicate an evil almost as disgraceful to those who permit it as to the native states engaged +in it. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e3548" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XVII.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Ascent of the river to Paddi.—Town taken and burnt.—Narrow escape of a reinforcement of friendly Dyaks.—Night-attack by the +pirates.—Conference: they submit.—Proceed against Pakoo.—Dyak treatment of dead enemies.—Destruction of Pakoo, and submission +of the pirates.—Advance upon Rembas.—The town destroyed: the inhabitants yield.—Satisfactory effects of the expedition.—Death +of Dr. Simpson.—Triumphant return to Sarāwak. +</p> +</div> +<p><i>June 11th.</i>—We moved on immediately after the passing up of the bore, the dangers of which appeared to have been greatly exaggerated. +The beating of gongs and discharge of cannon had been going on the whole of the previous night. + +</p> +<p>The scenery improved in beauty every yard that we advanced; but our attention was drawn from it by the increase of yelling +as we approached the scene of action. Although as yet we had only heard our enemies, our rapid advance with a strong tide +must have been seen by them from the jungle on the various hills which now rose to our view. + +</p> +<p>Being in my gig, somewhat ahead of the boats, I had <a id="d0e3562"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3562">243</a>]</span>the advantage of observing all that occurred. The scene was the most exciting I ever experienced. We had no time for delay +or consideration: the tide was sweeping us rapidly up; and had we been inclined to retreat then, we should have found it difficult. +A sudden turn in the river brought us (Mr. Brooke was by my side) in front of a steep hill which rose from the bank. It had +been cleared of jungle, and long grass grew in its place. As we hove in sight, several hundred savages rose up, and gave one +of their war-yells: it was the first I had heard. No report from musketry or ordnance could ever make a manʼs heart feel so +<i>small</i> as mine did at that horrid yell: but I had no leisure to think. I had only time for a shot at them with my double barrel, +as they rushed down the steep, while I was carried past. I soon after heard the report of our large boatʼs heavy gun, which +must have convinced them that we likewise were prepared. + +</p> +<p>On the roof of a long building, on the summit of the hill, were several warriors performing a war-dance, which it would be +difficult to imitate on such a stage. As these were not the forts we were in search of, we did not delay longer than to exchange +a few shots in sweeping along. + +</p> +<p>Our next obstacle was more troublesome, being a strong barrier right across the river, formed of two rows of trees placed +firmly in the mud, with their tops crossed and secured together by ratans; and along the fork, formed by the crossing of the +tops of these stakes, were other trees firmly secured. Rapidly approaching this barrier, I observed a small opening that might +probably admit a canoe; and gathering good way, and putting my gigʼs head straight at it, I squeezed through. On passing it +the scene again changed, and I had before me three formidable-looking forts, which lost not a moment in opening a discharge +of cannon on my unfortunate gig. Luckily their guns were properly elevated for the range of the barrier; and, with the exception +of a few straggling grape-shot that splashed the water round us, the whole went over our heads. For a moment I found myself +cut off from my companions, and drifting fast upon the enemy. The banks of the river were covered with <a id="d0e3571"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3571">244</a>]</span>warriors, yelling and rushing down to possess themselves of my boat and its crew. I had some difficulty in getting my long +gig round, and paddling up against the stream; but, while my friend Brooke steered the boat, my cockswain and myself kept +up a fire with tolerable aim on the embrasures, to prevent, if possible, their reloading before the pinnace, our leading boat, +could bring her twelve-pound carronade to bear. I was too late to prevent the pinnace falling athwart the barrier, in which +position she had three men wounded. With the assistance of some of our native followers, the ratan-lashings which secured +the heads of the stakes were soon cut through; and I was not sorry when I found the Didoʼs first cutter on the same side with +myself. The other boats soon followed; and while the pinnace kept up a destructive fire on the fort, Mr. DʼAeth, who was the +first to land, jumped on shore, with his crew, at the foot of the hill on the top of which the nearest fort stood, and at +once rushed for the summit. This mode of warfare—this dashing at once in the very face of their fort—was so novel and incomprehensible +to our enemies, that they fled, panic-struck, into the jungle; and it was with the greatest difficulty that our leading men +could get even a snap-shot at the rascals as they went. + +</p> +<p>That evening the country was illuminated for miles by the burning of the capital, Paddi, and adjacent villages; at which work, +and plundering, our native followers were most expert. + +</p> +<p>At Paddi the river branches off to the right and left; and it was on the tongue of land formed by them that the forts were +very cleverly placed. We took all their guns, and burned the stockades level with the ground. + +</p> +<p>The banks of the river were here so confined, that a man might with ease throw a spear across; and, as the jungle was close, +it was necessary to keep pretty well on the alert. For the greater part of the night, the burning of the houses made it as +bright as day. In the evening, Drs. Simpson and Treacher amputated a poor fellowʼs arm close to the shoulder, which, in the +cramped space of the boat, was no easy operation. He was one of our best men, and captain of the forecastle on board the Dido. +<a id="d0e3579"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3579">245</a>]</span></p> +<p>Early on the following morning (12th) our boats, with the exception of the Jolly Bachelor, now become the hospital, proceeded +up the two branches of the river; almost all the native force remaining to complete the work of destruction. + +</p> +<p>An accident had nearly occurred at this period. A report had reached us that several large boats—supposed to be a fleet of +Sarebus pirates returning from a cruise—were in the river; and knowing that they could not well attack and pass our force +at Boling without our hearing of it, I took no further notice of the rumor, intending to go down in my gig afterward and have +a look at them. While we were at breakfast in the Jolly Bachelor, a loud chattering of many voices was heard, attended by +a great beating of tom-toms; and suddenly a large prahu, crowded with savages, came sweeping round the bend of the river, +rapidly nearing us with a strong flood-tide. As she advanced, others hove in sight. In a moment pots and spoons were thrown +down, arms seized, and the brass six-pounder, loaded with grape and canister, was on the point of being fired, when Williamson, +the only person who understood their character, made us aware that they were a friendly tribe of Dyaks, from the River Linga, +coming to our assistance, or, more likely, coming to seek for plunder and the heads of their enemies, with whom they had for +many years been at war. Those in the leading boat had, however, a narrow escape. I had already given the order to fire; but +luckily the priming had been blown off from the six-pounder. Had it not been so, fifty at least out of the first hundred would +have been sent to their long homes. They were between eight and nine hundred strong. The scene to me was indeed curious and +exciting: for the wild appearance of these fellows exceeded any thing I had yet witnessed. Their war-dresses—each decorating +himself according to his own peculiar fancy, in a costume the most likely at once to adorn the wearer and strike terror into +the enemy—made a remarkable show. Each had a shield and a handful of spears; about one in ten was furnished with some sort +of firearm, which was of more danger to himself or his neighbor than to any <a id="d0e3584"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3584">246</a>]</span>one else. They wore short padded jackets, capable of resisting the point of a wooden spear. + +</p> +<p>The first thing necessary was to supply each with a strip of white calico, to be worn in the head-dress as a distinguishing +mark, to prevent our people knocking them over if met by accident while prowling about the jungle. We also established a watchword, +“Datu,” which many of them, who had great dread of the white men, never ceased to call out. Sheriff Jaffer, in command of +their force, had promised to join us from the beginning; but as they did not make their appearance off the mouth of the river, +we thought no more of them. It was necessary to dispatch messengers up the rivers to inform our boats of this re-enforcement, +as in all probability an attack would have been made immediately on the appearing in sight of so formidable a force. + +</p> +<p>At 10 A.M. our boats returned, having gone up the right-hand branch as far as it was practicable. That to the left having +been obstructed by trees felled across the stream, was considered, from the trouble taken to prevent our progress, to be the +branch up which the enemy had retreated, and not being provisioned for more than the day, they came back, and started again +in the afternoon with the first of the flood-tide. Of this party Lieutenant Horton took charge, accompanied by Mr. Brooke. +It was a small, but an effective, and determined, and well-appointed little body, not likely to be deterred by difficulties. +A small native force of about forty men accompanied them, making, with our own, between eighty and ninety people. The forts +having been destroyed, no further obstacles were expected to our advance beyond the felling of trees and the vast odds as +to numbers in case of attack, the pirates being reckoned to be about six thousand Dyaks and five hundred Malays. + +</p> +<p>The evening set in with rain and hazy weather. Our native skirmishing parties were returning to their boats and evening meals; +our advancing party had been absent about an hour and a half, and I had just commenced a supper in the Jolly Bachelor on ham +and poached eggs, when the sound of the pinnaceʼs twelve-pounder carronade broke through the stillness of the night. This +was responded to by one of those simultaneous war-yells <a id="d0e3592"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3592">247</a>]</span>apparently from every part of the country. My immediate idea was that our friends had been surrounded. It was impossible to +move so large a boat as the Jolly Bachelor up to their assistance; nor would it be right to leave our wounded without a sufficient +force for their protection. I immediately jumped into my gig, taking with me a bugler, whom I placed in the bow, and seeing +our arms in as perfect readiness as the rain would allow us to keep them in, I proceeded to join the combatants. + +</p> +<p>Daylight had disappeared, as it does in tropical climates, immediately after the setting of the sun. The tide had just turned +against me; and as I advanced up the river, the trees hung over many parts, nearly meeting across; at the same time the occasional +firing that was kept up assured me that the enemy were on the alert, and with all the advantages of local knowledge and darkness +on their side. From the winding of the stream, too, the yells appeared to come from every direction, sometimes ahead and sometimes +astern. I had pulled, feeling my way, for nearly two hours, when a sudden and quick discharge of musketry, well on my left +hand, intimated to me that I was approaching the scene of action; and, at the same time, passing several large canoes hauled +up on the bank, I felt convinced that my anticipation was right, that our party were surrounded, and that we should have to +fight our way to each other. My plan was to make it appear as if I was bringing up a strong re-enforcement; and the moment +the firing ceased, I made the bugler strike up “Rory OʼMore,” which was immediately responded to by three British cheers, +and then followed a death-like stillness—if any thing, more unpleasant than the war-yell—and I could not help feeling certain +that the enemy lay between us. + +</p> +<p>The stream now ran rapidly over loose stones. Against the sky, where the jungle had been cleared, I could distinctly see the +outlines of human beings. I laid my double-barrel across my knees, and we pulled on. When within shot-range, I hailed, to +make certain, and receiving no answer, after a second time, I fired, keeping the muskets of the gigʼs crew ready to repel +the first attack in case the enemy did not decamp. My fire was answered <a id="d0e3598"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3598">248</a>]</span>by Lieutenant Horton, “We are here, sir.” At first I was much distressed from the fear that I might have hurt any one. They +had not heard me hail, owing, I suppose, to the noise of the water rushing over the stones; and they had not hailed me, thinking +that I must of course know that it was them, and the enemy being in the jungle all round, they did not like to attract attention +to where they were. I found they had taken up a very clever position. The running stream had washed the ground away on the +right bank, leaving a sort of little, deep bay, just big enough to hold the boats, from which the bank rose quite perpendicularly. +On the top of this bank the jungle had been cleared for about thirty yards, and on this Lieutenant Gunnel, with seven royal +marines, was posted as a rear-guard. This was an important position, and one of danger, as the jungle itself was alive with +the enemy; and although the spears were hurled from it continually during the night, no shot was thrown away unless the figure +of the pirate could be distinctly seen. + +</p> +<p>It continued to rain: the men wore their great-costs for the purpose of keeping their pieces dry; and several times, during +that long night, I observed the muskets of these steady and good men brought to the shoulder and again lowered without firing, +as that part of the jungle whence a spear had been hurled to within a few feet of where they stood did not show a distinct +form of any thing living. The hours were little less interesting for those who, in the boats below, stood facing the opposite +bank of the river with their arms in their hands. It appears that the enemy had come down in great force to attack the boats +from that side; and as the river was there very shallow, and the bottom hard, they could, by wading not more than knee-deep, +have approached to within five or six yards of them; but in the first attack they had lost a great many men, and it is supposed +that their repeated advances throughout the night were, more to recover their dead and wounded than to make any fresh attack +on our compact little force, whose deadly aim and rapid firing must have astonished them, and who certainly were, one and +all, prepared to sell their lives as dearly as possible. +<a id="d0e3602"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3602">249</a>]</span></p> +<p>To the left of our position, and about 200 yards up the river, large trees were being felled during the night; and by the +torch-lights showing the spot, the officer of the boat, Mr. Partridge, kept up a very fair ball-practice with the pinnaceʼs +gun. Toward morning a shot fell apparently just where they were at work; and that being accompanied by what we afterward ascertained +caused more horror and consternation among the enemy than any thing else, a common signal sky-rocket, made them resign the +ground entirely to us. The last shot, too, that was fired from the pinnace had killed three men. + +</p> +<p>As daylight broke I found that most of our party had squatted down with their guns between their knees, and, being completely +exhausted, had fallen asleep in spite of the rain. Few will ever forget that night. There were two natives and one marine +only of our party badly wounded; the latter was struck by a rifle shot, which entered his chest and lodged in his shoulder; +and this poor fellow, a gallant young officer named Jenkins, already distinguished in the Chinese war, volunteered to convey +in the second gig, with four boys only, down to the Jolly Bachelor. He performed this duty, and was again up with the party +before daylight. + +</p> +<p>At daylight we found the pirates collecting in some force above us; and several shots were fired, as if to try the range of +their rifles; but they took good care not to come within reach of our muskets. Shortly after, the tide beginning to rise, +we made preparations for ascending further up the river. This was more than they bargained for, as we were close to where +they had removed their families, with such little valuables as they could collect, when we so unexpectedly carried their forts +and took possession of their town; and we were not sorry on observing, at that moment, a flag of truce advance from their +party down the stream, and halt half way to our position. We immediately sent an unarmed Malay to meet them; and after a little +talk, they came to our boats. The message was, that they were ready to abide by any terms we might dictate. I promised that +hostilities should cease for two hours; but told them we could treat only with the chiefs, whose persons should be protected, +and I invited them to a conference at 1 P.M. +<a id="d0e3609"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3609">250</a>]</span></p> +<p>In the mean while, having first sent notice by the messengers, I took advantage of the time, and ascended in my gig, without +any great difficulty, above the obstruction they had been so busy throwing across the river during the night. The news that +hostilities were to cease was not long in being communicated; and, by the time I had got up, the greatest confidence appeared +to be established. Having pulled up into shoal water, and where the river widened, the banks were soon covered with natives; +and some seventy or eighty immediately laid aside their spears and walked off to my boat, the whole of which, together with +its crew, they examined with the greatest curiosity. + +</p> +<p>In the heat of the day we indulged in a most refreshing bath under the shade of overhanging trees, the bottom of the river +being fine sand and pebbles worn smooth by the running stream. + +</p> +<p>At the appointed hour the chiefs made their appearance, dressed in their best, but looking haggard and dejected. Mr. Brooke, +the “Tuan Besar,” or great man, officiated as spokesman. + +</p> +<p>He fully explained that our invasion of their country, and destruction of their forts and town, was not for the purposes of +pillage or gain to ourselves, but as a punishment for their repeated and aggravated acts of piracy; that they had been fully +warned, for two years before, that the British nation would no longer allow the native trade between the adjacent islands +and Singapore to be cut off and plundered, and the crews of the vessels cruelly put to death, as they had been. + +</p> +<p>They were very humble and submissive; admitted that their lives were forfeited, and if we said they were to die, they were +prepared; although, they explained, they were equally willing to live. They promised to refrain forever from piracy, and offered +hostages for their good behavior. + +</p> +<p>Mr. Brooke then explained how much more advantageous trade would be than piracy, and invited them to a further conference +at Sarāwak, where they might witness all the blessings resulting from the line of conduct he had advised them to follow. If, +on the other hand, we heard of a single act of piracy being committed by <a id="d0e3622"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3622">251</a>]</span>them, their country should be again invaded and occupied; and their enemies, the whole tribe of Linga Dyaks, let loose upon +them, until they were rooted out and utterly destroyed. + +</p> +<p>To other questions they replied, that although the chief held communication, and was in the habit of cruising with the people +of the other settlements of Pakoo and Rembas, still they could not hold themselves responsible for their good conduct; and +as both held strongly fortified positions (of course supposed by themselves to be impregnable), they did not think that they +would abstain altogether from piracy unless we visited and inflicted a similar chastisement to that they themselves had suffered. +They also stated that, although they never would again submit to the orders of the great and powerful chiefs, Seriffs Sahib +and Muller, still they could not join in any expedition against them or their old allies, their blood-thirsty and formidable +neighbors in the Sakarran river. + +</p> +<p>On our return to the still smoking ruins of the once picturesque town of Paddi, we found that Seriff Jaffer, with his 800 +warriors, had not been idle. The country round had been laid waste. All had been desolated, together with their extensive +winter-stores of rice. It was a melancholy sight; and, for a moment, I forgot the horrid acts of piracy and cruel murders +of these people, and my heart relented at what I had done—it was but for a few minutes. + +</p> +<p>Collecting our forces, we dropped leisurely down the river, but not without a parting yell of triumph from our Dyak force—a +yell that must have made the hearts of those quail whose wives and children lay concealed in the jungle near to where we had +held our conference. + +</p> +<p>We arrived at Boling soon after midnight, where we found the tope, with our provision, quite safe. Several shots had been +fired at her the night before; and large parties had repeatedly come down to the banks, and endeavored to throw spears on +board. + +</p> +<p>At daylight (Wednesday, 14th) we lost no time in completing to four daysʼ provisions, and starting, with the flood-tide, for +Pakoo. It took us until late in the evening before we appeared in sight of two newly-built <a id="d0e3634"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3634">252</a>]</span>stockades, from which the pirates fled, panic-struck, without firing a shot, on our first discharge. We had evidently come +on them before they were prepared, as we found some of the guns in the forts with the slings still on by which they had been +carried. + +</p> +<p>The positions of the forts here, as at Paddi, were selected with great judgment; and had their guns been properly served, +it would have been sharp work for boats. The same work of destruction was carried on; but the town was larger than at Paddi, +and night setting in, the conflagration had a grand effect. + +</p> +<p>Although the greater part of their valuables had been removed, the place was alive with goats and poultry, the catching of +which afforded great sport for our men. Some of the Singè Dyaks succeeded in taking the heads of a few pirates, who probably +were killed or wounded in the forts on our first discharge. I saw one body afterward without its head, in which each passing +Dyak had thought proper to stick a spear, so that it had all the appearance of a huge porcupine. + +</p> +<p>The operation of extracting the brains from the lower part of the skull, with a bit of bamboo shaped like a spoon, preparatory +to preserving, is not a pleasing one. The head is then dried, with the flesh and hair on it, suspended over a slow fire, during +which process the chiefs and elders of the tribe perform a sort of war-dance. + +</p> +<p>Soon after daylight the following morning (Thursday, 15th) the chiefs of the tribe came down with a flag of truce, when much +the same sort of conference took place as at Paddi. They were equally submissive, offering their own lives, but begging those +of their wives and children might be spared. After promising to accede to all we desired, they agreed to attend the conference +about to assemble at Sarāwak, where the only terms on which they could expect lasting peace and mutual good understanding +would be fully explained and discussed. + +</p> +<p>Like their friends at Paddi, they were of opinion that their neighbors at Rembas would not abstain from piracy until they +had received convincing proof that the power existed which was capable and determined to put down piracy. All these misguided +people appeared not only to listen to reason, but to be open to conviction; and <a id="d0e3646"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3646">253</a>]</span>I am far from imputing to them that treachery so commonly attributed to all classes of Malays. The higher grades, I admit, +are cunning and deceitful; but subsequent events during the last two years have proved the truth and honesty of the intentions +of these people. They have strictly adhered to their promises; and have since, although surrounded by piratical tribes, been +carrying on a friendly trade with Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p>Our next point of attack was Rembas. Although there was a nearer overland communication between those places, the distance +by water was upward of sixty miles; but the strong tides were of great assistance, as we could always rest when they were +against us. High water was the only time, however, that suited us for landing, as the fall of tide left a considerable space +of soft mud to wade through before reaching <i>terra firma</i>: this was sufficiently unpleasant to our men, without the additional trouble of having to load and fire when in that position; +besides, when stuck fast in the mud, you become a much easier object to be fired at. At Rembas the tide was not up until just +before daylight; and, having no moon to light us, a night attack was not considered advisable; so that we brought up about +a quarter tide below the town, on the evening of the 16th. As Rembas contained a larger proportion of Malays (who are always +well supplied with firearms) than the other settlements, though we had not experienced any opposition at Pakoo, we fully expected +they would here make a better stand. + +</p> +<p>We advanced early in the morning, and soon came up with a succession of formidable barriers, more troublesome to cut through +than any we had before encountered. About a mile below the town we landed 700 of the Linga Dyaks on the left bank of the river, +who were to separate into two divisions—commanded by Seriff Jaffer and his son, a remarkably fine and spirited youth—and creep +stealthily through the jungle, for which the country was well adapted, so as to get to the rear of the town and forts, and +make a simultaneous attack on the first shot being fired from our boats. The last barrier (and there were four of them) was +placed just within point-blank range; the gig being a light boat, I managed to <a id="d0e3655"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3655">254</a>]</span>haul her over, close to the bank, and advanced so as to be both out of sight and out of range; and just as our first boat +came up with the barrier, I pushed out from under the bank, and opened a fire of musketry on the stockade, which was full +of men. This, with the war-yell that followed from their rear (both unexpected), together with their fears having been already +worked upon by the destruction of Paddi and defeat of Pakoo, threw them into the greatest confusion. They fled in all directions, +without provoking us by firing a shot, although we found the guns loaded. Seriff Jaffer and his Dyaks were gratified by having +all the fighting to themselves, and by some very pretty hand-to-hand encounters. We were much amused, afterward, by their +own account of the heroic deeds they had performed. Lives were lost on both sides, and heads taken. This Rembas was by far +the largest and strongest place we had assaulted. We found some very large war-boats, both fitted and building; one measured +ninety-two feet in length, with fourteen beam; and in addition to the usual good supply of fruit, goats, and poultry, our +men were gratified by finding several bullocks. The plunder was great; and although, with the exception of the guns, of no +value to us, it was very much so to our native followers. + +</p> +<p>After we had destroyed every thing, we received a flag of truce, when similar explanations and promises were made as at Paddi +and Pakoo; and here ended for the present, the warlike part of our expedition. The punishment we had inflicted was severe, +but not more than the crime of their horrid piracies deserved. A few heads were brought away by our Dyak followers, as trophies; +but there was no unnecessary sacrifice of life, and I do not believe there was a woman or child hurt. The destruction of these +places astonished the whole country beyond description. In addition to the distance and difficulty of access to their strongly-fortified +positions, they looked for protection from the bore that usually ran up the Sarebus, and which they imagined none but their +own boats could manage. As the different Malay chiefs heard that, in ten days, a handful of white men had totally destroyed +their strongholds, they shook their heads, and exclaimed, “God is great!” and <a id="d0e3659"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3659">255</a>]</span>the Dyaks declared that the Tuan Besar (Mr. Brooke) had charmed the river to quiet the bore,<a id="d0e3661src" href="#d0e3661" class="noteref">1</a> and that the whites were invulnerable. Although this expedition would have a great moral effect on all the more respectable +and thinking natives, inasmuch as the inhabitants of the places destroyed were looked upon, from the large proportion of Malays, +as more civilized than their formidable and savage neighbors, the Dyaks inhabiting the Sakarran river; still, it was not to +be supposed, when the settlements of Paddi, Pakoo, and Rembas could not be responsible for the good behavior of one another, +that it was probable the severe lesson taught them would have any great effect on the Sakarrans. + +</p> +<p>On regaining the tope at Boling, we found our assistant surgeon, Dr. Simpson, who had been left in charge of the sick, laid +up with fever and ague. For conveniencyʼs sake, the wounded men had been removed to a large native boat; and while the doctor +was passing along the edge of the boat, his foot slipped, he fell overboard, and not being much of a swimmer, and a strong +tide running, he was a good while in the water, though a native went after him. He had, for some time past, been in bad health; +but the cold he then caught brought on inflammation in the lungs, under the effects of which he sank soon after our return +to Singapore. Poor Simpson! he was not only clever in his profession, but endeared to us all by his kind and gentle manner, +so grateful to the sick. There were few of us, while in China, who had not come under his hands, and experienced his tender, +soothing, and unremitting attention. + +</p> +<p>We now gave our native followers permission to depart to their respective homes, which they did loaded with <i>plunder</i>, usually, in India, called <i>loot</i>; ourselves getting under weigh to rejoin the Dido off the Island of Burong, and from thence we proceeded to the mouth of +the Morotaba, where, leaving the ship, Mr. Brooke and I went in my boat, with two others in attendance, to take leave of the +rajah, prior to my return to Singapore and China. Although the greater part of the native boats attached to the expedition +had already arrived at <a id="d0e3674"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3674">256</a>]</span>Sarāwak, the rajah had sent them back, some miles down the river, with as many others as he could collect, gorgeously dressed +out with flags, to meet Mr. Brooke and myself, the heroes of the grandest expedition that had ever been known in the annals +of Malayan history. Our approach to the grand city was, to them, most triumphant, although to us a nuisance. From the moment +we entered the last reach, the saluting from every gun in the capital that could be fired without bursting was incessant; +and as we neared the royal residence, the yells, meant for cheers, and the beating of gongs, intended to be a sort of “See, +the conquering hero comes!” were quite deafening. The most minute particulars of our deeds, of course greatly exaggerated, +had been detailed, long before our arrival, by the native chiefs, who were eye-witnesses; and when we were seated in the rajahʼs +presence, the royal countenance relaxed into a smile of real pleasure as he turned his wondering eyes from Mr. Brooke to myself +and back again. I suppose he thought a great deal of us, as he said little or nothing; and, as we were rather hungry after +our pull, we were very glad to get away once more to Mr. Brookeʼs hospitable board, to which we did ample justice. + +</p> +<p>My stay at Sarāwak was but of short duration, as, before I had time to carry out the arrangements I had made to put down this +horrid traffic, the Dido was, owing to some changes in the distribution of the fleet, recalled to China. + +</p> +<p>As the tide would not suit for my return to the Dido until two oʼclock the following morning, we sat up until that hour, when, +with mutual regret, we parted. I had just seen enough of Borneo and my enterprising friend, Mr. Brooke, to feel the deepest +interest in both. No description of mine can in any way give my readers a proper idea of the character of the man I had just +then left; and however interesting his journal may appear in the reading, it is only by being in his company, and by hearing +him advocate the cause of the persecuted inland natives, and listening to his vivid and fair description of the beautiful +country he has adopted, that one can be made to enter fully into and feel what I would fain describe, but can not. +<a id="d0e3680"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3680">257</a>]</span></p> +<p>We parted; and I did not then expect to be able so soon to return and finish what I had intended, viz., the complete destruction +of the strongholds belonging to the worst among the pirate hordes, so long the terror of the coast, either by capturing or +driving from the country the piratical Seriffs Sahib and Muller, by whose evil influence they had been chiefly kept up. From +all that I had seen, the whole country appeared to be a large garden, with a rich and varied soil, capable of producing anything. +The natives, especially the mountain Dyaks, are industrious, willing, inoffensive, although a persecuted race; and the only +things wanted to make the country the most productive and happiest in the world were, the suppression of piracy, good government, +and opening a trade with the interior, which could not fail of success. All these I saw partially begun; and I felt assured +that with the assistance of a vessel of war, and the countenance only of the government, Mr. Brooke would, although slowly, +yet surely, bring about their happy consummation. + + + + +</p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e3661" href="#d0e3661src" class="noteref">1</a></span> It had never been known so quiet as during the days we were up their river. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e3683" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Captain Keppel sails for China.—Calcutta.—The Dido ordered to Borneo again.—Arrival at Sarāwak.—Effect of her presence at +Sarāwak.—Great improvements visible.—Atrocities of the Sakarran pirates.—Mr. Brookeʼs letter.—Captain Sir E. Belcherʼs previous +visit to Sarāwak in the Samarang.—Coal found.—Second letter from the Rajah Muda Hassim.—Expedition against the Sakarran pirates.—Patusen +destroyed.—Macota remembered, and his retreat burnt.—Further fighting, and advance.—Ludicrous midnight alarm. +</p> +</div> +<p><i>June 24th.</i>—I reached the Dido at 8 oʼclock, and immediately got under weigh. After remaining twenty-four hours to water at Singapore, +I sailed for Hong Kong. My time, during the year that I was absent from Borneo, if not quite so usefully, was not unpleasantly +passed. We lay a few months in the Canton river. In addition to having good opportunities of seeing the natives of China in +their domestic state, I witnessed one of those most curious and extraordinary sights that occasionally occur during the winter +months in the city <a id="d0e3693"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3693">258</a>]</span>of Canton, namely, a fire. The one I saw was about the most extensive that had ever been experienced; and the Didoʼs crew +had the gratification of being of some assistance in the protection of British property. From China the Dido accompanied the +commander-in-chief, in the Cornwallis, to the Spanish colony at Manilla, which is a place that few forget; and a short description +of our visit there has been given in an interesting little work, written by Captain Cunynghame. On my return to Hong Kong, +I had the gratification of receiving on board the Dido, Major-General Lord Saltoun and his staff, consisting of two old and +esteemed friends of mine, Captain, now Major Arthur Cunynghame, his lordshipʼs aid-de-camp, and Major Grant, of the 9th Lancers, +who had been adjutant-general to the forces. A more agreeable cruise at sea I never experienced. We called at the island of +Pinang, in the Malacca straits, on our way, where we again fell in with the admiral; and I was most agreeably surprised at +meeting my friend Mr. Brooke, who had come on to Singapore to meet Sir William Parker, and had followed him up in the Wanderer, +commanded by my friend Captain Henry Seymour,—that vessel, in company with the Harlequin, Captain the Hon. George Hastings, +and the H. C. steamer Diana, having just returned from an expedition to Acheen, whither they had been dispatched by the commander-in-chief, +to inquire into and demand redress for an act of piracy, committed on an English merchant-vessel. An account of the expedition +has already been published. The pirates had made a desperate resistance, and several lives were lost, and many severely wounded +on our side; among the latter was my friend Mr. Brooke (in the head and arm), for which I took the liberty of giving him a +lecture on his rashness, he having quite sufficient ground for fighting over in his newly-adopted country. He was much pleased +at the admiralʼs having promised that the Dido should return again to the Straits station as soon as she had completed her +voyage to Calcutta. + +</p> +<p>On the 11th March, 1844, we anchored off the grand City of Palaces, and well does it merit the name. We <a id="d0e3697"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3697">259</a>]</span>could not have, timed our visit better. The governor-general, the Earl of Ellenborough, was being <i>fêted</i> on his return from the frontiers, which <i>fêtes</i> were continued on the arrival, a few days after ourselves, of the Cornwallis at Kedgeree, when the flag of Sir William Parker +was shifted to the Dido. The admiral experienced the same style of hospitable entertainment that had previously been given +to General Sir Hugh Gough on his return from the Chinese expedition. At Calcutta I was kindly invited by the “Tent Club,” +and introduced to that noble and most exciting of all field-sports, “Hog-hunting in India;” but with which the pleasures of +the day did not cease. The subsequent convivial meeting was a thing not easily to be forgotten. Although under a tent pitched +by the edge of the jungle, thirty miles from the city, none of the comforts of the house were wanting; there were the punkah +and the hookah, those luxuries of the East, to say nothing of heaps of ice from the far West, which aided considerably the +consumption of champagne and claret; and to better all these good things, every man brought with him the will and the power +to please and to be pleased. + +</p> +<p>A few days before my departure from Calcutta, the governor-general finding it necessary to send treasure to China, the admiral +desired me to receive it on board. Although a welcome cargo, it delayed for a couple of months my return to Borneo. I found +Mr. Brooke awaiting my arrival at Singapore; but as I could not then receive him on board, Captain Hastings took him over +to Sarāwak in the Harlequin. + +</p> +<p>On arriving at Hong Kong, Rear-Admiral Sir T. Cochrane appointed Mr. Frederick Wade as first lieutenant, Lieutenant Wilmot +Horton having been promoted to the rank of commander for his gallant defence when the Didoʼs boats were attacked by the very +superior force of pirates off the island of Sirhassan. + +</p> +<p>Having landed the treasure at Hong Kong, and completed stores and provisions, I sailed from Macao on the 21st June, and working +down against the monsoon, arrived at Singapore on the 18th July. I here found letters from Mr. Brooke, stating that the Sakarrans +had been out in great force; and although he was not aware <a id="d0e3711"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3711">260</a>]</span>of any danger to himself or his settlement, still, by coming over quickly, I might have a fair chance of catching and crushing +them in the very act of piracy. I lost no time in preparing for another expedition. The government at Calcutta had become +fully sensible of the necessity of protecting the native trade to Singapore, and had sent down the Phlegethon steamer, of +light draught of water, and better adapted to service in the straits or rivers than any of her majestyʼs larger vessels. She +was, moreover, fitted in every way for the peculiar service on which she was to be employed, with a zealous, experienced, +and active commander, F. Scott,<a id="d0e3713src" href="#d0e3713" class="noteref">1</a> as well as a fine enterprising set of young officers. I lost no time in making application for her to the resident counselor, +Mr. Church (in the absence of Colonel Butterworth, the Governor of the Straits), who immediately placed her at my disposal; +and with such means, I was anxious to commence operations as speedily as possible, leaving the Vixen and Wolverine to perform +the other duties of the station. + +</p> +<p><i>Thursday, 25th July.</i>—Sailed from Singapore, having dispatched the Phlegethon the previous night, with orders to rendezvous at the entrance to +the Morotaba, which we entered in the evening of the 29th; and anchoring the ship inside the river, I went on in the steamer +to within four miles of Sarāwak, when I pulled up in my gig, accompanied by the Didoʼs pinnace, that I might, by firing her +carronade as a signal, be enabled to give notice of our approach, not feeling myself quite secure from a shot from the forts, +which were very judiciously placed so as to command the last reach approaching the town, as I knew that before Mr. Brookeʼs +return they had been put in a state of defence, and a regular watch kept, by self-appointed officers, sleeping on their arms. +I, however, got up without accident, in time to receive a hearty welcome, about daylight. + +</p> +<p>Not expecting to revisit Borneo during the period that the ship had to run before completing her usual time of commission, +it was gratifying for me to read in my friendʼs journal, alluding to my former visit; “I <a id="d0e3722"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3722">261</a>]</span>came myself in the Dido; and I may say that her appearance was the consummation of my enterprise.” “The natives saw directly +that there was a force to protect and to punish; and most of the chiefs, conscious of their evil ways, trembled; Muda Hassim +was gratified, and felt that this power would exalt his authority both in Borneo and along the coast, and he was not slow +in magnifying the force of the Dido. The state in which Captain Keppel and his officers visited the rajah all heightened the +effect; and the marines and the band excited the admiration and the fears of the natives. I felt the rajahʼs hand tremble +at the first interview; and not all the well-known command of countenance, of which the natives are masters, could conceal +his emotion.” + +</p> +<p>Gentle reader, excuse my vanity if I continue a little further with my friendʼs journal, although it gets rather personal: + +</p> +<p>“I believe the first emotion was anything but pleasurable; but Captain Keppelʼs conciliatory and kind manner soon removed +any feeling of fear; and was all along of the greatest use to me in our subsequent doings. The first qualification, in dealing +with a Malay, is a kind and gentle manner; for their habitual politeness is such that they are hurt by the ordinary <i>brusquerie</i> of the European. + +</p> +<p>“I shall not go over the chase of the three boats of the Balagnini pirates, or the attack made on the Didoʼs boats by the +Sirhassan, people, except to remark, that in the latter case, I am sure Lieutenant Horton acted rightly in sparing their lives +and property; for, with these occasional pirates, a severe lesson, followed by that degree of conciliation and pardon which +shall best insure a correction of their vices, is far wiser and preferable to a course of undistinguishing severity.” + +</p> +<p>I found Sarāwak much altered for the better, and the population considerably increased. Mr. Brooke had established himself +in a new house built on a beautiful and elevated mound, from which the intriguing Macota had just been ejected on my first +visit. Neat and pretty-looking little Swiss cottages had sprung up on all the most picturesque spots, which gave it quite +a European <a id="d0e3735"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3735">262</a>]</span>look. He had also made an agreeable addition to his English society; and a magazine of English merchandise had been opened +to trade with the natives, together with many other improvements. + +</p> +<p>On the other hand, Seriff Sahib, not deterred, as I had anticipated he would be, by the example I made of his neighbors in +the Sarebus, had taken measures for withdrawing from the adjoining river of Sadong, where he had been living in a comparatively +unguarded state, and had, during the last nine months, been making busy preparations for fortifying himself at a place called +Patusen, up the Batang Lupar. He had lately got things in a forward state, had called out a large fleet of Sakarrans as an +escort; and being puffed up with his own power and importance, had thought proper to prolong the performance of his voyage, +of about 100 miles, from his residence in Sadong to his fortified position at Patusen, for three weeks or a month, during +which time he had dispatched small parties of his fleet, which consisted of upward of 150 war-prahus, on piratical excursions. +These robbers had, in addition to their piracies on the high seas, scoured the coast in all directions, and committed the +greatest atrocities, attended with some of the most cruel murders. One sample will be sufficient to show their brutal character:—A +detachment of three of their boats, having obtained information that a poor Dyak family, belonging to a tribe in Mr. Brookeʼs +territory, had come down from their mountain to cultivate a small portion of land nearer the coast, and, for their better +security, had made their dwelling in the upper branches of a large tree on the outskirts of the forest, determined to destroy +them. Their little children were playing in the jungle when the pirates were seen approaching the tree with their diabolical +war-yells. As the poor man did not descend immediately on being summoned, he was shot; when other ruffians, to save their +ammunition, mounted the tree, murdered the woman, and returned in triumph to their boats with the heads of both victims. The +children, who had witnessed this from their hiding-places, succeeded in getting to Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p>Taking advantage of Mr. Brookeʼs unusually long <a id="d0e3741"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3741">263</a>]</span>absence, Sarāwak itself was threatened, and open defiance hurled at any European force that should dare approach Patusen. +Reports, too, had been industriously spread that Mr. Brooke never intended to return; and when he did get back to his home, +he found the town guarded and watched like a besieged city. With his usual nerve and decision he withdrew his men from the +forts, and sent to Seriff Sahib to inform him that he should suffer for his temerity. + +</p> +<p>A letter I received from him is so characteristic, and gives so lively a description of these events, that I am tempted to +print it<span id="d0e3745" class="corr" title="Source: ">.</span> + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<div class="body"> +<div class="div1"> +<div class="opener"> +<div class="dateline">“Sarāwak, 26th May, 1844.</div> + + +<div class="salute">“<span class="smallcaps">My Dear Keppel</span>, +</div> + +</div> +<div class="opener"> + +</div> +<p>“It is useless applying a spur to a willing horse; so I will only tell you that there is plenty to do here, and the sooner +you can come the better for all of us, especially your poor friends the Dyaks. Bring with you as much force as you can to +attack Sakarran. + + +</p> +<p>“The case stands thus:—Seriff Sahib, quite frightened at Sadong since last year, enraged likewise at his loss of power and +his incapability of doing mischief, collected all the Sakarran Dyaks, and was joined by many of the Dyaks of Sarebus and some +Balows. He likewise had a good many Malays, and bullied every one in his vicinity. This force met at the entrance of the Sadong +Delta, and committed depredations. They were not less than 200 Dyak boats, and some 15 or 20 armed Malay prahus, beside others. +Just as they were collected, the Harlequin appeared off the coast, and had the Dido been with us, we might have <i>had them all</i>; but the opportunity will never again occur. Seriff Sahib, with this force, has started to-day for Sakarran, and I was not +strong enough with my eight native boats to attack him. It is really greatly to be lamented, because we should most completely +have crushed the head of the snake. We must, however, make the best of it. It is his intention, on his arrival at Sakarran, +to fortify and wait for our attack, and in the mean time to send out his Dyaks along the coast and inland to such places as +they dare venture to attack. + + +</p> +<p>“Come then, my dear Keppel, for there is plenty to do for all hands. I have ordered a gun-boat from Mr. Goldie, to make our +force stronger; and had I possessed such a one the day before yesterday, I would have pulled away for the Sadong to-day. + +<a id="d0e3774"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3774">264</a>]</span></p> +<p>“My regards to all. I still propose Pepper-Pot Hall for your residence. I only wish I felt <i>quite sure</i> that Fortune had it in store that you would be here on your return from China. That dame, however, seems to delight in playing +me slippery tricks just at present; and never was the time and tide so missed before, which would have led to fortune, as +the other day. All the queenʼs ships and all the queenʼs men could not bring such a chance together again. + + + +</p> +<div class="salute"> “Ever, my dear Keppel, your sincere friend, + +</div> +<div class="signed">“<span class="smallcaps">J. Brooke</span>. +<br>“Captain the Hon. Henry Keppel.” + +</div> +</div> +</div> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>No one could have been more disappointed or have regretted more than my gallant friend Captain Hastings, that his orders did +not admit of any delay, or of his attacking that redoubtable pirate Seriff Sahib, especially as he had a small score to settle +with that kind of gentry, having had his first lieutenant, H. Chads, severely wounded in two places, and several men killed, +in the affair at Acheen Head. It was, however, all for the best, as the few boats that the Harlequin could have sent would +have stood but a poor chance against upward of 200 war-prahus, all fitted and prepared for fight. + +</p> +<p>On the 1st of August, with the Dido and Phlegethon at anchor off Sarāwak, the warlike preparations were going on rapidly. +I had saluted and paid my visit to Muda Hassim; he was delighted to see me again, and we went through the form of holding +several conferences of war in his divan. He appears to be a good well-meaning man, well inclined toward the English, moderately +honest, and, if roused, I daresay not without animal courage; and altogether, with the assistance of his clever younger brother, +Budrudeen, a very fit person to govern that part of Borneo of which he is rajah. + +</p> +<p>During my absence, Sarāwak had been visited by H.M.S. Samarang, Captain Sir Edward Belcher, who had received directions to +call on and communicate with Mr. Brooke. In dropping down the river the Samarang grounded on a long shelf of rocks, at the +top of high water, and with the ebb-tide rolled over, filling with the succeeding flood. She was nearly a fortnight <a id="d0e3796"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3796">265</a>]</span>in this position, but was ultimately saved by the skill and almost unparalleled perseverance (aided by such assistance of +men and spars as Mr. Brooke could afford) of her captain, officers, and crew—a feat that must have given the natives a good +idea of what British seamen are capable of. This accident delayed for a short time a visit that was afterward made by Sir +Edward Belcher, accompanied by Mr. Brooke, to Borneo Proper. A hurried inspection of the capabilities of that part of the +coast took place; and the fact of there being coal on the island was ascertained. + +</p> +<p>I received a second letter from Muda Hassim, of which the following is a translation: + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<p>“This comes from Pangeran Muda Hassim, Rajah of Borneo, to our friend Captain Keppel, in command of her Britannic Majestyʼs +ship. +</p> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>(After the usual compliments): + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<p>“We beg to let our friend Captain Keppel know, that the pirates of Sakarran, whom we mentioned last year, still continue their +piracies by sea and land; and that many Malays, under Seriff Sahib, who have been accustomed to send or to accompany the pirates +and to share in their spoils, have gone to the Sakarran river, with a resolve of defending themselves rather than accede to +our wishes that they should abandon piracy. + + +</p> +<p>“Last year Captain Belcher told the sultan and myself, that it would be pleasing to the Queen of England that we should repress +piracy; and we signed an agreement, at his request, in which we promised to do so; and we tell our friend of the piracies +and evil actions of the Sakarran people, who have, for many years past, done much mischief to trade, and make it dangerous +for boats to sail along the coast; and this year many prahus, which wanted to sail to Singapore, have been afraid. We inform +our friend Captain Keppel of this, as we desire to end all the piracy, and to perform our agreement with the Queen of England.” +</p> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p><span id="d0e3813" class="corr" title="Source: “"></span><i>Monday, 5th August, 1844</i>, being the morning fixed for the departure of our expedition against the Sakarran pirates, the Phlegethon steamer weighed +at 8 oʼclock, and proceeded down the river to await at the mouth the collection of our force. Among those who accompanied +us from Sarāwak was the Pangeran Budrudeen, the intelligent <a id="d0e3817"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3817">266</a>]</span>brother of the rajah already noticed. This was a great and unusual event in the royal family; and the departure from the rajahʼs +wharf, which I viewed from Mr. Brookeʼs house, on the opposite bank of the river, was intended to be very imposing. The barge +of state was decked out with banners and canopies; all the chiefs attended, with the Arab priest Mudlana at their head, and +the barge pushed off amid the firing of cannon, and a general screech, invoking the blessing of Mahomet. + +</p> +<p>Having seen the last boat off, Mr. Brooke and myself took our departure in the gig, when another and last farewell salute +was fired from the rajahʼs wharf. + +</p> +<p>Three hours brought us to the steamer, anchored off the fishing huts at the mouth of the river. Here we heard that a small +boat from the enemyʼs country had, under the pretence of trading, just been in to spy into our force, but decamped again on +the appearance of the steamer. We now all got fairly away together, the smaller boats keeping near the shoals in shore, while +the steamer was obliged to make an offing some miles from the coast. From the masthead we distinctly made out the small boat +that had left the mouth of the river before, both pulling and sailing in the direction of the Batang Lupar, up which the Sakarran +country lies; and as it was desirable that the pirates should not get information of our approach, at dusk, being well in +advance, and our auxiliary force following, I dispatched Mr. Brookeʼs Singapore sampan and one of the Didoʼs cutters in chase. +At half-past nine we anchored in the stream within the entrance. + +</p> +<p>We were fortunate at Sarāwak in picking up two excellent and intelligent pilots, who had long known the whole river, and had +themselves been several times forced to serve in the boats while on their piratical excursions. + +</p> +<p><i>Tuesday 6th.</i>—With the flood-tide arrived all the well appointed and imposing little fleet, and with them the cutter and sampan with two +out of the three men belonging to the boat of which they had been in chase; the third having been speared by Seboo, on showing +a strong inclination to run a-muck in his own boat, <i>i. e.</i> to <a id="d0e3832"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3832">267</a>]</span>sell his life as dearly as he could. From these men we obtained information that Seriff Sahib was fully prepared for defence—that +his harem had been removed—and that he would fight to the last. We also learned that Macota, better known among us by the +name of the “Serpent,” and often mentioned in Mr. Brookeʼs journal, was the principal adviser, in whose house the councils +of war were generally held. + +</p> +<p>We anchored, in the afternoon, off the mouth of the river Linga; and while there we dispatched a messenger to Seriff Jaffer +to caution him against giving any countenance or support to either of the Seriffs Sahib and Muller, on whose punishment and +destruction we were determined. + +</p> +<p>The Batang Lupar, as far as this, is a magnificent river, from three to four miles wide, and, in most parts, from five to +seven fathoms water. + +</p> +<p><i>Wednesday, 7th.</i>—We weighed at daylight, but were obliged to anchor again before appearing in sight of Patusen, until the tide should rise +sufficiently to enable us to pass a long flat shoal, over which, during the spring-tides, a bore rushes with frightful velocity. + +</p> +<p>We now collected our boats, and made our arrangements as well as we could, for attacking a place we had not yet seen. We had +now a little more difficulty in keeping our native force back, as many of those who had accompanied the expedition last year +had gained so much confidence that the desire of plunder exceeded the feeling of fear. + +</p> +<p>After weighing at 11, with a strong tide sweeping us up, we were not many minutes in coming in sight of the fortifications +of Patusen; and indeed they were not to be despised. There were five of them, two not quite finished. Getting suddenly into +six feet water, we anchored the steamer; not so formidable a berth, although well within musket-range, as we might have taken +up had I been aware of the increasing depth of water nearer the town; but we approached so rapidly there was no time to wait +the interpretation of the pilotʼs information. + +</p> +<p>The Dido and Phlegethonʼs boats were not long in forming alongside. They were directed to pull in shore, <a id="d0e3848"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3848">268</a>]</span>and then attack the forts in succession; but my gallant first-lieutenant, Wade, who had the command, was the first to break +the line, and pull directly in the face of the largest fort. His example was followed by the others; and dividing, each boat +pulled for that which appeared to the officer in command to be the one most likely to make a good fight. The forts were the +first to open fire on both steamer and boats, which was quickly and smartly returned. It is impossible to imagine a prettier +sight than it was from the top of the Phlegethonʼs paddle-box. It was my intention to have fired on the enemy from the steamer, +so as to draw their attention off the boats; but owing to the defective state of the detonating priming-tubes, the guns from +the vessel did not go off, and the boats had all the glory to themselves. + +</p> +<p>They never once checked in their advance; but the moment they touched the shore the crews rushed up, entering the forts at +the embrasures, while the pirates fled by the rear. + +</p> +<p>In this sharp and short affair we had but one man killed, poor John Ellis, a fine young man, and captain of the main-top in +the Dido. He was cut in two by a cannon-shot while in the act of ramming home a cartridge in the bow-gun of the Jolly Bachelor. +Standing close to poor Ellis at the fatal moment was a fine promising young middy, Charles Johnson, a nephew of Mr. Brookeʼs, +who fortunately escaped unhurt. This, and two others badly wounded, were the only accidents on our side. + +</p> +<p>Our native allies were not long in following our men on shore. The killed and wounded on the part of the pirates must have +been considerable. Our followers got several heads. There were no fewer than sixty-four brass guns of different sizes, beside +many iron, found in and about the forts: the latter we spiked and threw into the river. The town was very extensive; and after +being well looted, made a glorious blaze. + +</p> +<p>Our Sarāwak followers, both Malays and Dyaks, behaved with the greatest gallantry, and dashed in under the fire of the forts. +In fact, like their country, anything might be made of them under a good government; and such is their confidence in Mr. Brookeʼs +judgment, and <a id="d0e3858"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3858">269</a>]</span>their attachment to his person, that he might safely defy in his own stronghold the attacks of any foreign power. + +</p> +<p>After our men had dined, and had a short rest during the heat of the day, we landed our whole force in two divisions—and a +strange but formidable-looking force they made—to attack a town situated about two miles up, on the left bank of a small river +called the Grahan, the entrance to which had been guarded by the forts; and immediately after their capture the tide had fallen +too low for our boats to get up. Facing the stream, too, was a long stockade; so that we determined on attacking the place +in the rear, which, had the pirates only waited to receive us, would have caused a very interesting skirmish. They, however, +decamped, leaving everything behind them. In this town we found Seriff Sahibʼs residence, and, among other things, all his +curious and extensive wardrobe. It was ridiculous to see our Dyaks dressed out in all the finery and plunder of this noted +pirate, whose very name, a few days previous, would have made them tremble. Goats and poultry there were in abundance. We +likewise found a magazine in the rear of the seriffʼs house, containing about two tons of gunpowder; also a number of small +barrels of fine powder, branded “Dartford,” in exactly the same state as it had left the manufactory in England. It being +too troublesome and heavy to convey on board the steamer, and each of our native followers staggering up to his knees in mud, +under a heavy load of plunder, I had it thrown into the river. It was evident how determined the chief had been to defend +himself, as, beside the defences already completed, eight others, in different states of forwardness, were in the course of +erection; and had the attack been delayed a few weeks, Patusen would not have been carried by boats without considerable loss +of life. It was the key to this extensive river; the resort of the worst of pirates; and each chief had contributed his share +of guns and ammunition toward its fortification and defence. + +</p> +<p>We returned to our boats and evening meal rather fatigued, but much pleased with our dayʼs work, after ascending nearly seventy +miles from the mouth of the <a id="d0e3864"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3864">270</a>]</span>river. The habitations of 5000 pirates had been burnt to the ground; four strong forts destroyed, together with several hundred +boats; upward of sixty brass cannons captured, and about a fourth that number of iron spiked and thrown into the river, beside +vast quantities of other arms and ammunition; and the powerful Seriff Sahib, the great pirate-patron for the last twenty years, +ruined past recovery, and driven to hide his diminished head in the jungle. + +</p> +<p>The 8th and 9th were passed in burning and destroying the rest of the straggling town, and a variety of smaller boats, which +were very numerous. I had also an account to settle with that cunning rascal Macota, for his aiding and abetting Seriff Sahib +in his piracies. He had located himself very pleasantly near a bend in the river, about a mile above Seriff Sahibʼs settlement, +and was in the act of building extensive fortifications, when I had the satisfaction of anticipating the visit and some of +the compliments he would have conferred on my friend Mr. Brooke at Sarāwak. Budrudeen, the rajahʼs brother, had likewise been +duped by this fellow, and was exceedingly anxious to insert the blade of a very sharp and beautiful kris into the body of +his late friend. Mr. Brooke, however, was anxious to save his life, which he afterward had the satisfaction of doing. I shall +never forget the tiger-like look of the young Pangeran when we landed together in the hopes of surprising the “Serpent” in +his den; but he was too quick for us, having decamped with his followers, and in so great a hurry as to leave all his valuables +behind—among them a Turkish pipe, some chairs once belonging to the Royalist, and other presents from Mr. Brooke. Everything +belonging to him was burnt or destroyed save some handsome brass guns. There was one of about 12 cwt. that had been lent by +the sultan when Macota was in favor, and which I returned to Budrudeen for his brother. + +</p> +<p>We were here joined by a large number of the Linga Dyaks, the same force that had joined us the year previous, while up the +Sarebus, but unaccompanied by Seriff Jaffer, of whom it was not quite clear that he had not been secretly aiding the pirates. +I <a id="d0e3870"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3870">271</a>]</span>sent them back with assurances to their chiefs that they should not be molested unless they gave shelter or protection to +either Seriff Sahib or Muller. Seriff Sahib, with a considerable body of followers, escaped inland in the direction of the +mountains, from the other side of which he would be able to communicate with the river Linga. Macota was obliged to fly up +the river toward the Undop, on which the village and residence of Seriff Sahibʼs brother, Seriff Muller, was situated. + +</p> +<p>Having destroyed every boat and sampan, as well as house or hut, on the 10th, as soon as the tide had risen sufficiently to +take us over the shoals, we weighed, in the steamer, for the country of the Sakarran Dyaks, having sent the boats on before +with the first of the flood. + +</p> +<p>About fifteen miles above Patusen is the branch of the river called the Undop: up this river I dispatched Lieutenant Turnour, +with Mr. Comber, in the Jolly Bachelor, and a division of our native boats, while we proceeded to where the river again branches +off to the right and left, as on the tongue of land so formed we understood we should find a strong fort; beside, it was the +highest point to which we could attempt to take the steamer. The branch to the left is called the Sakarran; that to the right +retains the name of Lupar, inhabited chiefly by Sakarrans. We found the place deserted and the houses empty. Knowing that +these people depended almost entirely for protection on the strongly fortified position at Patusen, I did not expect any similar +opposition from either Seriff Muller or the desperate bloodthirsty Sakarrans, and consequently divided my force into three +division—the one, already mentioned, under Lieutenant Turnour, up the Undop; another, under Mr. DʼAeth, up the Lupar; while +Lieutenant Wade, accompanied by Mr. Brooke, ascended the Sakarran. I had not calculated on the disturbed and excited state +in which I found the country; and two wounded men having been sent back from the Undop branch with accounts of the pirates, +chiefly Malays, who were collected in great numbers, both before and in the rear of our small force; and an attempt <a id="d0e3876"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3876">272</a>]</span>having been made to cut off the bearer of this information, Nakoda Bahar, who had had a very narrow escape, and had no idea +of taking back an answer unless attended by a European force,—I determined on sending assistance. But I had some difficulty +in mustering another crew from the steamer, and was obliged to leave my friend Capt. Scott, with only the idlers, rather critically +situated. + +</p> +<p>I deemed it advisable to re-collect my whole force; and before proceeding to the punishment of the Sakarrans, to destroy the +power and influence of Seriff Muller, whose town was situated about twenty miles up, and was said to contain a population +of 1500 Malays, independently of the surrounding Dyak tribes. Having dispatched boats with directions to Lieutenant Wade and +Mr. DʼAeth to join us in the Undop, I proceeded in my gig to the scene of action, leaving the steamer to maintain as strict +a blockade of the Sakarran and Lupar branches as, with their reduced force, they were capable of. On my joining Lieutenant +Turnour, I found him just returned from a very spirited attack which he had made, assisted by Mr. Comber, on a stockade situated +on the summit of a steep hill; Mr. Allen, the master, being still absent on a similar service, on the opposite side of the +river. The gallant old chief Patingi Ali was likewise absent, in pursuit of the enemy that had been driven from the stockades, +with whom he had had a hand-to-hand fight, the whole of which—being on the rising ground—was witnessed by our boatsʼ crews, +who could not resist hailing his return from his gallant achievement with three hearty British cheers. This had the effect +of giving such an impulse to his courage, that, in a subsequent affair, it unhappily caused a serious loss among this active +and useful branch of our force. + +</p> +<p>We had now to unite in cutting our way through a barrier across the river similar to that described in the attack on the Sarebus, +which having passed, we brought up for the night close to a still more serious obstacle, being a number of huge trees felled, +the branches of which meeting midway in the river, formed apparently an insurmountable obstacle to our progress. But <a id="d0e3882"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3882">273</a>]</span>“patience and perseverance overcome all difficulties;” and by night only three of the trees remained to be cleared away. We +were now within a short distance of their town, so that we could distinctly hear the noise and confusion which our advance +had occasioned. On the right bank, and about fifty yards in advance of the barrier, stood a farm-house, which we considered +it prudent to occupy for the night, for which advanced post we collected about fifty volunteers. These consisted of Messrs. +Steward, Williamson, and Comber; a corporal and four marines; my gigʼs crew; and a medley of picked men from our Dyak and +Malay followers; not forgetting my usual and trusty attendant John Eager with his bugle, the sounding of which was to be the +signal for the whole force to come to the rescue, in the event of surprise—not at all improbable from the nature of our warfare +and our proximity to the enemyʼs town. + +</p> +<p>And here a most ludicrous scene occurred during the night. Having placed our sentries and look-out men, and given “Tiga” as +the watchword, we were, shortly after midnight, suddenly aroused from sound sleep by a Dyak war-yell, which was immediately +responded to by the whole force. It was pitch dark: the interior of our farmhouse, the partitions of which had been removed +for the convenience of stowage, was crowded to excess. In a moment every man was on his legs: swords, spears, and krisses +dimly glittered over our heads. It is impossible to describe the excitement and confusion of the succeeding ten minutes: one +and all believed that we had been surrounded by the enemy, and cut off from our main party. I had already thrust the muzzle +of my pistol close to the heads of several natives, whom, in the confusion, I had mistaken for Sakarrans; and as each in his +turn called out “Tiga,” I withdrew my weapon to apply it to somebody else; until, at last, we found that we were all “Tigas.” +I had prevented Eager, more than once, from sounding the alarm, which, from the first, he had not ceased to press me for permission +to do. The Dyak yell had, however, succeeded in throwing the whole force afloat into a similar confusion, and not hearing +the signal, they concluded that they, <a id="d0e3886"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3886">274</a>]</span>and not we, were the party attacked. The real cause we afterward ascertained to have arisen from the alarm of a Dyak, who +dreamt, or imagined, that he felt a spear thrust upward through the bamboo-flooring of our building, and immediately gave +his diabolical yell. The confusion was ten times as much as it would have been had the enemy really been there. So ended the +adventures of the night in the wild jungle of Borneo. + + + + +</p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e3713" href="#d0e3713src" class="noteref">1</a></span> I have lately heard, with much regret, of the death of this valuable officer. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e3888" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XIX.</h2> +<h2 class="normal"> + +</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Seriff Mullerʼs town sacked.—Ascend the river in pursuit of the enemy.—Gallant exploit of Lieutenant Wade.—His death and funeral.—Interesting +anecdote of him.—Ascend the Sakarran branch.—Native boats hemmed in by pirates, and their crews slaughtered to a man.—Karangan +destroyed.—Captain Sir E. Belcher arrives in the Samarangʼs boats.—Return to Sarāwak.—New expedition against Seriff Sahib +and Jaffer.—Macota captured.—Flight of Seriff Sahib.—Conferences.—Seriff Jaffer deposed.—Mr. Brookeʼs speech in the native +tongue.—End of the expedition, and return to Sarāwak.—The Dido sails for England. +</p> +</div> +<p>At daylight we were joined by Lieutenant Wade and Mr. Brooke—their division making a very acceptable increase to our force—and +by 8 oʼclock the last barrier was cut through between us and Seriff Mullerʼs devoted town. With the exception of his own house, +from which some eight or nine Malays were endeavoring to move his effects, the whole place was deserted. They made no fight; +and an hour afterward the town had been plundered and burnt. The only lives lost were a few unfortunates, who happened to +come within range of our musketry in their exertions to save some of their masterʼs property. A handsome large boat, belonging +to that chief, was the only thing saved; and this I presented to Budrudeen. After a short delay in catching our usual supply +of goats and poultry, with which the place abounded, we proceeded up the river in chase of the chief and his people; and here +again we had to encounter the same obstacle presented by the felled trees thrown across the river—if possible of increased +difficulty, owing to their greater size and the <a id="d0e3898"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3898">275</a>]</span>narrow breadth of the stream; but although delayed we were not to be beaten. We ascertained that the pirates had retreated +to a Dyak village, situated on the summit of a hill, some twenty-five miles higher up the Undop, five or six miles only of +which we had succeeded in ascending, as a most dreary and rainy night closed in, during which we were joined by Mr. DʼAeth +and his division from the Lupar river. + +</p> +<p>The following morning, the 13th of August, at daybreak, we again commenced our toilsome work. With the gig and the lighter +boats we succeeded better; and I should have despaired of the heavier boats ever getting up, had they not been assisted by +an opportune and sudden rise of the tide, to the extent of twelve or fourteen feet, though with this we had to contend against +a considerably increased strength of current. It was on this day that my ever active and zealous first lieutenant, Charles +Wade, jealous of the advanced position of our light boats, obtained a place in my gig. That evening the Phlegethonʼs first +and second cutters, the Didoʼs two cutters, and their gigs, were fortunate enough to pass a barrier composed of trees evidently +but recently felled; from which we concluded ourselves to be so near the enemy, that, by pushing forward as long as we could +possibly see, we might prevent further impediments from being thrown in our way. This we did; but at 9 <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span> arriving at a broad expanse of the river, and being utterly unable to trace our course, we anchored our advanced force for +the night. + +</p> +<p>On Wednesday, 14th, we again pushed on at daylight. We had gained information of two landing-places leading to the Dyak village +on the hill, round three-fourths of the foot of which the Undop flowed. The first landing-place we had no trouble in discovering, +from the number of deserted boats collected near it. Leaving these to be looted by our followers, we proceeded in search of +the second, which we understood was situated more immediately under the village, and which, having advanced without our guides, +we had much difficulty in finding. The circuit of the base of the hill was above five miles. In traversing this distance, +we had repeated skirmishing with straggling boats of the enemy, upon <a id="d0e3907"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3907">276</a>]</span>whom we came unexpectedly. During this warfare, Patingi Ali, who, with his usual zeal, had here come up, bringing a considerable +native force of both Malays and Dyaks, was particularly on the alert; and while we in the gig attacked the large war-prahu +of Seriff Muller himself—the resistance of whose followers was only the discharge of their muskets, after which they threw +themselves into the river, part only effecting their escape—the Patingi nearly succeeded in capturing that chief in person. +He had escaped from his prahu into a remarkably beautiful and fast-pulling sampan, in which he was chased by old Ali, and +afterward only saved his life by throwing himself into the water, and swimming to the jungle; and it was with no small pride +that the gallant old chief appropriated the boat to his own use. In the prahu were captured two large brass guns, two smaller +ones, a variety of small arms, ammunition, provisions, colors and personal property, among which were also two pair of handsome +jars of English manufacture. After this, having proceeded some considerable distance without finding the second landing-place, +we put in close to a clear green spot, with the intention of getting our breakfasts, and of waiting the arrival of the other +boat with the guides. + +</p> +<p>While our crew were busily employed cooking, Lieutenant Wade and myself fancied we heard the suppressed voices of many people +not far distant, and taking up our guns we crept into the jungle. We had not penetrated many yards before I came in sight +of a mass of boats concealed in a snug little inlet, the entrance to which had escaped our notice. These were filled with +the piratical Dyaks and Malays, and on shore at various points were placed armed sentinels. My first impulse was to conceal +ourselves until the arrival of our force; but my rash, though gallant friend deemed otherwise; and without noticing the caution +of my upheld hand, dashed in advance, discharging his gun, and calling upon our men to follow. It is impossible to conceive +the consternation and confusion this our sudden sally occasioned among the pirates. The confused noise and scrambling from +their boats I can only liken to that of a suddenly-roused flock of wild ducks. Our attack from the point <a id="d0e3911"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3911">277</a>]</span>whence it came was evidently unexpected; and it is my opinion that they calculated on our attacking the hill, if we did so +at all, from the nearest landing-place, without pulling round the other five miles, as the whole attention of their scouts +appeared to be directed toward that quarter. A short distance above them was a small encampment, probably erected for the +convenience of their chiefs, as in it we found writing materials, two or three desks of English manufacture, on the brass +plate of one of which, I afterward noticed, was engraved the name of ”<i>Mr. Wilson</i>.” To return to the pirates: with our force, such as it was—nine in number—and headed by Lieutenant Wade, we pursued our terrified +enemy, who had not the sense or courage to rally in their judiciously selected and naturally protected encampment, but continued +their retreat (firing on us from the jungle) toward the Dyak village on the summit of the hill. + +</p> +<p>We here collected our force, reloaded our fire-arms; and Lieutenant Wade, seeing from this spot the arrival at the landing-place +of the other boats, again rushed on in pursuit. Before arriving at the foot of the steep ascent on the summit of which the +before-mentioned Dyak village stood, we had to cross a small open space of about sixty yards, exposed to the fire from the +village as well as the surrounding jungle. It was before crossing this plain that I again cautioned my gallant friend to await +the arrival of his men, of whom he was far in advance; and almost immediately afterward he fell mortally wounded at my feet, +having been struck by two rifle-shots, and died instantaneously. I remained with the body until our men came up, and giving +it in charge, we carried the place on the height without a check or further accident. The Dyak village we now occupied I would +have spared, as on no occasion had we noticed any of the tribe fighting against us; but it was by shot fired from it that +poor Wade was killed, and the work of destruction commenced simultaneously with the arrival of our men. It was most gratifying +to me throughout the expedition to observe the friendly rivalry and emulation between the crews of the Phlegethon and the +Didoʼs boats. On this occasion the former had the glory <a id="d0e3918"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3918">278</a>]</span>of first gaining the height; and one of the officers of the former, Mr. Simpson, wounded, with a pistol-shot, a man armed +with a rifle, supposed to have been the person who had slain our first-lieutenant. + +</p> +<p>I may here narrate a circumstance, from which one may judge of the natural kind-heartedness of my lamented friend. During +the heat of the pursuit, although too anxious to advance to await the arrival of his men, he nevertheless found time to conceal +in a place of security a poor terrified Malay girl whom he overtook, and who, by an imploring look, touched his heart. The +village and the piratical boats destroyed, and the excitement over, we had time to reflect on the loss we had sustained of +one so generally beloved as the leader of the expedition had been among us all. Having laid the body in a canoe, with the +British union-jack for a pall, we commenced our descent of the river with very different spirits from those with which we +had ascended only a few hours before. In the evening, with our whole force assembled, we performed the last sad ceremony of +committing the body to the deep, with all the honors that time and circumstance would allow. I read that beautiful, impressive +service from a prayer-book, the only one, by the by, in the expedition, which he himself had brought, as he said, “in case +of accident.” + +</p> +<p>Before we again got under weigh, several Malay families, no longer in dread of their piratical chief, Seriff Muller, who had +fled nobody knew whither, gave themselves up to us as prisoners, trusting to the mercy of a white man; the first instance +of any of them having done so. We heard, also, that Macota had retreated with the seriff; and on examination we found the +papers captured in the encampment belonged to them, exposing several deep intrigues and false statements addressed to the +sultan, the purport of which was to impress his mind with the belief of a hostile intention on the part of the British <span id="d0e3924" class="corr" title="Source: goverment">government</span> toward his country. We brought-up for the night off the still-burning ruins of Seriff Mullerʼs town. + +</p> +<p>On Thursday the 15th we again reached the steamer. We found her prepared for action, having been much <a id="d0e3929"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3929">279</a>]</span>annoyed during the night by the continued Dyak war-yells—sounds, to uninitiated ears, as unpleasant as those of musketry. +Having driven away the two principal instigators and abettors of all the piracies committed along the coast of Borneo and +elsewhere, and destroyed their strongholds, it now remained for us to punish the pirates themselves as far as lay in our power. +The Sakarran Dyaks being the only ones now remaining who had not received convincing proofs that their brutal and inhuman +trade would be no longer allowed, the 15th and 16th were passed on board the steamer, to rest the men after the severe fatigue +encountered up the Undop, and in making preparations for an advance up the Sakarran. During the night of the 16th, several +of our native followers were wounded. Their boats not being furnished with anchors, and the river being deep, they were obliged +to make fast to the bank, which in the dark afforded great facility for the enemy to creep down through the jungle unperceived, +so close as to fire a shot and even thrust their spears through the thin mat covering of the boats. One poor fellow received +a shot in his lungs, from which he died the following day; a Dyak likewise died from a spear-wound; and in the morning we +witnessed the pile forming for burning the Dyak, and the coffin making for conveying the body of the Malay to Sarāwak, his +native place; both parties having an equal horror of their dead falling into the hands of the enemy, although differing in +their mode of disposing of them. + +</p> +<p>On Saturday, the 17th, the expedition, consisting of the Didoʼs pinnace, her two cutters and gig, the Jolly Bachelor, and +the Phlegethonʼs first and second cutters and gig, started up the Sakarran. A small division of light native boats, under +the command of the brave old Patingi Ali, were selected to keep as a reconnoitering party with our leading boats, while the +remaining native force, of above thirty boats, followed as a reserve. We advanced the first day some twenty miles without +so much as seeing a native, although our progress was considerably delayed by stopping to burn farm-houses, and a number of +war-prahus found concealed in the jungle or long grass on either side of the river. We brought up early in the afternoon, +for the purpose of strongly <a id="d0e3933"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3933">280</a>]</span>fortifying ourselves, both ashore and afloat, against surprise before the night set in, by which time it would have taken +a well-disciplined and powerful force to have dislodged us. + +</p> +<p>This evening we had unusually fine weather; and we squatted down to our meal of curry and rice with better appetites and higher +spirits than we had done for some days. We advanced the following day: and although we reached several villages, the grain +had been removed from them all; which, in all probability, was done immediately upon their hearing of the fall of their supposed +impregnable Patusen. In the evening we took the same precautions as on the preceding night, considering that our enemies were +not to be despised. Owing to heavy rains which fell during the night, and caused a strong current, our progress was considerably +retarded. The scenery was beautiful—more so than in any of the rivers we had yet visited. We likewise now repeatedly fell +in with small detachments of the enemy, and spears were thrown from the banks, which added considerably to our excitement +and amusement. On every point we found the remains of the preceding nightʼs watch-fires, so that news of our approach would +have been conveyed rapidly along. While leading in the gig with a select few of our followers, we came suddenly on a boat +full of warriors, all gorgeously dressed, and apparently perfectly unconscious of our approach. The discharge of our muskets +and the capsizing of their war-boat was the work of an instant; but most of their crew saved their lives by escaping into +the jungle. + +</p> +<p>This evening, Sunday, the 18th, we experienced some difficulty in finding a suitable place for our bivouac. While examining +the most eligible-looking spot on the bank of the river, the crew of one of the Phlegethonʼs boats, having crept up the opposite +bank, came suddenly on a party of Dyaks, who saluted them with a war-yell and a shower of spears; and it was absurd to see +the way in which they precipitated themselves into the water again to escape from this unexpected danger. The Dyaks, too, +appear to have been equally surprised. The place we selected for the night was a large house about forty yards from the edge +of the river; and for a musket-range <a id="d0e3939"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3939">281</a>]</span>around which we had not much difficulty in clearing the ground. Here we all united our different messes, and passed a jovial +evening. The night, however, set in with a most fearful thunder-storm, accompanied by the most vivid flashes of lightning +I ever witnessed. The rain continued to fall in torrents; it cleared up at daylight, when we proceeded. As yet the banks of +the river had been a continued garden, with sugarcane plantations and banana-trees in abundance. As we advanced, the scenery +assumed a wilder and still more beautiful appearance, presenting high steep points, with large overhanging trees, and occasionally +forming into pretty picturesque bays, with sloping banks. At other times we approached narrow gorges, looking so dark that, +until past, you almost doubted there being a passage through. We were in hopes that this morning we should have reached their +capital, a place called Karangan, supposed to be about ten miles farther on. At 9 oʼclock Mr. Brooke, who was with me in the +gig, stopped to breakfast with young Jenkins in the second cutter. Not expecting to meet with any opposition for some miles, +I gave permission to Patingi Ali to advance cautiously with his light division, and with positive instructions to fall back +upon the first appearance of any natives. As the stream was running down very strong, we held on to the bank, waiting for +the arrival of the second cutter. Our pinnace and second gig having both passed up, we had remained about a quarter of an +hour, when the report of a few musket-shots told us that the pirates had been fallen in with. We immediately pushed on; and +as we advanced, the increased firing from our boats, and the war-yells of some thousand Dyaks, let us know that an engagement +had really commenced. It would be difficult to describe the scene as I found it. About twenty boats were jammed together, +forming one confused mass; some bottom up; the bows or sterns of others only visible; mixed up, pell-mell, with huge rafts; +and among which were nearly all our advanced little division. Headless trunks, as well as heads without bodies, were lying +about in all directions; parties were engaged hand to hand, spearing and krissing each other; others were striving to swim +for their lives; <a id="d0e3941"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3941">282</a>]</span>entangled in the common <i>mêlée</i> were our advanced boats; while on both banks thousands of Dyaks were rushing down to join in the slaughter, hurling their +spears and stones on the boats below. For a moment I was at a loss what steps to take for rescuing our people from the embarrassed +position in which they were, as the whole mass (through which there was no passage) were floating down the stream, and the +addition of fresh boats arriving only increased the confusion. Fortunately, at this critical moment one of the rafts, catching +the stump of a tree, broke this floating bridge, making a passage, through which (my gig being propelled by paddles instead +of oars) I was enabled to pass. + +</p> +<p>It occurred to Mr. Brooke and myself simultaneously, that, by advancing in the gig, we should draw the attention of the pirates +toward us, so as to give time for the other boats to clear themselves. This had the desired effect. The whole force on shore +turned, as if to secure what they rashly conceived to be their prize. + +</p> +<p>We now advanced mid-channel: spears and stones assailed us from both banks. My friend Brookeʼs gun would not go off; so giving +him the yoke-lines, he steered the boat while I kept up a rapid fire. Mr. Allen, in the second gig, quickly coming up, opened +upon them, from a congreve-rocket tube, such a destructive fire as caused them to retire panic-struck behind the temporary +barriers where they had concealed themselves previous to the attack upon Patingi Ali, and from whence they continued, for +some twenty minutes, to hurl their spears and other missiles. Among the latter may be mentioned short lengths of bamboo, one +end heavily loaded with stone, and thrown with great force and precision; the few fire-arms of which they were possessed were +of but little use to them after the first discharge, the operation of reloading, in their inexperienced hands, requiring a +longer time than the hurling of some twenty spears. The sumpitan was likewise freely employed by these pirates; but although +several of our men belonging to the pinnace were struck, no fatal results ensued, from the dextrous and expeditious manner +in which the wounded parts were excised by Mr. Beith, the assistant-surgeon; any poison that might remain being <a id="d0e3950"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3950">283</a>]</span>afterward sucked out by one of the comrades of the wounded men. + +</p> +<p>As our force increased, the pirates retreated from their position, and could not again muster courage to rally. Their loss +must have been considerable; ours might have been light, had poor old Patingi Ali attended to orders. + +</p> +<p>It appears that the Patingi (over-confident, and probably urged on by Mr. Steward, who, unknown to me, was concealed in Aliʼs +beat when application was made by that chief for permission to proceed in advance for the purpose of reconnoitering), instead +of falling back, as particularly directed, on the first appearance of any of the enemy, made a dash, followed by his little +division of boats, through the narrow pass above described. As soon as he had done so, huge rafts of bamboo were lanched across +the river, so as to cut off his retreat. Six large war-prahus, probably carrying 100 men each, then bore down—three on either +side—on his devoted followers; and one only of a crew of seventeen that manned his boat escaped to tell the tale. When last +seen by our advanced boats, Mr. Steward and Patingi Ali were in the act (their own boats sinking) of boarding the enemy. They +were doubtless overpowered and killed, with twenty-nine others, who lost their lives on this occasion. Our wounded in all +amounted to fifty-six. + +</p> +<p>A few miles higher up was the town and capital of Karangan, which place it was their business to defend, and ours to destroy, +and this we succeeded in effecting without further opposition. We ascended a short distance above this, but found the river +impracticable for the further progress of the boats; but our object having been achieved, the expedition may be said to have +closed, as no more resistance was offered; so we dropped leisurely down the river, and that evening reached our resting-place +of the previous night: but having burnt the house in the morning, we were obliged to sleep in our boats, with a strong guard +on shore. + +</p> +<p>Attempts were made to molest the native boats by hurling spears into them from the jungle under cover of <a id="d0e3960"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3960">284</a>]</span>the night; but after a few discharges of musketry the enemy retired, leaving us to enjoy another stormy and rainy night as +we best could. + +</p> +<p>On the 20th we reached the steamer, where we remained quiet all the next day, attending to the wounded, and ascertaining the +exact extent of our loss. On the 22d we again reached Patusen. We found everything in the same wretched state as when we left; +and a pile of firewood, previously cut for the use of the steamer, had not been removed. After dark a storm of thunder, lightning, +and heavy rain, came on as usual, and with it a few mishaps. A boat belonging to the old Tumangong was capsized by the bore, +by which his plunder, including a large brass gun, was lost, and the crew with difficulty saved their lives. At eight we heard +the report of a gun, which was again repeated much nearer at nine; and before a signal-rocket could be fired, or a light shown, +we were astonished by being hailed by the boats of a British man-of-war; and the next moment Captain Sir E. Belcher, having +been assisted by a rapid tide, came alongside the steamer with the welcome news of having brought our May letters from England. +On the arrival of the Samarang off the Morotaba, Sir Edward heard of the loss we had sustained; and, with his usual zeal and +activity, came at once to our assistance, having brought his boats no less than 120 miles in about thirty hours. At the moment +of his joining us, our second mishap occurred. The night, as previously mentioned, was pitch dark, and a rapid current running, +when the cry of “a man overboard” caused a sensation difficult to describe. All available boats were immediately dispatched +in search; and soon afterward we were cheered by the sound of “all right.” It appears that the news of the arrival of the +mail was not long in spreading throughout our little fleet, when Mr. DʼAeth, leaving the first cutter in a small sampan, capsized +in coming alongside the steamer; the man in the bow (who composed the crew) saved himself by catching hold of the nearest +boat; Mr. DʼAeth would have been drowned had he not been an excellent swimmer. This was not the last of our mishaps; for we +had no sooner arranged ourselves and newly-arrived <a id="d0e3964"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3964">285</a>]</span>visitors from the Samarang comfortably on board the steamer from the pelting rain, than the accustomed and quick ear of Mr. +Brooke heard the cry of natives in distress. Jumping into his Singapore sampan, he pushed off to their assistance, and returned +shortly afterward, having picked up three, half drowned, of our Dyak followers, whom he had found clinging to the floating +trunk of a tree. They too had been capsized by the bore; when, out of eleven composing the crew, only these three were saved—although +the Dyaks are invariably expert swimmers. + +</p> +<p>On the 23d, after waiting to obtain meridian observations, we moved down as far as the mouth of the river Linga, and then +dispatched one of our Malay chiefs to the town of Bunting to summon Seriff Jaffer to a conference. This, however, he declined +on a plea of ill health, sending assurance, at the same time, of his goodwill and inclination to assist us in our endeavors +to suppress piracy. + +</p> +<p>On the night of the 24th, we once again reached Sarāwak, where the rejoicings of the previous year, when we returned from +a successful expedition, were repeated. On the third evening after our return, we were just settling down to enjoy a little +rest, having got our sick and wounded into comfortable quarters, and were beginning heartily to indulge in the comforts of +a bed after our fatigue and harassing duties in open boats during the previous three weeks, when information arrived that +Seriff Sahib had taken refuge in the Linga river, where, assisted by Seriff Jaffer, he was again collecting his followers. +No time was to be lost; and on the 28th, with the addition of the Samarangʼs boats, we once more started, to crush, if possible, +this persevering and desperate pirate; and, in the middle of the night, came to an anchor inside the Linga river. + +</p> +<p>When our expedition had been watched safely outside the Batang Lupar, on its return to Sarāwak, all those unfortunate families +that had concealed themselves in the jungle, after the destruction of the different towns of Patusen and Undop, had emerged +from their hiding-places, and, embarking on rafts, half-ruined boats, or, in short, anything that would float, were in <a id="d0e3972"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3972">286</a>]</span>the act of tiding and working their passage toward the extensive and flourishing town of Bunting. Their dismay can well be +imagined, when, at daylight on the morning of the 29th, they found themselves carried by the tide close alongside the long, +black, terror-spreading steamer, and in the midst of our augmented fleet. Escape to them was next to hopeless; nor did the +softer sex seem much to mind the change—probably thinking that to be swallowed up by the white man was not much worse than +dying in the jungle of starvation. I need not say that, instead of being molested, they were supplied with such provisions +and assistance as our means would permit us to afford, and then allowed to pass quietly on; in addition to which we dispatched +several of our native followers into the Batang Lupar, to inform the poor fugitives that our business was with the chiefs +and instigators of piracy, and not to molest the misguided natives. + +</p> +<p>With the ebb tide a large number of boats came down from the town—the news of our arrival having reached them during the night—containing +the principal chiefs, with assurances of their pacific intentions, and welcoming us with presents of poultry, goats, fruit, +&c., which we received, paying the fair market-price for them, either by way of barter or in hard dollars. They assured us +that Seriff Sahib should not be received among them; but that they had heard of his having arrived at Pontranini, on a small +tributary stream some fifty miles above their town. We immediately decided on proceeding in pursuit before he could have time +to establish himself in any force. It was also evident that the Balow Dyaks, who inhabit this part of the country, were decidedly +in favor of our operations against Seriff Sahib, although afraid—on account of Seriff Jaffer and his Malays—to express their +opinions openly. We also ascertained that Macota, with a remnant of his followers, was hourly expected in the mouth of the +river, from the jungle, into which he had been driven during the fight on the Undop heights. Knowing that it would fare badly +with this treacherous and cunning, although now harmless chief, should he fall into the hands of any of our native followers, +I dispatched <a id="d0e3976"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3976">287</a>]</span>two boats to look out for and bring him to us alive. This they succeeded in doing, securing him in a deep muddy jungle, into +which he had thrown himself upon perceiving the approach of our men. Leaving him a prisoner on board the Phlegethon, we, with +the floodtide pushed forward in pursuit of Seriff Sahib. + +</p> +<p>For two days we persevered in dragging our boats, for the distance of twenty miles, up a small jungly creek, which, to all +appearance, was impassable for anything but canoes. But it had the desired effect, proving to the natives what determination +could achieve in accomplishing our object, even beyond the hopes of our sanguine Balow Dyak guides. The consequence was, that +Seriff Sahib made a final and precipitate retreat, across the mountains, in the direction of the Pontiana river. So close +were we on his rear—harassed as he was by the Balow Dyaks, who had refused him common means of subsistence—that he threw away +his sword, and left behind him a child whom he had hitherto carried in the jungle; and this once dreaded chief was now driven, +single and unattended, out of the reach of doing any further mischief. + +</p> +<p>The boats returned, and took up a formidable position off the town of Bunting, where we summoned Seriff Jaffer to a conference. +To this he was obliged to attend, as the natives had learnt that we were not to be trifled with, and would have forced him +on board rather than have permitted their village to be destroyed. With Pangeran Budrudeen, acting as the representative of +the sultan, Seriff Jaffer was obliged to resign all pretensions to the government of the province over which he had hitherto +held sway, since it was considered, from his being a Malay and from his relationship to Seriff Sahib, that he was an unsafe +person to be intrusted With so important a post. + +</p> +<p>A second conference on shore took place, at which the chiefs of all the surrounding country attended, when the above sentence +was confirmed. On this occasion I had the satisfaction of witnessing what must have been—from the effect I observed it to +have produced on the hearers—a fine piece of oratory, delivered by Mr. Brooke in the native tongue, with a degree of fluency +I <a id="d0e3984"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3984">288</a>]</span>had never witnessed before, even in a Malay. The purport of it, as I understood, was, to point out emphatically the horrors +of piracy on the one hand, which it was the determination of the British government to suppress, and on the other hand, the +blessings arising from peace and trade, which it was equally our wish to cultivate; and it concluded by fully explaining, +that the measures lately adopted by us against piracy were for the protection of all the peaceful communities along the coast. +So great was the attention bestowed during the delivery of this speech that the dropping of a pin might have been heard. + +</p> +<p>From these people many assurances were received of their anxiety and willingness to cooperate with us in our laudable undertaking; +and one and all were alike urgent that the government of their river should be transferred to the English. + +</p> +<p>On the 4th September the force again reached Sarāwak, and thus terminated a most successful expedition against the worst pirates +on the coast of Borneo. + +</p> +<p>We found the Samarang off the Morotaba entrance, when Mr. Brooke and myself became the guests of Sir Edward Belcher for several +days, during which time we made excursions to all the small islands in that neighborhood, discovered large quantities of excellent +oysters, and had some very good hog-shooting. Afterward, accompanied by the boats of the Samarang, we paid a visit to the +Lundu Dyaks, which gave them great delight. They entertained us at a large feast, when the whole of the late expedition was +fought over again, and a war-dance with the newly-acquired heads of the Sakarran pirates was performed for our edification. +Later in the evening, two of the elder chiefs got up, and, walking up and down the long gallery, commenced a dialogue, for +the information, as they said, of the women, children, and poorer people who were obliged to remain at home. It consisted +in putting such questions to one another as should elicit all the particulars of the late expedition, such as, what had become +of different celebrated Sakarran chiefs (whom they named)? how had they been destroyed? how did they die? by whom had they +been slain? &c. All these inquiries received <a id="d0e3992"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3992">289</a>]</span>the most satisfactory replies, in which the heroic conduct of themselves and the white men was largely dwelt upon. While this +was performing, the two old warriors, with the heads of their enemies suspended from their shoulders like a soldierʼs cartouch-box, +stumped up and down, striking the floor with their clubs, and getting very excited. How long it lasted none of our party could +tell, as one and all dropped off to sleep during the recital. Mr. Brooke has given so good a description of these kind and +simple people that I need not here farther notice them. + +</p> +<p>Shortly after our return to the Samarang, she, getting short of provisions, sailed for Singapore, and Mr. Brooke and myself +went up to Sarāwak, where the Dido was still lying. Great rejoicings and firing of cannon, as on a former occasion, announced +our return; and, after paying our respects to the rajah, we visited the Tumangong and Patingis. + +</p> +<p>A curious ceremony is generally performed on the return of the chiefs from a fortunate war expedition, which is not only done +by way of a welcome back, but is supposed to insure equal success on the next excursion. This ceremony was better performed +at the old Tumangongʼs than at the other houses. After entering the principal room we seated ourselves in a semicircle on +the mat floor, when the old chiefʼs three wives advanced to welcome us, with their female relatives, all richly and prettily +dressed in sarongs suspended from the waist, and silken scarfs worn gracefully over one shoulder, just hiding or exposing +as much of their well-shaped persons as they thought most becoming. Each of these ladies in succession taking a handful of +yellow rice, threw it over us, repeating some mystical words, and dilating on our heroic deeds, and then they sprinkled our +heads with gold-dust. This is generally done by grating a lump of gold against a dried piece of sharkʼs skin. Two of these +ladies bore the pretty names of Inda and Amina. Inda was young, pretty, and graceful; and although she had borne her husband +no children, she was supposed to have much greater influence over him than the other two. Report said that she had a temper, +and that the Tumangong was much afraid of <a id="d0e3998"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e3998">290</a>]</span>her; but this may have been only Sarāwak scandal. She brought her portion of gold-dust already grated, and wrapped up in a +piece of paper, from which she took a pinch; and in reaching to sprinkle some over my head, she, by accident, put the prettiest +little foot on to my hand, which, as she wore neither shoes nor stockings, she did not hurt sufficiently to cause me to withdraw +it. After this ceremony we (the warriors) feasted and smoked together, attended on by the ladies. + +</p> +<p>Another conference with Muda Hassim took place, and I subsequently quitted Sarāwak for Singapore, intending to re-provision +the Dido at that port, and then return to Sarāwak, in order to convey the rajah and his suite to Borneo Proper. At Singapore, +however, I found orders for England, and sailed accordingly; but the service alluded to was readily performed by Sir Edward +Belcher, in H.M.S. Samarang, accompanied by the H. C.ʼs steamer Phlegethon. + +</p> +<p>On my return to England I had the gratification to learn that Mr. Brooke had been appointed agent for the British government +in Borneo, and that Captain Bethune, R.N., C.B., had been dispatched on special service to that island: events I cannot but +consider of great importance to the best interests of humanity, and to the extension of British commerce throughout the Malayan +Archipelago. + + + + +</p> +</div> +<div id="d0e4004" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XX.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Later portion of Mr. Brookeʼs Journal.—Departure of Captain Keppel, and arrival of Sir E. Belcher.—Mr. Brooke proceeds, with +Muda Hassim, in the Samarang to Borneo.—Labuan examined.—Returns to Sarāwak.—Visit of Lingire, a Sarebus chief.—The Dyaks +of Tumma and Bandar Cassim.—Meets an assembly of Malays and Dyaks.—Arrival of Lingi, as a deputation from the Sakarran chiefs.—The +Malay character.—Excursion up the country.—Miserable effects of excess in opium-smoking.—Picturesque situation of the Sow +village of Ra-at.—Nawang.—Feast at Ra-at.—Returns home.—Conferences with Dyak chiefs. +</p> +</div> +<p>The return to England of Captain Bethune, C.B., bringing with him a further portion of Mr. Brookeʼs <a id="d0e4012"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4012">291</a>]</span>Journal to my charge, enables me to afford my readers some interesting details relative to the important events that have +occurred in Borneo subsequent to my departure from Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p>“<i>January</i>, 1845.—The departure of the Dido left me sad and lonely, for Captain Keppel had been really my companion and friend; and +he so thoroughly entered into my views for the suppression of piracy, and made them his own, that I may not expect any successor +to act with the same vigour and the same decision. Gallant Didos! I would ask no further aid or protection than I received +from you. Sir Edward Belcher, with the Phlegethon in company, arrived not long after the Didoʼs departure, and conveyed the +Rajah Muda Hassim and his train to Borneo Proper. H.M.S. Samarang and Phlegethon visited and examined Labuan, and proceeded +thence to Ambun. Ambun is a miserable village; and it at once gave the lie to the report of a European female being there +in captivity, for no <i>poor Orang Kaya</i> could retain such a prize. The inhabitants of Ambun are Badjows, and the country people or Dyaks of the interior are called +Dusuns, or villagers. I saw many of them, and they appeared a gentle mild race, and far less warlike by account than our Dyaks. +They are not tattooed, and the sumpitan is unknown amongst them. Leaving Ambun, which is situated in a pretty bay, we proceeded +to Tampasuk, a considerable town, inhabited by Illanuns and Badjows. This is a piractical town; and I was informed by an Arab +in captivity there that scarcely a week passes without strife and contention amongst themselves. There likewise I received +information respecting the Balagnini, the great pirates of these seas. They are represented as in habiting numerous small +islands in the vicinity of Sooloo: their origin is Badjow. I apprehend there would be little difficulty in breaking their +power, and curing the propensity to piracy. + +</p> +<p>“This cruise being over, I established myself quietly at Sarāwak. The country is peaceable; trade flourishes; the Dyaks are +content; the Malays greatly increased in number—in short, all goes well. I received a visit from Lingire, a Dyak chief of +Sarebus. At <a id="d0e4024"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4024">292</a>]</span>first he was shy and somewhat suspicions; but a little attention soon put him at his ease. He is an intelligent man; and I +hail with pleasure his advent to Sarāwak, as the dawn of a friendship with the two pirate tribes. It is not alone for the +benefit of these tribes that I desire to cultivate their friendship, but for the greater object of penetrating the interior +through their means. There are no Malays there to impede our progress by their lies and their intrigues; and, God willing, +these rivers shall be the great arteries by which civilization shall be circulated to the heart of Borneo. + +</p> +<p>“<i>14th.</i>—The Dyaks of Tumma, a runaway tribe from Sadong, came down last night, as Bandar Cassim of Sadong wishes still to extract +property from them. Bandar Cassim I believe to be a weak man, swayed by stronger-headed and worse rascals; but, now that Seriff +Sahib and Muda Hassim are no longer in the country, he retains no excuse for oppressing the poor Dyaks. Si Nankan and Tumma +have already flown, and most of the other tribes are ready to follow their example, and take refuge in Sarāwak. I have fully +explained to the Bandar that he will lose all his Dyaks if he continues his system of oppression, and more especially if he +continues to resort to that most hateful system of seizing the women and children. + +</p> +<p>“I had a large assembly of natives, Malay and Dyaks, and held forth many good maxims to them. At present, in Sarāwak, we have +Balows and Sarebus, mortal enemies; Lenaar, our extreme tribe, and our new Sadong tribe of Tumma. Lately we had Kantoss, from +near Sarambow, in the interior of Pontiana; Undops, from that river; and Badjows, from near Lantang—tribes which had never +thought of Sarāwak before, and perhaps never heard the name. Oh, for power to pursue the course pointed out! + +</p> +<p>“<i>16th.</i>—The Julia arrived, much to my relief; and Mr. Low, a botanist and naturalist, arrived in her. He will be a great acquisition +to our society, if devoted to these pursuits. The same day that the Julia entered, the Ariel left the river. I dismissed the +Tumma Dyaks; re-warned Bandar Cassim of the consequences of his oppression; and had a parting interview with <a id="d0e4038"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4038">293</a>]</span>Lingire. I had another long talk with Lingire, and did him honor by presenting him with a spear and flag, for I believe he +is true, and will be useful; and this Orang Kaya Pa-muncha, the most powerful of these Dyaks, must be mine. Lingire described +to me a great fight he once had with the Kayans, on which occasion he got ninety-one heads, and forced a large body of them +to retire with inferior numbers. I asked him whether the Kayans used the sumpitan? he answered, ‘Yes.’ ‘Did many of your men +die from the wounds?’ ‘No; we can cure them.’ This is one more proof in favor of Mr. Crawfurdʼs opinion that this poison is +not sufficiently virulent to destroy life when the arrow is (as it mostly is) plucked instantly from the wound. + +</p> +<p>“<i>26th.</i>—Linn, a Sakarran chief, arrived, deputed (as he asserted, and I believe truly) by the other chiefs of Sakarran to assure +me of their submission and desire for peace. He likewise stated, that false rumors spread by the Malays agitated the Dyaks; +and the principal rumor was, that they would be shortly attacked again by the white men. These rumors are spread by the Sariki +people, to induce the Sakarrans to quit their river and take refuge in the interior of the Rejong; and once there, the Sakarrans +would be in a very great measure at the mercy of the Sariki people. This is a perfect instance of Malay dealing with the Dyaks; +but in this case it has failed, as the Sakarrans are too much attached to their country to quit it. I am inclined to believe +their professions; and at any rate it is convenient to do so and to give them a fair trial. + +</p> +<p>“<i>28th.</i>—How is it to be accounted for, that the Malays have so bad a character with the public, and yet that the few who have had +opportunities of knowing them well speak of them as a simple and not unamiable people? With the vulgar, the idea of a Malay—and +by the Malay they mean the entire Polynesian race, with the exception of the Javanese—is that of a treacherous, blood-thirsty +villain; and I believe the reason to be, that from our first intercourse to the present time, it is the Pangerans or rajahs +of the country, with their followers, who are made the standard of Malay character. These rajahs, born in the purple; bred +amid slaves and fighting-cocks, <a id="d0e4050"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4050">294</a>]</span>inheriting an undisputed power over their subjects, and under all circumstances, whether of riches or poverty, receiving the +abject submission of those around their persons, are naturally the slaves of their passions—haughty, rapacious, vindictive, +weak, and tenacious unto death of the paltry punctilio of their court The followers of such rajahs it is needless to describe; +they are the tools of the rajahʼs will, and more readily disposed for evil than for good; unscrupulous, cunning, intriguing, +they are prepared for any act of violence. We must next contrast these with a burly, independent trader, eager after gain; +probably not over-scrupulous about the means of obtaining it, ignorant of native character, and heedless of native customs +and native etiquet. The result of such a combination of ingredients causes an explosion on the slightest occasion. The European +is loud, contemptuous, and abusive; the Malay cool and vindictive. The regal dignity has been insulted; the rajah has received +‘shame’ before his court; evil counselors are at hand to whisper the facility of revenge, and the advantages to be derived +from it. The consequence too frequently follows—the captain and crew are krissed, and their vessel seized and appropriated. +The repeated tragedy shocks the European mind; and the Malay has received, and continues to this day to receive, a character +for treachery and bloodthirstiness. Even in these common cases an allowance must be made for the insults received, which doubtless +on numerous occasions were very gross, and such flagrant violations of native customs as to merit death in native eyes; and +we must bear in mind, that we never hear but one side of the tale, or only judge upon a bloody fact. It is from such samples +of Malays that the general character is given by those who have only the limited means of trade for forming a judgment; but +those who have known the people of the interior and lived among them, far removed from the influence of their rajahs, have +given them a very different character. Simple in their habits, they are neither treacherous nor bloodthirsty; cheerful, polite, +hospitable, gentle in their manners, they live in communities with fewer crimes and fewer punishments than most other people +of the globe. They are passionately <a id="d0e4052"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4052">295</a>]</span>fond of their children, and indulgent even to a fault; and the ties of family relationship and good feeling continue in force +for several generations. The feeling of the Malay, fostered by education, is acute, and his passions are roused if shame be +put upon him; indeed, this dread of shame amounts to a disease; and the evil is, that it has taken a wrong direction, being +more the dread of exposure or abuse, than shame or contrition for any offence. + +</p> +<p>“I have always found them good-tempered and obliging, wonderfully amenable to authority, and quite as sensible of benefits +conferred, and as grateful, as other people of more favored countries. Of course there is a reverse to this picture. The worst +feature of the Malay character is the want of all candor or openness, and the restless spirit of cunning intrigue which animates +them, from the highest to the lowest. Like other Asiatics, truth is a rare quality among them. They are superstitious, somewhat +inclined to deceit in the ordinary concerns of life, and they have neither principle nor conscience when they have the means +of oppressing an infidel, and a Dyak who is their inferior in civilization and intellect. + +</p> +<p>“If this character of the Malay be summed up, it will be anything but a bad one on the whole; it will present a striking contrast +to the conduct and character of the rajahs and their followers, and I think will convince any impartial inquirer, that it +is easily susceptible of improvement. One of the most fertile sources of confusion is, classing at one time all the various +nations of the Archipelago under the general name of Malay, and at another restricting the same term to one people, not more +ancient, not the fountain-head of the others, who issued from the center of Sumatra, and spread themselves in a few parts +of the Archipelago. + +</p> +<p>“The French, the German, the English, Scotch, and Irish are not more different in national character than the Malay, the Javanese, +the Bugis, the Illanun, and the Dyak; and yet all these are indiscriminately called Malay, and a common character bestowed +upon them. It would be as wise and as sensible to speak of a European character. +<a id="d0e4060"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4060">296</a>]</span></p> +<p>“<i>31st.</i>—Started on a short excursion up the country, and slept at Siniawan. Here I found a young Pangeran (who came from Sambas with +Mr. Hupé, a German missionary) enchained in the delights of opium. He left Sarāwak for Sambas two months since, proceeded +five hoursʼ journey, and has since been smoking the drug and sleeping alternately. His life passes thus: between four and +five he wakes, yawns, and smokes a pipe or two, which fits him for the labors of taking his guitar and playing for an hour. +Then follows a slightly tasted meal, a pipe or two succeeds, and content and merriment for another hour or two. About eight +oʼclock the gentleman reclines, and pipe succeeds pipe till, toward daylight, he sinks intoxicated and stupid on his pillow, +to wake up again in due course to play again the same part. Poor wretch! two months of this life of dissipation have reduced +him to a shadow—two more months will consign him to his grave. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Feb. 1st.</i>—Started after breakfast, and paddled against a strong current past Tundong, and, some distance above, left the main stream +and entered the branch to the right, which is narrower, and rendered difficult of navigation by the number of fallen trees +which block up the bed, and which sometimes obliged us to quit our boat, and remove all the kajang covers, so as to enable +us to haul the boat under the huge trunks. The main stream was rapid and turbid, swollen by a fresh, and its increase of volume +blocked up the waters of the tributary, so as to render the current inconsiderable. The Dyaks have thrown several bridges +across the rivers, which they effect with great ingenuity; but I was surprised on one of these bridges to observe the traces +of the severe flood which we had about a fortnight since. The water on that occasion must have risen twenty feet perpendicularly, +and many of the trees evidently but recently fallen, are the effects of its might. The walk to Rāt, or Ra-at, is about two +miles along a decent path. Nothing can be more picturesque than the hill and the village. The former is a huge lump (I think +of granite), almost inaccessible, with bold bare sides, rising out of a rich vegetation at the base, and crowned with trees. +The height is about 500 feet; and about a hundred feet <a id="d0e4071"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4071">297</a>]</span>lower is a shoulder of the hill on which stands the eagle-nest-like village of Ra-at, the ascent to which is like climbing +by a ladder up the side of a house. This is one of the dwelling-places of the Sow Dyaks, a numerous but dispersed tribe. Their +chief, or Orang Kaya, is an imbecile old man, and the virtual headship is in the hands of Nimok, of whom more hereafter. Our +friends seemed pleased to see us, and Nimok apologized for so few of his people being present, as the harvest was approaching; +but being anxious to give a feast on the occasion of my first visit to their tribe, it was arranged that to-morrow I should +shoot deer, and the day following return to the mountain. The views on either side from the village are beautiful—one view +enchanting from its variety and depth, more especially when lighted up by the gleam of a showery sunshine, as I first saw +it. Soon, however, after our arrival, the prospect was shut out by clouds, and a soaking rain descended, which lasted for +the greater part of the night. + +</p> +<p>“<i>2d.</i>—Started after breakfast, and after a quiet walk of about three hours through a pleasant country of alternate hill and valley, +we saw the valley of Nawang below us. Nawang is the property of the Singè Dyaks, and is cultivated by poor families, at the +head of which is Niarak. The house contained three families, and our party was distributed among them, ourselves, i. e. Low, +Crookshank, and myself, occupying one small apartment with a man, his wife, and daughter. The valley presented one of the +most charming scenes to be imagined—a clearing amid hills of moderate elevation, with the distant mountains in the background; +a small stream ran through it, which, being damned in several places, enables the cultivator to flood his padi-fields. The +padi looked beautifully green. A few palms and plantains fringed the farm at intervals, while the surrounding hills were clothed +in their native jungle. Here and there a few workmen in the fields heightened the effect; and the scene, as evening closed, +was one of calm repose, and, I may say, of peace. The cocoa-nut, the betel, the sago, and the gno or gomati, are the four +favorite palms of the Dyaks. In their simple mode of life, these four trees supply them many necessaries and luxuries. The +sago furnishes <a id="d0e4078"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4078">298</a>]</span>food; and after the pith has been extracted, the outer part forms a rough covering for the rougher floor, on which the farmer +sleeps. The leaf of the sago is preferable for the roofing of houses to the nibong. The gomati, or gno, gives the black fibre +which enables the owner to manufacture rope or cord for his own use; and over and above, the toddy of this palm is a luxury +daily enjoyed. When we entered, this toddy was produced in large bamboos, both for our use and that of our attendant Dyaks; +I thought it, however, very bad. In the evening we were out looking for deer, and passed many a pleasant spot which once was +a farm, and which will become a farm again. These the Dyaks called rapack, and they are the favorite feeding-grounds of the +deer. To our disappointment we did not get a deer, which we had reckoned on as an improvement to our ordinary dinner-fare. +A sound sleep soon descended on our party, and the night passed in quiet; but it is remarkable how vigilant their mode of +life renders the Dyaks. Their sleep is short and interrupted; they constantly rise, blow up the fire, and look out on the +night: it is rarely that some or other of them are not on the move. + +</p> +<p>“Yearly the Dyaks take new ground for their farm; yearly they fence it in, and undergo the labor of reclaiming new land; for +seven years the land lies fallow, and then may be used again. What a waste of labor! more especially in these rich and watered +valleys, which, in the hands of the Chinese, might produce two crops yearly. + +</p> +<p>“<i>3d.</i>—Took leave of this pleasant valley, and by another and shorter road than we came reached Ra-at. We arrived in good time on +the hill, and found everything prepared for a feast. There was nothing new in this feast. A fowl was killed with the usual +ceremony; afterward a hog. The hog is paid for by the company at a price commensurate with its size: a split bamboo is passed +round the largest part of the body, and knots tied on it at given distances; and according to the number of these knots are +the number of pasus or padi for the price. + +</p> +<p>“Our host of Nawang, Niarak, arrived to this feast <a id="d0e4089"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4089">299</a>]</span>with a plentiful supply of toddy; and before the dance commenced, we were requested to take our seats. The circumstances of +the tribe, and the ability of Nimok, rendered this ceremony interesting to me. The Sow tribe has long been split into four +parties, residing at different places. Gunong Sow, the original locality, was attacked by the Sakarran Dyaks, and thence Nimok +and his party retired to Ra-at. A second smaller party subsequently located at or near Bow, as being preferable; while the +older divisions of Jaguen and Ahuss lived at the places so named. Nimokʼs great desire was to gather together his scattered +tribe, and to become <i>de facto</i> its head. My presence and the Datusʼ was a good opportunity for gathering the tribe; and Nimok hoped to give them the impression +that we countenanced his proposition. The dances over, Nimok pronounced an oration: he dwelt on the advantages of union; how +desirous he was to benefit his tribe; how constantly it was his custom to visit Sarāwak in order to watch over the interests +of the tribe—the trouble was his, the advantage theirs; but how, without union, could they hope to gain any advantage—whether +the return of their remaining captive women, or any other? He proposed this union; and that, after the padi was ripe, they +should all live at Ra-at, where, as a body, they were always ready to obey the commands of the Tuan Besar or the Datu. + +</p> +<p>“This was the substance of Nimokʼs speech. But the effect of his oratory was not great; for the Bow, and other portions of +the tribe, heard coldly his proposition, though they only opposed it in a few words. It was evident they had no orator at +all a match for Nimok: a few words from Niana drew forth a second oration. He glanced at their former state; he spoke with +animation of their enemies, and dwelt on their great misfortune at Sow; he attacked the Singè as the cause of these misfortunes: +and spoke long and eloquently of things past, of things present, and things to come. He was seated the whole time; his voice +varied with his subject, and was sweet and expressive; his action was always moderate, principally laying down the law with +his finger on the mats. Niarak, our Singè friend, attempted a defence of his tribe; but he had <a id="d0e4096"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4096">300</a>]</span>drunk too freely of his own arrack; and his speech was received with much laughter, in which he joined. At this juncture I +retired, after saying a few words; but the talk was kept up for several hours after, amid feasting and drinking. + +</p> +<p>“<i>4th.</i>—After breakfast, walked to our boats, and at six P.M. reached home, just in time; weather very rainy. + +</p> +<p>“<i>10th.</i>—Nothing to remark in these days, except the ordinary course of business and of life. + +</p> +<p>“<i>13th.</i>—The Tumangong returned from Sadong, and brought me a far better account of that place than I had hoped for. It appears that +they really are desirous to govern well, and to protect the Dyaks; and fully impressed with the caution I gave them, that +unless they protect and foster their tribes, they will soon lose them from their removal to Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p>“One large tribe, the Maluku, a branch of the Sibnowans, are, it appears, very desirous of being under my protection. It is +a tempting offer, and I should like to have them; but I must not deprive the rulers of Sadong of the means of living comfortably, +and the power of paying revenue. Protect them I both can and will. There are great numbers of Sarāwak people at Sadong, all +looking out for birdsʼ-nests; new caves have been explored; mountains ascended for the first time in the search. It shows +the progress of good government and security, and, at the same time, is characteristic of the Malay character. They will endure +fatigue, and run risks, on the chance of finding this valuable commodity; but they will not labor steadily, or engage in pursuits +which would lead to fortune by a slow progress. + +</p> +<p>“<i>15th.</i>—Panglima Laksa, the chief of the Undop tribe, arrived, to request, as the Badjows and Sakarrans had recently killed his people, +that I would permit him to retort. At the same time came Abong Kapi, the Sakarran Malay, with eight Sakarran chiefs, named +Si Miow, one of the heads, and the rest Tadong, Lengang, Barunda, Badendang, Si Bunie, Si Ludum, and Kuno, the representatives +of other heads. Nothing could be more satisfactory than the interview, just over. They denied any knowledge or connection +with the Badjows, <a id="d0e4120"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4120">301</a>]</span>who had killed some Dyaks at Undop, and said all that I could desire. They promised to obey me, and look upon me as their +chief: they desired to trade, and would guaranty any Sarāwak people who came to their river; but they could not answer for +all the Dyaks in the Batang Lupar. It is well known, however, that the Batang Lupar Dyaks are more peaceable than those of +Sakarran, and will be easily managed; and as for the breaking out of these old feuds, it is comparatively of slight importance, +compared to the grand settlement; for as our influence increases we can easily put down the separate sticks of the bundle. +There is a noble chance, if properly used! It may be remarked that many of their names are from some peculiarity of person, +or from some quality. Tadong is a poisonous snake; but, on inquiry, I found the young chief so named had got the name from +being black. They are certainly a fine-looking race. + +</p> +<p>“<i>17th.</i>—Plenty of conferences with the <span id="d0e4127" class="corr" title="Source: Sakaraan">Sakarran</span> chiefs; and, as far as I can judge, they are sincere in the main, though some reserves there may be. Treachery I do not apprehend +from them; but, of course, it will be impossible, over a very numerous, powerful, and warlike tribe, to gain such an ascendency +of a sudden as at once to correct their evil habits.” + +</p> +<p>Here again Mr. Brooke appears to have been placed on the horns of a dilemma by his ignorance of the views of the British Government. +Had his position in Borneo been certain—had he either been supported or deserted—his path of policy would have been clear; +whereas he evidently did not know what the morrow would bring forth; whether it would find him with an English force at his +back, or abandoned to his own resources. + + +<a id="d0e4132"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4132">302</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e4133" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XXI.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Mr. Brookeʼs memorandum on the piracy of the Malayan Archipelago.—The measures requisite for its suppression, and for the +consequent extension of British commerce in that important locality. +</p> +</div> +<p>I cannot afford my readers a more accurate idea of the present state of piracy in the Malayan Archipelago, of the best mode +of suppressing it, and of the vast field which the island of Borneo offers for the extension of British commerce, than by +quoting a few of Mr. Brookeʼs observations on these important subjects, written before the operations of the squadron under +command of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane took place, of which an account will be given in <a href="#d0e4248">Chapter XXII</a>. With reference to the first topic, piracy, Mr. Brooke remarks:— + +</p> +<p>“The piracy of the Eastern Archipelago is entirely distinct from piracy in the Western world; for, from the condition of the +various governments, the facilities offered by natural situation, and the total absence of all restraint from European nations, +the pirate communities have attained an importance on the coasts and islands most removed from foreign settlements. Thence +they issue forth and commit depredations on the native trade, enslave the inhabitants at the entrance of rivers, and attack +ill-armed or stranded European vessels; and roving from place to place, they find markets for their slaves and plunder. + +</p> +<p>“The old-established Malay governments (such as Borneo and Sooloo), weak and distracted, are, probably without exception, +participators in or victims to piracy; and in many cases both—purchasing from one set of pirates, and enslaved and plundered +by another; and while their dependencies are abandoned, the unprotected trade languishes from the natural dread of the better-disposed +natives to undertake a coasting voyage. + +</p> +<p>“It is needless to dwell upon the evil effects of piracy; but before venturing an opinion on the most effectual means of suppression, +I propose briefly to give an account of such pirate communities as I am acquainted with. +<a id="d0e4150"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4150">303</a>]</span></p> +<p>“The pirates on the coast of Borneo may be classed into those who make long voyages in large heavy-armed prahus, such as the +Illanuns, Balignini, &c., and the lighter Dyak fleets, which make short but destructive excursions in swift prahus, and seek +to surprise rather than openly to attack their prey. A third, and probably the worst class, are usually half-bred Arab seriffs, +who, possessing themselves of the territory of some Malay state, form a nucleus for piracy, a rendezvous and market for all +the roving fleets; and although occasionally sending out their own followers, they more frequently seek profit by making advances, +in food, arms, and gunpowder, to all who will agree to repay them at an exorbitant rate in slaves. + +</p> +<p>“The Dyaks of Sarebus and Sakarran were under the influence of two Arab seriffs, who employed them on piratical excursions, +and shared in equal parts the plunder obtained. I had once the opportunity of counting ninety-eight boats about to start on +a cruise; and reckoning the crew of each boat at the moderate average of twenty-five men, it gives a body of 2450 men on a +piratical excursion. The piracies of these Arab seriffs and their Dyaks were so notorious, that it is needless to detail them +here; but one curious feature, which throws a light on the state of society, I cannot forbear mentioning. On all occasions +of a Dyak fleet being about to make a piratical excursion, a gong was beat round the town ordering a particular number of +Malays to embark; and in case any one failed to obey, he was fined the sum of thirty rupees by the seriff of the place. + +</p> +<p>“The blow struck by Captain Keppel of her majestyʼs ship Dido on these two communities was so decisive as to have put an entire +end to their piracies; the leaders Seriff Sahib and Seriff Muller have fled, the Malay population has been dispersed, and +the Dyaks so far humbled, as to sue for protection; and in future, by substituting local Malay rulers of good character in +lieu of the piratical seriffs, a check will be placed on the Dyaks, and they may be broken of their piratical habits, in as +far as interferes with the trade of the coast. + +</p> +<p>“The next pirate horde we meet with is a mixed <a id="d0e4159"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4159">304</a>]</span>community of Illanuns and Badjows (or sea-gipsys) located at Tampasuk, a few miles up a small river; they are not formidable +in number, and their depredations are chiefly committed on the Spanish territory; their market, until recently, being Bruni, +or Borneo Proper. They might readily be dispersed and driven back to their own country; and the Dusuns, or villagers (as the +name signifies), might be protected and encouraged. Seriff Houseman, a half-bred Arab, is located in Malludu Bay, and has, +by account, from fifteen hundred to two thousand men with him. He is beyond doubt a pirate direct and indirect, and occasionally +commands excursions in person, or employs the Illanuns of Tampasuk, and others to the eastward, who for their own convenience +make common cause with him. He has no pretension to the territory he occupies; and the authority he exerts (by means of his +piratical force) over the interior tribes in his vicinity, and on the island of Palawan, is of the worst and most oppressive +description. This seriff has probably never come in contact with any Europeans, and consequently openly professes to hold +their power in scorn. + +</p> +<p>“To my own knowledge Seriff Houseman seized and sold into slavery a boatʼs crew (about twenty men) of the Sultana, a merchant +ship, which was burned in the Palawan passage. Within the last few months he has plundered and burned a European vessel stranded +near the Mangsi Isles; and to show his entire independence of control, his contempt for European power, and his determination +to continue in his present course, he has threatened to attack the city of Bruni, in consequence of the Bruni government having +entered into a treaty with her majestyʼs government for the discouragement and suppression of piracy. This fact speaks volumes; +an old-established and recognized Malay government is to be attacked by a lawless adventurer, who has seized on a portion +of its territory, and lives by piracy, for venturing to treat with a foreign power for the best purposes. If any further proof +of piracy were requisite, it would readily be established by numerous witnesses (themselves the victims), and by the most +solemn declaration of the Bruni authorities, that peaceful traders <a id="d0e4163"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4163">305</a>]</span>on the high seas have been stopped by the prahus of this seriff and his allies, their vessel seized, their property plundered, +and their persons enslaved; numerous witnesses could attest their having been reduced to slavery and detained in the very +household of Seriff Houseman! When, however, the facts of his having sold into slavery the crew of a British vessel (which +has been established before the Singapore authorities) come to be known, I conceive every other proof of the character of +this person is completely superfluous. + +</p> +<p>“The indirect piracy of Seriff Houseman is even more mischievous than what is directly committed; for he supplies the Balagnini +(a restless piratical tribe, hereafter to be mentioned) with food, powder, arms, salt, &c. under the agreement that they pay +him on their return from the cruise, at the rate of five slaves for every 100 rupeesʼ worth of goods. The Balagnini are in +consequence enabled, through his assistance, to pirate effectively, which otherwise they would not be able to do; as, from +their locality, they would find it difficult to obtain fire-arms and gunpowder. The most detestable part of this traffic, +however, is Seriff Houseman selling, in cold blood, such of these slaves as are Borneons, to Pangeran Usop, of Bruni, for +100 rupees for each slave, and Pangeran Usop re-selling each for 200 rupees to their relations in Bruni. Thus, this vile seriff +(without taking into account the enormous prices charged for his goods in the first instance) gains 500 per cent for every +slave, and Pangeran Usop clears 100 per cent on the flesh of his own countrymen, thereby <i>de facto</i> becoming a party to piracy, though doubtless veiled under the guise of compassion. + +</p> +<p>“More might be added on the subject of the piracies committed by this seriff; and it could easily be shown that the evils +accruing from them affect, not only the peaceful trader, but extend to the peaceful agriculturist; but, for the sake of brevity, +I deem it sufficient to add, that he exercises the same malign influence on the north coast as Seriff Sahib exercised on the +northwest; and that, having surrounded himself by a body of pirates, he arrogates the rights of sovereignty, defies European +power, contemns every right principle, and threatens <a id="d0e4172"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4172">306</a>]</span>the recognized and legitimate governments of the Archipelago. + +</p> +<p>“The Balagnini inhabit a cluster of small islands somewhere in the vicinity of Sooloo; they are of the Badjow or sea-gipsy +tribe, a wandering race, whose original country has never been ascertained. At present, as far as I can learn, they are not +dependent on Sooloo, though it is probable they may be encouraged by some of the rajahs of that place, and that they find +a slave market there. + +</p> +<p>“The Balagnini cruise in large prahus, and to each prahu a fleet sampan is attached, which, on occasion, can carry from ten +to fifteen men. They seldom carry large guns, like the Illanuns, but in addition to their other arms, big lelas (brass pieces, +carrying from a one to a three pound ball), spears, swords, &c. They use long poles with barbed iron points, with which, during +an engagement or flight, they hook their prey. By means of the fleet sampans already mentioned, they are able to capture all +small boats; and it is a favorite device with them to disguise one or two men, while the rest lie concealed in the bottom +of the boat, and thus to surprise prahus at sea, and fishermen or others at the mouths of rivers. By being disguised as Chinese +they have carried off numbers of that nation from the Sambas and Pontiana rivers. The cruising-grounds of these pirates are +very extensive; they frequently make the circuit of Borneo, proceed as far as the south of Celebes, and in the other direction +have been met off Tringanu, Calantan, and Patani. Gillolo and the Moluccas lie within easy range, and it is probable that +Papua is occasionally visited by them. It will readily be conceived how harassing to trade must be the continued depredations +of the Balagnini pirates, and more especially to the trade of Bruni, which seems, from the unwarlike habits of the natives, +the chosen field of their operations. The number of Borneons yearly taken into slavery is very considerable, as a fleet of +six or eight boats usually hangs about the island of Labuan, to cut off the trade, and to catch the inhabitants of the city. +The Borneons, from being so harassed by these pirates, call the easterly wind ‘the pirate wind.’ The <a id="d0e4178"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4178">307</a>]</span>Balagnini commence cruising on the northwest coast about the middle of March, and return, or remove to the eastern side of +the island, about the end of November. + +</p> +<p>“Of Magindano, or Mindanao, we are at the present time very ignorant; but we know that the inhabitants are warlike and numerous, +and that that part of the island called Illanun Bay sends forth the most daring pirates of the Archipelago. The first step +requisite is to gain more information concerning them, to form an acquaintance with some of their better-disposed chiefs, +and subsequently we might act against them with a suitable force; but it would be rash and premature, in the present state +of our knowledge, to come in contact with them in their own country. On one occasion I met eighteen Illanun boats on neutral +ground, and learned from their two chiefs that they had been two years absent from home; and from the Papuan negro-slaves +on board it was evident that their cruise had extended from the most eastern islands of the Archipelago to the north-western +coast of Borneo. + +</p> +<p>“Having now enumerated the pirates I have become acquainted with since my residence in Sarāwak, I shall proceed to offer an +opinion of the best mode for the suppression of piracy in these seas. + +</p> +<p>“In the first place, a blow should be struck at the piratical communities with which we are already acquainted, and struck +with a force which should convince all other pirates of the hopelessness of resistance; subsequently the recognized Malay +governments may be detached from all communication with pirates; and, joining conciliation with punishment, laying down the +broad distinction of piracy and no piracy, we may foster those who abandon their evil habits, and punish those who adhere +to them. + +</p> +<p>“A system of supervision will, however, be necessary to carry out these measures: our knowledge of the native states must +be improved; and as we become able to discriminate between the good and the bad, our sphere of action may be enlarged, and +we may act with decision against all descriptions of pirates; against the indirect as well as the direct pirate; against the +receiver of <a id="d0e4188"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4188">308</a>]</span>stolen goods as well as the thief; and against the promoter as well as the actual perpetrator of piracy. + +</p> +<p>“I would especially urge that, to eradicate the evil, the pirate-haunts must be burned and destroyed, and the communities +dispersed; for merely to cruise against pirate-prahus, and to forbear attacking them until we see them commit a piracy, is +a hopeless and an endless task, harassing to our men, and can be attended with but very partial and occasional success; whereas, +on the contrary principle, what pirate would venture to pursue his vocation if his home be endangered—if he be made to feel +in his own person the very ills he inflicts upon others? + +</p> +<p>“A question may arise as to what constitutes piracy; and whether, in our efforts to suppress it, we may not be interfering +with the right of native states to war one upon another. On the first point, it appears clear to me, that the plunder or seizure +of a peaceful and lawful trader on the high seas constitutes an act of piracy, without any reference to the nation or color +of the injured party; for if we limit our construction of piracy, we shall, in most cases, be in want of sufficient evidence +to convict, and the whole native trade of the Archipelago will be left at the mercy of pirates, much to the injury of our +own commerce and of our settlement of Singapore. + +</p> +<p>“On the second point, we can only concede the right of war to recognized states; and even then we must carefully avoid introducing +the refinements of European international law among a rude and semi-civilized people, who will make our delicacy a cloak for +crime, and declare war merely for the sake of committing piracy with impunity. On the contrary, all chiefs who have seized +on territory and arrogate independence (making this independence a plea for piracy) can never be allowed the right of declaring +war, or entering on hostilities with their neighbors; for, as I have before remarked, all native trade must in that case be +at an end, as the piratical chiefs, no longer in dread of punishment from European powers, would doubtless declare war against +every unwarlike native state which they did not need as a market for the sale of their slaves and plunder. +<a id="d0e4196"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4196">309</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Practically acting, however, on the broad principle, that the seizure of any lawful trader constitutes piracy, I consider +no injustice could be done to the native states, and no interference occur with their acknowledged rights; for in practice +it would be easy to discriminate a war between native nations from the piracies of lawless hordes of men; and without some +such general principle, no executive officer could act with the requisite decision and promptitude to insure the eradication +of this great evil. + +</p> +<p>“With a post such as is proposed to be established, our measures for the suppression of piracy (after the punishment of Seriff +Houseman and the Balagnini) would advance step by step, as our knowledge increased, and with alternate conciliation and severity, +as the case might require. By detaching the recognised governments from the practice, and gradually forming among the chief +men a friendly and English party opposed to piracy, we should, I doubt not, speedily obtain our principal object of clearing +the sea of marauders, and ultimately correct the natural propensity of the natives for piracy. + +</p> +<p>“In order to extend our commerce in these seas generally, and more particularly on the N.W. coast of Borneo, it is requisite, +1st, that piracy be suppressed; 2dly, that the native governments be settled, so as to afford protection to the poorer and +producing classes; and, 3dly, that our knowledge of the interior should be extended, and our intercourse with the various +tribes more frequent. + +</p> +<p>“That our commerce may be largely extended is so clear that I shall not stop to detail the productions of the island of Borneo, +as it will suffice here to state generally that all authorities agree in representing it as one of the richest portions of +the globe, and in climate, soil, and mineral and vegetable productions, inferior to no portion of the same extent. + +</p> +<p>“If these opinions be true—and from my experience I believe them to be so—it follows that the materials for an extensive and +extended trade exist, and only require development, while a numerous and industrious, though wild population, which inhabits +the interior, is debarred <a id="d0e4207"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4207">310</a>]</span>from all intercourse with Europeans from the badness of Malay government. + +</p> +<p>“On the first requisite for the development of commerce I need add nothing further, as it is a duty incumbent on all governments +to eradicate piracy at any cost; and in the present case it would not be found a difficult or tedious task. + +</p> +<p>“A post like Labuan or Balambangan would, beyond doubt, give an impetus to trade, merely from the freedom from all restrictions, +and the absence of all exactions, which the natives would enjoy; and (piracy being checked) countries which now lie fallow +would, from their proximity, be induced to bring their produce into market. + +</p> +<p>“This limited extension is, however, of little moment when compared with the results which must attend our exerting a beneficial +influence over the native governments for the purposes of affording protection to the poorer classes, insuring safety to the +trader, and opening a field for the planter or the miner. + +</p> +<p>“The slightest acquaintance with the northwest coast of Borneo would convince any observer of the ease with which these objects +might be effected; for the native government, being in a state of decadence, requires protection, and would willingly act +justly toward traders and capitalists, and encourage their enterprises, in order to continue on friendly terms with any European +power located in their vicinity. The numerous rivers on the coast, with their local rulers, are harassed by the demands of +every petty Pangeran; and while the sovereign is defrauded of his revenue, which the people would cheerfully pay, and his +territory ruined, this host of useless retainers (acting always in his name) gain but very slight personal profits to counterbalance +all the mischief they do. + +</p> +<p>“The principal feature is the weakness of the governments, both of the capital and its dependencies; and in consequence of +this weakness there is a strong desire for European protection, for European enterprise, and for any change effected by Europeans. +Supposing Labuan to be taken as a naval post, I consider that European capital might with safety be employed in Bruni. +<a id="d0e4219"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4219">311</a>]</span></p> +<p>“In the rivers contiguous to Sarāwak the presence of Europeans would be hailed with joy, not only by the Dyaks, but by the +Malays; and subsequently it would depend on their own conduct to what degree they retained the good-will of the natives; but +with ordinary conciliation, and a decent moral restraint on their actions, I feel assured that their persons and property +would be safe, and no obstruction offered to fair trade or to mining operations. + +</p> +<p>“Supposing, as I have before said, the occupation of Labuan by the English, our influence over the government of Bruni would +be complete; and one of our principal objects would be to maintain this ascendency, as a means of extending our trade. + +</p> +<p>“Our position at Labuan would, it must be borne in mind, differ from the position we occupied in relation to the native princes +in Singapore. In the latter case, the native princes were without means, without followers, and with a paltry and useless +territory, and became our pensioners. In the case of Labuan, we shall have an acknowledged independent state in our vicinity; +and for the prosperity of our settlement we must retain our ascendency by the support of the government of Muda Hassim. Let +our influence be of the mildest kind; let us, by supporting the legitimate government, ameliorate the condition of the people +by this influence; let us pay every honor to the native princes; let us convince them of our entire freedom from all selfish +views of territorial aggrandizement on the mainland of Borneo, and we shall enjoy so entire a confidence that virtually the +coast will become our own without the trouble or expense of possession. I have impressed it on the Rajah Muda Hassim and Pangeran +Budrudeen, that the readiest and most direct way of obtaining revenues from their various possessions will be by commuting +all their demands for a stated yearly sum of money from each; and by this direct taxation, to which Muda Hassim and his brother +seem ready to accede, the system of fraud and exaction would be abolished, the native mind tranquillized, and the legitimate +government would become the protector rather than the oppressor of its dependencies. By this measure, likewise, a tone might +be imparted to the <a id="d0e4226"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4226">312</a>]</span>native chiefs and rulers of rivers, and the people at large taught to feel that, after the payment of a specified sum, a right +existed to resist all extra demands. Beside this, these rajahs are convinced that a certain yearly revenue is what they require, +and is the only means by which they can retain their independence; and I have impressed it on their minds that, to gain a +revenue, they must foster trade and protect Europeans in their dealings. + +</p> +<p>“If Labuan were English, and if the sea were clear of pirates, I see no obstacle to bringing these and other measures into +immediate operation; and I am assured we should have the sincere and hearty cooperation of the Borneon government. + +</p> +<p>“Since the advent of Europeans in the Archipelago, the tendency of the Polynesian governments generally has been to decay; +here the experiment may be fairly tried on the smallest scale of expense, whether a beneficial European influence may not +reanimate a falling state, and at the same time extend our own commerce. We are here devoid of the stimulus which has urged +us on to conquest in India. We incur no risk of the collision of the two races: we occupy a small station in the vicinity +of a friendly and unwarlike people; and we aim at the development of native countries through native agency. + +</p> +<p>“If this tendency to decay and extinction be inevitable; if this adaptation of European policy to a native state be found +unable to arrest the fall of the Borneon government, yet we shall retain a people already habituated to European manners, +industrious interior races, and at a future period, if deemed necessary, settlements gradually developed in a rich and fertile +country. We shall have a post in time of war highly advantageous as commanding a favorable position relative to China, we +shall extend our commerce, suppress piracy, and prevent the present and prospective advantages from falling into other hands; +and we shall do this at small expense. + +</p> +<p>“I own the native development through their own exertions is but a favorite theory; but whatever may be the fate of the government +of Borneo, the people will still remain; and if they be protected and enabled to live <a id="d0e4236"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4236">313</a>]</span>in quiet security, I cannot entertain a doubt of the countryʼs becoming a highly productive one, eminently calculated as a +field for British enterprise and capital. + +</p> +<p>“If the development of the resources of the country can be effected by its native rulers it will be a noble task performed; +but if it fail, the people of the coast will still advance and form governments for themselves under British influence. + +</p> +<p>“In concluding this hasty and general view of the subject, I may remark that commerce might be extended and capital laid out +on the northwest coast of Borneo, to an amount to which it is difficult to fix limits, as the country is capable of producing +most articles of commerce in demand from this quarter of the world, and the natives (who, as far as we know them, are an unwarlike, +mild, and industrious race) would receive our manufactures, from which they are now in a great measure debarred. I have not +alluded to any other countries of the Archipelago: for we must first become acquainted with them; we must become intimate, +cultivate an English party, and accustom them to our manners; and probably the same conciliatory policy, the same freedom +from design, which has succeeded in Borneo, will succeed elsewhere, if pushed with temper and patience. + +</p> +<p>“The general principle ought to be—to encourage established governments, such as those of Borneo and Sooloo, provided they +will with all sincerity abandon piracy, and assist in its suppression; but at the same time, by supervision to convince ourselves +of the fact, and keep them in the right path; for all treaties with these native states (and we have had several) are but +so much waste paper, unless we see them carried into execution. + +</p> +<p>“I have now only to mention the third means for the extension of commerce. Our intercourse with the natives of the interior +should be frequent and intimate: these people (beyond where I am acquainted with them) are represented as very numerous, hospitable, +and industrious; and a friendly intercourse would develop the resources of their country, draw its produce to our markets, +and give the natives a taste for British <a id="d0e4246"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4246">314</a>]</span>manufactures. This intercourse, however, must be prudently introduced and carefully advanced; for to bring these wild people +into contact with ignorant and arrogant Europeans would produce bloodshed and confusion in a month. In Borneo, it is an advantage +that the two races can not come in collision; for from its climate it precludes all idea of colonization; and that which is +next to an impossibility, the maintaining a good understanding between ignorant civilized men and ignorant savages. It is +a field for commerce and capital, but no violent change of native customs should be attempted; and in this way alone, by gradual +means, can we really benefit the natives and ourselves. When we consider the amount of produce obtained from the countries +of the Archipelago, and their consumption of British manufactures, under the worst forms of government, living in a state +of distraction and insecurity, and exposed to the depredations of pirates at sea, we may form some idea how vast may be the +increase, should peace and security be introduced among them; and judging of the future by the past—by the limited experiment +made at Sarāwak—we may hope that the task is neither so difficult nor so uncertain as was formerly supposed.” + + + + + +</p> +</div> +<div id="d0e4248" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XXII.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Arrival of Captain Bethune and Mr. Wise.—Mr. Brooke appointed her Majestyʼs Agent in Borneo.—Sails for Borneo Proper.—Muda +Hassimʼs measures for the suppression of piracy.—Defied by Seriff Houseman.—Audience of the Sultan, Muda Hassim, and the Pangerans.—Visit +to Labuan.—Comparative eligibility of Labuan and Balambangan for settlement.—Coal discovered in Labuan.—Mr. Brooke goes to +Singapore and visits Admiral Sir T. Cochrane.—The upas-tree.—Proceeds with the Admiral to Borneo Proper.—Punishment of Pangeran +Usop.—The battle of Malludu.—Seriff Houseman obliged to fly.—Visit to Balambangan.—Mr. Brooke parts with the Admiral, and +goes to Borneo Proper.—An attempt of Pangeran Usop defeated.—His flight, and pursuit by Pangeran Budrudeen.—Triumphant reception +of Mr. Brooke in Borneo.—Returns to Sarāwak. +</p> +</div> +<p>“<i>February 25th.</i>—Borneo River, H.M.S. Driver. Scarcely, on the 17th, had I finished writing, when a <a id="d0e4259"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4259">315</a>]</span>boat from her majestyʼs steamer Driver, bringing Captain Bethune and my friend Wise, arrived. How strange, the same day, and +almost the same hour, I was penning my doubts and difficulties, when a letter arrives from Lord Aberdeen appointing me confidential +agent in Borneo to her majesty, and directing me to proceed to the capital, with a letter addressed to the sultan and the +Rajah Muda Hassim, in reply to the documents requesting the assistance of the British government to effect the suppression +of piracy. + +</p> +<p>“My friend Wise I was glad to see, and a few hoursʼ conversation convinced me how greatly I have been indebted to his exertions +for success and my present position. His knowledge of trade, his cheerfulness regarding our pecuniary future, all impart confidence. +Thus I may say, without much self-flattery, that the first wedge has been driven which may rive Borneo open to commerce and +civilization, which may bestow happiness on its inhabitants. Captain Bethune is commissioned to report on the best locality +for a settlement or station on the N.W. coast. I will only say here that no other personʼs appointment would have pleased +me so well: he is intelligent, educated, and liberal, and in concert with him I am too happy to work. + +</p> +<p>“On the 18th of February the Driver arrived; on the 21st left Sarāwak, and at noon of the 24th arrived at the anchorage in +Borneo river, having towed the gun-boat against the N.E. monsoon. Mr. Williamson was dispatched to Borneo, and found all right. +They were delighted with our coming and our mission, and the sultan himself has laid aside his fears. A few presents have +been sent, which will delight the natives, and all will prosper. + +</p> +<p>“<i>26th.</i>—Budrudeen arrived, and from him I learned the politics of Borneo since my last visit, when Muda Hassim was reinstated in +authority. + +</p> +<p>“As my mission refers more especially to piracy, I may here notice Muda Hassimʼs measures relative to that subject. Shortly +after his arrival he addressed a letter to the Illanuns of Tampasuk, informing them of the engagement with the English to +discourage and suppress piracy, advising them to desist, and ordering them <a id="d0e4272"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4272">316</a>]</span>not to visit Borneo until he (Muda Hassim) was convinced they were pirates no longer. This is good and candid. Muda Hassim +at the same time requested Seriff Schaik to address a communication to Seriff Houseman of Malludu, acquainting him with his +engagements, and the resolve of the Europeans to suppress piracy, adding that he was friends with the English, and no man +could be friends with the English who encouraged piracy. The answer to this letter of Seriff Schaik, as far as I have yet +learned, is a positive defiance. Three months since, I am informed, a brig or schooner was wrecked at a place called Mangsi, +and she has been completely plundered and burned by Seriff Houseman: her cargo consisted of red woolens, fine white cloths, +Turkey red cotton handkerchiefs, tin, pepper, Malacca canes, ratans, &c., &c. This evidently is a vessel bound to China, whether +English or not is doubtful: the crew have not been heard of or seen here; and it is to be hoped may have reached Manilla. + +</p> +<p>“<i>28th.</i>—Borneo, or Bruni city. Left the Driver at 9 A.M. in the gun-boat, with the pinnace and cutter in company: a fine breeze carried +us to Pulo Chermin, and nearly the whole way to Pulo Combong, where we met with the state-boat bearing the letter. We entered +the town straggling, and <i>the letter</i> having been received with firing of guns, banners displayed, and all the respect due to a royal communication, we were dragged +in haste to the audience; the sultan on his throne, Muda Hassim and every principal Pangeran waiting for us—Pangeran Usop +to boot. The letter was read; twenty-one guns fired. I told them in all civility that I was deputed by her majesty the queen +to express her feelings of good will, and to offer every assistance in repressing piracy in these seas. The sultan stared. +Muda Hassim said, ‘We are greatly indebted; it is good, very good.’ Then, heated, and sunburned, and tired, we took leave, +and retired to the house prepared for us. + +</p> +<p>“<i>March, 1st.</i>—A long conference with Budrudeen, when, I believe, we exhausted all the important topics of Borneo politics: subsequently +we visited Muda Hassim and the sultan. The latter was profuse in his kind expressions, and inquired of the interpreter when +the <a id="d0e4287"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4287">317</a>]</span>English would come to Labuan, adding, ‘I want to have the Europeans near me.’ On this head, however, he gained no information. +The presents were given to the sultan and rajah. + +</p> +<p>“<i>5th.</i>—In the evening visited Muda Hassim, and heard news from Malludu, which, divested of exaggerations, amounted to this: that +Seriff Houseman was ready to receive us; was fortified, and had collected a fleet of boats; and that if the English did not +come and attack him, he would come and attack Borneo, because they were in treaty with Europeans. After leaving Muda Hassim, +paid the sultan a visit. + +</p> +<p>“<i>10th.</i>—I have nothing to say of our departure. Budrudeen accompanied us to the Mooarra, and thence, on Friday evening, we crossed +to the anchorage of Labuan. + +</p> +<p>“<i>12th.</i>—Labuan. An island of about fifty feet high; twenty-five miles in circumference; woody; timber good; water from wells and +a few small streams, which, after a drought, are dry; natives say water never fails. Anchorage good for the climate; well +protected from the N.E.; not extensive; situation of contemplated town low; climate healthy, <i>i.e.</i>, the same as Borneo; soil, as far as seen, sandy or light sandy loam. Coal found near the extreme N.E. point: by native reports +it is likewise to be found in many other places; traces of coal are frequent in the sandstone strata. Anchorage not difficult +of defense against a European enemy; entrance sufficiently broad and deep between two islands, with a shoal: vide chart. The +island of Labuan, for the purposes of refuge for shipwrecked vessels, of a windward post relative to China, for the suppression +of piracy, and the extension of our trade, is well suited; it is no paradise, and any other island, with good climate, wood, +and water, would suit as well. Its powerful recommendation is its being in the neighborhood of an unwarlike and friendly people. +There is no other island on the N.W. coast, and the abandoned Balambangan, to the northward of Borneo, is the only other place +which could by possibility answer. The comparison between Balambangan and Labuan may be stated as follows: Balambangan, as +a windward post relative to China, is superior, and it commands in time of war the inner passage <a id="d0e4307"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4307">318</a>]</span>to Manilla, and the eastern passages to China by the Straits of Makassar. Of its capabilities of defense we know nothing. +It was surprised by the Sooloos. Its climate was not well spoken of. The island is larger than that of Labuan, and, as far +as we know, has no coal. The great, and to me conclusive consideration against Balambangan is, that it is in the very nest +of pirates, and surrounded by warlike and hostile people; and that to render it secure and effective, at least double the +force would be necessary there that would suffice at Labuan. If Labuan succeeds and pays its own expenses, we might then take +Balambangan; for the next best thing to a location on the main is to influence the people thereon by a succession of insular +establishments. Yesterday we made an agreeable excursion to the <span class="smallcaps">n.e.</span> point of Labuan; near the point it is picturesque, the cliffs are bold and cave-worn; the trees hang over the cliffs, or +encroach on the intermediate sands, till they kiss the wave. Near a small cavern we discovered a seam of coal, which afforded +us employment while Captain Bethune and Mr. Wise walked to obtain a view of the southern coast of the island. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Bruni, 21st May, 1845.</i>—After a longer time passed in Singapore than I wished, we at length started, in the Phlegethon steamer, for this city. At +Singapore I had several interviews with Sir Thomas Cochrane. + +</p> +<p>“<i>22d.</i>—On the authority of Sulerman, an intelligent Meri man, I am told that the tree below the town is the real upas, called by +the Meri men <i>tajim</i>—the Borneons call it <i>upas</i>. <i>Bina</i> (the name we formerly got from a Borneon for upas) is, by Sulermanʼs statement, a thin creeper, the root or stem of which, +being steeped in water, is added to the upas, to increase the poisonous quality; it is not, however, poisonous in itself. +There is another creeper, likewise called bina, the leaves of which are steeped and mixed with the upas, instead of the stem +of the first sort. This information may be relied on (in the absence of personal knowledge), as the man is of a tribe which +uses the sumpitan, and is constantly in the habit of preparing the poison. + +</p> +<p>“<i>August 8th.</i>—Off Ujong Sapo, at the entrance of Borneo river. The time since I last added to my most <a id="d0e4336"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4336">319</a>]</span>desultory journal is easily accounted for. I have been at Singapore and Malacca, and am now anchored off Borneo Proper, with +seven vessels, and an eighth is hourly expected. It is difficult, with such a force, to be moderate; and, with Sir Thomas +Cochraneʼs other duties and engagements, it is probably impossible to devote any length of time on this coast; yet moderation +and time are the key-stones of our policy. I have settled all the ceremonial for a meeting between the sultan and the admiral. + +</p> +<p>“The Pangeran Budrudeen came on board H.M.S. Agincourt, with every circumstance of state and ceremony, and met the admiral, +I acting as interpreter. It was pleasing to witness his demeanor and bearing, which proved that, in minds of a certain quality, +the power of command, though over savages, gives ease and freedom. The ship, the band, the marines, the guns, all excited +Budrudeenʼs attention. On the 9th, it is arranged that the admiral shall meet the sultan and the rajah. + +</p> +<p>“<i>9th.</i>—In the course of the day, after the audience had terminated, the admiral made his demand of reparation on the sultan and +Muda Hassim for the detention and confinement of two British subjects subsequent to their agreement with the British government. +Of course, the sultan and the rajah replied that they were not in fault; that the act was Pangeran Usopʼs, and that he was +too powerful for them to control by force. If Sir Thomas Cochrane would punish him, they should be much obliged, as they desired +to keep the treaty inviolate. + +</p> +<p>“<i>10th.</i>—Pangeran Usop had to be summoned; come he would not, and yet I was in hopes that, when he saw the overwhelming force opposed +to him, his pride would yield to necessity. About 2 <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span> the steamers took up their positions; the marines were landed, every thing was prepared, yet no symptom of obedience. At +length a single shot was fired from the Vixen, by the admiralʼs order, through the roof of Usopʼs house, which was instantly +returned, thus proving the folly and the temper of the man. In a few minutes his house was tenantless, having been overwhelmed +with shot. Usop <a id="d0e4353"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4353">320</a>]</span>was a fugitive; the amount of mischief done inconsiderable, and no damage except to the guilty party. Twenty captured guns +the admiral presented to the sultan and the rajah; two he kept, from which to remunerate the two detained men. So far nothing +could be more satisfactory. Usop has been punished severely, the treaty strictly enforced, and our supremacy maintained. No +evil has been done except to the guilty; his house and his property alone have suffered, and the immediate flight has prevented +the shedding of blood. + +</p> +<p>“<i>11th.</i>—At mid-day the admiral, with the Vixen and Nemesis, went down the river, leaving the Pluto to me, to follow in next day. + +</p> +<p>“<i>12th.</i>—This morning I visited the sultan in company with Muda Hassim. By twelve at night the Pluto was anchored in the creek at +Labuan, and on the 13th I once more took up my quarters aboard the flag-ship. + +</p> +<p>“<i>14th.</i>—Wooding. + +</p> +<p>“<i>16th.</i>—Last evening anchored within the point called in the chart Sampormangio, or, properly, Sampang Mengayu, which, being translated, +signifies piratical or cruising waiting-place. The weather was thick and squally, and it was late before the Dædalus and Vestal +arrived with their tows, the Nemesis and Pluto, the former frigate having carried away her mizzen top-mast. + +</p> +<p>“<i>17th.</i>—Squadron under weigh pretty early, getting into Malludu Bay. After breakfast, had a very heavy squall. Agincourt heeled to +it, and sails of various sorts and sizes were blowing about in ribbons aboard some of the ships: afterward brought up nearly +off the Melow river. + +</p> +<p>“<i>18th.</i>—Vixen, Nemesis, Pluto, and boats, proceeded up the bay, and anchored as near as possible to the entrance of the Marudu, or +Malludu river. The character of Malludu bay generally may be described as clear of danger, with high, wooded banks on either +side, till in the bight, when the land gets flat and mangrovy, and the water shallow, and where the mouths of several small +rivers are seen, one of which is Malludu. + +</p> +<p>“<i>19th.</i>—On the 19th of August was fought the celebrated battle of Malludu; the boats, 24 in number, and containing 550 marines and +blue-jackets, having left the <a id="d0e4390"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4390">321</a>]</span>previous afternoon. As I was not present, I can say only what I heard from others, and from what I know from subsequently +viewing the position. A narrow river with two forts mounting eleven or twelve heavy guns (and defended by from 500 to 1000 +fighting men), protected by a strong and well-contrived boom, was the position of the enemy. Our boats took the bull by the +horns, and indeed had little other choice; cut away part of the boom under a heavy fire; advanced, and carried the place in +a fight protracted for fifty minutes. The enemy fought well and stood manfully to their guns; and a loss of six killed, two +mortally and fifteen severely wounded, on our side, was repaid by a very heavy loss of killed and wounded on theirs. Gallant +Gibbard,<a id="d0e4392src" href="#d0e4392" class="noteref">1</a> of the Wolverine, fell mortally wounded while working at the boom, ax in hand. In short, the engagement was severe and trying +to our men from the fire they were exposed to. At two minutes to nine, aboard the Vixen, we heard the report of the first +heavy gun, and it was a time of anxiety and uneasiness till the first column of black smoke proclaimed that the village was +fired. + +</p> +<p>“I may here mention that before the fight commenced a flag of truce came from the enemy, and asked for me. Captain Talbot +(in command) offered to meet Seriff Houseman either within or without the boom, provided his whole force was with him. Seriff +Houseman declined; but offered (kind man!) to admit two gigs to be hauled over the boom. No sooner was this offer declined, +and the flag returned the second time with a young Seriff, son of Seriff Layak of Bruni, than the enemy opened fire, which +was promptly returned. Had Captain Talbot entered as proposed, I deem it certain he would never have quitted the place alive; +for the Seriff and his followers had made themselves up to fight, and nothing but fight. Many chiefs were killed; two or three +Seriffs in their large turbans and flowing robes; many Illanuns in their gay dresses and golden charms; <a id="d0e4397"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4397">322</a>]</span>many <span id="d0e4399" class="corr" title="Source: Badjaws">Badjows</span>; many slaves—among them a captive Chinaman; many were wounded; many carried away; and many left on the ground dead or dying. + +</p> +<p>“<i>20th.</i>—On the evening of the 19th a detachment of ten boats, with fresh men and officers, quitted the Vixen, and arrived at the +forts shortly after daylight. I accompanied this party; and the work of destruction, well begun yesterday, was this day completed. +Numerous proofs of the piracies of this Seriff came to light. The boom was ingeniously fastened with the chain cable of a +vessel of 300 or 400 tons; other chains were found in the town; a shipʼs long-boat; two shipʼs bells, one ornamented with +grapes and vine leaves, and marked ‘Wilhelm Ludwig, Bremen;’ and every other description of shipʼs furniture. Some half-piratical +boats, Illanun and Balagnini, were burned; twenty-four or twenty-five brass guns captured; the iron guns, likewise stated +to have been got out of a ship, were spiked and otherwise destroyed. Thus has Malluda ceased to exist; and Seriff Housemanʼs +power received a fall from which it will never recover. + +</p> +<p>“Amid this scene of war and devastation was one episode which moved even harder hearts than mine. Twenty-four hours after +the action, a poor woman, with her child of two years of age, was discovered in a small canoe; her arm was shattered at the +elbow by a grape shot; and the poor creature lay dying for want of water in an agony of pain, with her child playing round +her and endeavoring to derive the sustenance which the mother could no longer give. This poor woman was taken on board the +Vixen, and in the evening her arm was amputated. To have left her would have been certain death; so I was strongly for the +measure of taking her to Sarāwak, where she can be protected. To all my inquiries she answered, ‘If you please to take me, +I shall go. I am a woman, and not a man; I am a slave, and not a free woman: do as you like.’ She stated too, positively, +that she herself had seen Seriff Houseman wounded in the neck, and carried off; and her testimony is corroborated by two Manilla +men, who, among others, ran away on the occasion, and sought protection from us, who likewise say that they saw the Seriff +stretched out <a id="d0e4409"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4409">323</a>]</span>in the jungle, but they cannot say whether dead or wounded. The proof how great a number must have been killed and wounded +on their part is, that on the following day ten dead men were counted lying where they fell; among them was Seriff Mahomed, +the bearer of the flag of truce, who, though offered our protection, fought to the last, and in the agonies of death threw +a spear at his advancing foes. + +</p> +<p>“The remnant of the enemy retired to Bungun; and it will be some time before we learn their real loss and position. It is +needless here to say any thing on the political effects to be expected from the establishment of a government in Bruni, and +the destruction of this worst of piratical communities. When I return to Bruni, and see how measures advance, I may mention +the subject again; but I will venture here to reurge, that mere military force, however necessary, can not do what it is desirable +should be done. Supervision and conciliation must go hand in hand with punishment; and we must watch that the snake does not +again rear his head through our neglect. The key-stone is wanting as yet, and must be supplied if possible; we must, to back +the gallant deeds of the admiral and fleet, continue to pursue a steady course of measures. In the evening returned to the +Vixen. + +</p> +<p>“<i>21st.</i>—The morning quiet. After breakfast, under weigh; proceeded off the river Bankoka, where we found the Cruiser at anchor. As +there was nothing to detain us, crossed over to the squadron—remained an hour aboard Agincourt; then rejoined Sir Thomas Cochrane +aboard Vixen, and before dinner-time were at anchor in the northeast side of Balambangan. Our woman prisoner doing well, and +pleased with the attention paid her. + +</p> +<p>“<i>23d.</i>—Southwestern harbor of Balambangan. Yesterday examined the N.E. harbor; a dreary-looking place, sandy and mangrovy, and the +harbor itself filled with coral patches; here the remains of our former settlement were found: it is a melancholy and ineligible +spot. The S.W. harbor is very narrow and cramped, with no fitting site for a town, on account of the rugged and unequal nature +of the ground; and if the town were <a id="d0e4423"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4423">324</a>]</span>crammed in between two eminences, it would be deprived of all free circulation of air. Water is, I hear, in sufficient quantity, +and good. On the whole, I am wretchedly disappointed with this island; it has one, and only one recommendation, viz., that +it is well situated in the Straits for trading and political purposes; in every other requisite it is inferior to Labuan. +Balambangan is commercially and politically well placed. Labuan, though inferior, is not greatly inferior in these points; +the harbor, the aspect, the soil, are superior: it may probably be added, that the climate is superior likewise; and we must +remember that those who had an opportunity of trying both places give the preference to Labuan. + +</p> +<p>“Then, on other points, Labuan has a clear advantage. It commands the coal; it is in the vicinity of a friendly people, and +settlement may be formed with certainty and at a moderate expense, and with small establishments. Can this be done at Balambangan? +I own I doubt it; the people in the vicinity we know nothing of, but we shall find them, in all probability, hostile. The +Sooloos we are already too well acquainted with. The Illanuns are in the vicinity. In the case of Labuan, the details of the +first establishment (no small step) can be clearly seen and arranged; but I do not see my way regarding Balambangan. The matter +is of secondary importance, but a languishing settlement at first is to be dreaded; food will be scarce, and houses difficult +to build; while at Labuan the population of Bruni are at our disposal, and the government our own. I leave others to judge +whether a superior (but somewhat similar) position, commercially and politically, will outweigh the other disadvantages mentioned, +and repay us for the extra expenses of the establishment; but, for myself, I can give a clear verdict in favor of Labuan. + +</p> +<p>“<i>24th.</i>—Buried poor Mr. East, of the Agincourt, on Balambangan. Gibbard, poor, gallant fellow, was consigned to the deep a day or +two before. + +</p> +<p>“<i>25th.</i>—A day of disaster and parting: the morning blowy, with an unpleasant sea. Vestal ran ashore on a coral-patch, but soon swung +off. I was very sorry to part with the Agincourt. Farewell, gallant Agincourts! farewell, kind admiral! farewell, the pride, +pomp, and <a id="d0e4437"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4437">325</a>]</span>panoply of a flag-ship liner! My occupationʼs over for the present, and I retire with content to solitude and the jungle of +Sarāwak. I step down the huge side, wave a parting adieu, jump on the Cruiserʼs deck—the anchor is weighed, and away we fly. + +</p> +<p>“<i>30th.</i>—Coming down in her majestyʼs ship Cruiser, and now off Ujong Sapo. On our passage we had some good views of Kina Balow, and +from various points; judging the distance by the chart, the angle of elevation gives the mountain not less than 12,000 feet +and up to 14,000; the latter result agreeing with the computation of the master of the Dædalus. + +</p> +<p>“<i>31st.</i>—Started for Bruni, and half way met a boat with Pangeran Illudeen, bringing the news of the place. Two days after the admiral +and his steamers left, Pangeran Usop seized the hill behind his late house with 300 Kadiens, and commenced an attack on the +town. Pangeran Budrudeen on this mustered about the like number and mounted the hill, and by a fire of musketry dislodged +the enemy, who retired, stood again, were again defeated, and finally dispersed. This victory raised the courage of the Brunions, +and a counter-attack was planned, when the arrival of her majestyʼs ship Espiegle delayed them. As the officers of the Espiegle +and the rajah could not speak a word of each otherʼs language, the boat only stayed a few hours, and went away in ignorance +of the condition of the town. After her departure, Budrudeen gathered about a thousand men of all arms, with some hundred +muskets; and leaving Bruni at three oʼclock in the morning, reached the landing-place at 6 A.M., and at eight marched for +Barŭkas, where they arrived at one oʼclock. On the way the Kadiens humbled themselves, and begged their houses might be spared, +which were spared accordingly. On reaching Barŭkas, they found Pangeran Usop had been deserted by the Kadiens, and was in +no way expecting their coming. The few persons who remained fled ignominiously, Pangeran Usop showing them the example; and +his women, children, gold, and other property, fell into the hands of his victors. The same evening Budrudeen returned to +the city in triumph; and there can be no doubt these vigorous measures have not only settled them in <a id="d0e4449"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4449">326</a>]</span>power, but have likewise raised the spirits of their adherents, and awed the few who remain adverse. ‘Never,’ the Brunions +exclaim, ‘was such a war in Bruni. Pangeran Budrudeen fights like a European; the very spirit of the Englishman is in him; +he has learned this at Sarāwak.’ Fortune favored Usopʼs escape. He fled to the sea-shore near Pulo Badukan, and there met +a boat of his entering from Kimanis: he took possession and put out to sea, and returned with her to that place. + +</p> +<p>“Budrudeen we found in active preparation for pursuit. A dozen war-prahus were nearly ready for sea, and this force starts +directly we depart. + +</p> +<p>“Budrudeenʼs vigor has given a stimulus to this unwarlike people, and he has gained so great a character—victory sits so lightly +on his plume—that his authority will now be obeyed; while Usop, in consequence of his cowardly flight (for so they deem it), +from the want of energy he has displayed, has lost character as well as wealth, and would scarce find ten men in Bruni to +follow him. Unluckily for himself, he was a great boaster in the days of his prosperity; and now the contrast of his past +boasting with his present cowardice is drawn with a sneer. ‘His mouth was brave,’ they exclaim, ‘but his heart timid.’ ‘He +should have died as other great men have died, and not have received such shame; he should have amoked,<a id="d0e4455src" href="#d0e4455" class="noteref">2</a> or else given himself up for execution.’ This seems to be the general impression in the city. + +</p> +<p>“My mind is now at rest about the fate of my friends; but I still consider a man-of-war brig coming here every month or two +as of great importance; for it will be necessary for the next six months to consolidate the power of Muda Hassim and Budrudeen; +and if, with the new order of things, they constantly see white faces, and find that they are quiet and inoffensive, the ignorant +terror which now prevails will abate. Besides this, we might find the opportunity a favorable one for becoming acquainted +with the Kadiens and the Marats, and giving them just impressions of ourselves; for I have no doubt that on the late occasion +the Kadiens were worked upon <a id="d0e4462"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4462">327</a>]</span>by all kinds of false reports of the pale faces taking their lands, burning their houses, &c., &c., &c. We only see the effects; +we do not see (until we become very well acquainted with them) the strings which move the passions of these people. The Kadiens +are, however, an unwarlike and gentle race, and have now given in their submission to Muda Hassim. I do not mention the sultan, +because, as I before said, he is so imbecile that, as regards public affairs, he is a cipher: he will some day cease to be +sultan, and give place to a better man. + +</p> +<p>“Our interview with the rajah, with Budrudeen, and all the other host of our acquaintance, was quite a triumph—they hot with +their success, and we bringing the account of Malluduʼs sanguinary fight. Happy faces and wreathed smiles supplied the place +of the anxious and doubtful expression which I had left them wearing. All vied in their attentions; fruit enough to fill a +room: the luscious durian, the delicate mangosteen and lousch, the grateful rombusteen, the baluna, pitabu, mowha, plantain, +&c., &c., were showered upon us from all quarters. The rajah daily sent a dinner; all was rejoicing, and few or no clouds +lowered in the distance. I was proud and happy; for I felt and feel that much of this has been owing to my exertions. I will +not stop to say how or why; but I first taught them to respect and to confide in Englishmen, and no one else has yet untaught +them this lesson. + +</p> +<p>“<i>September 3d.</i>—After parting interviews we quitted the city at two, and arrived aboard her majestyʼs ship cruiser at eight P.M. To-morrow +morning we sail for Sarāwak, where, at any rate, I hope for rest for a month or two. + +</p> +<p>“<i>19th.</i>—Sarāwak. Thus concludes a large volume. Captain Bethune and myself, with Commander Fanshawe and a party of Cruisers, returned +from a five daysʼ excursion among the Dyaks, having visited the Suntah, Stang, Sigo, and Sanpro tribes. It was a progress; +at each tribe there was dancing, and a number of ceremonies. White fowls were waved as I have before described, slaughtered, +and the blood mixed with kunyit, a yellow root, &c., &c., which delightful mixture was <a id="d0e4476"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4476">328</a>]</span>freely scattered over them and their goods by me, holding in my hand a dozen or two womenʼs necklaces. Captain Bethune has +seen and can appreciate the Dyaks: to-morrow he leaves me, and most sorry shall I be to lose him. A better man or a better +public servant is not to be found. + +</p> +<p>“Among my Dyak inquiries, I found out that the name of their god is Tuppa, and not Jovata, which they before gave me, and +which they use, but do not acknowledge. Tuppa is the great god; eight other gods were in heaven; one fell or descended into +Java—seven remained above; one of these is named Sakarra, who, with his companions and followers, is (or is in) the constellation +of a cluster of stars, doubtless the Pleiades; and by the position of this constellation the Dyaks can judge good and bad +fortune. If this cluster of stars be high in the heavens, success will attend the Dyak; when it sinks below the horizon, ill +luck follows; fruit and crops will not ripen; war and famine are dreaded. Probably originally this was but a simple and natural +division of the seasons, which has now become a gross superstition. + +</p> +<p>“The progress is ended; to-morrow I shall be left in the solitude and the quiet of the jungle: but, after witnessing the happiness, +the plenty, the growing prosperity of the Dyak tribes, I can scarcely believe that I could devote my life to better purpose, +and I dread that a removal might destroy what I have already done. + +</p> +<p>“We must now wait the decision of government with patience. Captain Bethune, in making his report, will have the advantage +of real substantial personal knowledge. I esteem him highly, and regard him as a man of the most upright principles, who is +not, and will not be swayed in his duty by any considerations whatever. I am glad we are to stand the ordeal of such a manʼs +inquiry.” + + + +<a id="d0e4484"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4484">329</a>]</span></p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4392" href="#d0e4392src" class="noteref">1</a></span> Leonard Gibbard made his first trip to sea under my charge in 1834, when I commanded the Childers in the Mediterranean, and +at that early age gave promise of what he afterward proved himself to be—a gallant officer and thorough seaman. Poor fellow! +he was always a general favorite wherever he went—H. K. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4455" href="#d0e4455src" class="noteref">2</a></span> <i>Anglicè</i>, run-a-muck. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e4485" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Borneo, its geographical bounds and leading divisions.—British settlements in 1775.—The province of Sarāwak formally ceded +by the sultan in perpetuity to Mr. Brooke its present ruler.—General view of the Dyaks, the aborigines of Borneo.—The Dyaks +of Sarāwak, and adjoining tribes; their past oppression and present position. +</p> +</div> +<p>I will now endeavor to make the reader better acquainted with the nature of a country and people so imperfectly known, by +offering that general view of its past events and present condition which will make the information respecting them more intelligible, +as well as applicable to new circumstances and future measures. + +</p> +<p>By looking at the map, it will be seen that the island of Borneo extends over 11 degrees of latitude and as many of longitude, +from 4° N. to 7° S., and 108° to 119° E. The N.W. coast is but thinly populated; and the natives who inhabit the banks of +some of the beautiful rivers differ, as has been already stated, from each other in manners and customs, and have but little +communication among themselves. The S., E., and N.E. coasts of Borneo are also but thinly inhabited, and very little known. +There are various divisions of Malays, as well as different tribes of Dyaks, who live in an unsettled state, and occasionally +make war on one another: their principal occupation, however, is piracy. The north part of the island was once in the possession +of the East India Company, who had a settlement and factory on the island of Balambangan, which was attacked in 1775, when +in a weak and unguarded state, by a powerful piratical tribe of Sooloos, who surprised the fort, put the sentries to death, +and turned the guns on the troops, who were chiefly Buguese (or Bugis) Malays. Those who escaped got on board the vessels +in the harbor, and reached the island of Labuan, near the mouth of the Borneo river; while the booty obtained by the pirates +was estimated at 375,000<i>l.</i> From that time to this these atrocious pirates have never been punished, and still continue their depredations. + +</p> +<p>The remainder of the coast on the N.W. is now called <a id="d0e4500"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4500">330</a>]</span>Borneo Proper, to distinguish it from the name that custom has given to the whole island, the original name of which was Kalamantan, +and Bruni that of the town now called Borneo. The latter was probably the first part of the coast ever visited by Europeans, +who consequently extended the appellation to the island itself. The town of Borneo, situated on the river of that name, was, +until the last few years, a port of some wealth, and carrying on an extensive trade, which has been ruined entirely by the +rapacity of the Malay chiefs, who have now but little control over that part of Borneo Proper which lies to the northward +of the river. The province of Sarāwak is situated at the S.W. end of Borneo Proper, and was formally ceded in perpetuity by +the sultan in 1843 to Mr. Brooke, who, indeed, had possessed the almost entire management of the district for the two previous +years. “It extends from Tanjong Datu (I quote from Mr. Brookeʼs description of his territory) to the entrance of the Samarahan +river, a distance along the coast of about sixty miles in an E.S.E. direction, with an average breadth of fifty miles. It +is bounded to the westward by the Sambas territory, to the southward by a range of mountains which separate it from the Pontiana +river, and to the eastward by the Borneon territory of Sadong. Within this space then are several rivers and islands, which +it is needless here to describe at length, as the account of the river of Sarāwak will answer alike for the rest. There are +two navigable entrances to this river, and numerous smaller branches for boats, both to the westward and eastward; the two +principal entrances combine at about twelve miles from the sea, and the river flows for twenty miles into the interior in +a southerly and westerly direction, when it again forms two branches—one running to the right, the other to the left hand, +as far as the mountain range. Beside these facilities for water-communication, there exist three other branches from the easternmost +entrance, called Morotaba, one of which joins the Samarahan river, and the two others flow from different points of the mountain +range already mentioned. The country is diversified by detached mountains, and the mountain range has an elevation of about +three <a id="d0e4502"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4502">331</a>]</span>thousand feet. The aspect of the country may be generally described as low and woody at the entrance of the rivers, except +a few high mountains; but in the interior undulating in parts, and part presenting fine level plains. The climate may be pronounced +healthy and cool, though for the six months from September to March a great quantity of rain falls. During my three visits +to this place, which have been prolonged to eight months, and since residing here, we have been clear of sickness, and during +the entire period not one of three deaths could be attributed to the effects of climate. The more serious maladies of tropical +climates are very infrequent; from fever and dysentery we have been quite free, and the only complaints have been rheumatism, +colds, and ague; the latter, however, attacked us in the interior, and no one has yet had it at Sarāwak, which is situated +about twenty-five miles from the mouth of the river. + +</p> +<p>“The soil and productions of this country are of the richest description, and it is not too much to say, that, within the +same given space, there are not to be found the same mineral and vegetable riches in any land in the world. I propose to give +a brief detail of them, beginning with the soil of the plains, which is moist and rich, and calculated for the growth of rice, +for which purpose it was formerly cleared and used, until the distractions of the country commenced. From the known industry +of the Dyaks, and their partiality to rice-cultivation, there can be little doubt that it would become an article of extensive +export, provided security were given to the cultivator and a proper remuneration for his produce. The lower grounds, beside +rice, are well adapted for the growth of sago, and produce canes, rattans, and forest-timber of the finest description for +ship-building and other useful purposes. The Chinese export considerable quantities of timber from Sambas and Pontiana, particularly +of the kind called Balean by the natives, or the lion-wood of the Europeans; and at this place it is to be had in far greater +quantity and nearer the place of sale. The undulating ground differs in soil, some portions of it being a yellowish clay, +while the rest is a rich mold; these grounds, generally <a id="d0e4506"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4506">332</a>]</span>speaking, as well as the slopes of the higher mountains, are admirably calculated for the growth of nutmegs, coffee, pepper, +or any of the more valuable vegetable productions of the tropics. Beside the above mentioned articles, there are birdsʼ-nests, +bees-wax, and several kinds of scented wood, in demand at Singapore, which are all collected by the Dyaks, and would be gathered +in far greater quantity provided the Dyak was allowed to sell them. + +</p> +<p>“Turning from the vegetable to the mineral riches of the country, we have diamonds, gold, tin, iron, and antimony ore certain; +I have lately sent what I believe to be a specimen of lead ore to Calcutta; and copper is reported. It must be remembered, +in reading this list, that the country is as yet unexplored by a scientific person, and that the inquiries of a geologist +and a mineralogist would throw further light on the minerals of the mountains, and the spots where they are to be found in +the greatest plenty. The diamonds are stated to be found in considerable numbers, and of a good water; and I judge the statement +to be correct from the fact that the diamond-workers from Sandak come here and work secretly, and the people from Banjamassim, +who are likewise clever at this trade, are most desirous to be allowed to work for the precious stone. Gold of a good quality +certainly is to be found in large quantities. The eagerness and perseverance of the Chinese to establish themselves is a convincing +proof of the fact; and ten years since a body of about 3000 of them had great success in procuring gold by their ordinary +mode of trenching the ground. + +</p> +<p>“The quantity of gold yearly procured at Sambas is moderately stated at 130,000 bunkals, which, reckoned at the low rate of +20 Spanish dollars a bunkal, gives 2,600,000 Spanish dollars, or upward of half a million sterling. The most intelligent Chinese +are of opinion, that the quantity here exceeds that at Sambas; and there is no good reason to suppose it would fall short +of it were once a sufficient Chinese population settled in the country. + +</p> +<p>“Antimony ore is a staple commodity, which is to be procured in any quantity. Tin is said to be plentiful, <a id="d0e4514"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4514">333</a>]</span>and the Chinese propose working it; but I have had no opportunity of visiting the spot where it is found. Copper, though reported, +has not been brought; and the iron ore I have examined is of inferior quality. The specimen of what I supposed to be lead +ore has been forwarded to Calcutta, and it remains to be seen what its value may be. And beside the above-mentioned minerals, +there can be little doubt of many others being discovered, if the mountain range was properly explored by any man of science. +Many other articles of minor importance might be mentioned; but it is needless to add to a list which contains articles of +such value, and which would prove the country equal in vegetable and mineral productions to any in the world. + +</p> +<p>“From the productions (continues Mr. Brooke) I turn to the inhabitants, and I feel sure that in describing their sufferings +and miseries I shall command the interest and sympathy of every person of humanity, and that the claims of the virtuous and +most unhappy Dyaks will meet with the same attention as those of the African. And these claims have the advantage, that much +good may be done without the vast expenditure of lives and money which the exertions on the African coast yearly demand, and +that the people would readily appreciate the good that was conferred upon them, and rapidly rise in the scale of civilization.” + +</p> +<p>The inhabitants may be divided into three different classes, viz. the Malays, the Chinese, and the Dyaks; of the two former +little need be said, as they are so well known. + +</p> +<p>The Dyaks (or more properly Dyak) of Borneo offer to our view a primitive state of society; and their near resemblance to +the Tarajahs of Celebes,<a id="d0e4522src" href="#d0e4522" class="noteref">1</a> to the inland people of Sumatra, and probably to the Arafuras of Papua,<a id="d0e4525src" href="#d0e4525" class="noteref">2</a> in customs, manners, and language, affords <a id="d0e4528"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4528">334</a>]</span>reason for the conclusion that these are the aboriginal race of the Eastern Archipelago, nearly stationary in their original +condition. While successive waves of civilization have swept onward the rest of the inhabitants, while tribes as wild have +arisen to power, flourished, and decayed, the Dyak in his native jungles still retains the feelings of earlier times, and +shows the features of society as it existed before the influx of foreign races either improved or corrupted the native character. + +</p> +<p>The name “Dyak” has been indiscriminately applied to all the wild people on the island of Borneo; but as the term is never +so used by themselves, and as they differ greatly, not only in name, but in their customs and manners, we will briefly, in +the first instance, mention the various distinct nations, the general locality of each, and some of their distinguishing peculiarities. + +</p> +<p>1st. The Dusun, or villagers of the northern extremity of the island, are a race of which Mr. Brooke knows nothing personally; +but the name implies that they are an agricultural people: they are represented as not being tattooed, as using the sumpitan, +and as having a peculiar dialect.<a id="d0e4534src" href="#d0e4534" class="noteref">3</a> + +</p> +<p>2d. The Murut. They inhabit the interior of Borneo Proper. They are not tattooed, always use the sumpitan, and have a peculiar +dialect. In the same locality, and resembling the Murut, are some tribes called the Basaya. + +</p> +<p>3d. The Kadians (or Idaans of voyagers) use the sumpitan, and have likewise a peculiar dialect; but in other respects they +nowise differ from the Borneons, either in religion, dress, or mode of life. They are, however, an industrious, peaceful people, +who cultivate the ground in the vicinity of Borneo Proper, and nearly as far as Tanjong Barram. The wretched capital is greatly +dependent upon them, and, from their numbers and industry, they form a valuable population. In the interior, and on the Balyet +river, which discharges itself <a id="d0e4541"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4541">335</a>]</span>near Tanjong Barram, is a race likewise called Kadian, not converted to Islam, and which still retains the practice of “taking +heads.” + +</p> +<p>4th. The Kayan. The Kayans are the most numerous, the most powerful, and the most warlike people in Borneo. They are an inland +race, and their locality extends from about sixty miles up the country from Tanjong Barram to the same extent farther into +the interior, in latitude 3° 30′ N., and thence across the island to probably a similar distance from the eastern shore. Their +customs, manners, and dress are peculiar, and present most of the characteristic features of a wild and independent people. +The Malays of the N.W. coast fear the Kayans, and rarely enter their country; but the Millanows are familiar with them, and +there have thence been obtained many particulars respecting them. They are represented as extremely hospitable, generous, +and kind to strangers, strictly faithful to their word, and honest in their dealings; but on the other hand, they are fierce +and bloodthirsty, and when on an expedition, slaughter without sparing. The Kayans are partially tattooed, use the sumpitan, +have many dialects, and are remarkable for the strange and apparently mutilating custom adopted by the males, and mentioned +by Sir Stamford Raffles. + +</p> +<p>5th. To the southward and westward of Barram are the Millanows,<a id="d0e4547src" href="#d0e4547" class="noteref">4</a> who inhabit the rivers not far from the sea. They are, generally speaking, an intelligent, industrious, and active race, +the principal cultivators of sago, and gatherers of the famous camphor barus. Their locality extends from Tanjong Barram to +Tanjong Sirak. In person they are stout and well-made, of middling height, round good-tempered countenances, and fairer than +the Malays. They have several dialects among them, use the sumpitan, and are not tattooed. They retain the practice of taking +heads, but they seldom seek them, and have little of the ferocity of the Kayan. +<a id="d0e4550"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4550">336</a>]</span></p> +<p>6th. In the vicinity of the Kayans and Millanows are some wild tribes, called the Tatows, Balanian, Kanowit, &c. They are +probably only a branch of Kayans, though differing from them in being elaborately tattooed over the entire body. They have +peculiar dialects, use the sumpitan, and are a wild and fierce people. + +</p> +<p>7th. The Dyak. They are divided into Dyak Darrat and Dyak Laut, or land and sea Dyaks. The Dyak Lauts, as their name implies, +frequent the sea; and it is needless to say much of them, as their difference from the Dyak Darrat is a difference of circumstances +only. The tribes of Sarebus and Sakarran, whose rivers are situated in the deep bay between Tanjong Sipang and Tanjong Sirak, +are powerful communities, and dreadful pirates, who ravage the coast in large fleets, and murder and rob indiscriminately; +but this is by no means to be esteemed a standard of Dyak character. In these expeditions the Malays often join them, and +they are likewise made the instruments for oppressing the Laut tribes. The Sarebus and Sakarran are fine men, fairer than +the Malays, with sharp keen eyes, thin lips, and handsome countenances, though frequently marked by an expression of cunning. +The Balows and Sibnowans are amiable tribes, decidedly warlike, but not predatory; and the latter combines the virtues of +the Dyak character with much of the civilization of the Malays. The Dyak Laut do not tattoo, nor do they use the sumpitan; +their language assimilates closely to the Malay, and was doubtless originally identical with that of the inland tribes. The +name of God among them is Battara (the Avatara of the Hindoos). They bury their dead, and in the graves deposit a large portion +of the property of the deceased, often to a considerable value in gold ornaments, brass guns, jars, and arms. Their marriage +ceremony consists in two fowls being killed, and the forehead and breast of the young couple being touched with the blood; +after which the chief, or an old man, knocks their heads together several times, and the ceremony is completed with mirth +and feasting. In these two instances they differ from the Dyak Darrat. + +</p> +<p>It must be observed that the Dyak also differs from <a id="d0e4557"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4557">337</a>]</span>the Kayan in not being tattooed; and from the Kayan Millanows, &c., in not using the <i>national</i> weapon—the sumpitan. The Kayan and the Dyak, as general distinctions, though they differ in dialect, in dress, in weapons, +and probably in religion, agree in their belief of similar omens, and, above all, in their practice of taking the heads of +their enemies; but with the Kayan this practice assumes the aspect of an indiscriminate desire of slaughter, while with the +Dyak it is but the trophy acquired in legitimate warfare. The Kadians form the only exception to this rule, in consequence +of their conversion to Islam; and it is but reasonable to suppose, that with a slight exertion in favor of Christianity, others +might be induced to lay aside this barbarous custom. + +</p> +<p>With respect to the dialects, though the difference is considerable, they are evidently derived from a common source; but +it is remarkable that some words in the Millanow and Kayan are similar to the Bugis and Badjow language. This intermixture +of dialects, which can be linked together, appears to be more conclusive of the common origin of the wild tribes and civilized +nations of the Archipelago than most other arguments; and if Marsdenʼs position be correct (which there can be little or no +reason to doubt), that the Polynesian is an original race with an original language,<a id="d0e4564src" href="#d0e4564" class="noteref">5</a> it must likewise be conceded that the wild tribes represent the primitive state of society in these islands. + +</p> +<p>We know little of the wild tribes of Celebes beyond their general resemblance to the Kayans of the east coast of Borneo; and +it is probable that the Kayans are the people of Celebes, who crossing the Strait of Makassar, have in time by their superior +prowess possessed themselves of the country of the Dyaks. Mr. Brooke (from whom I am copying this sketch) is led to entertain +this opinion from a slight resemblance in their dialects with those used in Celebes, from the difference in so many of their +customs from those of the Dyaks, and from the Kayans of the <i>northwest coast of Borneo</i> having one <a id="d0e4572"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4572">338</a>]</span>custom in common with the wild tribe of Minkoka in the Bay of Boni. Both the Kayans and Minkokas on the death of a relative +seek for a head; and on the death of their chief many human heads must be procured: which practice is unknown to the Dyak. +It may further be remarked, that their probable immigration from Celebes is supported by the statement of the Millanows, that +the Murut and Dyak give place to the Kayan whenever they come in contact, and that the latter people have depopulated large +tracts in the interior, which were once occupied by the former. + +</p> +<p>Having thus briefly noticed the different wild people of the island, I proceed with the more particular task of describing +the Dyak Darrats. + +</p> +<p>The locality of these Dyaks may be marked as follows:—The Pontiana river, from its mouth, is traced into the interior toward +the northward and westward, until it approaches at the farthest within 100 miles of the northwest coast; a line drawn in latitude +3° N. till it intersects the course of the Pontiana river will point out the limit of the country inhabited by the Dyak. Within +this inconsiderable portion of the island, which includes Sambas, Landak, Pontiana, Sangow, Sarāwak, &c., are numerous tribes, +all of which agree in their leading customs, and make use of nearly the same dialect. Personally (writes our sole authority +for any intelligence respecting them), I am acquainted only with the tribes of Sarāwak and some tribes further in the interior +beyond the government of the Malays, who inhabit the country between Sarāwak and Landak; and the description of one tribe +will serve as a description of all, so little do they vary. + +</p> +<p>Before, however, I say anything of the character of the Dyaks, or their temper, it will be necessary to describe briefly the +government under which they live, and the influence it has upon them; and if afterward in the recital there appear some unamiable +points in their character, an allowance will be made for their failings, which those who rule them would not deserve. + +</p> +<p>The Dyaks have from time immemorial been looked upon as the bondsmen of the Malays, and the rajahs consider them much in the +same light as they would a <a id="d0e4582"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4582">339</a>]</span>drove of oxen—<i>i. e.</i> as personal and disposable property. They were governed in Sarāwak by three local officers, called the Patingi, the Bandar, +and the Tumangong. To the Patingi they paid a small yearly revenue of rice, but this deficiency of revenue was made up by +sending them a quantity of goods—chiefly salt, Dyak cloths, and iron—and demanding a price for them six or eight times more +than their value. The produce collected by the Dyaks was also monopolized, and the edible birdsʼ-nests, bees-wax, &c. &c. +were taken at a price fixed by the Patingi, who moreover claimed mats, fowls, fruits, and every other necessary at his pleasure, +and could likewise make the Dyaks work for him for merely a nominal remuneration. This system, not badly devised, had it been +limited within the bounds of moderation, would have left the Dyaks plenty for all their wants; or had the local officers known +their own interest, they would have protected those upon whom they depended for revenue, and under the worst oppression of +one man the Dyaks would have deemed themselves happy. Such unfortunately was not the case; for the love of immediate gain +overcame every other consideration, and by degrees old-established customs were thrown aside, and new ones substituted in +their place. When the Patingi had received all he thought proper to extort, his relatives first claimed the right of arbitrary +trade, and gradually it was extended as the privilege of every respectable person in the country to serra<a id="d0e4587src" href="#d0e4587" class="noteref">6</a> the Dyaks. The poor Dyak, thus at the mercy of half the Malay population, was never allowed to refuse compliance with these +demands; he could plead neither poverty, inability, nor even hunger, as an excuse, for the answer was ever ready: “Give me +your wife or one of your children;” and in case he could not supply what was required, the wife or the child was taken, and +became a slave. Many modes of extortion were resorted to; a favorite one was convicting the Dyak of a fault and imposing a +fine upon him. Some ingenuity and much trickery were shown in this game, and new offences were invented as soon as the old +pleas would serve no longer; for instance, if a Malay met a Dyak in a boat <a id="d0e4590"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4590">340</a>]</span>which pleased him, he notched it, as a token that it was his property; in one day, if the boat was a new one, perhaps three +or more would place their marks on it; and as only one could get it, the Dyak to whom the boat really belonged had to pay +the others <i>for his fault</i>. This, however, was only “a fault;” whereas, for a Dyak to injure a Malay, directly or indirectly, purposely or otherwise, +was a <i>high offence</i>, and punished by a proportionate fine. If a Dyakʼs house was in bad repair, and a Malay fell in consequence and was hurt, +or pretended to be hurt, a fine was imposed; if a Malay in the jungle was wounded by the springs set for a wild boar, or by +the wooden spikes which the Dyaks for protection put about their village, or scratched himself and said he was injured, the +penalty was heavy; if the Malay was <i>really hurt</i>, ever so accidentally, it was the ruin of the Dyak. And these numerous and uninvited guests came and went at pleasure, lived +in free quarters, made their requisitions, and then forced the Dyak to carry away for them the very property of which he had +been robbed. + +</p> +<p>This is a fair picture of the governments under which the Dyaks live; and although they were often roused to resistance, it +was always fruitless, and only involved them in deeper troubles; for the Malays could quickly gather a large force of sea +Dyaks from Sakarran, who were readily attracted by hope of plunder, and who, supported by the fire-arms of their allies, were +certain to overcome any single tribe that held out. The misfortunes of the Dyaks of Sarāwak did not stop here. Antimony ore +was discovered; the cupidity of the Borneons was roused; then Pangerans struggled for the prize; intrigues and dissensions +ensued; and the inhabitants of Sarāwak in turn felt the very evil they had inflicted on the Dyaks; while the Dyaks were compelled, +amid their other wrongs, to labor at the ore without any recompense, and to the neglect of their rice-cultivation. Many died +in consequence of this compulsory labor, so contrary to their habits and inclinations; and more would doubtless have fallen +victims, had not civil war rescued them from this evil, to inflict upon them others a thousand times worse. +<a id="d0e4603"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4603">341</a>]</span></p> +<p>Extortion had before been carried on by individuals, but now it was systematized; and Pangerans of rank, for the sake of plunder, +sent bodies of Malays and Sakarran Dyaks to attack the different tribes. The men were slaughtered, the women and children +carried off into slavery, the villages burned, the fruit-trees cut down,<a id="d0e4606src" href="#d0e4606" class="noteref">7</a> and all their property destroyed or seized. + +</p> +<p>The Dyaks could no longer live in tribes, but sought refuge in the mountains or the jungle, a few together; and as one of +them pathetically described it—“We do not live,” he said, “like men; we are like monkeys; we are hunted from place to place; +we have no houses; and when we light a fire, we fear the smoke will draw our enemies upon us.” + +</p> +<p>In the course of ten years, under the circumstances detailed—from enforced labor, from famine, from slavery, from sickness, +from the sword—one half of the Dyak population<a id="d0e4613src" href="#d0e4613" class="noteref">8</a> disappeared; and the work of extirpation would have gone on at an accelerated pace, had the remnant been left to the tender +mercies of the Pangerans; but chance (we may much more truly say Providence) <a id="d0e4616"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4616">342</a>]</span>led our countryman Mr. Brooke to this scene of misery, and enabled him, by circumstances far removed beyond the grounds of +calculation, to put a stop to the sufferings of an amiable people. + +</p> +<p>There are twenty tribes in Sarāwak, on about fifty square miles of land. The appearance of the Dyaks is prepossessing: they +have good-natured faces, with a mild and subdued expression; eyes set far apart, and features sometimes well formed. In person +they are active, of middling height, and not distinguishable from the Malays in complexion. The women are neither so good-looking +nor well-formed as the men, but they have the same expression, and are cheerful and kind-tempered. The dress of the men consists +of a piece of cloth about fifteen feet long, passed between the legs and fastened round the loins, with the ends hanging before +and behind; the head-dress is composed of bark-cloth, dyed bright yellow, and stuck up in front so as to resemble a tuft of +feathers. The arms and legs are often ornamented with rings of silver, brass, or shell; and necklaces are worn, made of human +teeth, or those of bears or dogs, or of white beads, in such numerous strings as to conceal the throat. A sword on one side, +a knife and small betel-basket on the other, complete the ordinary equipment of the males; but when they travel they carry +a basket slung from the forehead, on which is a palm-mat, to protect the owner and his property from the weather. The women +wear a short and scanty petticoat, reaching from the loins to the knees, and a pair of black bamboo stays, which are never +removed except the wearer be <i>enceinte</i>. They have rings of brass or red bamboo about the loins, and sometimes ornaments on the arms; the hair is worn long; the +ears of both sexes are pierced, and earrings of brass inserted occasionally; the teeth of the young people are sometimes filed +to a point and discolored, as they say that “Dogs have white teeth.” They frequently dye their feet and hands of a bright +red or yellow color; and the young people, like those of other countries, affect a degree of finery and foppishness, while +the elders invariably lay aside all ornaments, as unfit for a wise person or one advanced in years. +<a id="d0e4623"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4623">343</a>]</span></p> +<p>In character the Dyak is mild and tractable, hospitable when he is well used, grateful for kindness, industrious, honest, +and simple; neither treacherous nor cunning, and so truthful that the word of one of them might safely be taken before the +oath of half-a-dozen Borneons. In their dealings they are very straightforward and correct, and so trustworthy that they rarely +attempt, even after a lapse of years, to evade payment of a just debt. On the reverse of this picture there is little unfavorable +to be said; and the wonder is, they have learned so little deceit or falsehood where the examples before them have been so +rife. The temper of the Dyak inclines to be sullen; and they oppose a dogged and stupid obstinacy when set to a task which +displeases them, and support with immovable apathy torrents of abuse or entreaty. They are likewise distrustful, fickle, apt +to be led away, and evasive in concealing the amount of their property; but these are the vices rather of situation than of +character, for they have been taught by bitter experience that their rulers set no limits to their exactions, and that hiding +is their only chance of retaining a portion of the grain they have raised. They are, at the same time, fully aware of the +customs by which their ancestors were governed, and are constantly appealing to them as a rule of right, and frequently arguing +with the Malay on the subject. Upon these occasions they are silenced, but not convinced; and the Malay, while he evades or +bullies when it is needful, is sure to appeal to these very much-abused customs whenever it serves his purpose. The manners +of the Dyaks with strangers are reserved to an extent rarely seen among rude or half-civilized people; but on a better acquaintance +(which is not readily acquired), they are open and talkative, and, when heated with their favorite beverage, lively, and evincing +more shrewdness and observation than they have gained credit for possessing. Their ideas, as may well be supposed, are very +limited; they reckon with their fingers and toes, and few are clever enough to count beyond twenty; but when they repeat the +operation, they record each twenty by making a knot on a string. + +</p> +<p>Like other wild people, the slightest restraint is irksome, <a id="d0e4628"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4628">344</a>]</span>and no temptation will induce them to stay long from their favorite jungle. It is there they seek the excitement of war, the +pleasures of the chase, the labors of the field, and the abundance of fruit in the rich produce which assists in supporting +their families. The pathless jungle is endeared to them by every association which influences the human mind, and they languish +when prevented from roaming there as inclination dictates. + +</p> +<p>With reference to the gradual advance of the Dyaks, Mr. Brooke observes in an early part of his journal:—“The peaceful and +gentle aborigines—how can I speak too favorably of their improved condition? These people, who, a few years since, suffered +every extreme of misery from war, slavery, and starvation, are now comfortably lodged, and comparatively rich. A stranger +might now pass from village to village, and he would receive their hospitality, and see their padi stored in their houses. +He would hear them proclaim their happiness, and praise the white man as their friend and protector. Since the death of Parembam, +no Dyak of Sarāwak lost his life by violence, until a month since, when two were cut off by the Sakarran Dyaks. None of the +tribes have warred among themselves; and I believe their war excursions to a distance in the interior have been very few, +and those undertaken by the Sarambos. What punishment is sufficient for the wretch who finds this state of things so baleful +as to attempt to destroy it? Yet such a wretch is Seriff Sahib. In describing the condition of the Dyaks, I do not say that +it is perfect, or that it may not be still further improved; but with people in their state of society innovations ought not +rashly or hastily to be made; as the civilized being ought constantly to bear in mind, that what is clear to him is not clear +to a savage; that intended benefits <i>may</i> be regarded as positive injuries; and that his motives are not, and scarcely can be, appreciated! The greatest evil, perhaps, +from which the Dyaks suffer, is the influence of the Datus or chiefs; but this influence is never carried to oppression, and +is only used to obtain the expensive luxury of ‘birdsʼ-nests’ at a cheap rate. In short, the Dyaks are happy and content; +and their <a id="d0e4635"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4635">345</a>]</span>gradual development must now be left to the work of time, aided by the gentlest persuasion, and advanced (if attainable) by +the education of their children.” + +</p> +<p>The latest accounts from Sarāwak describe the increasing prosperity of that interesting settlement. Among other recent intelligence +I have heard from Mr. Brooke that Seriff Sahib died of a broken heart, shortly after his arrival at the Pontiana river. + + + + +</p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4522" href="#d0e4522src" class="noteref">1</a></span> See Prichardʼs Researches, 1826, which, meager as they must have been from the want of data, tell us in two or three pages +nearly all we know on the subject. That able investigator states that the Dyaks of Borneo resemble the Taraj of Celebes. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4525" href="#d0e4525src" class="noteref">2</a></span> With regard to the Arafuras, or Haraforas, it is stated that they are termed in some districts Idaan, in others Murut, and +in others Dayaks. See Rafflesʼ Java. And Leyden assures us that all these varieties were originally called Idaan. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4534" href="#d0e4534src" class="noteref">3</a></span> A singular contrast to preceding accounts, which represent the north and northeastern population not only as pirates, called +Tiran or Zedong, but even as cannibals. Near them there appear to be the piratical nests of Magindano, Sooloo, &c. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4547" href="#d0e4547src" class="noteref">4</a></span> There are several rivers, Meri, Bentulu, &c., the inhabitants of which, says Mr. Brooke, I class under the general term Millanow, +as their dialects show a very close connection, and their habits are the same. Evidently from language they are civilized +tribes of Kayans. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4564" href="#d0e4564src" class="noteref">5</a></span> Leyden concluded that the language was allied to the Batta and Tagala, and the whole derived from and varieties of the primitive +tongue of the Philippine Islands. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4587" href="#d0e4587src" class="noteref">6</a></span> Probably a Dyak phrase for levying exactions on the oppressed people. It is not Malay. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4606" href="#d0e4606src" class="noteref">7</a></span> The utter destruction of a village or town is nothing to the infliction of cutting down the fruit-trees. The former can be +rebuilt, with its rude and ready materials, in a few weeks; but the latter, from which the principal subsistence of the natives +is gathered, cannot be suddenly restored, and thus they are reduced to starvation. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4613" href="#d0e4613src" class="noteref">8</a></span> The grounds for this opinion are an estimate personally made among the tribes, compared with the estimate kept by the local +officers before the disturbance arose; and the result is, that only two out of twenty tribes have not suffered, while some +tribes have been reduced, from 330 families to 50; about ten tribes have lost more than half their number; one tribe of 100 +families has lost all its women and children made slaves; and one tribe, more wretched, has been reduced from 120 families +to 2, that is, 16 persons; while two tribes have entirely disappeared. The list of the tribes and their numbers formerly and +now are as follows:—Suntah, 330—50; Sanpro, 100—69; Sigo, 80—28; Sabungo, 60—33; Brang, 50—22; Sinnar, 80—34; Stang, 80—30; +Samban, 60—34; Tubbia, 80—30; Goon, 40—25; Bang, 40—12; Kuj-juss, 35—0; Lundu, 80—2; Sow, 200—100; Sarambo, 100—60; Bombak, +35—35; Paninjow, 80—40; Singè, 220—220; Pons, 20—0; Sibaduh, 25—25. Total, formerly, 1795—now, 849 families; and reckoning +eight persons to each family, the amount of population will be, formerly, 14,360—now, 6792: giving a decrease of population +in ten years of 846 families, or 7568 persons! +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e4639" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> +<div class="argument"> +<p>Proposed British settlement on the northwest coast of Borneo, and occupation of the island of Labuan.—Governor Crawfurdʼs +opinions thereon. +</p> +</div> +<p>The establishment of a British settlement on the northwest coast of Borneo, and the occupation of the island of Labuan, are +measures that have for some time past been under consideration by her majestyʼs government; and I am courteously enabled to +lay before my readers the valuable opinions of Mr. Crawfurd (late Governor of Singapore) on this subject: + +</p> +<p>“I am of opinion (Mr. Crawfurd writes) that a settlement on the northwest coast of Borneo—that is, at a convenient point on +the southern shore of the China Sea—would be highly advantageous to this country, as a coal depôt for steam navigation; as +a means of suppressing Malayan piracy; as a harbor of refuge for ships disabled in the China Sea; and finally, as a commanding +position during a naval war. + +</p> +<p>“The island of Labuan has been pointed out for this purpose; and as far as our present limited knowledge of it will allow +me to judge, it appears to possess all the necessary qualities for such a settlement. + +</p> +<p>“The requisite properties are, salubrity of climate, a good harbor, a position in the track of steam-navigation, conveniency +of position for ships disabled in typhoons, conveniency of position for our cruisers during war, and a locality strong and +circumscribed by nature, so as to be readily capable of cheap defence. + +</p> +<p>“Labuan lies in about 6° of north latitude, and consequently <a id="d0e4655"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4655">346</a>]</span>the average heat will be about 83° of Fahrenheit; the utmost range of the thermometer will not exceed ten degrees. In short, +the year is a perpetual hot summer. It is, at the same time, well ventilated by both monsoons; and being near twenty miles +from the marshy shores of the Borneo river, there is little ground to apprehend that it will be found unhealthy, even if those +shores themselves had been ascertained to be so, which, however, is not the case; for, in proof of their salubrity, it may +be stated, that the town of Borneo is healthy, although it stands, and has stood for centuries, on the flooded banks of the +river; the houses being built on posts, and chiefly accessible by boat. + +</p> +<p>“With respect to harbor, a most essential point, I do not perceive that the island is indented by any bay or inlet that would +answer the purpose of one.<a id="d0e4659src" href="#d0e4659" class="noteref">1</a> The channel, however, which lies between it and the mainland of Borneo is but seven miles broad, and will probably constitute +a spacious and convenient harbor. The name of the island itself, which means anchorage, I have no doubt is derived from the +place affording shelter to native shipping, and those probably, in most cases, fleets of pirate prahus. This channel is again +further restricted by four islets, and these, with four more lying to the southwest, will afford shelter in the southwest +or mild monsoon; protection is given in the northeast, the severest monsoon, by Labuan itself: and I may add, that the island +is, by four degrees of latitude, beyond the extreme southern limit of the typhoons of the Chinese Sea. + +</p> +<p>“In the channel between Labuan and the main, or rather between Labuan and the islets already mentioned, the soundings on the +Admiralty chart show that vessels drawing as much as eighteen feet water may anchor within a mile of the shore, and the largest +vessels within a mile and a half; a convenience for shipping which greatly exceeds that of Singapore. One of the advantages +of Labuan will be that it will prove a port of refuge for shipping disabled in the storms of the Chinese Seas. <a id="d0e4664"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4664">347</a>]</span>Many examples, indeed some of recent occurrence, might be adduced to show the need there is of such a port. + +</p> +<p>“Labuan lies nearly in the direct track both of steam and sailing navigation from India to China, during the northeast, the +worst and severest of the two monsoons; and is as intermediate a position between Singapore and Hong Kong as can be found, +being 700 miles from the former and 1000 from the latter. + +</p> +<p>“The insular character and narrow limits of Labuan will make it easily and cheaply defensible. The extreme length of the island +appears to be about six miles, its greatest breadth about four and a half, and probably its whole area will not be found to +exceed thirty square miles. + +</p> +<p>“From the rude tribes of the immediate vicinity no hostile attack is to be apprehended that would make the present erection +of forts or batteries necessary. No Asiatic enemy is at any time to be feared that would make such defences requisite. In +five-and-twenty years it has not been found imperative to have recourse to them at Singapore. It is only in case of war with +a naval power that fortifications would be required; but I am not informed what local advantages Labuan possesses for their +erection. A principal object of such fortifications would be the defence of the shipping in the harbor from the inroads of +an enemyʼs cruisers. At one point the soundings, as given in the Admiralty chart, are stated nine fathoms, within three quarters +of a mile of the shore; and I presume that batteries within this distance would afford protection to the largest class of +merchantmen. In Singapore Roads no class of shipping above mere native craft can lie nearer than two miles of the shore; so +that in a war with a European naval power, the merchant shipping there can only be defended by her majestyʼs navy. + +</p> +<p>“One of the most striking national advantages to be expected from the possession of Labuan would consist in its use in defending +our own commerce, and attacking that of opponents, in the event of a naval war. Between the eastern extremity of the Straits +of Malacca and Hong Kong, a distance of 1700 miles, there is no British <a id="d0e4674"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4674">348</a>]</span>harbor, and no safe and accessible port of refuge; Hong Kong is, indeed, the only spot within the wide limits of the Chinese +Sea for such a purpose, although our legitimate commercial intercourse within it extends over a length of 2000 miles. Everywhere +else, Manilla and the newly opened ports of China excepted, our crippled vessels or our merchantmen pursued by the enemyʼs +cruisers, are met by the exclusion or extortion of semi-barbarous nations, or in danger of falling into the power of robbers +and savages. + +</p> +<p>“Labuan fortified, and supposing the Borneon coal to be as productive and valuable in quality as it is represented, would +give Great Britain in a naval war the entire command of the China Sea. This would be the result of our possessing or commanding +the only available supply of coal, that of Bengal and Australia excepted, to be found in the wide limits which extend east +of the continents of Europe and America. + +</p> +<p>“The position of Labuan will render it the most convenient possible for the suppressing of piracy. The most desperate and +active pirates of the whole Indian Archipelago are the tribes of the Sooloo group of islands lying close to the north shore +of Borneo, and the people of the north and northeastern coast of Borneo itself; these have of late years proved extremely +troublesome both to the English and Dutch traders; both nations are bound by the Convention of 1824 to use their best endeavors +for the suppression of piracy, and many efforts have <span id="d0e4680" class="corr" title="Source: cortainly">certainly</span> been made for this purpose, although as yet without material effect in diminishing the evil. + +</p> +<p>“From Labuan, these pirates might certainly be intercepted by armed steamers far more conveniently and cheaply than from any +other position that could be easily pointed out: indeed, the very existence of a British settlement would tend to the suppression +of piracy. + +</p> +<p>“As a commercial depôt, Labuan would have considerable advantages by position; the native trade of the vicinity would of course +resort to it, and so would that of the north coast of Borneo, of the Sooloo Islands, and of a considerable portion of the +Spice Islands. Even for the trade of the Philippines and China, it would have the advantage over Singapore of a voyage by +700 miles <a id="d0e4687"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4687">349</a>]</span>shorter; a matter of most material consequence to native commerce. + +</p> +<p>“With all the countries of the neighborhood lying west of Labuan I presume that a communication across both monsoons might +be maintained throughout the year. This would include a portion of the east coast of the Malay peninsula, Siam, and part of +Cochin China. + +</p> +<p>“Labuan belongs to that portion of the coast of Borneo which is the rudest. The Borneons themselves are of the Malay nation, +originally emigrants from Sumatra, and settled here for about six centuries. They are the most distant from their original +seat of all the colonies which have sprung from this nation. The people from the interior differ from them in language, manners, +and religion, and are divided into tribes as numerous and as rude as the Americans when first seen by Europeans. + +</p> +<p>“From such a people we are not to expect any valuable products of art or manufacture, for a British mercantile depôt. Pepper +is, however, produced in considerable quantity, and the products of the forests are very various, as bees-wax, gum-benjamin, +fine camphor, camphor oil, esculent swallowsʼ nests, canes and rattans, which used to form the staple articles of Borneon +import into Singapore. The Borneon territory opposite to Labuan abounds also, I believe, in the palm which yields sago, and +indeed the chief part of the manufactured article was thirty years ago brought from this country. The Chinese settlers would, +no doubt, as in Singapore and Malacca, establish factories for its preparation according to the improved processes which they +now practice at those places. + +</p> +<p>“There may be reason to expect, however, that the timber of the portion of Borneo referred to may be found of value for ship-building; +for Mr. Dalrymple states that in his time, above seventy years ago, Chinese junks of 500 tons burden used to be built in the +river of Borneo. As to timber well-suited for boats and house-building, it is hardly necessary to add that the northwest coast +of Borneo, in common with almost every other part of the Archipelago, contains a supply amounting to superfluity. +<a id="d0e4697"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4697">350</a>]</span></p> +<p>“I may take this opportunity of stating, as evidence of the conveniency of this portion of Borneo for a commercial intercourse +with China, that down to within the last half century a considerable number of Chinese junks were engaged in trading regularly +with Borneo, and that trade ceased only when the native government became too bad and weak to afford it protection. Without +the least doubt this trade would again spring up on the erection of the British flag at Labuan. Not a single Chinese junk +had resorted to the Straits of Malacca before the establishment of Singapore, and their number is now, of one size or another, +and exclusive of the junks of Siam and Cochin China, not less than 100. + +</p> +<p>“From the cultivation of the land I should not be disposed to expect anything beyond the production of fresh fruits and esculent +vegetables, and when the land is cleared, of grass for pasture. The seas in this part of the world are prolific in fish of +great variety and great excellence; and the Chinese settlers are found everywhere skillful and industrious in taking them. + +</p> +<p>“Some difficulty will, in the beginning, be experienced with respect to milk, butter, and fresh meat: this was the case at +first in Singapore, but the difficulty has in a good measure been overcome. The countries of the Archipelago are generally +not suited to pasture, and it is only in a few of them that the ox and buffalo are abundant. The sheep is so nowhere, and +for the most part is wanting altogether; cattle, therefore, must be imported. + +</p> +<p>“As to corn, it will unquestionably be found far cheaper to import than to raise it. Rice will be the chief bread-corn, and +will come in great abundance and cheapness from Siam and Cochin China. No country within 700 miles of Singapore is abundant +in corn, and none is grown in the island: yet from the first establishment of the settlement to the present time, corn has +been both cheap and abundant, there has been wonderfully little fluctuation, there are always stocks, and for many years a +considerable exportation. A variety of pulses, vegetable oil, and culinary salt, will be derived from the same countries, +as is now done in abundance by Singapore. +<a id="d0e4706"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4706">351</a>]</span></p> +<p>“The mines of antimony are 300 miles to the southwest of Labuan, and those of gold on the west and the south coasts; and I +am not aware that any mineral wealth has been discovered in the portion of Borneo immediately connected with Labuan, except +that of coal—far more important and valuable, indeed, than gold or antimony. The existence of a coal-field has been traced +from Labuan to the islands of Kayn-arang—which words, in fact, mean coal island—to the island of Chermin, and from thence +to the mainland over a distance of thirty miles. With respect to the coal of Labuan itself, I find no distinct statement beyond +the simple fact of the existence of the mineral; but the coal of the two islands in the river, and of the main, is proved +to be—from analysis and trial in steam-navigation—superior to nearly all the coal which India has hitherto yielded, and equal +to some of our best English coals. This is the more remarkable, as it is known that most surface-minerals, and especially +coals, are inferior to the portions of the same veins or beds more deep-seated. + +</p> +<p>“Nearly as early as the British flag is erected, and, at all events, as soon as it is permanently known to be so, there may +be reckoned upon with certainty a large influx of settlers. The best and most numerous of these will be the Chinese. They +were settled on the Borneo river when the Borneo government, never very good, or otherwise than comparatively violent and +disorderly, was most endurable. + +</p> +<p>“Borneo is, of all the great islands of the western portion of the Archipelago, the nearest to China, and Labuan and its neighborhood +the nearest point of this island. The distance of Hong Kong is about 1000 miles, and that of the island of Hainan, a great +place for emigration, not above 800; distances which to the Chinese junks—fast sailers before the strong and favorable winds +of the monsoons—do not make voyages exceeding four or five days. The coasts of the provinces of Canton and Fokien have hitherto +been the great hives from which Chinese emigration has proceeded; and even Fokien is not above 1400 miles from Labuan, a voyage +of seven or eight days. Chinese trade and immigration <a id="d0e4713"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4713">352</a>]</span>will come together. The northwest coast of Borneo produces an unusual supply of those raw articles for which there is always +a demand in the markets of China; and Labuan, it may be reckoned upon with certainty, will soon become the seat of a larger +trade with China than the river of Borneo ever possessed. + +</p> +<p>“I by no means anticipate the same amount of rapid advance in population, commerce, or financial resources for Labuan, that +has distinguished the history of Singapore, a far more centrical position for general commerce; still I think its prospect +of success undoubted; while it will have some advantages which Singapore cannot, from its nature, possess. Its coal-mines, +and the command of the coal-fields on the river of Borneo, are the most remarkable of these; and its superiority as a post-office<a id="d0e4717src" href="#d0e4717" class="noteref">2</a> station necessarily follows. Then it is far more convenient as a port of refuge; and, as far as our present knowledge will +enable us to judge, infinitely more valuable for military purposes, more especially for affording protection to the commerce +which passes through the Chinese Sea, amounting at present to probably not less than 300,000 tons of shipping, carrying cargoes +certainly not under the value of 15,000,000<i>l</i>. sterling. + +</p> +<p>“Labuan ought, like Singapore, to be a free port; and assuredly will not prosper if it is not. Its revenue should not be derived +from customs, but, as in that settlement, from excise duties: upon the nature of these, as it is well known, it is unnecessary +to enlarge. They covered during my time, near twenty years ago, and within five years of the establishment of the settlement, +the whole charges of a small but sufficient garrison (100 Sepoys), and a moderate but competent civil establishment. + +</p> +<p>“The military and civil establishments have been greatly increased of late years; but the revenue, still in its nature the +same, has kept pace with them. <a id="d0e4733"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4733">353</a>]</span>During my administration of Singapore, the municipal charges fell on the general fund; but they are at present amply provided +for from a distinct source, chiefly an assessment on house-property. + +</p> +<p>“If the military and civil charges of Labuan are kept within moderate bounds, I make no doubt but that a similar excise revenue +will be adequate to cover the charges of both, and that in peace at least the state need not be called on to make any disbursement +on its account; while during a naval war, if the state make any expenditure, it will be fully compensated by the additional +security which the settlement will afford to British commerce, and the annoyance it will cause to the enemy. + +</p> +<p>“As to the disposal of the land, always a difficult question in a new and unoccupied colony, the result of my own inquiries +and personal experience lead me to offer it as my decided conviction that the most expedient plan—that which is least troublesome +to the government, most satisfactory to the settler, and ultimately most conducive to the public prosperity—is to dispose +of it for a term of years, that is, on long leases of 1000 years, or virtually in perpetuity; the object in this case of adopting +the leasehold tenure being, by making the land a chattel interest, to get rid of the difficulties in the matter of inheritance +and transfer, which, under the administration of English law, and in reference more particularly to the Asiatic people who +will be the principal landowners, are incident to real property. Town allotments might be sold subject to a considerable quit-rent, +but allotments in the country for one entirely nominal. Those of the latter description should be small, proportionate with +the extent of the island, and the time and difficulty required in such a climate to clear the land, now overgrown for the +most part with a stupendous forest of evergreen trees, and the wood of which is too abundant to be of any value, certainly +for the most part not worth the land-carriage of a couple of furlongs. + +</p> +<p>“A charter for the administration of justice should be as nearly as possible contemporaneous with the cession. Great inconvenience +has resulted in all our Eastern settlements <a id="d0e4741"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4741">354</a>]</span>of the same nature with that speculated on at Labuan, from the want of all legal provision for the administration of justice; +and remembering this, it ought to be guarded against in the case of Labuan. + +</p> +<p>“Whether in preparing for the establishment of a British settlement on the coast of Borneo, or in actually making one, her +majestyʼs ministers, I am satisfied, will advert to the merits and peculiar qualifications of Mr. Brooke. That gentleman is +unknown to me, except by his acts and writings; but, judging by these, I consider him as possessing all the qualities which +have distinguished the successful founders of new colonies; intrepidity, firmness, and enthusiasm, with the art of governing +and leading the masses. He possesses some, moreover, which have not always belonged to such men, however otherwise distinguished; +a knowledge of the language, manners, customs, and institutions of the natives by whom the colony is to be surrounded; with +benevolence and an independent fortune, things still more unusual with the projectors of colonies. Toward the formation of +a new colony, indeed, the available services of such a man, presuming they are available, may be considered a piece of good +fortune.” + + + + +<a id="d0e4745"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4745">355</a>]</span></p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4659" href="#d0e4659src" class="noteref">1</a></span> Sir Edward Belcher has since surveyed Labuan in her majestyʼs ship Samarang, and finding an excellent harbor, named it Victoria +Bay.—H. K. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4717" href="#d0e4717src" class="noteref">2</a></span> Vide Mr. Wiseʼs Plan (p. 362,3) for accelerating the communication between Great Britain and China, viz. the conveyance of +the mails from Hong Kong to Suez (<i>viá</i> Ceylon) direct. Submitted to her majestyʼs <span id="d0e4722" class="corr" title="Source: Goverment">Government</span>, 14th September, 1843; adopted 20th June, 1845. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="d0e4746" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="normal">CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.</h2> +<p>[First Edition.] + + +</p> +<p>The recent proceedings of Government in following up the impression made upon Malay piracy, as related in these pages; the +appointment of Mr. Brooke as British Agent in Borneo, armed with the moral and physical power of his country; the cession +of the island of Labuan to the British crown; and the great advance already made by the English ruler of Sarāwak, in laying +broad foundations for native prosperity, while extending general security and commerce; all combine to add an interest to +the early individual steps which have led to measures of so much national consequence. + +</p> +<p>Deeply as I felt the influence of that individual on the condition of Borneo, and the Malayan Archipelago generally, while +employed there, and much as I anticipated from his energetic character, extraordinary exertions, and enlarged views for the +future, I confess that my expectations have been greatly increased by the progress of events since that period. It needed +nothing to confirm my faith in the results that were sure to follow from his enlightened acts—from his prudence and humanity +in the treatment of his Dyak subjects, and the neighboring and interior independent tribes—from his firm resistance to the +Malay tyranny exercised upon the aborigines, and his punishment of Malay aggression, wherever perpetrated. But when I see +these elements of good wisely seconded by the highest authorities of England, I cannot but look for the consummation of every +benefit desired, much more rapidly and effectively than if left to the efforts of a private person, even though that person +were a Brooke! If the appearance of H.M.S. Dido on the coast and at Sarāwak produced a salutary effect upon all our relations +with the inhabitants, it may well be presumed that the mission of Captain Bethune, and the expedition under Rear-Admiral Sir +Thomas Cochrane, must have greatly improved and extended that wholesome state of affairs. Indeed, it is evident, by the complete +<a id="d0e4755"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4755">356</a>]</span>success which attended Mr. Brookeʼs official visit to Borneo Proper in H.M.S. Driver, after receiving dispatches from Lord +Aberdeen appointing him British agent in the island, carried out by Captain Bethune in November, 1844, that the presence of +a British force in those seas was alone necessary to enable him to suppress piracy, and perfect his plans for the establishment +of a native government which should not oppress the country, and which should cultivate the most friendly intercourse with +us. Thus we find the piratical Pangeran Usop put down, and Muda Hassim exercising the sovereign power in the name of his imbecile +nephew, who still retains the title of sultan. The principal chiefs, and men distinguished by talent and some acquaintance +with foreign affairs, are now on our side; and it only requires to support them in order that civilization may rapidly spread +over the land, and Borneo become again, as it was one or two centuries ago, the abode of an industrious, rich, pacific, and +mercantile people, interchanging products with all the trading nations of the world, and conferring and reaping those blessings +which follow in the train of just and honorable trade wheresoever its enterprising spirit leads in the pursuit of honest gain. +As the vain search for the philosopherʼs stone conducted to many a useful and valuable discovery, so may we be assured that +the real seeking for gold through the profitable medium of commerce has been, is, and will be the grand source of filling +the earth with comfort and happiness. + +</p> +<p>Among the numerous visions of this kind which open to our sense while reflecting on the new prospects of this vast island—so +little known, yet known to possess almost unbounded means to invite and return commercial activity—is the contemplation of +the field it presents to missionary labors. When we read Mr. Brookeʼs description of the aboriginal Dyak, and observe what +he has himself done in one locality within the space of four or five short years, what may we not expect to be accomplished +by the zeal of Christian missions judiciously directed to reclaim such a people from utter barbarism, and induce them to become +true members of a faith which teaches forbearance and charity between man <a id="d0e4759"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4759">357</a>]</span>and man, and inculcates, with the love and hope of heaven, an abhorrence of despotism and blood, and a disposition to live +in good-will and peace with all our fellow-creatures? There are here no prejudices of caste, as in India, to impede the missionariesʼ +progress. Mr. Brooke has pointed out what may be effected in this way, and we have only to say amen to his prayer, with an +earnest aspiration that it may be speedily fulfilled. + +</p> +<p>Having enjoyed the pleasure of communicating to the public this satisfactory description of the <i>status quo</i> in Borneo to the latest period (September, 1845), I venture to congratulate them upon it. Thus far all is well and as it +should be, and promising the happiest issue; but I hope I may not be charged with presumption in offering an opinion from +my experience in this quarter, and respectfully suggesting that, in addition to a permanent British settlement at Labuan, +it will be absolutely necessary to proceed with the suppression of Malay piracy, by steadily acting against every pirate-hold. +Without a continued and determined series of operations of this sort, it is my conviction that even the most sanguinary and +fatal onslaughts will achieve nothing beyond a present and temporary good. The impression on the native mind is not sufficiently +lasting: their old impulses and habits return with fresh force; they forget their heavy retribution; and in two or three years +the memory of them is almost entirely effaced. Till piracy be completely suppressed there must be no relaxation; and well +worth the perseverance is the end in view, the welfare of one of the richest and most improvable portions of the globe, and +the incalculable extension of the blessings of Britainʼs prosperous commerce and humanizing dominion. + +</p> +<p>In looking forward to the certain realization of these prospects, I may mention the important circumstance of the discovery +of coal in abundance for the purposes of steam navigation. The surveys already made afford assurances of this fact, and the +requisite arrangements are in progress for opening and working the mines. It is generally known that the Dutch assert very +wide pretensions to colonies and monopolies in those seas. A <a id="d0e4768"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4768">358</a>]</span>treaty has been concluded between the Netherlands government and England; and although that important document contains no +reference whatever to Borneo, it is most desirable for the general extension of commerce that no national jealousies, no ideas +of conflicting interests, no encroaching and ambitious projects, may be allowed to interfere with or prevent the beneficial +progress of this important region. With such a man as Mr. Brooke to advise the course most becoming, disinterested, and humane +for the British empire to pursue, it is not too much to say that, if the well-being of these races of our fellow-creatures +is defeated or postponed, the crime will not lie at our door. The sacrifices we have made to extinguish slavery throughout +the world are a sure and unquestionable pledge that we will do our utmost to extirpate the horrid traffic in those parts, +and to uproot the system of piracy that feeds it. It is the bounden duty of both Holland and Great Britain to unite cordially +in this righteous cause. The cry of nature is addressed to them; and if rejected, as surely as there is justice and mercy +in the Providence which overrules the fate of nations, no blessing will prosper them, but wealth, and dominion, and happiness +will pass away from them forever. Mr. Brooke invokes their coöperation, and his noble appeal cannot be withstood. + +</p> +<p>The central position of Labuan is truly remarkable. That island is distant from + + +</p> +<div class="table"> +<table width="100%"> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Hong Kong </td> +<td valign="top">1009 miles.</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Singapore </td> +<td valign="top"> 707 ”</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Siam </td> +<td valign="top"> 984 ”</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Manilla </td> +<td valign="top"> 650 ”</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>On the other hand, Mr. Brookeʼs territory of Sarāwak is distant from + + +</p> +<div class="table"> +<table width="100%"> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Singapore </td> +<td valign="top"> 427 miles.</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Labuan </td> +<td valign="top"> 304 ”</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Hong Kong </td> +<td valign="top">1199 ”</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>How direct and central are these valuable possessions for the universal trade of the East! + + + + +<a id="d0e4815"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4815">359</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e4816" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="normal">POSTSCRIPT TO THE SECOND EDITION.</h2> +<p>June 6th, 1846. + +</p> +<p>In the foregoing remarks with which I closed the first edition of this book, I ventured to congratulate the public on the +cheerful aspect of affairs in Borneo at the latest period of which accounts had then reached me. I could then say, with a +joyful heart, “Thus far all is well and as it should be, and promising the happiest issue.” But now I must write in a different +strain. The mischiefs I pointed out above as likely to ensue from a desultory and intermittent mode of dealing with Malay +piracy have revealed themselves even sooner and in a more formidable manner than I had anticipated. The weak and covetous +sultan of Borneo has, with more than the usual fickleness of Asiatics, already forgotten the lessons we gave him and the engagements +he solemnly and voluntarily contracted with us. Mr. Brookeʼs faithful friends, Muda Hassim and the Pangeran Budrudeen, with +numbers of their families and retainers, have been basely murdered by their treacherous kinsman, because of their attachment +to the English and their unswerving determination to put down piracy; and what is worst of all, Mr. Brookeʼs arch-enemy, the +subtle and indefatigable villain Macota, the man whose accursed head was thrice saved by my too-generous friend, has now returned +triumphantly to the scene of his former crimes, and is commissioned by the sultan to take Mr. Brookeʼs life by poison, or +by any other of those treacherous arts in which there is no more consummate adept than Macota. I could trust securely to Mr. +Brookeʼs gallantry and skill for the protection of his life against the attacks of open foes; and my only fears arise when +I reflect on his utter insensibility to danger, and think how the admirable <a id="d0e4823"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4823">360</a>]</span>qualities of his own guileless, confiding nature may facilitate the designs of his enemies. + +</p> +<p>H.M.S. Hazard, from Hong Kong, having touched at Bruni about the end of March last, was boarded by a native, who gave the +captain such information as induced him to sail with all speed for Sarāwak; and there this man made the following deposition:— + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<div class="body"> +<div class="div1"> +<p>Japper, a native of Bruni, deposes that he was sent aboard H.M.S. Hazard by the Pangeran Muda Mahomed, to warn the captain +against treachery, and to communicate the following details to Mr. Brooke at Sarāwak. + + +</p> +<p>The Rajah Muda Hassim was raised by the sultan to the title of Sultan Muda (or young sultan), and, together with his brothers +and followers, was living in security, when he was attacked by orders of the sultan at night, and together with thirteen of +his family, killed in different places. Four brothers, viz. Pangeran Muda Mahomed, Pangeran Abdul Kader, Pangeran Abdulraman, +and Pangeran Mesahat, together with several young children of the Rajah Muda Hassim, alone survive. The deponent Japper was +in attendance on his lord, the Pangeran Budrudeen, at the time of the attack. The Pangeran, though surprised by his enemies, +fought for some time, and when desperately wounded, retired outside his house with his sister and another woman named Koor +Salem. The deponent was there and was wounded, as were both the women. The Pangeran Budrudeen ordered deponent to open a keg +or cask of gunpowder, which he did; and the last thing his lord did was to take his ring from his finger and desire the deponent +to carry it to Mr. Brooke; to bid Mr. Brooke not to forget him, and not to forget to lay his case before the Queen of England. +The deponent then quitted his lord, who was with the two women, and immediately after his lord fired the powder, and the three +were blown up. The deponent escaped with difficulty; and a few days afterward, the ring intrusted to his charge, was taken +from him by the sultan. The sultan, and those with him, killed the Rajah Muda Hassim and his family, because he was the friend +of the English and wanted to suppress piracy. The sultan has now built forts and defied the English. He talked openly of cutting +out any vessel that arrived; and two Pangerans went down, bearing the flag of the Rajah Muda Hassim, to look at the vessel, +and to kill the captain if they could get him ashore. The deponent had great difficulty in getting to the ship; and should +his flight be discovered, he considers the lives of the surviving portion of the Rajah <a id="d0e4835"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4835">361</a>]</span>Muda Hassimʼs family will be in danger. The deponent did what he was ordered, and what his late lord, the Pangeran Budrudeen, +desired him to do. The sultan had a man ready to send, named Nakoda Kolala, to Kaluka, to request that Pangeran Macota would +kill Mr. Brooke by treachery or poison. + + + +</p> +<div class="signed">(<i>Signed</i>) +<br><span class="smallcaps">J. Brooke.</span> + +</div> +</div> +</div> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>Having put Mr. Brooke on his guard, the Hazard proceeded to Singapore, whence the H.E.I.C. war-steamer Phlegethon would be +immediately dispatched to Sarāwak. + + +</p> +<p class="aligncenter"><span class="smallcaps">H h</span> + + +<a id="d0e4853"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e4853">362</a>]</span></p> +<div class="div2"> +<h3 class="normal">Suggestions for Accelerating the Communication Between Great Britain and China.</h3> +<p></p> +<div class="table"> +<table width="100%"> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" rowspan="2"><b>Proposed Route from Hong Kong to London, and vice versâ. +</b></td> +<td valign="top" rowspan="2"><b>Course. +</b></td> +<td valign="top" rowspan="2"><b>Distance, Miles. +</b></td> +<td valign="top" rowspan="2"><b>Average Rate per Hour, Miles. +</b></td> +<td valign="top" colspan="2"><b>Interval under Weigh. +</b></td> +<td valign="top" colspan="2"><b>Interval at Anchor. +</b></td> +<td valign="top" colspan="2"><b>Total Interval. +</b></td> +<td valign="top" rowspan="2"><b>Duties at Anchor.</b></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top"><i>Days. +</i></td> +<td valign="top"><i>Hours. +</i></td> +<td valign="top"><i>Days. +</i></td> +<td valign="top"><i>Hours. +</i></td> +<td valign="top"><i>Days. +</i></td> +<td valign="top"><i>Hours.</i></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Hong Kong to Pulo Labuan + +</td> +<td valign="top">S. 2°18′E. + +</td> +<td valign="top">1009 + +</td> +<td valign="top">7 + +</td> +<td valign="top">6 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">1 + +</td> +<td valign="top">12 + +</td> +<td valign="top">7 + +</td> +<td valign="top">12 + +</td> +<td valign="top">To receive Coal.<a id="d0e4912src" href="#d0e4912" class="noteref">1</a></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Pulo Labuan to Singapore + +</td> +<td valign="top">S. 69 23 W. + +</td> +<td valign="top">707 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">4 + +</td> +<td valign="top">6 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">12 + +</td> +<td valign="top">4 + +</td> +<td valign="top">18 + +</td> +<td valign="top">To receive Coal, land and receive Mails.</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Singapore to Malacca + +</td> +<td valign="top">S. 64 48 W. 19 N. 51 41 W. 103 + +</td> +<td valign="top">122 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">18 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">6 + +</td> +<td valign="top">1 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">To land and receive Mails.</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Malacca to Pinang + +</td> +<td valign="top">N. 30 37 W. + +</td> +<td valign="top">222 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">1 + +</td> +<td valign="top">8 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">16 + +</td> +<td valign="top">2 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">To receive Coal, land and receive Mails.</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Pinang to Ceylon<a id="d0e4986src" href="#d0e4986" class="noteref">2</a> + +</td> +<td valign="top">N. 82 24 W. 303 S. 80 45 W. 916 + +</td> +<td valign="top">1219 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">7 + +</td> +<td valign="top">6 + +</td> +<td valign="top">2 + +</td> +<td valign="top">12 + +</td> +<td valign="top">8 + +</td> +<td valign="top">18 + +</td> +<td valign="top"> Ditto Ditto</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Ceylon to Aden + +</td> +<td valign="top" colspan="7">As now performed by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., detention of 2 days included + +</td> +<td valign="top">11 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Aden to Suez + +</td> +<td valign="top" colspan="7"> Ditto Ditto + +</td> +<td valign="top">8 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Suez to Alexandria + +</td> +<td valign="top" colspan="7"> Ditto all stoppages included + +</td> +<td valign="top">3 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Alexandria to Malta + +</td> +<td valign="top" colspan="7"> Ditto Ditto + +</td> +<td valign="top">4 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Malta to Marseilles + +</td> +<td valign="top" colspan="7">As now performed by H.M. Post-Office Packets, ditto + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top">4 + +</td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Marseilles to London + +</td> +<td valign="top" colspan="7"> Ditto by regular course of Post ditto + +</td> +<td valign="top">5 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" colspan="8">Total Interval from Hong Kong to London, and vice versâ, by the proposed Route. Days + +</td> +<td valign="top">59 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" colspan="8">Average interval of transmission of China Correspondence, viâ Calcutta and Bombay, during the last Twenty Overland Mails, +viz. from 10th October, 1841, to 6th May, 1843 + +</td> +<td valign="top">89 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> </td> +<td valign="top" colspan="7">Difference of time in favor of proposed Route Days + +</td> +<td valign="top">30 + +</td> +<td valign="top">— + +</td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"></td> +</tr> +</table> +</div><p> +<a id="d0e5096"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5096">363</a>]</span></p> +<p>Mem.—I have adopted an average rate of seven miles per hour as a fair estimate of the speed well-appointed Steam Vessels, +of moderate size and power, will be enabled to accomplish and maintain, throughout the proposed Route, at all seasons of the +year; for, during the whole distance from Pinang to Aden, and <i>vice versâ</i>, neither monsoon, from the course steered, becomes at any period a directly adverse wind, an advantage which the route hitherto +observed does not possess. Assuming that the Hon. East India Company continue the management of the Bombay line, and that +the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company are encouraged to render their operations more comprehensive, by the +establishment of branch steamers between Ceylon and Singapore, to which latter port her majestyʼs steam vessels on the China +station could convey the mails from Hong Kong, this all-important object might, without difficulty, be attained. The advantages +to the Straits settlements, consequent on the adoption of improved arrangements, require no comment; and the <i>practicability</i> of effecting a very considerable acceleration of the communication with China is evident from the simple fact that the average +interval which has occurred in the transmission of letters from China, by the last twenty Overland Mails (irrespective of +the unfortunate July mail from Bombay), exceeds the period occasionally occupied by fast-sailing ships, in accomplishing the +voyage viâ the Cape of Good Hope. + + +</p> +<p><span class="smallcaps">London</span>, <i>14th Sept. 1843.</i><a id="d0e5111src" href="#d0e5111" class="noteref">3</a><br> +HENRY WISE, + +</p> +<p>13, Austin Friars. + +</p> +<p>P.S.—<i>Oct. 9th.</i> The arrival at Suez on the 16th ult. of the H.C.S. Akbar, in <i>forty-six</i> days from Hong Kong, after accomplishing the passage down the China seas, against the S.W. monsoon—unassisted also by any +previously arranged facilities for coaling, exchange of steamers at Aden, and other manifest advantages requisite for the +proper execution of this important service, confirms the correctness of my estimate for performing the voyage from Hong Kong +to Suez, or <i>vice versâ</i>, viz. <i>forty-three</i> days, including stoppages. + + +</p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4912" href="#d0e4912src" class="noteref">1</a></span> The Borneo coal-mines would also serve to keep the Hong Kong, Singapore, and Pinang stations supplied with fuel for Steam +Vessels carrying the Mails between Hong Hong and Suez direct. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e4986" href="#d0e4986src" class="noteref">2</a></span> Receiving at Ceylon the Outward Overland Mail from England, and returning therewith to China. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e5111" href="#d0e5111src" class="noteref">3</a></span> Date of submitting the above proposed route and estimate to her majestyʼs Government for consideration. +</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="back"><a id="d0e5132"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5132">365</a>]</span><div id="d0e5133" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">APPENDIX.</h2> +<div class="div2" id="d0e5136"> +<h3 class="label">No. I.</h3> +<h3 class="normal">NATURAL HISTORY.</h3> +<p><i>Mr. Brookeʼs Report on the Mias.</i> (From the Transactions of the Zoological Society.) + +</p> +<p>JAMES BROOKE, <span class="smallcaps">Esq.</span>, <span class="smallcaps">to Mr.</span> WATERHOUSE. + + +</p> +<p><span class="smallcaps">My dear Sir:</span>—Singapore, 25th March, 1841. + +</p> +<p>I am happy to announce the departure of five live ourang-outangs by the ship Martin Luther, Captain Swan; and I trust they +will reach you alive. In case they die, I have directed Captain Swan to put them into spirits, that you may still have an +opportunity of seeing them. The whole of the five are from Borneo: one large female adult from Sambas; two, with slight cheek-callosities, +from Pontiana; a small male, without any sign of callosities, from Pontiana likewise; and the smallest of all, a very young +male with callosities, from Sadung. I will shortly forward a fine collection of skulls and skeletons from the northwest coast +of Borneo, either shot by myself or brought by the natives; and I beg you will do me the favor to present the live ourangs +and this collection to the Zoological Society. I have made many inquiries and gained some information regarding these animals, +and I can, beyond a doubt, prove the existence of two, if not three, distinct species in Borneo. + +</p> +<p>First, I will re-state the native account: secondly, give you my own observations; and thirdly, enter into a brief detail +of the specimens hereafter to be forwarded. + +</p> +<p>1st. The natives of the northwest coast of Borneo are all positive as to the existence of two distinct species, which I formerly +gave you by the names of the <i>Mias pappan</i> and <i>Mias rombi</i>; but I have since received information from a few natives of intelligence that there are three sorts, and what is vulgarly +called the Mias rombi is in reality the <i>Mias kassar</i>, the rombi being a distinct and third species. The Mias pappan is the <i>Simia Wurmbii</i> of Mr. Owen, having callosities on the sides of the face: the natives treat with derision the idea of the Mias kassar, or +<i>Simia morio</i>, being the female of the Mias pappan or Simia Wurmbii; and I consider the fact can be established so clearly that I will +not <a id="d0e5178"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5178">366</a>]</span>trouble you with their statements: both Malays and Dyaks are positive that the female of the Mias pappan has cheek-callosities +the same as the male; and if on inquiry it prove to be so, the existence of three distinct species in Borneo will be established. +The existence of the Mias rombi is vouched by a few natives only, but they were men of intelligence, and well acquainted with +the animals in the wild state. They represent the Mias rombi to be as tall as the pappan, or even taller, but not so stout, +with longer hair, a smaller face, and no callosities either on the male or female; and they always insisted that it was not +the female of the pappan. + +</p> +<p>The Mias kassar or Simia morio is of the same color as the Mias pappan, but altogether smaller, and devoid of callosities +either on the male or female adults. + +</p> +<p>By the native statements, therefore, we find three distinct species, viz. the Mias pappan or Simia Wurmbii, the Mias kassar +or Simia morio, and the Mias rombi, which is either the <i>Simia Abelii</i>, or a fourth species. The existence of the Sumatran ourang in Borneo is by no means impossible; and I have already compared +so many of the native statements, that I place more confidence in them than I did formerly, more especially as their account +is in a great measure borne out by the skulls in my possession. I had an opportunity of seeing the Mias pappan and the Mias +kassar in their native woods, and killing one of the former and several of the latter species. The distribution of these animals +is worthy of notice, as they are found both at Pontiana and Sambas in considerable numbers, and at Sadung on the northwest +coast, but are unknown in the intermediate country which includes the rivers of Sarāwak and Samarahan. I confess myself at +a loss to account for their absence on the Sarāwak and Samarahan rivers, which abound with fruit, and have forests similar +and contiguous to the Sadung, Linga, and other rivers. The distance from Samarahan to Sadung does not exceed twenty-five miles; +and though pretty abundant on the latter, they are unknown on the former river. From Sadung, proceeding to the northward and +eastward, they are found for about 100 miles, but beyond that distance do not inhabit the forests. The Mias pappan and Mias +kassar inhabit the same woods, but I never met them on the same day; both species, according to the natives, are equally common, +but from my own experience the Mias kassar is the most plentiful. The Mias rombi is represented as unfrequent and rarely to +be met with. The pappan is justly named <i>Satyrus</i>, from the ugly face and disgusting callosities. The adult male I killed was seated lazily on a tree, and when approached +only took the trouble to interpose the trunk between us, peeping at me, and dodging as I dodged. I hit him on the wrist, and +he was afterward dispatched. I send you his proportions, enormous relative to his height; and until I came to actual measurement +my impression was that he was nearly six feet in stature. The following is an extract from my journal relating to him, noted +down directly after he was killed:— + +</p> +<p>“Great was our triumph as we gazed on the huge animal dead <a id="d0e5192"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5192">367</a>]</span>at our feet, and proud were we of having shot the first ourang we had seen, and shot him in his native woods, in a Borneo +forest, hitherto untrodden by European feet. The animal was adult, having four incisors, two canines, and ten molars in each +jaw; but by his general appearance he was not old. We were struck by the length of his arms, the enormous neck, and the expanse +of face, which altogether gave the impression of great height, whereas it was only great power. The hair was long, reddish, +and thin; the face remarkably broad and fleshy, and on each side, in the place of a manʼs whiskers, were the callosities or +rather fleshy protuberances, which I was so desirous to see, and which were nearly two inches in thickness. The ears were +small and well shaped, the nose quite flat, mouth prominent, lips thick, teeth large and discolored, eyes small and roundish, +face and hands black, the latter being very powerful. The following are the dimensions: + + +</p> +<div class="table"> +<table width="100%"> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"><i> </i></td> +<td valign="top"><i>ft. </i></td> +<td valign="top"><i>in.</i></td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Height from head to heel </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">4 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 1</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Length of foot </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">1 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 0</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Ditto hand </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">0 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">10½</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Length of arm from shoulder-blade to finger-end </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">3 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 5¾</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Shoulder-blade to elbow </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">1 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 6</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Elbow to wrist </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">1 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 1½</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Hip to heel </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">1 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 9</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Head to os coccygia </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">2 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 5½</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Across the shoulders </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">1 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 5½</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Circumference of neck </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">2 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 4</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Ditto below the ribs </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">3 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 3¼</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Ditto under the arms </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">3 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 0</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">From forehead to chin </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">0 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 9¾</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">Across the face, below the eyes, including callosities </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">1 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 1</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">From ear to ear across the top of the head </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">0 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 9½</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top">From ear to ear behind the head </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright">0 </td> +<td valign="top" class="alignright"> 9¾</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>The natives asserted the animal to be a small one; but I am skeptical of their ever attaining the growth of a tall man, though +I bear in mind that full-grown animals will probably differ as much in height as man.” + +</p> +<p>Some days after this, and about thirty miles distant, I was fortunate enough to kill two adult females (one with her young), +and a male nearly adult, all the Mias kassar. The young male was not measured, owing to my having waded up to my neck in pursuit +of him, and thereby destroyed my paper and lost my measure; but he certainly did not exceed 3 feet, while the two females +were about 3 ft. 1 in. and 3 ft. 2 in. in height. The male was just cutting his two posterior molars: the color of all resembled +that of the Mias pappan, but the difference between the two animals was apparent even to our seamen. The kassar has no callosities +either on the male or female, whereas the young pappans dispatched by the Martin Luther (one of them not a year old, with +two first molars) show them prominently. The great difference between the kassar and the pappan in size would prove at once +the distinction of the two species; the kassar being a small, slight animal, by no means formidable in his appearance, with +hands and feet proportioned to the body, and they do not <a id="d0e5319"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5319">368</a>]</span>approach the gigantic extremities of the pappan either in size or power; and, in short, a moderately strong man would readily +overpower one, when he would not stand the shadow of a chance with the pappan. Beside these decisive differences may be mentioned +the appearance of the face, which in the Mias kassar is more prominent in the lower part, and the eyes exteriorly larger, +in proportion to the size of the animal, than in the pappan. The color of the skin in the adult pappan is black, while the +kassar, in his face and hands, has the dirty color common to the young of both species. If further evidence was wanted, the +skulls will fully prove the distinction of species; for the skulls of two adult animals compared will show a difference in +size alone which must preclude all supposition of their being one species. Mr. Owenʼs remarks are, however, so conclusive, +that I need not dwell on this point; and with a suite of skulls, male and female, from the adult to the infant, of the Mias +kassar, which I shall have the pleasure to forward, there can remain, I should think, little further room for discussion. +I may mention, however, that two young animals I had in my possession alive, one a kassar, the other a pappan, fully bore +out these remarks by their proportionate size. The pappan, with two molars, showed the callosities distinctly, and was as +tall and far stouter than the kassar with three molars, while the kassar had no vestige of the callosities. Their mode of +progression likewise was different, as the kassar doubled his fists and dragged his hind quarters after him, while the pappan +supported himself on the open hands sideways placed on the ground, and moved one leg before the other in the erect sitting +attitude; but this was only observed in the two young ones, and cannot be considered as certainly applicable to all. + +</p> +<p>On the habits of the ourangs, as far as I have been able to observe them, I may remark, that they are as dull and as slothful +as can well be conceived, and on no occasion when pursuing them did they move so fast as to preclude my keeping pace with +them easily through a moderately clear forest; and even when obstructions below (such as wading up to the neck) allowed them +to get way some distance, they were sure to stop and allow us to come up. I never observed the slightest attempt at defence; +and the wood, which sometimes rattled about our ears, was broken by their weight, and not thrown, as some persons represent. +If pushed to extremity, however, the pappan could not be otherwise than formidable; and one unfortunate man, who with a party +was trying to catch a large one alive, lost two of his fingers, beside being severely bitten on the face, while the animal +finally beat off his pursuers and escaped. When they wish to catch an adult, they cut down a circle of trees round the one +on which he is seated, and then fell that also, and close before he can recover himself, and endeavor to bind him. + +</p> +<p>In a small work entitled “The Menageries,” published in 1838, there is a good account of the Borneon ourang, with a brief +extract from Mr. Owenʼs valuable paper on the Simia morio; but, after dwelling on the lazy and apathetic disposition of the +animal, it states in the same page that they can make their way amid the <a id="d0e5325"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5325">369</a>]</span>branches of the trees with surprising agility; whereas they are the slowest and least active of all the monkey tribe, and +their motions are surprisingly awkward and uncouth. The natives on the northwest coast entertain no dread, and always represent +the ourangs as harmless and inoffensive animals; and from what I saw, they would never attack a man unless brought to the +ground. The rude hut which they are stated to build in the trees would be more properly called a seat or nest, for it has +no roof or cover of any sort. The facility with which they form this seat is curious, and I had an opportunity of seeing a +wounded female weave the branches together, and seat herself within a minute; she afterward received our fire without moving, +and expired in her lofty abode, whence it cost us much trouble to dislodge her. I have seen some individuals with nails on +the posterior thumbs, but generally speaking, they are devoid of them: of the five animals sent home, two have the nails, +and three are without them; one has the nail well formed, and in the other it is merely rudimentary. The length of my letter +precludes my dwelling on many particulars which, as I have not seen the recent publications on the subject, might be mere +repetitions; and I will only mention, as briefly as I can, the skulls of these animals in my possession. From my late sad +experience I am induced to this, that some brief record may be preserved from shipwreck. These skulls may be divided into +three distinct sorts. The first presents two ridges, one rising from each frontal bone, which, joining on the top of the head, +form an elevated crest, which runs backward to the cerebral portion of the skull. + +</p> +<p>The second variety is the Simia morio; and nothing need be added to Mr. Owenʼs account, save that it presents no ridge whatever +beyond the frontal part of the head. No. 9 in the collection is the skull of an adult male: No. 2 the male, nearly adult, +killed by myself: Nos. 11 and 3 adult females, killed by myself: No. 12 a young male, with three molars, killed by myself: +No. 21 a young male, died aboard, with three molars: No. 19, young male, died aboard, with two molars. There are many other +skulls of the Simia morio which exactly coincide with this suite, and this suite so remarkably coincides through the different +stages of age, one with another, that no doubt can exist of the Simia morio being a distinct species. The different character +of the skull, its small size and small teeth, put the matter beyond doubt, and completely establish Mr. Owenʼs acute and triumphant +argument, drawn from a single specimen. + +</p> +<p>The third distinction of the skulls is, that the ridges rising from the frontal bones do not meet, but converge toward the +top of the head, and again diverge toward the posterior portion of the skull. These ridges are less elevated than in the first-mentioned +skulls, but the size of the adult skulls is equal, and both present specimens of aged animals. For a long time I was inclined +to think the skulls with the double ridge were the females of the animals with the single and more prominent ridge; but No. +1 (already described as killed by myself) will show that the double ridge belongs to an adult and not young male animal, and +that it belongs <a id="d0e5331"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5331">370</a>]</span>to the Simia Wurmbii with the huge callosities. The distinction therefore cannot be a distinction of sex, unless we suppose +the skulls with the greater development of the single ridge to belong to the female, which is improbable in the highest degree. +The skulls with the double and less elevated ridges belong, as proved by No. 1, to the Simia Wurmbii; and I am of opinion +the single and higher ridge must be referred to another and distinct species, unless we can account for this difference on +the score of age. This, I conceive, will be found impossible, as Nos. 7 and 20 are specimens similar to No. 1, with the double +and less elevated ridges decidedly old, and Nos. 4 and 5 are specimens of the single high ridge, likewise decidedly old. + +</p> +<p>These three characters in the skulls coincide with the native statements of there being three distinct species in Borneo, +and this third Borneon species may probably be found to be the Simia Abelii, or Sumatran ourang. This probability is strengthened +by the adult female on her way home: her color is dark brown, with black face and hands; and in color of hair, contour, and +expression, she differs from the male ourangs with the callosities to a degree that makes me doubt her being the female of +the same species. I offer you these remarks for fear of accident; but should the specimens, living and dead, arrive in safety, +they will give a fresh impetus to the inquiry, and on my next return to Borneo I shall, in all probability, be able to set +the question at rest, whether there be two or three species in that country. Believe me, my dear sir, with best wishes, to +remain, + + +</p> +<p>Yours very truly, <span class="smallcaps">J. Brooke</span>. + + +</p> +<p>Borneo, like Celebes, teems with Natural History unknown to European science; and Mr. Brooke has sent some remarkable specimens +to England, though his own large collection was, unfortunately, wrecked on its voyage homeward. Every arrival, however, is +now adding to the stores we already possess. The British Museum has been much enriched, even within the last year, with rare +specimens of zoology and botany; and at the Entomological Society there have been exhibited and described many curious insects +hitherto strange and unclassified. + + + + +</p> +</div> +<div class="div2" id="d0e5342"> +<h3 class="label">No. II.</h3> +<h3 class="normal">PHILOLOGY.</h3> +<p>It was intended in this work to convey to the studious in philology,—upon which science, rationally investigated, so much +depends <span id="d0e5349" class="corr" title="Source: of">on</span> our ability to ascertain the origin and trace the earliest relations of mankind,—as copious a vocabulary of the Dyak language, +with definitions of meaning and cognate references, as might be considered a useful contribution to that important branch +<a id="d0e5352"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5352">371</a>]</span>of learning. But various considerations have induced us to forego the design; and not the least of them has been, not the +difficulty, but the impossibility of reducing the whole collection to a system, or of laying down any certain rule of orthography +in this Oriental confusion. Nearly all the vowels, for example, have been found of equal value; and as they have but one general +Malay name, so it happens that (for instance) the consonants <i>b d</i>might be pronounced with the intervening sound, <i>bad</i>, <i>bed</i>, <i>bid</i>, <i>bod</i>, <i>bud</i>, and sundry variations beside, unknown to the English tongue. This will in a great degree account for the universally vexatious, +because puzzling, spelling, inflections, and pronunciation of Eastern names, which is so injurious to the literature and knowledge +of those countries among Europeans. + +</p> +<p>The vowel-sounds adopted are: + + +</p> +<div class="table"> +<table width="100%"> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top"><i>a</i> +</td> +<td valign="top">like </td> +<td valign="top"><i>a</i> in <i>father</i>. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top"><i>e</i> +</td> +<td valign="top"> ” </td> +<td valign="top"><i>a</i> in <i>fan</i>. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top"><i>ĭ</i> +</td> +<td valign="top"> ” </td> +<td valign="top">Italian <i>i</i>, or <i>ee</i> in <i>thee</i>. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top"><i>ĭ</i> +</td> +<td valign="top"> ” </td> +<td valign="top"><i>i</i> in <i>pin</i>. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top"><i>o</i> +</td> +<td valign="top"> ” </td> +<td valign="top"><i>o</i> in <i>spoke</i>. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top"><i>u</i> +</td> +<td valign="top"> ” </td> +<td valign="top"><i>oo</i> in <i>cool</i>. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top"><i>ŭ</i> +</td> +<td valign="top"> ” </td> +<td valign="top">u in run. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top"><i>y</i> +</td> +<td valign="top">occasionally like </td> +<td valign="top"><i>ĭ</i>. + +</td> +</tr> +<tr valign="top"> +<td valign="top"><i>ow</i> (<i>ou</i>) +</td> +<td valign="top">like </td> +<td valign="top"><i>ow</i> in <i>cow</i>. +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div><p> + +</p> +<p>The final <i>k</i> in Malayan is frequently mute: thus Dyak is pronounced Dyaa, with the slightest possible aspiration. + +</p> +<p><i>gn</i> is a liquid sound. + +</p> +<p>We add an alphabetical list of some of the words which have occurred in the preceding pages. + + +</p> +<p><i>Arafuras</i>, or <i>Haraforas</i>, natives of Papua. + +</p> +<p><i>Balanian</i>, wild tribes in Borneo. + +</p> +<p><i>Bandar</i>, or <i>Bandhāra</i>, treasurer, high steward, high officer of state. + +</p> +<p><i>Basaya</i>, tribes in the interior of Borneo Proper, locating near and resembling the Murut. + +</p> +<p><i>Battara,</i> one of the Dyak names of God (the Hindu <i>Avatara</i>). + +</p> +<p><i>Borneo</i>, the island of, written “Brūnī” by the inhabitants. + +</p> +<p><i>Borneo Proper,</i> the northern and northwestern part of the island; an independent Malay state. + +</p> +<p><i>Borneons</i>, the Malay inhabitants of Borneo Proper<span id="d0e5553" class="corr" title="Source: ">.</span> + +</p> +<p><i>Brūnī</i>, the native name for Borneo. + +</p> +<p><i>Bugis</i>, natives of Celebes. + +</p> +<p><i>Bulan</i>, the Moon, a poetical title of honor to a pirate-chief. + +</p> +<p><i>Campong</i>, a native village, or town. + +</p> +<p><i>Datu</i>, a cape or point of land to the northwest of the river Banjamassim. + +</p> +<p><i>Datus</i>, strictly, native chiefs, heads of tribes. + +</p> +<p><i>Dusun,</i> agricultural villagers on the northern extremity of Borneo. + +</p> +<p><i>Dyaks</i>; or Dyak, aborigines of Borneo, and generally pronounced Dyah. + +</p> +<p><i>Dyak Darrat,</i> Land Dyaks. + +</p> +<p><i>Dyak Laut,</i> Sea Dyaks. + +</p> +<p><i>Gantong</i>, a Malay measure for rice. + +</p> +<p><i>Gunong</i>, a mountain. + +</p> +<p><i>Hadji</i>, a Mahomedan who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca. + +</p> +<p><i>Haraforas</i>, or <i>Arafuras</i>, natives of Papua. +<a id="d0e5615"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5615">372</a>]</span></p> +<p id="d0e5616"><i>Idaāns</i> [Kadiens], Borneon tribes, and the name generally given to most of the varieties of the Indian Archipelago. + +</p> +<p><i>Illanuns</i> or <i>Lanuns</i>, pirates inhabiting the small cluster of islands between Borneo and Magindano. + +</p> +<p><i>Jovata</i>, a Dyak name of God, of Hindu origin. + +</p> +<p><i>Kadiens</i>, Borneon tribes, Mahomedans, the Idaan of preceding voyagers and writers. See <i><a href="#d0e5616">Idaans</a></i>. + +</p> +<p><i>Kalamantan</i>, an original name of Borneo. + +</p> +<p><i>Kanowit</i>, wild tribes in Borneo. + +</p> +<p><i>Kaya</i>, a title of authority, Orang Kaya de Gadong, chief man of Gadong. + +</p> +<p><i>Kayans</i>, the most powerful and warlike people of Borneo, living inland. + +</p> +<p><i>Kuching</i>, the former name of the town of Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p><i>Lubuan</i>, the island off Borneo river, ceded by the sultan to the British crown. + +</p> +<p><i>Lelas</i>, guns. + +</p> +<p><i>Magindano</i>, an island off the northeast of Borneo, the natives of which are pirates. + +</p> +<p><i>Makassar</i>, the straits of, usually written Macassar, but more accurately Mangkassar. + +</p> +<p><i>Malays</i>, settled on the Malayan peninsula, coasts of Borneo, &c. &c., a race of seafaring character, often piratical, and conquerors +of various native tribes in the Indian Archipelago. + +</p> +<p><i>Malukus</i>, pirates from a bay in Gillolo, whose country is in the possession of the Dutch. + +</p> +<p><i>Marundum</i>, an island off Borneo. + +</p> +<p><i>Matari</i>, or <i>Mata-hari</i> (the eye of day), the Sun, a poetical title of honor to a pirate-chief. + +</p> +<p><i>Mias Rombi</i> and <i>M. Pappan</i>, two species of ourang-outang, determined by Mr. Brooke. + +</p> +<p><i>Millanows</i>, a tribe resembling the Kayans, living near the river Meri, river Bentulu, tolerably civilized, and fairer than the Malays. + +</p> +<p><i>Minkokas</i>, a wild tribe near the Bay of Boni. + +</p> +<p><i>Morotaba</i> river, one of the mouths of the Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p><i>Montrado</i>, a very large and populous Chinese settlement near Point Data. + +</p> +<p><i>Murut</i>, inhabitants of the interior of Borneo Proper. + +</p> +<p><i>Natunas</i>, islands off Borneo. + +</p> +<p><i>Ondong-ondong</i>, the written law of Borneo. + +</p> +<p><i>Orang</i>, a man. + +</p> +<p><i>Orang outang</i>, a wild man. + +</p> +<p><i>Pangeran</i>, or <i>Pangiran</i>, the title of a high Malay authority. + +</p> +<p><i>Panglima</i>, the head warrior of a Dyak tribe. + +</p> +<p><i>Patingi</i>, or <i>Patingus</i>, a high local officer. + +</p> +<p><i>Patobong</i>, the name of the ranjows and sudas, defences in war. + +</p> +<p><i>Patakan Dyaks</i>, said by the Malays to be cannibals. + +</p> +<p><i>Pontiana</i>, one of the finest rivers in Borneo; also the name of natives on its banks. The Dutch have a settlement on this river. + +</p> +<p><i>Ranjows</i>, bamboo-spikes stuck in the ground to wound the feet of attacking enemies, or concealed in pits to wound or destroy them. + +</p> +<p><i>Rhio</i>, a Malay settlement, under Dutch control. + +</p> +<p><i>Sadung</i>, a river adjoining the Sarāwak. + +</p> +<p><i>Sakarra</i>, a Dyak god, residing in the Pleiades. + +</p> +<p><i>Sakarran</i>, a river like the <a href="#d0e5798">Sarebus</a> (which see), with a similar native population on its banks. + +</p> +<p><i>Satīgī</i>, a wooden spear, or dart. + +</p> +<p><i>Sampan</i>, a small prahu. + +</p> +<p id="d0e5798"><i>Sarebus</i>, a river flowing into the deep bay between Tanjong Sipang and Tanjong Sirak. + +</p> +<p><i>Sarebus</i>, powerful Dyak tribes and pirates, located on the above, and other rivers flowing into the bay. They have thrown off the +Malay yoke, and plunder as far as Celebes. +<a id="d0e5806"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5806">373</a>]</span></p> +<p><i>Seriff</i>, or <i>Sheriff</i>, a high Malay title, peculiar to persons of Arab descent. + +</p> +<p><i>Sibnowans</i>, or <i>Sibnyons</i>, Mr. Brookeʼs favorite tribe of Dyaks, of superior character. + +</p> +<p><i>Singè</i>, Dyak tribes. + +</p> +<p><i>Songi Besar</i>, large river. + +</p> +<p><i>Sooloo</i>, on the northeast of Borneo, a powerful piratical nest, the natives of which massacred the garrison of Balambangan in 1775. + +</p> +<p><i>Sudahs</i>, defences to wound the feet of attacking enemies. + +</p> +<p><i>Sumpitan</i>, or <i>Simpote</i>, a tube seven or eight feet in length, through which the Borneons blow small sharp-pointed arrows. + +</p> +<p><i>Tanjong</i>, a point of land. + +</p> +<p><i>Turaj</i>, or <i>Tarajahs</i>, natives of Celebes. + +</p> +<p><i>Tatows</i>, wild tribes in the interior of Borneo. + +</p> +<p id="d0e5859"><i>Tiran</i>, natives on the north of Borneo, reported (on doubtful authority) to be pirates and cannibals. + +</p> +<p><i>Tuan</i>, sir, an exclamation of assent to an approved speaker, instead of “hear, hear,” or “yes.” + +</p> +<p><i>Tuan Besar</i>, sir, great, great chief, higher applause and deference. + +</p> +<p><i>Tumangong</i>, a local Malay officer. + +</p> +<p><i>Tumbilans</i>, a beautiful group of about 150 small islands between Borneo and Singapore. + +</p> +<p><i>Tuppa</i>, a Dyak god. + +</p> +<p><i>Wakil</i>, a deputy. + +</p> +<p><i>Zedong</i>, like the Tiran, which <a href="#d0e5859">see</a>. + + + +</p> +</div> +<div class="div2" id="d0e5894"> +<h3 class="label">No. III.</h3> +<p><i>Proposed Exploring Expedition to the Asiatic Archipelago, by</i> <span class="smallcaps">James Brooke, Esq.</span> 1838. + + +</p> +<p>The voyage I made to China opened an entirely new scene, and showed me what I had never seen before, savage life and savage +nature. I inquired, and I read, and I became more and more assured that there was a large field of discovery and adventure +open to any man daring enough to enter upon it. Just take a map and trace a line over the Indian Archipelago, with its thousand +unknown islands and tribes. Cast your eye over the vast island of New Guinea, where the foot of European has scarcely, if +ever, trod. Look at the northern coast of Australia, with its mysterious Gulf of Carpentaria; a survey of which, it is supposed, +would solve the great geographical question respecting the rivers of the mimic continent. Place your finger on Japan, with +its exclusive and civilized people; it lies an unknown lump on our earth, and an undefined line on our charts! Think of the +northern coast of China, willing, as is reported, to open an intercourse and trade with Europeans, spite of their arbitrary +government. Stretch your pencil over the Pacific Ocean, which Cook himself declares a field of discovery for ages to come! +Proceed to the coast of South America, from the region of gold-dust to the region of furs—the land ravaged by the cruel Spaniard +and the no less cruel Bucaneer—the scene of the adventures of Drake and the descriptions of Dampier. The places I have enumerated +are mere names, with no specific <a id="d0e5906"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5906">374</a>]</span>ideas attached to them: lands and seas where the boldest navigators gained a reputation, and where hundreds may yet do so, +if they have the same courage and the same perseverance. Imagination whispers to ambition that there are yet lands unknown +which might be discovered. Tell me, would not a manʼs life be well spent—tell me, would it not be well sacrificed, in an endeavor +to explore these regions? When I think on dangers and death, I think of them only because they would remove me from such a +field for ambition, for energy, and for knowledge. + +</p> +<p>Borneo, Celebes, Sooloo, the Moluccas, and the islands of the Straits of Sunda and Banka, compose what is called the Malayan +group; and the Malays located on the sea-shores of these and other islands may with certainty be classed as belonging to one +people. It is well known, however, that the interior of these countries is inhabited by various tribes, differing from the +Malays and each other, and presenting numerous gradations of early civilization: the Dyaks of Borneo, the Papuans of New Guinea, +and others, beside the black race scattered over the islands. Objects of traffic here as elsewhere present interesting subjects +of inquiry; and while our acquaintance with every other portion of the globe, from the passage of the Pole to the navigation +of the Euphrates, has greatly extended, it is matter of surprise that we know scarcely anything of these people beyond the +bare fact of their existence, and remain altogether ignorant of the geographical features of the countries they inhabit. Countries +which present an extended field for Christianity and commerce, which none surpass in fertility, rich beyond the Americas in +mineral productions, and unrivaled in natural beauty, continue unexplored to the present day; and, spite of the advantages +which would probably result, have failed to attract the attention they so well deserve. The difficulty of the undertaking +will scarcely account for its non-performance, if we consider the voluntary sacrifices made on the shrine of African research, +or the energy displayed and the sufferings encountered by the explorers of the Polar regions: yet the necessity of prosecuting +the voyage in an armed vessel, the wildness of the interior tribes, the lawless ferocity of the Malays, and other dangers, +would prevent most individuals from fixing on this field for exertion, and points it out as one which could best and most +fully be accomplished by Government or some influential body. + +</p> +<p>It is not my object to enter into any detail of the past history of the Malayan nations, but I may refer to the undoubted +facts that they have been in a state of deterioration since we first became acquainted with them; and the records of our early +voyagers, together with the remains of antiquity still visible in Java and Sumatra, prove that once flourishing nations have +now ceased to exist, and that countries once teeming with human life are now tenantless and deserted. The causes of such lamentable +change need only be alluded to; but it is fit to remark, that while the standard of education is unfurled, and dreams are +propagated of the progressive advancement of the human race, a large part of the globe has been gradually relapsing and allowed +to relapse into barbarism. Whether the early decay of the Malay states, <a id="d0e5912"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5912">375</a>]</span>and their consequent demoralization, arose from the introduction of Mahommedism, or resulted from the intrigues of European +ambition, it were useless to discuss; but we are very certain that this “Eden of the Eastern wave” has been reduced to a state +of anarchy and confusion, as repugnant to every dictate of humanity as it is to the prospect of commercial advantage. + +</p> +<p>Borneo and Celebes, and indeed the greater portion of the islands of the Malayan Archipelago, are still unknown, and the apathy +of two centuries still reigns supreme with the enlightened people of England; while they willingly make the most expensive +efforts favorable to science, commerce, or Christianity in other quarters, the locality which eminently combines these three +objects is alone neglected and alone uncared for. It has unfortunately been the fate of our Indian possessions to have labored +under the prejudice and contempt of a large portion of the well-bred community. While the folly of fashion requires an acquaintance +with the deserts of Africa, and a most ardent thirst for a knowledge of the usages of Timbuctoo, it at the same time justifies +the most profound ignorance of all matters connected with the government and geography of our vast acquisitions in Hindoostan. +The Indian Archipelago has fully shared this neglect; and even the tender philanthropy of the present day, which originates +such multifarious schemes for the amelioration of doubtful evils, which shudders at the prolongation of apprenticeship for +a single year in the West, is blind to the existence of slavery in its worst and most aggravated form in the East. Not a single +prospectus is spread abroad; not a single voice is upraised to relieve the darkness of Paganism, and the horrors of the Eastern +slave-trade. While the trumpet-tongue of many an orator excites thousands to the rational and charitable objects of converting +the Jews and reclaiming the Gipsys; while the admirable exertions of missionary enterprise in the Ausonian climes of the South +Sea have invested them with worldly power as well as religious influence; while we admire the torrent of devotional and philosophical +exertion, we cannot help deploring that the zeal and attention of the leaders of these charitable crusades have never been +directed to the countries under consideration. These unhappy countries have failed to rouse attention or excite commiseration; +and as they sink lower and lower, they afford a striking proof how civilization may be dashed, and how the purest and richest +lands under the sun may be degraded and brutalized by a continued course of oppression and misrule. It is under these circumstances +that I have considered individual exertion may be usefully applied to rouse the zeal of slumbering philanthropy, and to lead +the way to an increased knowledge of the Indian Archipelago. Such an exertion will be made at some cost and some sacrifice; +and I shall here quit the general topic, and confine myself to the specific objects of my intended voyage. + +</p> +<p>It must be premised, however, that any plan previously decided on must always be subject during its execution to great modifications +in countries where the population is always rude and often hostile, and where the influence of climate is sometimes so fatally +<a id="d0e5918"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5918">376</a>]</span>opposed to the progress of inquiry. Local information, likewise, frequently renders such a change both advisable and advantageous; +and circumstances, as they spring up, too often influence us beyond the power of foresight, more especially in my own case, +where the utmost care would still leave the means very inadequate to the full accomplishment of the proposed undertaking. +With a small vessel properly equipped, and provided with the necessary instruments for observation, and the means for collecting +specimens in natural history, it is proposed in the first instance to proceed to Singapore, which may be considered as head-quarters +for the necessary intervals of refreshment and repose, and for keeping open a certain communication with Europe. Here the +best local information can be obtained, interpreters procured, the crew augmented for any particular service; and here, if +needful, a small vessel of native construction may be added to the expedition, to facilitate the objects in view. An acquaintance +may likewise be formed with the more respectable Bugis merchants, and their good-will conciliated in the usual mode, viz., +by civility and presents, so as to remove any misconceived jealousy on the score of trading rivalry, and to induce a favorable +report of our friendly intentions in their own country, and at the places where they may touch. The Royalist will probably +reach Singapore in the month of March, 1839, at the latter end of the northwest, or rainy monsoon. The delay consequent on +effecting the objects above mentioned, beside gaining a general acquaintance with the natural history and trade of the settlement, +and some knowledge of the Malay language, will usefully occupy the time until the setting in of the southeast, or dry monsoon. +It may be incidentally mentioned, however, that in the vicinity of Singapore there are many islands imperfectly known, and +which, during the intervals of the rainy season, will afford interesting occupation. I allude, more especially, to the space +between the Straits of Rhio and those of Duryan, and likewise to the island called Bintang, which, although laid down as one +large island, is probably composed of small ones, divided by navigable straits; a better acquaintance with which might facilitate +the voyage from Singapore to the more eastern islands, by bringing to light other passages beside those of Rhio and Duryan; +and, at any rate, would add something to our geographical knowledge in the immediate vicinity of our settlement. On the commencement +of the healthy season I propose sailing from Singapore, and proceeding without loss of time to Malludu Bay, at the north end +of Borneo. This spot has been chosen for the first essay; and in a country every part of which is highly interesting, and +almost unknown, the mere fact of its being a British possession gives it a prior claim to attention. + +</p> +<p>The objects in view may be briefly mentioned. 1. A general knowledge of the bay, and the correct position of various points—more +especially the two principal headlands at its entrance, so as to determine its outline. The westernmost of these headlands, +called Sampanmange, will likewise determine the extreme north point of Borneo. 2. Inquiries for the settlement of Cochin Chinese, +<a id="d0e5922"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5922">377</a>]</span>reported, on Earlʼs authority, to be fixed in the vicinity of Bankoka: an intercourse will, if possible, be opened with this +settlement, if in existence. 3. The rivers which flow into the bay will be carefully and minutely explored, and an attempt +will be made to penetrate into the interior as far as the lake of Kini Ballu. 4. For the same purpose, every endeavor will +be used to open a communication with the aboriginal inhabitants of the country, and every means employed to conciliate their +good opinion; and (if the ceremony exists in this part of the island) to enter into the bonds of fraternity (described by +Mr. Dalton) with some of the chiefs. + +</p> +<p>I speak with great diffidence about penetrating into the interior of this country, for I am well aware of the insurmountable +difficulties which the hard reality often presents, which are previously overlooked and easily overcome in the smoothness +of paper, or the luxury of a drawing-room. The two points to be chiefly relied upon for this purpose are, a friendly intercourse +with the natives, and the existence of navigable rivers. It is mentioned by Sir Stamford Raffles, on native authority, that +a land communication, of not more than forty miles, exists between Malludu Bay and Lake Kini Ballu; but neither this computation, +nor any other derived from the natives, however intelligent otherwise, can be relied on; for the inhabitants of these countries +are generally ignorant of any measure for distance; and their reckoning by time is so vague, as to defy a moderately-certain +conclusion. The fact, however, of the vicinity of the lake to the bay may be concluded; and it follows, as a reasonable inference, +that the river or rivers flowing into the bay communicate with the lake. The existence of such rivers, which were from the +locality to have been expected, is vouched for by Captain Forrest. “Most of this north part of Borneo (he says), granted to +the English East India Company by the Sooloos, is watered by noble rivers: those that discharge themselves into Malludu Bay +are not barred.” It is by one or other of these rivers that I should hope to penetrate as far as the lake and mountain of +Kini Ballu, and into the country of the Idaan. I have not been able to learn that any Malay towns of importance are situated +in the bight of Malludu Bay, and their absence will render a friendly communication with the aborigines a matter of comparative +ease. The advantages likely to result from such friendly relations are so evident, that I need not dwell upon them; though +the mode of effecting such an intercourse must be left to the thousand contingencies which govern all, and act so capriciously +on the tempers of the savage races. The utmost forbearance, and a liberality guided by prudence, so as not to excite too great +a degree of cupidity, appear the fundamental rules for managing men in a low state of civilization. The results of an amicable +understanding are as uncertain as its commencement; for they depend on the enterprise of the individual, and the power of +the native tribe into whose hands he may have fallen. I will not, therefore, enter into a visionary field of discovery; but +it appears to me certain that, without the assistance of the natives, no small party can expect to penetrate far into a country +<a id="d0e5926"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5926">378</a>]</span>populous by report, and in many parts thickly covered with wood. Without entertaining any exaggerated expectation, I trust +that something may be added to our geographical knowledge of the sea-coast of this bay, its leading features, productions, +rivers, anchorages, and inhabitants, the prospect of trade, and the means of navigation; and although my wishes lead me strongly +to penetrate as far as the lake of Kini Ballu, yet the obstacles which may be found to exist to the fulfillment of this desire +will induce me to rest satisfied with the more moderate and reasonable results. + +</p> +<p>It may not be superfluous to notice here, that a foregone conclusion appears to be spread abroad regarding the aboriginal +(so called) inhabitants of Borneo, and that they are usually considered and mentioned under the somewhat vague appellation +of Dyaks. They are likewise commonly pronounced as originating from the same stock as the Arafuras of Celebes and New Guinea, +and radically identical with the Polynesian race. The conclusion is not in itself highly improbable, but certainly premature, +as the facts upon which it is built are so scanty and doubtful as to authorize no such structure. On an island of the vast +size of Borneo, races radically distinct might exist; and at any rate, the opposite conclusion is hardly justifiable, from +the specimens of language or the physical appearance of the tribes of the southern portion of the country. We have Malay authority +for believing that there are many large tribes in the interior, differing greatly in their degree of civilization, though +all alike removed from the vicinity of a superior people. We have the Dyaks of the south; the Idaan of the north; the Kagins; +and a race little better than monkeys, who live in trees, eat without cooking, are hunted by the other tribes, and would seem +to exist in the lowest conceivable grade of humanity. If we may trust these accounts, these latter people resemble in many +particulars the Orang Benua, or aborigines of the peninsula; but the Dyaks and Idaans are far superior, living in villages, +cultivating the ground, and possessing cattle. Beside these, likewise, we have the names of several other tribes or people; +and, in all probability, many exist in the interior with whom we are unacquainted. + +</p> +<p>There are strong reasons for believing that the Hindoo religion, which obtained so extensively in Java and Sumatra, and yet +survives at Bali and Lombock, was likewise extended to Borneo; and some authors have conceived grounds for supposing a religion +anterior even to this. If only a portion of these floating opinions should be true, and the truth can only be tested by inquiry, +we may fairly look for the descendants of the Hindoo dynasty as well as an aboriginal people. It never seems to have occurred +to any one to compare the Dyaks with the people of Bali and Lombock. We know indeed but little of the former; but both races +are fair, good-looking, and gentle. Again, respecting the concluded identity of the Dyaks and the Arafuras, it is clear we +have a very limited knowledge indeed of the former; and, I may ask, what do we know of the Arafuras? + +</p> +<p>In short, I feel as reluctant to embrace any preconceived theory <a id="d0e5934"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5934">379</a>]</span>as I am to adopt the prevailing notion on this subject; for it requires a mass of facts, of which we are wholly deficient, +to arrive at anything approaching a reasonable conclusion. To return, however, to the proceedings of the Royalist, I would +remark, that it depends greatly on the time passed in Malludu Bay whether our next endeavor be prosecuted at Abai on the western, +or Tusan Abai on the eastern coast. The object in visiting Abai would he chiefly to penetrate to the lake, which, on the authority +of Dalrymple and Burton, is not far distant thence, by a water communication; but should any success have attended similar +efforts from Malludu Bay, this project will be needless, as in that case the enterprise will have been prosecuted to the westward, +and reach to the vicinity of Abai. As Kaminis is the limit of the British territory to the westward, so Point Kaniungan, situated +to the southward of the bay of Sandakan, forms the eastern boundary; and a line drawn from coast to coast between these points +is represented as including our possessions. A reference to the chart will show the extent to be considerable; and the eastern +coast from Malludu Bay to Point Kaniungan is so very little known, that it is highly desirable to become acquainted with its +general features and conformation, and to seek thence the means of gaining an inlet into the interior, should it be denied +at Malludu Bay. + +</p> +<p>The reported proximity of Kini Ballu to Malludu Bay, and likewise to Abai would (supposing it is anything like the size it +is affirmed to be) lead us to expect that it cannot be far distant from the eastern coast; and it is but reasonable to conclude +that some rivers or streams discharge themselves into the sea in the numerous indentations that abound on this shore. However +this may be, the coast, with its bays and islands and bold headlands, is one of great interest, and almost unknown; and the +careful inspection of it as far as Point Kaniungan will, I trust, add something to our knowledge. The longitude of Point Kaniungan +and Point Unsang will likewise determine the eastern extremity of Borneo. + +</p> +<p>Much more might be added on this topic, especially of the reported communication by a line of lakes from Malludu Bay to Banjarmassim, +which, if true, would in all probability place some of these lakes near particular points of the east coast, as the whole +line, from the relative position of the two extremes, must be on the eastern side of the island. These reports, and the various +surmises which arise from them, are rather matters for verification than discussion; and I will therefore only add that, tempted +by success, I shall not devote less than a year and a half to this object; but, in case of finding a sickly climate, or meeting +with a decidedly hostile population, I shall more easily abandon the field, and turn to others of not less interest, and perhaps +of less risk. + +</p> +<p>Equal to Borneo in riches, and superior in picturesque beauty to any part of the Archipelago, is the large and eccentric country +of the Bugis, called Celebes. So deep are the indentations of its coasts, that the island may be pronounced as being composed +of a succession of peninsulas, nearly uniting in a common center in the district of Palos; and thus, by the proximity of every +part to the sea, offering great facilities for brief and decisive interior excursions. <a id="d0e5942"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5942">380</a>]</span>The Dutch are in possession of Makassar, and had formerly settlements on the northwest coast and in the bay of Sawa. Their +power appears, however, never to have been very extensively acknowledged; and at present I have not been able to meet with +any account of the condition of their factories. This information will probably be gained at Singapore. Avoiding the Dutch +settlements, I propose limiting my inquiries to the northern and northeastern portion of the island, more especially the great +bay of Gunong Tella. It is impossible to state here the direction of these inquiries, or any definite object to which they +should be turned, as I am acquainted with no author who speaks of the country, save in a general and vague manner. It is reported +as rich, fertile, mountainous, strikingly beautiful, and possessed of rivers; abounding in birds, and inhabited, like Borneo, +by wild tribes in the interior, and by the Bugis on the sea-shores and entrance of rivers. The character of the Bugis, though +so variously represented, gives me strong hopes of rendering them, by care and kindness, useful instruments in the prosecution +of these researches; for all writers agree that they are active, hardy, enterprising, and commercial; and it is seldom that +a people possessing such characteristics are deaf to the suggestions of self-interest or kindly feeling. The arrogance, and +especially the indolence, of the Malays, counteracts the influence of these strong incentives; and the impulse which governs +such rude tribes as the Dyaks and Arafuras is a dangerous weapon, which cuts all ways, and often when least anticipated. The +Badjows, or sea-gipsys, are another race on whom some dependence may be placed. Mr. Earl, who had a personal acquaintance +with this tribe, and could speak their language, always expressed to me a degree of confidence in their good faith, which +must have had some grounds. + +</p> +<p>I may here conclude the first stage of the expedition, during the progress of which the head-quarters will be fixed at Singapore. +During some of the intervals I hope to see Manilla, and to acquire a cursory knowledge of the unexplored tract at the southern +extremity of Celebes, called in Norieʼs general chart the Tiger Islands. + +</p> +<p>The time devoted to the objects above mentioned must, as I have before said, be regulated by the degree of fortune which attends +them; for, cheered by success, I should not readily abandon the field; yet, if persecuted by climate, or other serious detriments, +I shall frequently shift the ground, to remove myself beyond such evil influence. It is scarcely needful to continue a detail +of projects so distant, having already carved out for myself a work which I should be proud to perform, and which is already +as extended as the chances of human life and human resolves will warrant. The continuation of the voyage would lead me to +take the Royalist to Timor or Port Essington, thence making excursions to the Arru Isles, Timor Laut, and the southern shores +of New Guinea. That part of the coast contiguous to Torres Straits I am particularly desirous of visiting; as it has been +suggested to me by Mr. Earl, and I think with reason, that a better channel than the one we are at present acquainted with +may be <a id="d0e5948"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5948">381</a>]</span>found there. That such a channel exists, and will be discovered when the coast is surveyed, I entertain but little doubt; +but the navigation is hazardous, and must, from the westward, be attempted with great caution. + +</p> +<p>My own proceedings must, of course, be regulated by the discoveries previously made by Captain Wickham or others; and as this +gentleman has orders to survey Torres Straits, the field may be well trodden before I reach it. The rest of the voyage I shall +consider as one merely of pleasure, combining such utility as circumstances will permit. It is probable that I shall visit +our Australian settlements; glance at the islands of the Pacific; and return to Europe round Cape Horn. Before concluding, +I may observe, that there are points of inquiry which may be useful to the studies of the learned, which (provided the process +be moderately simple) I shall be willing to make, and I shall always be happy to receive any directions or suggestions regarding +them. I allude to observations on the tides, to geology, to the branches of natural history, &c. &c., for the general inquirer +often neglects or overlooks highly intersting facts, from his attention not having been called to them. The specimens of natural +history will be forwarded home on every visit to Singapore; and the information will be sent ot the Geographical Society, +and may always, if it be of any value, be used as freely as it is communicated. In like manner, the objects of natural history +will be open to any person who is at all interested in such pursuits. I cannot but express my regret, that from pecuniary +considerations as well as the small size of the vessel, and the limited quantity of provision she carries, I am unable to +take a naturalist and draughtsman; but I should always hail with pleasure any scientific person who joined me abroad, or who +happened to be in the countries at the time; and I may venture to promise him every encouragement and facility in the prosecution +of his pursuits. I embark upon the expedition with great cheerfulness, with a stout vessel, a good crew, and the ingredients +of success as far as the limited scale of the undertaking will permit; and I cast myself upon the waters—like Mr. Southeyʼs +little book—but whether the world will know me after many days, is a question which, hoping the best, I cannot answer with +any positive degree of assurance. + + + + +</p> +</div> +<div class="div2" id="d0e5952"> +<h3 class="normal">No. IV.</h3> +<p><i>Sketch of Borneo, or Pulo Kalamantan, by <span class="smallcaps">J. Hunt</span>, Esq.</i> + +</p> +<p>(Communicated, in 1812, to the Honourable Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, late Lieutenant-Governor of Java.) + + +</p> +<p>The island of Borneo extends from 7° 7′ north to 4° 12′ south latitude, and from 108° 45′ to 119° 25′ east longitude; measuring +at its extreme length nine hundred miles, at its greatest breadth <a id="d0e5966"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5966">382</a>]</span>seven hundred, and in circumference three thousand. It is bounded on the north by the Solo seas, on the east by the Straits +of Macassar, on the south by the Java, and on the west by the China seas. Situated in the track of the most extensive and +valuable commerce, intersected on all sides with deep and navigable rivers, indented with safe and capacious harbors, possessing +one of the richest soils on the globe, abounding in all the necessaries of human life, and boasting commercial products that +have in all ages excited the avarice and stimulated the desires of mankind,—with the exception of New Holland, it is the largest +island known. Of the existence of this extensive territory, so highly favored by Providence, and enriched by the choicest +productions of nature, there remains scarce a vestige in the geographical descriptions of the day; and its rich products and +fertile shores, by one tacit and universal consent, appear abandoned by all the European nations of the present age, and handed +over to the ravages of extensive hordes of piratical banditti, solely intent on plunder and desolation. + +</p> +<p>The natives and the Malays, formerly, and even at this day, call this large island by the exclusive name of Pulo Kalamantan, +from a sour and indigenous fruit so called. Borneo was the name only of a city, the capital of one of the three distinct kingdoms +on the island. When Magalhaens visited it in the year 1520, he saw a rich and populous city, a luxuriant and fertile country, +a powerful prince, and a magnificent court: hence the Spaniards hastily concluded that the whole island not only belonged +to this prince, but that it was likewise named Borneo. In this error they have been followed by all other European nations. +The charts, however, mark this capital “Borneo Proper,” or in other words, the only place properly Borneo: this is the only +confession of this misnomer that I have met with among Europeans. The natives pronounce Borneo, Bruni, and say it is derived +from the word Brani, courageous; the aboriginal natives within this district having ever remained unconquered. + +</p> +<p>The aborigines of Borneo, or Pulo Kalamantan, still exist in the interior in considerable numbers; there are various tribes +of them, speaking different dialects. Some of them acknowledge Malay chiefs, as at Landa, Songo, Mantan, &c. Several communities +of them still remain under independent chiefs of their own nation; and everywhere their origin, their language, their religion, +their manners and customs, are totally distinct and apparent from those of the Islams, or Malays, who have settled on the +island. About Pontiana and Sambas they are called Dayers; at Benjarmasing, Biajus; at Borneo Proper, Moruts; farther northward, +Orang Idan. Their original history is as much enveloped in obscurity as that of the Monocaboes of Malaya, the Rejangs and +Battas of Sumatra, or the Togals of the Philippines. On a nearer acquaintance with their language, customs, traditions, &c., +perhaps an affinity in origin may be discovered among all the original possessors of the Eastern isles. The Moruts and Orang +Idan are much fairer and better featured than the Malays, of a more strong and robust frame, and have the credit of being +a <a id="d0e5972"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5972">383</a>]</span>brave race of people. The Dayer is much darker, and approaches nearer in resemblance to the Malay. The Biajus I never saw. +The few particulars which I have been able to collect of these people I shall briefly state: They live in miserable small +huts; their sole dress consists of a slight wrapper round their waists, sometimes made of bark, at others from skins of animals, +or perhaps of blue or white cloth; they eat rice or roots, and indeed any description of food, whether beast, reptile, or +vermin: they are extremely filthy; this and bad food give them a cutaneous disorder, with which they are very generally afflicted. +Several tribes of them smear themselves with oil and pigments, which gives them the appearance of being tattooed. Whether +this is intended to defend them against the bites of insects, to operate as a cure or prevention of this epidemic, or to adorn +their persons, I cannot take upon me to decide. They believe, it is said, in a Supreme Being, and offer sacrifices of gratitude +to a beneficent Deity. Polygamy is not allowed among them; no man has more than one wife; they burn their dead. They are said +to shoot poisoned balls or arrows through hollow tubes; and whenever they kill a man, they preserve the skull to exhibit as +a trophy to commemorate the achievement of their arms. They are said to have no mode of communicating their ideas by characters +or writing, like the Battas. Driven from the sea-coast of Borneo into the mountains and fastnesses in the interior, they are +more occupied in the chase and the pursuits of husbandry than in commerce. They, however, barter their inland produce of camphor, +gold, diamonds, birdsʼ-nests, wax, and cattle, for salt (which they hold in the highest degree of estimation, eating it with +as much <i>goût</i> as we do sugar), china, porcelain, brass and iron cooking utensils, brass bracelets, coarse blue and white cloth, Java tobacco, +arrack (which they also like), parangs, hardware, beads, &c. Some tribes of them are said to pull out their front teeth and +substitute others of gold, and others adorn themselves with tigersʼ teeth. The greatest numbers and most considerable bodies +of these men are found near Kiney Balu and about Borneo Proper. + +</p> +<p>The Malays represent them as the most savage and ferocious of men; but to be more savage or ferocious than a Malay is a thing +utterly impossible. Their representations may be accounted for. These aborigines have always evinced a strong disposition +and predilection for liberty and freedom; they have either resisted the yoke of the Malay, or have retired to their mountains +to enjoy this greatest of all human blessings. The Malay, unable to conquer them, lays plans for kidnapping as many as he +can fall in with. Every Dyak so taken is made a slave of, his children sold, and his women violated. The Malay, hence, is +justly considered by them as the violator of every law, human and divine; and whenever any of these people meet with one, +they satiate their vengeance, and destroy him as the enemy of their race, and as a monster of the human kind. The Portuguese +missionaries found these people very tractable converts, and very large bodies of them are very easily governed by a single +Malay chief, as at Landa, Songo, and Matan. I have seen very large bodies of them <a id="d0e5979"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e5979">384</a>]</span>at Kimanis and Maludu, but none of them possessing the ferocity of a Malay. + +</p> +<p>The Islams, or Malayans, who now possess the sea-coasts of Borneo (as well as the sea-coasts of all the Eastern islands), +are said to be colonies from Malacca, Johore, &c., planted in the fourteenth century; at this period, according to Mr. Poivre, +“Malacca was a country well peopled, and was consequently well cultivated. This nation was once one of the greatest powers +in the Eastern seas, and made a very considerable figure in the theater of Asia; they colonized Borneo, Celebes, Macassar, +Moluccas, &c.” The Malays on Borneo are like the Malays everywhere else, the most atrocious race of beings on the earth; and +from their general character, and imprudent institutions, both political and religious, are fast moldering in self-decay, +or mutual destruction. + +</p> +<p>From the earliest date that I have been able to trace, the island of Borneo was always divided into three distinct kingdoms. +The kingdom of Borneo, properly so called, extended from Tanjong Dato, in latitude 3° 15′ north, to Kanukungan point, in the +Straits of Macassar, 1° 15′ north, which included the whole north part of the island. The kingdom of Sukadana (from <i>suka</i>, happiness, and <i>dunia</i>, the world, or earthly paradise), extending from Tanjong Dato to Tanjong Sambar, which belonged to the King of Bantam (when +or how acquired I have not learned): and the remainder of the island from Tanjong Sambar to Kanukungan Point aforesaid, to +the kingdom of Benjarmasing (from <i>bendar</i>, a port of trade, and <i>masing</i>, usual, or the ordinary port of trade). + +</p> +<p>When the Portuguese first visited Borneo, in 1520, the whole island was in a most flourishing state. The numbers of Chinese +that had settled on her shores were immense; the products of their industry, and an extensive commerce with China in junks, +gave her land and cities a far different aspect from her dreary appearance at this day, and their princes and courts exhibited +a splendor and displayed a magnificence which has long since vanished. + +</p> +<p>Pigofetta says there were twenty-five thousand houses in the city of Borneo Proper, and that it was rich and populous. Much +later accounts describe the numbers of Chinese and Japanese junks frequenting her ports as great; but in 1809 there were not +three thousand houses in the whole city, nor six thousand Chinese throughout that kingdom, and not a junk that had visited +it for years. But the ports of Borneo have not dwindled away more than Acheen, Johore, Malacca, Bantam, Ternate, &c. All these +places likewise cut a splendid figure in the eyes of our first navigators, and have since equally shared a proportionate obscurity. + +</p> +<p>Were the causes required which have eclipsed the prosperity of Borneo and the other great emporiums of Eastern trade that +once existed, it might be readily answered—a decay of commerce. They have suffered the same vicissitudes as Tyre, Sidon, or +Alexandria; and like Carthage—for ages the emporium of the wealth and commerce of the world, which now exhibits on its <a id="d0e6003"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6003">385</a>]</span>site a piratical race of descendants in the modern Tunisians and their neighbors the Algerines—the commercial ports of Borneo +have become a nest of banditti, and the original inhabitants of both, from similar causes—the decay of commerce—have degenerated +to the modern pirates of the present day. + +</p> +<p>In exact proportion as the intercourse of the Europeans with China has increased, in precise ratio has the decrease of their +direct trade in junks become apparent. The Portuguese first, and subsequently the Dutch, mistress of the Eastern seas, exacted +by treaties and other ways the Malay produce at their own rates, and were consequently enabled to undersell the junks in China. +But these powers went further; by settling at ports on Borneo, or by their guardas de costas, they compelled the ports of +Borneo to send their produce, calculated for the China market, to Malacca and Batavia, which at length completely cut up the +direct trade by means of the Chinese junks. + +</p> +<p>The loss of their direct intercourse with China affected their prosperity in a variety of ways. First, by this circuitous +direction of their trade, the gruff goods, as rattans, sago, cassia, pepper, ebony, wax, &c., became too expensive to fetch +the value of this double carriage and the attendant charges, and in course of time were neglected; the loss of these extensive +branches of industry must have thrown numbers out of employment. But the loss of the direct intercourse with China had more +fatal effects; it prevented large bodies of annual emigrants from China settling upon her shores; it deprived them of an opportunity +of visiting the Borneon ports, and exercising their mechanical arts and productive industry; and of thus keeping up the prosperity +of the country in the tillage of the ground, as well as in the commerce of her ports. The old Chinese settlers by degrees +deserted these shores; and to fill up the chasms in their revenues by so fatal a change, the rajahs have been tempted to turn +their views to predatory habits, and have permitted their lands to run to jungle, by dragging their wretched laborers from +agricultural employments to maritime and piratical enterprises. + +</p> +<p>The first material alteration in the sovereignty of the territorial possession took place in the kingdom of Borneo Proper, +when her rajah was obliged to call in the aid of the Solos to defend him against an insurrection of the Maruts and Chinese. +In consideration of this important aid, the Rajah of Borneo Proper ceded to the Sultan of Solo all that portion of Borneo +then belonging to him, from Kimanis, in latitude 5° 30′ north, to Tapean-durian, in the Straits of Macassar, which includes +the whole north of Borneo. After this period, the power and fortunes of the Sultan of Solo rapidly declined. The Spaniards +succeeded in conquering all their islands. Solo, the capital, was taken and fortified; the sultan and his court made prisoners. +When the English captured Manilla, they found this sultan incarcerated. They agreed to relieve him from prison, and reinstate +him on the musnud of his forefathers under the express stipulation that the whole of the aforesaid territory of Borneo, ceded +to Solo by the rajah of that kingdom, should be transferred to the English East <a id="d0e6011"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6011">386</a>]</span>India Company, together with the south of Palawan, and the intermediate islands. These terms were joyfully acceded to by the +Sultan of Solo, and signed, sealed, and delivered by him to the late Alexander Dalrymple, in the year 1763. + +</p> +<p>The kingdom of Sukadana was ceded by the Rajah of Bantam (in what year I know not) to the Dutch East India Company. Whether +the kingdom of Benjarmasing was ever actually ceded to the Dutch or not, I have not been able to learn. But the occupancy +of her capital, the military government of the country, by the erection of forts, and a permanent standing force, since transferred +to the English arms, give to the East India Company, actually or virtually, the entire sovereignty and rule over the whole +of this large island, with the exception of the piratical port of Borneo Proper, and the portion of territory yet annexed +thereto. + +</p> +<p>The Portuguese, at a very early period, established themselves at Benjarmasing: at Borneo Proper there still remain two bastions +and a curtain of a regular stone fort built by them: they had also one on the island of Laboan, since destroyed. They fixed +themselves at old Sambas, from which they were driven by the Dutch in the year 1690, and nearly about this period from all +their establishments on Borneo. + +</p> +<p>When, or from what causes, the Dutch were induced to evacuate Sambas, I know not, nor have I learned the period when they +fortified themselves at Benjarmasing and Pasir, but believe it could not have taken place before the middle of the last century. +They, however, settled at Pontiana in 1786, and built a fortified wall round the palace and factory, but were compelled to +withdraw from it when the war broke out with the English in 1796. The ports at Benjarmasing, when evacuated, were sold by +the Dutch to the sultan, and are since said to have been repurchased from him by the English. The Dutch obtaining the cession +of the kingdom of Sukadana from the Rajah of Bantam, and their subsequent measures in different parts of this territory, will +show that they had extensive views of firmly establishing themselves on this island; and waking from an age of lethargy, at +last began to see the great advantages and unbounded resources these rich possessions were capable of affording them, without +any cost or expense whatever. The year they withdrew from Pontiana they had it in contemplation to take repossession of Sambas, +and to unite all the ports, as well as the interior, under the Rajah of Pontiana, in trust for them. Some letters to this +effect were written by the Dutch government to the late rajah. + +</p> +<p>That the English were not insensible to the value and importance of the once valuable commerce of Borneo may be inferred not +only from the number of the Honorable Companyʼs regular ships annually dispatched to her ports prior to the year 1760 (vide +Hardyʼs Shipping Register), but from the efforts they have repeatedly made to establish themselves on her shores. There still +exist the remains of a British factory at Borneo Proper. Before the year 1706, they had made two successive attempts to fortify +themselves at Benjarmasing; twice they have attempted an establishment <a id="d0e6021"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6021">387</a>]</span>on the sickly island of Balambangan (lying north of Borneo, near Maludu); and in 1775, the Honorable Companyʼs ship Bridgewater +was sent to Pasir with similar views. + +</p> +<p>The failure of these British attempts, as well as the exclusion of all other powers from the ports of Borneo, may be principally +attributed to the sordid desire of the Dutch of monopolizing the whole produce of the Eastern Archipelago, and their rooted +jealousy in opposing the establishment of every other power in the vicinity of Java, or that of the Spice Islands. + +</p> +<p>These considerations and feelings have induced them to commit the most flagrant crimes, not only against the natives of these +regions, but against every European power. Their infamous massacres at Amboyna, Banda, Bantam, &c., have been historically +recorded to their eternal disgrace. By their intrigues at Benjarmasing, the British attempts at a settlement twice failed; +and Forrest, in his Voyage to New Guinea, says, that the Solos were by Dutch instigation induced to cut off the infant establishment +of Balambangan, in 1775. They frustrated the attempts of the Bridgewater at Pasir; and even the massacre of the garrison of +Pulo Condore was effected by Javanese soldiers supplied by the governor of Batavia. The English, from their strong desire +of having a port in the China seas, hastily pitched upon the most unhealthy spots for that purpose, viz. Balambangan and Pulo +Condore. + +</p> +<p>The father of the present Sultan of Pontiana was the descendant of an Arab, residing at Simpan, near Matan. By the advice +and concurrence of the Dutch he was induced, about forty-two years ago, to settle on the unfrequented shores of the river +Pontiana, or Quallo Londa, with promises of early coöperation and assistance, as well as of rendering it the mart of the trade +and capital of all Sukadana. As soon as Abdul Ramman (the name of the first sultan) had succeeded in attracting around him +several Chinese, Buguese, and Malay settlers, and in building a town, the Dutch (in 1786) came with two armed brigs and fifty +troops to establish their factory. To make good their promises to Abdul Ramman (the treaty I have never seen), they immediately +overthrew the chief of Mompava, and gave his country in trust to this ally: they shortly after invested the ancient city of +Sukadana, burned it to the ground, transferred the inhabitants to Pontiana, or dispersed them and their chief into the interior. +The Dutch likewise placed the present rajas on the musnuds of Songo, Landa, &c., and kept up a force at the former, with the +express stipulation that the whole of their produce should be sent from each of their respective districts to the Dutch factory +of Pontiana. They had it in contemplation, in 1795, to take repossession of Sambas, and wrote to Abdul Ramman as to the preparatory +measures requisite, when the English war, as before observed, obliged them to abandon Pontiana. + +</p> +<p>This Abdul Ramman, the first sultan or chief of Pontiana, reigned thirty-five years, and died in 1807, leaving his eldest +son, the present Sultan Kasim, now forty-six years of age, his successor; who has a second brother, called Pangeran Marko, +aged thirty-eight, <a id="d0e6031"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6031">388</a>]</span>and Pangeran Hosman, thirty-six years, beside four sisters, one of whom married the present Rajah of Matan, and about seventy +half brothers and sisters, the natural children of his father, with an extensive sub-progeny. The present sultan has three +sons (Abibuker, heir-apparent, twenty-one years old, Ali, and Abdul Ramman), and four daughters, lawfully begotten. None of +the royal family make use of either opium, betel, or tobacco, in any shape whatever; and the present sultan has much the appearance +of an Arab. The grandfather of the present sultan was from Arabia, a Sayed Suriff; one of his relations was fixed at Palimbang, +whose name is unknown to me, and the other, Shad Fudyel, at Acheen, who has been long dead. + +</p> +<p>The wet season commences from September, and ends in April, when heavy rain, hard squalls, and much thunder and lightning +are experienced. From April till September is called the dry season, but even in this portion of the year seldom a day elapses +without a smart shower or two. The monsoons on the northerly shores of Borneo are found to correspond with those prevalent +in the China seas, viz. from the N.E. from October to April, and from the S.W. the rest of the year. To the southward, about +Benjarmasing, the monsoons are the same as in the Java seas, <i>i. e.</i> westerly from October to April, and easterly the rest of the year. Those parts of Borneo near or upon the equator have variable +winds all the year, and land and sea breezes close in shore. + +</p> +<p>This country is by no means so warm as one would be led to imagine by its proximity everywhere to the line: this arises from +the perpetual refreshing showers and the land and sea breezes, the former being wafted over innumerable rivers. In the month +of November, the thermometer at Pontiana ranges from 78° to 82°. + +</p> +<p>During the wet season, the rivers swell and overflow the adjacent shores, and run down with such continued rapidity, that +the water may be tasted fresh at sea at the distance of six or seven miles from the mouths: these overflowings fertilize the +banks and adjacent country, and render the shores of Borneo, like the plains of Egypt, luxuriantly rich. Susceptible of the +highest possible culture, particularly in wet grain, in the dry season the coast, from these overflowings, presents to the +eye the richest enameled fields of full grown grass for miles around. It is at this season that whole herds of wild cattle +range down from the mountains in the interior to fatten on the plains, but during the wet season they ascend to their hills. + +</p> +<p>The whole of the north, the northwest, and the center of Borneo is extremely mountainous. The greatest portion of the ancient +kingdom of Borneo Proper is extremely elevated. That of Kiney Baulu, or St. Peterʼs Mount, in latitude 6° north, is perhaps +one of the highest mountains known. The country about Sambas, Pontiana, and Sukadana is occasionally interspersed with a few +ranges of hills, otherwise the land here might be deemed low. But to the southward, and more particularly to the east, in +the Straits of Macassar, it is very low. The shore in these latter places is extremely moist and swampy, but the interior +is said to be dry. +<a id="d0e6044"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6044">389</a>]</span></p> +<p>The common charts of Borneo will show the innumerable rivers that water this vast island in every possible direction; but +it is worthy of remark, that all the principal rivers on this island have their main source in a large lake in the vicinity +of that stupendous mountain before mentioned, Kiney Baulu. The river Benjarmasing takes its rise from thence, and after traversing +in all its windings a distance of 1500 miles, intersecting the island into two parts, falls into the Java sea. Its rise and +fall is said to be twelve feet, and it has only nine feet at low water on the bar. It is said to have numberless villages +scattered on its banks; but I have obtained no particular accounts of them, or their produce. + +</p> +<p>The great river of Borneo Proper is certainly the finest on the island. It is a deep, navigable, and majestic stream; it has +three fathoms upon the bar at low water; the rise and fall is, I believe, fifteen feet; there are docks here for Chinese junks +of five or six hundred tons, and a first-rate ship of war might get up far above the town. The country, too, is populous, +productive, and healthy. The southern branch of this river has been well surveyed, but the branch leading to the Marut country +is little known; it has its source in Kiney Baulu. + +</p> +<p>In the ancient kingdom of Sukadana, the five principal rivers are the Sukadana, the Lava, the Pogore, the Pontiana, and the +Sambas. The former rivers communicate inland, and their main source is in Kiney Baulu. The whole of these rivers are deep +and navigable for seventy or eighty miles; but have all of them mud flats at their mouths, which would not admit of the entry +of vessels exceeding fourteen feet at high water springs. + +</p> +<p>The third most considerable river on Borneo is the Kinabatangan, lying in the north of the island, and emptying itself into +the Sulo seas. It is said to be deep and navigable much farther than the Benjarmasing river; it has several mouths, but it +has never been surveyed. The rivers Kuran, Pasir, and a variety of others that fall into the Straits of Macassar, are said +to be noble streams, navigable for vessels of large burthen; but I have no accurate information of them. The harbor of Sandakan +is one of the finest in the world; a correct chart of the same is published. The harbor of Tambisan, near Cape Unsing, is +equal to Pulo Pinang, and calculated for careening and building ships; a tolerable chart of these is also published. The harbors +of Pulo Laut, Punangan, Maludu, and several others in the Straits of Macassar, afford good anchorage and complete shelter +for shipping. + +</p> +<p>Situated as Borneo is, immediately under the equator, everything that can be produced in vegetation by the combined influence +of heat and moisture is here displayed in the highest luxuriance and super-excellence. All the Oriental palms, as the cocoa-nut, +the areca, the sago, &c., abound here. The larger grasses, as the bamboo, the canna, the nardus, assume a stately growth, +and thrive in peculiar luxuriance. Pepper is found wild everywhere, and largely cultivated about Benjarmasing and the districts +of Borneo Proper. The <i lang="la-x-bio">laurus cinnamomum</i> and <i lang="la-x-bio">cassia odoriferata</i> are produced in abundance about Kimanis. In no part of the world does the camphor-tree flourish in equal perfection as in +the districts <a id="d0e6061"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6061">390</a>]</span>of Maludu and Payton, in the north of Borneo. The ebony, the dammar, the tree that yields the finest dragonʼs blood in the +world, all abound here. The cotton and coffee trees are found in all parts of Borneo, though not much attended to. The chocolate +nut of Sulo is preferred at Manilla to that from South America. The tree that yields the clove-bark, and the nutmeg, and clove, +thrive luxuriantly, though never tried to any extent. + +</p> +<p>The woods about Pontiana for carpentry and joinery, are kayu bulean, chena, mintangore, laban, ebony, iron-wood, dammar, and +dammar laut, &c. &c. The pine abounds in the bay of Maludu, teak at Sulo. The fruit-bearing trees which enrich and adorn the +Indian continent, offer, on the Borneon shore, all their kindred varieties, nurtured by the bountiful hand of luxuriant nature. +The durian, mangustin, rambutan, proya, chabi, kachang, timon, jambu, kniban, beside the nanka or jack, tamarind, pomplemose, +orange, lemon, and citron, all the kindred varieties of the plantain, banana, melon, annanas, pomegranate, &c., are found +on Borneo. + +</p> +<p>The garden-stuffs met with are onions, garlic, yams, pumpkins, brinjals, greens, beans, cucumbers; and turnips, cabbages, +and potatoes would succeed, were there Europeans to attend to them. + +</p> +<p>The elephant was said to be seen about Cape Unsing, where several teeth are still found; but it is conceived this animal is +extinct on the island. There are no dromedaries nor camels; nor are horses, asses, or mules met with on Borneo (the former +are seen at Sulo). None of the larger breed of the feline species are found here, as the lion, tiger, leopard; nor the bear, +the wolf, the fox, nor even a jackal, or dog, that I ever saw. The ourang-outang, or the man of the woods, is the most singular +animal found in these regions. The rivers swarm with alligators, and the woods with every variety of the monkey tribe. The +names of other animals on Borneo are the bodok or rhinoceros, pelando or rabbit, rusa or stag, kijang or doe, minjagon, babi +utan or wild hog, tingileng, bintangan, &c. There are buffaloes, goats, bullocks, hogs, beside the rat and mouse species; +a dog I never saw on Borneo. + +</p> +<p>There are few snakes on the sea-coast, owing to the moisture; plenty, however, are found in the interior. The musketoe, the +fly, the frog, and the noisy beetle, with other insects and vermin found in Malay countries, abound here. + +</p> +<p>The coasts and rivers abound with excellent and wholesome fish in the greatest variety, and of the most delicious flavors; +but such is the miserable state of society, that few Malays have either the inclination or the inducement to venture beyond +the mouths of their rivers in quest of them; and even there they are more indebted to the industry of the Chinese with their +fishing-stakes than to their own labor for the supply of their markets. The names of their fish are, the kakab, klabaw, jilawat, +lai-is, pattain, udang or prawn, shrimp, talang, sinanging, bawan, rowan, taylaon, duri, bleda, tingairy, alu-alu, pako, jumpul, +pari or skait, boli ayam, tamban or shad, belut or eel, iyu or shark, lida or sole, batu batu, kabab batu, klaoi, krang or +cockle, tiram or oyster, <a id="d0e6073"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6073">391</a>]</span>tipy and lapis pearl oysters, cupang or muscle, all the varieties of the turtle, with several other sorts. + +</p> +<p>The ornithology of Borneo is somewhat limited. There are the bayan, nuri, dara, pepit or sparrow, tukukur or turtle-dove, +berkey, kandang, kiridi, gogaw or crow, seyrindit, layang or swallow, kalilawan. The Chinese rear ducks; the tame fowl abounds; +but the turkey, goose, and peafowl are seldom met with. + +</p> +<p>The principal gold mines on Borneo are in the vicinity of Sambas. There is a mountain called Guning Pandan, about eighty miles +inland; from this branch out three rivers—one leads to Mompava, one to Batu Bulat near Tanjong Mora, and one to Landa; the +whole intermediate area between the above rivers is of a firm yellow argillaceous schistus, or ferruginous quartz, interspersed +with horn and vitreous ores, of a remarkable dark reddish color, abounding with the richest veins of gold, and equal if not +superior to any mine extant. There are only fifty parets or mines now wrought in the whole kingdom of Sukadana, thirty of +which are in the Sambas district, each mine having at least three hundred men, Chinese, employed in them. Their pay, one with +another, is four dollars per mensem. + +</p> +<p>The mines are rented from the rajah at the rate of fifty bunkals of gold per mine per annum, beside a capitation tax of three +dollars per head on every Chinaman. There are thirty thousand Chinese in the Sambas districts, and they feel themselves strong +enough to oppose or evade this tax; it hence becomes a perpetual contest between greedy extortion on the one side, and avaricious +chicane on the other; there are beside about twelve thousand Malays and Dayers. + +</p> +<p>The Laurat gold mines are situated to the eastward of the town of Sambas, and are particularly rich and productive. The mines +of Siminis are one dayʼs journey from Sambas, up a small creek leading from Sambas river, below the town; and the mines are +abundant. Salako is up a river fifteen miles south of the Sambas river; it lies nearly forty miles up, but communicates with +Sambas by another river: here the metal is found more abundant than anywhere else; and twenty thousand Chinese are found in +this district. Mantrado is three daysʼ journey up the Mompava river; it is under an independent Malay prince. Some accounts +make the population of this district great, near fifty thousand Dayers, Malays, and Chinese; but perhaps half the number may +be nearer the truth; these are chiefly employed on the gold mines, and in producing food for the miners; these mines, however, +do not produce that quantity which they might under Chinese management. Mandore is about a dayʼs journey from Pontiana, and +belongs to the sultan; it is reckoned a very rich mine, though but recently wrought. There are as yet only twelve parets of +about two hundred men each, but it is capable of extension. Likewise are found in this district some very rich specimens of +copper ore; it has not as yet been wrought, gold being deemed a much more productive article. The sultan wishes, however, +he had some boring utensils and an experienced miner, to enable him to decide whether it would be worth working under the +peculiar circumstances <a id="d0e6083"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6083">392</a>]</span>above mentioned. Numbers of Chinese are settled in this district, and the population is annually increasing. + +</p> +<p>About three daysʼ journey up the Pongole river lies the district of Songo, with a population of twenty-five thousand souls, +Dayers, and a few Chinese, under a Malay and an independent prince. The population is chiefly employed on the rich mines of +gold in the neighborhood, which is particularly pure and abundant; but the mines are not wrought with the same industry as +those under Chinese management. The Dutch thought it of so much consequence as to keep a force at Songo, and to place the +present rajah on that musnud. About two daysʼ journey farther up lies another gold district, called Santam, the inhabitants +of which are principally Dayers. Beyond Santam, and higher up on the same river, lies the town of Sukadow, abounding in gold, +the inhabitants of which are also Dayers. + +</p> +<p>Matan belongs to the rajah of that name: he had the title of Rajah of Sukadana, until driven out of the latter place by the +Dutch, seventeen years ago. There are ten thousand Dayers in this district, and a few Chinese and Malays. The mines of gold +are abundant, and capable of becoming highly productive, as well as the mines of iron and unwrought tin; but the sultan is +much addicted to the use of opium, and hence neglects a valuable country, capable, under better management, of becoming the +most valuable district on all Borneo. + +</p> +<p>About three daysʼ journey from Pontiana lies the celebrated mountain of Landa, which, after Golconda, is the most valuable +diamond mine in the world. There are at least thirty thousand people, principally Dayers, employed on the mines and agriculture; +it belongs to a Malay prince, raised to that musnud twenty-five years ago by the Dutch, through the agency of the present +Sultan of Pontiana: here also much gold is produced; and much more might be had under proper management. + +</p> +<p>There is a very valuable gold mine in the north of Borneo, at a place called Tampasuk, situated in the district ceded to the +English by the Sultan of Sulo; but having become the principal pirate port on the coast, the working of the mines has been +discontinued. + +</p> +<p>The whole produce of the gold mines of Sukadana is said to be annually about twenty piculs, or a million of dollars, at twenty-five +dollars a bunkal; but no calculation of this sort can possibly be correct. Living, as the Chinese do, under the rapacity of +despotic and ferocious freebooters, who are actuated by no one principle of honor, justice, or good faith, it is their interest +to conceal the riches they amass, not only to preserve themselves from the clutches of these tyrants, but as the most compact +substance to transport to their native shores, to which they repair with the fruits of their industry, by the annual junks +that arrive at Pontiana, leaving the mines to new settlers: from two to three hundred leave Pontiana every year. + +</p> +<p>The standard of Slakow gold at Pontiana is affixed at twenty-three Spanish dollars the bunkal, of two dollars weight. The +Songo and Laurat is twenty-five dollars the said bunkal. +<a id="d0e6097"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6097">393</a>]</span></p> +<p>Not having had an opportunity to inspect any of the gold mines personally, I know not if the ores readily melt of themselves, +or whether they require the aid of any fluxes before they yield the metal; but I believe the principal attention of the miners +is directed to the rich veins of pure native gold, and that no operation is performed beyond that of pulverizing, and simple +washing; all the gold about Pontiana being in dust, though some I have met with in Borneo Proper was run into bars. About +Landa, where the diamonds are found, the whole of the stratum is observed to be a clay of a red burnt appearance, nearly to +the same degree as that of burnt bricks, which gives to the rivers hereabouts a peculiar tinge. Whether this has been formed +by the action of subterraneous fires, or is the effect of volcanoes or earthquakes, I cannot decide; the latter are said to +be frequently felt at Pontiana and at Sambas; and the former are said to exist in the central mountains of Borneo. + +</p> +<p>From the slovenly manner in which the diamonds are sought for by the Dayers, they seldom collect them of a size exceeding +three or four carats weight each. When rough, the Landa diamond has a white or yellow hue; but none are found of that inky +and flinty tinge, so valuable in some of the Golconda diamonds. But that Landa does produce them of a very considerable size, +the extensive and valuable specimens in Java, as well as the quantities annually sent to Batavia, will evince. The King of +Matan is at this instant in possession of a diamond weighing 367 carats: the value of which, according to the old mode of +calculation, would be (367 x 367 x 2 = 269,378<i>l.</i>) The Sultan of Pontiana says, however, that a much larger price was offered for it by the Dutch government of Java. He refused, +it is said, twenty-five laks of dollars, two sloops of rice, fifty pieces of cannon, and a hundred muskets. Several from twenty +to thirty carats have been dug up. At Mompava there are said to be very rich copper mines; but from want of population, a +vigorous government, and scientific mineralogists, little is to be hoped from them at the present day. At Pulo Bongorong, +near Borneo Proper, there is plenty of loadstone found. + +</p> +<p>About one degree north of Sambas there is a country called Sarāwak, belonging to the Rajah of Borneo Proper; there is a vast +district abounding in tin, in veins as rich and as plentiful as those wrought on Banca: but they have been neglected for a +series of years; they were partially wrought before those of the latter were discovered, in the beginning of the last century. +The tyranny of that government, the want of hands, and the contiguity of rich and valuable gold-mines, have together caused +their utter neglect; and there is little probability of more favorable results, except under a change of government, and a +happier order of things. + +</p> +<p>In the Matan districts there is an extensive and most valuable iron-mine, producing pure metal without any admixture of ore: +it is fully equal in quality to the best Swedish iron. They run it into shot, and much of it is exported; but the gold-mines +in its vicinity, and the want of a proper government, are obstacles to its <a id="d0e6109"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6109">394</a>]</span>further productiveness and utility. At Maday, on the northeast coast of Borneo, in the province of Mangidara, there is a very +rich mine of gold. Pasir and Coti, in the Straits of Macassar, produce considerable quantities of gold; and gold and diamonds +are brought down by the river to Benjarmasing. I have, however, no accurate information on the subject, and can simply note +the general fact. + +</p> +<p>There are several fine specimens of crystal found at Kimanis and Sulo; they call them water diamonds. To give full effect +to the mines in the kingdom of Sukadana, says the Sultan of Pontiana, and to raise the excess of food required for the additional +hands, would together give employment to at least a million of Chinese. Under the British flag, he thinks thousands of new +settlers will find their way in the annual junks. + +</p> +<p>All that extensive range, from Cape Unsing, passing by the Tawi Tawi islands and Sulo, as far as Baselan, is one vast continued +bed of pearl-oysters, principally of the Behoren or mother-of-pearl-shell species; these are called by the natives <i>tipi</i>. There is likewise an extensive bed of the Ceylon oyster, called by the Malays <i>kapis</i>; the principal banks of the latter are found in Maludu Bay. The Sulo pearls have, from time immemorial, been the most celebrated, +and praised as the most valuable of any in the known world. Pigofetta, the companion of Magalhaens, mentions having seen in +1520 two Sulo pearls in the possession of the Rajah of Borneo as large as pullet eggs. Very large ones, from one to two hundred +<i>chaw</i> weight, are at all times to be purchased at Sulo; and there are altogether sold here to the China junks, the Spaniards, &c. +more than two laks of dollars worth annually. The quantity of mother-of-pearl-shell, <i lang="la-x-bio">communibus annis</i>, sold there is two thousand piculs, at six dollars a picul. The fishery is partly carried on by the Malays, and partly by +the Chinese; the large pearls they endeavor to conceal as much as possible, from a law that all pearls above a certain size +of right belong to the sultan. “The small narrow guts,” says Dalrymple in his account of the Sulo seas, “about Tawi Tawi, +are the most rich and valuable fishery in the world.” I have had an opportunity of inspecting the banks about Manar and Tutacoryn, +as well as all the banks in the Sulo seas; but the former have not banks near as extensive, equaling in the quantity of oysters, +in productiveness, size, or richness, the Sulo pearl, nor are they to be compared in any way to the Sulo beds. Still the Ceylon +fishery has netted the British Government from one to two laks of pagodas for permitting it to be fished fourteen days annually. +As this portion of Borneo belongs to the English, a much greater revenue might be drawn from these vast sources of wealth, +under proper management. + +</p> +<p>As there are no people of sufficient opulence to contract for so vast a fishery, the Company might undertake it themselves; +three or four gun-boats would be necessary to protect the fishermen; and a small fort should be erected at Tambisan or Tawi +Tawi. But it is necessary to observe, the Sulo people do not practice diving at all, as is the case at Beharen and Ceylon, +but only comprehend <a id="d0e6129"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6129">395</a>]</span>the slow method of dredging for the tipy with a thing like the fluke of a wooden anchor. It would be a desirable thing, in +the event of prosecuting this valuable fishery as a national concern, to obtain forty or fifty Arab divers from Beharen, and +perhaps an equal number of Chulias from Nagore and Negapatam, from the number employed annually on the Ceylon fishery. These +men would teach the Malay the superiority of diving, which can, in fourteen daysʼ fishing, bring into government a revenue +of two laks of pagodas, pay the expenses of the fishery, and enrich all parties concerned; while the Malayan operose plan +of dredging perhaps affords but a precarious subsistence. But had they divers, from the extent of the banks, instead of fourteen +days in the year, they might, one after another, be fished the whole year round, and never be exhausted. The Chinese fishermen, +though laborious, possess no enterprise, and can never be prevailed on to dive, from apprehension of the sharks. The Caffris +from New Guinea and the Arroes would be superior to them. + +</p> +<p>The Sultan of Sulo, in 1810, proposed to me to bring over one hundred Chulia divers from Negapatam on our joint expense and +profit: and the divers agreed to go over on receiving each twenty-five rupees advance, their victuals being found, and one-fourth +of the produce of oysters allowed them, as at Ceylon. Circumstances, however, occurred to prevent an undertaking which I think +must have turned out highly lucrative. They dredge the banks all the year round. The water on the Tahow, Maludu, and Tawi +Tawi banks, is from seven to ten fathoms deep; in other places they fish in fifteen fathoms water. + +</p> +<p>The Malays of Borneo understand the art of cutting, polishing, and setting their diamonds. Gold and silver filagree works +they excel in; gunpowder is manufactured at Pontiana; brass cannon is cast at Borneo Proper; iron-shot is run from their mine. +They can manufacture and repair krises, and clean their arms. Their carpentry extends to the building and repairing of prows, +and the erecting of a hut. Their industry is further exerted in collecting birdsʼ-nests and wax; in cutting rattan and felling +timber; in the pearl and tripan fisheries; or as mariners in commercial or piratical pursuits. The tillage of the ground and +the edible fisheries are often left to the more indefatigable industry of the Chinese. For the exercise of every other useful +occupation also, the mechanical and scientific arts, and the labor of the mines, these indolent savages are indebted solely +to the superior industry and civilization of the Chinamen. + +</p> +<p>The amusements of the Malays in other parts are unpractised on the shores of Borneo: the only ones I ever saw were flying +the kite, swimming, and the songs of their women; this latter is confined to the rajahs. + +</p> +<p>Wherever a water-communication on Borneo presents, the indolence of the Malay will not permit him to think of the construction +of a road. In the interior, however, there are pathways in all directions; about Mompava, where the river is narrow and shallow, +they have constructed several roads. Being a people much occupied in maritime pursuits, they prefer, like the amphibious <a id="d0e6139"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6139">396</a>]</span>Dutch, traveling by rivers, or the innumerable cuts, canals, and creeks, which everywhere intersect the country: beside, their +prows afford more protection from surprise, and they conceive their town as safer by being surrounded by a jungle and situated +in a swamp; nor have they any conception beyond water-carriage. + +</p> +<p>Their laws neither depend upon the Koran nor any written code, human or divine, beyond the whim and caprice of the chief (assassin) +and his gang of desperadoes. The Sultan of Pontiana has, however, established the following regulations: + +</p> +<p>Punishments for murder:—Life for life, except when the parties can commute the same by fine. +</p> +<hr class="tb"><p> + +</p> +<p>A proclamation is publicly affixed announcing the law, that if any person be found adulterating gold-dust, or uttering it, +so depreciated, with a view to defraud, the perpetrator shall lose his right arm, and the adulterated gold shall be confiscated. + +</p> +<p>For theft:—Five dollars per head is given by the sultan to any one bringing in the head of a thief: if brought in alive, he +is suspended by the heels and flogged as far as nature can bear short of death, and the punishment repeated <i lang="la">ad libitum</i>. + +</p> +<p>Prisoners taken from an enemy, whether found in arms or not, are made slaves of, or suffer death, at the option of the captor. + +</p> +<p>The Malay government is said to exhibit the feudal system in its most perfect form. The chief, or rajah, issues his orders +to the Pangerans, or princes of the blood; to the Datus, or nobles of royal descent; or to the Orang Kayas, or wealthy vassals. +All these obey and follow him to war, free of expense, when the king is sufficiently powerful to enforce it; but whenever +the vassal feels himself strong enough to throw off the yoke, and to assert his independence, he sets up for himself. These +vassals exact the same obedience from their slaves or villains, who pay the like deference only so long as they are compelled +to observe and obey them. The property acquired by a slave he is often allowed to enjoy unmolested during his lifetime; but +at his death, his master administers to the estate as heir, executor, and sole legatee. + +</p> +<p>In fact, it is a government that inspires on all sides one universal distrust—that rules by precedents of oppression without +a view to protection. The chiefs dread the power of their vassals, who, in return, apprehend everything from the rapacity +of the governing power; while the bulk of the people, having no property to lose, are still compelled to appear abroad armed +to defend their very persons from the outrage and violence of the next assassin they meet. + +</p> +<p>Where governments not only tolerate murder, rapine, thefts, piracies, conflagrations, with every outrage violating the happiness +and safety of society, but are the first to set the example and to consecrate the atrocity—where the people are taught no +one principle of morality or religion—where the arts and sciences are wholly unknown or despised—where the amusements and +sociabilities of human life are totally disregarded—where the bounties and comforts of nature are rather dispensed with than +<a id="d0e6162"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6162">397</a>]</span>enjoyed, and where the absolute necessaries to existence and the decorations of life are more scanty and wretched than yet +discovered among the rudest set of barbarians extant; if, from the experience of the past, expectations of the future are +to be formed, we may safely infer that every vestige of Malay government and dominion will be ingulfed in the vortex of self +and mutual destruction. Such a system of society has in itself the seeds of dissolution, and is rapidly verging to an inherent +decay and general oblivion, which it will doubtless meet, unless some beneficent power arrest its baneful impetus, and direct +its feverish energies through channels calculated to promote the happiness and to consolidate the welfare of the inhabitants +of these scattered regions. + +</p> +<p>Should so fortunate an occurrence ever fall to the lot of Borneo—should a strong and a wise government ever be established +on her shores—a government that will religiously respect property and secure to industry the fruits of her labor—that will, +by a wise system of laws, protect the peaceable and punish the violator of the laws of a well-organized society—that will +direct their industry to useful purposes, and check their propensities to violence and plunder—such a government, in a short +series of years, would behold, as if by magic, a paradise burst from her wilds, see cultivation smile upon her jungles, and +hail a vast and increasing population, blessing the hand that awoke them to life, to happiness, and to prosperity. That so +felicitous a change is not the mere reverie of a glowing imagination, or the sheer effusion of benevolence alone, is easily +demonstrable. + +</p> +<p>Whoever has seen the Egyptian fertility of the soil, from the moistness of the climate, the numberless rivers meandering around +and intersecting the country in all directions, with the mild temperature of the climate, from similar causes—whoever considers +the vast extent and inexhaustible wealth of her innumerable mines of pure native gold, her block-tin, her copper, her iron, +her diamonds, &c., her various valuable fisheries of pearl and tripan—whoever views her ports, her harbors, and her productive +shores, at the threshold of the over-teeming population of China, and at the same moment recollects that the country abounds +in various valuable products in the highest possible estimation, and of increasing demand in the empire of China, must easily +conceive what a tempting field and rich harvest this land of promise holds out to their industry and cupidity under such a +system of laws and government as we have deemed a <i>sine quâ non</i>. + +</p> +<p>If, under the present codes of tyranny, oppression, and general ferocity, where nothing is permanent but violence and desolation—if, +under such a system of barbarism, a hundred thousand Chinese (which is the fact) have found inducements sufficiently strong +to settle on her shores, what might we not hope and expect from the overburdened population of that vast empire under a happier +order of things? The astonishing number of Chinese settled within a few years at Pulo Pinang, on a contracted soil, possessing +no peculiar advantages but from a free trade and <span id="d0e6173" class="corr" title="Source: equiable">equitable</span> laws impartially administered, is both a fact and an illustration; <a id="d0e6176"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6176">398</a>]</span>and what might not Borneo hope for from a happier soil, greater inducements, and other physical advantages? Java, under the +despotism of the Dutch, with the character of a sickly climate, and the remembrance of the cruel massacre of sixty thousand +innocent Chinese, could still boast a hundred thousand of these people at the period it fell to the British arms; and withal, +let it be remembered that these shores were once blessed with the industry of these people to a far greater extent under a +happier period of her history. + +</p> +<p>Whatever, indeed, might prove the work of ages in various other parts of the globe would, under the present circumstances +of the Chinese empire, be instantaneous on these shores; and their habits of industry and civilization, when once rooted to +the soil, would soon spread their genial influence to the extensive population of the interior, unite them in the bonds of +social life, cement them in the general prosperity, and render these extensive shores a valuable appendage and an increasing +resource to the wealth and power that brought about so happy a revolution in their affairs. + +</p> +<p>For a considerable series of years past, the piratical ports of Borneo, &c., have been in the habit of committing depredations +upon the commerce of British India, in the capture of her ships, the insulting of her flag, the offering of outrageous violence +to the persons and lives of her mariners, merchants, &c., and this, too, with the most perfect impunity; no retribution having +been exacted, no reprisals made, no remonstrance presented, and, in fact, no notice taken of their atrocious depredations. +Hence these desperadoes, from inference and experience of the past, have been led to conclude, that whatever was practicable +would be tolerated; that wherever they had the means or opportunity of overpowering, it was their duty, as it was to their +advantage, to seize it to their own use, without any other apprehensions of the consequences than what might arise in the +attempt. + +</p> +<p>Under this discouraging aspect of affairs, there was but little more left to the commercial community of India than either +to abandon the valuable commerce of Borneo wholly; or, if allured to it by a prospect of gain, to proceed in armed vessels +at an increased expense and high insurance, so as to cover the extraordinary risks. These enhanced prices either operated +as a prohibition to the trade, or circumscribed it so much, that an occasional capture excited no surprise, and was frigidly +dismissed as a matter of course. + +</p> +<p>But, from the prodigious accession of territorial possession, including the whole of the vast Dutch empire in the East, the +communications between these and British India have necessarily increased a thousand fold; consequently, the recent alarming +depredations upon our commerce, the serious obstacles to a safe communication, almost tantamount to a blockade of our Eastern +ports by these pirates, imperiously call upon the British Government to adopt the most energetic means and decisive measures +to crush their power and annihilate their resources, either by extirpating them wholly, or placing them and their possessions +<a id="d0e6186"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6186">399</a>]</span>under such future control and checks, as shall prevent the possibility of a revival of a power capable of recurring to enormities +that have so long outraged and disgraced the British flag in the Eastern seas. + +</p> +<p>The idea of extirpating whole hordes of piratical states, were it possible, must, from its cruelty, be incompatible with the +liberal principles and humane policy of a British government. The simple burning down of a Malay town can prove no serious +impediment to future piratical enterprises: constructed, as they are, of bamboos, mats, and atap leaves, a town is almost +rebuilt in the same period of time as it takes to destroy it. The Dutch, who had centuries of dear-bought experience, knew +there was no other mode of prevention and radical cure than building small redoubts at the principal towns, and keeping up +an adequate force to check piratical enterprises, and to turn their restless minds to exertions of industry; satisfied if, +with the attainment of these objects, they covered the expenses of the establishment. This is the true history of the innumerable +little forts on Celebes, Borneo, Timor, and all the Eastern isles. + +</p> +<p>The principal piratical ports that still exist, beside those of Lingin, Rhio, and Billiton, are—1st, Pangeran Annam, at Sambas; +2d, Port Borneo Proper, and four hundred prows at Tampasuk, both under the Rajah of Borneo Proper; 3d, the Pasir pirates; +4th, the Sulo pirates; 5th, the Illano, or pirates on the Isle of Magindano. + +</p> +<p>I shall, from memory, cite such few of their depredations as I recollect. + +</p> +<p>In 1774, says Forrest, the British were expelled from their infant settlement of Balambangan by an insurrection of the Sulos, +who, finding the garrison weak and sickly, unprepared and off their guard, murdered and plundered them, and set fire to their +settlement:—this was in return for having released their sultan from prison, and reëstablished him on the musnud of his ancestors. +In 1800, Captain Pavin and a boatʼs crew were cruelly murdered in the palace of the Sultan of Sulo while the commander was +drinking a cup of chocolate: they fired upon the ship Ruby, but did not succeed in capturing her. In 1810, they plundered +the wreck of the ship Harrier of a valuable cargo: several of her crew are still in slavery at Bagayan Sulo. In 1788, the +ship May of Calcutta, 450 tons burden, Captain Dixon, was cut off at Borneo Proper: they were invited up to the town with +the ship, and while at dinner, the sultan and his people fell upon them, and murdered Captain Dixon, three officers, and ten +Europeans; the lascars were retained in slavery, the valuable cargo plundered, and the ship burnt. In 1803 the ship Susanna +of Calcutta, Captain Drysdale, was cut off near Pontiana by the Sambas and Borneo pirates; the Europeans were all massacred, +and the vessel taken. In 1769, Captain Sadler, with his boatʼs crew, was murdered by the Sambas pirates off Mompava, having +a prodigious quantity of gold-dust: they did not succeed in cutting off the ship. In 1806, Mr. Hopkins and crew, of the Commerce, +were murdered by the pirates of Borneo Proper; the ship was <a id="d0e6196"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6196">400</a>]</span>plundered by them and the Sambas pirates. In 1810, Captain Ross was cut off. In 1811, Captain Graves was cut off by the Pasir +pirates with a rich cargo. In 1812, the enormities of Pangeran Annam have out-heroded Herod: these are too recent to require +recapitulation. Independent of his depredations on the Coromandel, a Portuguese ship, &c., nine Europeans of the Hecate have +been seized and made slaves; two have been since murdered; two have escaped; and five are hamstrung and otherwise maimed. +Mrs. Ross and her son are still in slavery there. + +</p> +<p>The Tampasuk pirates, belonging to the Rajah of Borneo Proper, aiding and abetting Pangeran Annam against the English, are +Datu Akop, Datu Aragut, and Datu Jumbarang, with ten large men-of-war prows: there is also there the Rajah Endut, a Siak chief. + +</p> +<p>Matan is under an independent rajah, who was formerly styled Sultan of Sukadana; but about seventeen years ago the Dutch burnt +down his city. At length, by some pecuniary aid received from the late Sultan of Pontiana, he was enabled to reëstablish his +affairs as Rajah of Matan; and, in consideration of this aid, entered into a treaty of alliance, which stipulated, that on +his daughterʼs marriage with the grandson of the late, and son of the present. Sultan of Pontiana, he would cede his kingdom +and large diamond as a marriage-portion: the parties yet remain single. Under the head mineralogy we have pointed out how +valuable a country this might become under better management. Iron, gold, tin, and diamonds abound here; also much wax, pepper, +rattans, garu, and about two piculs of the finest birdsʼ-nests, which sell at twenty-eight dollars the catty at Pontiana. +Most of the trade finds its way to Pontiana, Benjar, or Java, in prows. The population is about ten thousand Dayers, &c. + +</p> +<p>Sukadana, once the most celebrated city on Borneo, as the name implies, a terrestrial paradise, the capital of a kingdom and +a great mart of trade, since burnt down and destroyed by the Dutch, exhibits nothing but ruins. There still remain numberless +delicious fruit-trees, and a country still susceptible of general cultivation, being yet clear of jungle and morass. It is +utterly abandoned: that it has not been rebuilt is owing to the Rajah of Pontiana, at whose suggestion it was destroyed, and +whose interest it was to keep it down, having himself risen upon its ashes. + +</p> +<p>There are no towns of any importance between Matan and Pontiana. The rise of this dynasty of sultans has been noted in another +place; it is, however, almost the only power that has been expressly raised, supported, and that still exists, by commerce. +It is situated in latitude 4° north of the equator. The river has two mouths to it; the northern mouth is the deepest, the +most direct, and of the greatest breadth; there are in this branch only two reaches up to the town. The city is no more than +fifteen miles from the mouth of the rivers; its site is on the junction of the Matan and Landa rivers. About two-thirds of +the way up it is fortified; first, with a battery on piles in the center of the stream, mounting five guns; on the left bank +is another with wooden pales, mounting likewise five guns; on the opposite <a id="d0e6206"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6206">401</a>]</span>bank is a third, similar to the foregoing, with a like number of cannon; and, lastly, on the same bank is their grand battery, +constructed of stone, mounting five eighteen-pounders, at the batu, or rock. Here the mausoleum of the royal family is erected, +containing the tomb of the late sultan. The whole of this side of the river exhibits the marks of infant cultivation. The +jungle has been, in part, cleared away, and here and there a solitary hut greets the eye. The sultanʼs palace has a battery +of eleven guns of all sizes; none of these are calculated to make any serious resistance. So sensible is the sultan of this +that he has commenced staking round with piles a low, swampy island, just detached from the palace. On this stands the grand +mosk. He proposes throwing mud and stones within the ranges of piles, and planting upon them the heaviest-calibered cannon: +it is a commanding site, and capable of being rendered formidable. There are no roads about Pontiana; the town is situated +in the midst of a swamp, so low that the tide at high water overflows the lower parts of the houses, and this, with the addition +of a country overrun with impenetrable jungle, renders it extremely unhealthy, and a most disagreeable residence. + +</p> +<p>The campo China contains about two thousand souls, and lies on the left bank of the Matan river, abreast of the palace; the +campo Buguese, on the right bank of the Landa; and the campo Malayu adjoins the palace. The whole population is about seven +thousand souls: no Dayers are found hereabout. The whole of the districts under Pontiana produce about three hundred coyans +of rice, the average selling price of which is from fifty-five to seventy Spanish dollars the coyan. The kingʼs revenue is +forty thousand dollars per annum. The Chinese plead poverty, but some of the Buguese are pointed out as wealthy. The quantity +of gold that finds its way to Pontiana is annually from three to four piculs. The imports there consist of opium, iron, steel, +salt, rice, hardware, cutlery, blue and white gurras, salampories, Java cloths, gunpowder, beside China produce of all possible +descriptions. They make their returns in gold, diamonds, birdsʼ-nests, wax, rattans, garu, ebony, agar-agar; beside pepper, +sago, camphor, cassia, tripan, &c. brought here by the prows: five Chinese junks annually visit Pontiana, bringing down produce +amounting to about fifty thousand dollars. The depredations of the Pangeran Annam prevent an extension of this most useful +of all trades to this country. One or two Siamese junks arrive annually. The Tringanu, Timbilan, Karimata, and Borneo Proper +prows trade here; and before Java fell to the British arms, the Buguese from the eastward traded here to a considerable amount. + +</p> +<p>The stone walls built by the Dutch still encompass the palace. The piles on which their factory stood are yet discernible, +but the buildings have been pulled down. Should the English hoist their flag here, a new factory must be erected; the most +eligible situation for which would be where the mosk now stands, or the mosk itself might be converted into one, and another +rebuilt elsewhere; but to this the sultan has insuperable objections. In an English fort, to think to have a mosk open to +the ingress of a <a id="d0e6212"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6212">402</a>]</span>large body of Malays at all times is wholly incompatible with a certain reserve and security required from it. Beside, as +the island is small, and soldiers at times inconsiderate, they might profane or defile its holy precincts, and thus lay the +foundation of perpetual disputes, or even a serious rupture. The fort and factory, if built at all at Pontiana, must hence +be fixed in some detached place. The sultan is building a new palace and covering it with tiles; a novelty in this quarter. +There is but a scanty supply of fowls and buffaloes, and the necessaries of life are scarce and dear. It is altogether the +most uncouth and dreary spot under the sun, though the sultan prefers it to Sambas and Mompava. + +</p> +<p>Their naval force consists of two small ships, two brigs, fifty prows large and small, and about one thousand men. There is +water on the bar to admit vessels drawing nine feet water. The roadstead, with seven fathoms water on it, lies seven miles +from the riverʼs mouth. Care must be taken not to mistake the Pongole river seen from the offing, and which lies ten miles +farther southward. The only stock procurable here were hogs at ten dollars the picul, and water shipped off in China tank-boats +at four and a half dollars the ton. + +</p> +<p>The next port is Mompava, about sixteen miles to the northward of Pontiana, and the second port belonging to the sultan. The +river is shallow, narrow, extremely serpentine, and constantly running down with great rapidity. The country around is a paradise +in comparison with Pontiana. It is upon an elevated site, and, wherever the eye reaches, it is clear of jungle, and of fine +rich mold, susceptible of the highest culture. There is a walk up to the town about eight miles from the mouth of the river; +here the fishing-stakes nearly extend across the river, beside two miserable forts, mounting each five or six pounders, to +defend the river. The population is seven thousand men, Malays, Buguese, and Dayers, and about two thousand Chinese. Formerly +the territory of Mompava extended as far as 1° north latitude. This territory belonged to a chief or rajah, reduced by the +Dutch twenty-five years ago, shortly after they settled at Pontiana; the territory thus conquered was delegated in trust to +the Rajah of Pontiana. The Sambas rajah has forcibly taken possession of a part of it. Sultan Kassim, of Pontiana, governed +this district during his fatherʼs lifetime. On his accession to the musnud, five years ago, he placed a half-brother there, +a stupid fellow, about twenty-five years of age. This man, about eight months ago, was trying to establish his independence, +which he found he could not maintain. It has the same trade as Pontiana, but the regulations of the sultan do not admit of +any vesselʼs touching here for that purpose. The palace is extensive, paled round with a sort of a fortification. The campo +China, in October last, was in part burnt down by the people of Sambas, to the number of four hundred houses. There is a variety +of roads hereabout; one leading to Sambas, one to Landa, one to Mintrada, &c. Groves of cocoanut-trees mark the site of ancient +villages, since demolished; and indicate that it once enjoyed a <a id="d0e6218"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6218">403</a>]</span>superiority and preëminence, of which it has been despoiled. In point of susceptibility of cultivation, it is a full half +century beforehand with Pontiana; it is capable of great improvement, and much grain might be raised with very little trouble. + +</p> +<p>There is a considerable mud-flat at the mouth of the Sambas river, extending four or five miles out, but no regular bar. Vessels +drawing thirteen feet may get in at high water springs; nine feet is the least water, and there is thirteen at the flood. +In the offing there is a rise and fall of seven feet. At the entrance of the river neither shore must be too closely hugged, +having ledges of rocks near them. Twelve miles above the bar the river branches into two parts; the broad or northern branch +is called the Borneo river, having its source in Kiney Baulu; the other, leading to the town of Sambas, is named the Landa +river, having its source in the diamond mines; where these two unite below there was formerly a fort. The Landa river is extremely +serpentine, deep to the very bushes on both sides, and quite clear of danger up to the town, except near Siminis creek, about +ten miles below the fort; here a reef of rocks runs across the stream, and as the fair way over them is somewhat intricate, +the channel ought to be buoyed before attempted to be passed. The Barracouta, drawing thirteen feet, just scraped them at +high water. + +</p> +<p>About five or six leagues up the Landa branch, and about thirteen from the sea, stands the town and palace of Sambas, on the +confluence of the Landa and Salako rivers. The fort on the right bank of the Landa is about a league below the town, built +of two rows of large piles, the interstices being filled up with mud and stones, apparently mounting five guns, eighteens +and twelves in the lower tier, and an equal number of smaller caliber on the ascend or more elevated range. A boom or dam +of fishing-stakes was constructed across the river one-eighth of a mile below the fort, a large armed prow was moored in the +center of the river, mounting two long twelves, and a masked battery opposite to the right, the number of guns unknown. The +reach which these forts command is a mile and a half. The land makes an elbow where these forts are, which obliged the Barracouta +to haul athwart the river, to get her broadside to bear. The whole of this Landa river is very narrow, but near the forts +not one-third additional to her length. Both sides of this river toward the fort appear tolerably clear from the mast-head, +interspersed with pleasant hills inhabited by the Chinese. The tides are pretty regular, six hours and six hours, running +a knot and a half per hour. This river is too serpentine and narrow to admit sailing up; sweeps, towing, or tiding it up are +the only modes that can be resorted to. The great branch of Borneo river, before mentioned, when up it twenty miles, divides +into two; the branch running north being called Tampasan river, the other still retaining the name of Borneo. The Tampasan +branch leads to old Sambas; it is from hence they get their supplies of rice and provisions, by the two cuts above the town +of Sambas, which reunites the Landa and Borneo streams. There are roads from the great branch leading to the town, fort, and +palace. Since the Dutch abandoned Sambas, <a id="d0e6224"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6224">404</a>]</span>three sultans have reigned on this musnud (within fifty years, or thereabout). There are four Pangerans, Annam being the most +daring of the whole. His naval force consists of the Portuguese ship of 400 tons, one brig, and eight or ten large fighting +prows, beside his allies from Borneo Proper, with ten large prows. The population amounts to twelve thousand Dayers and Malays, +and thirty thousand Chinese. + +</p> +<p>Under the head mineralogy we have given a detailed account of the principal sources of its industry. Sambas produces, beside +gold, ten piculs of birdsʼ-nests annually (of an inferior quality), much ebony, rattans, wax, &c. The trade here is much the +same as at Pontiana, and susceptible of a tenfold increase: it is every way superior to the latter for the capital of a large +mart. The country is better cleared, and hence susceptible of more easy cultivation; the land more elevated and less swampy, +consequently healthier; the river deeper and farther navigable; the population more dense, and, the land being clear of jungle, +more capable of being increased. Beside, it is the vicinage of the most considerable gold-mines on all Borneo. The Sultan +of Pontiana would make it his capital if desired; his apprehensions of the power of the Sambas princes lead him to give the +preference to Pontiana. + +</p> +<p>The town of Calaca, belonging to the Rajah of Borneo Proper, lies north of Tanjong Datu; it is the principal port of trade +south of the capital, and the mart of the Sedang country. Here much grain is produced, one hundred piculs of black birdsʼ-nests, +two hundred piculs of wax, some gold, pepper, camphor, &c., but the tin-mines, before mentioned, are utterly neglected. There +are several other towns upon each of the rivers along this coast; the principal ones are Salat, Bacalo, Pasir, and Baram. +They produce nearly the same articles as the above, which are, however, sent on to the capital as fast as collected. + +</p> +<p>It is here necessary to observe, that all the rocks and shoals laid down on this coast do not exist at all; such as Volcano +Island, the Byhors, Krenpel, the whole Slykenburgh, five Comadas, &c. Having beat up this coast twice, and carefully surveyed +the whole, I can declare a finer and clearer coast does not anywhere exist. The old chart, published by A. Dalrymple, is much +more correct than the recent ones. The numbers of immense drifts and floating isles hereabout must have given birth to all +these imaginary dangers. + +</p> +<p>The town of Borneo Proper, the capital of the kingdom of the same name, lies in latitude 5° 7′ north; it is situated fifteen +miles up one of the finest rivers in the world, with three fathoms low water on the bar, and a rise and fall of fifteen feet. +A correct plan of the river and town is published by Mr. Dalrymple. Here are mud docks for vessels of 500 or 600 tons. The +town consists of about three thousand houses, built on stakes, in the middle of the river, with a population altogether of +fifteen thousand souls, Chinese, Malays, Moruts, &c. + +</p> +<p>The palace is slightly fortified; but the Rajah of Pontiana says, the Rajah of Borneo Proper is preparing the means of defence, +<a id="d0e6236"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6236">405</a>]</span>apprehending the resentment of the English in vindicating the rights of their flag, so frequently insulted by them with impunity; +however, as there is sufficient water for a line-of-battle ship to the city, nothing need be apprehended from them. The remains +of a stone fort up the river are still seen, but the one on Pulo Laboan is destroyed. Both banks of the river are planted +with pepper, which formerly produced sixty thousand piculs annually; these are now running to decay from want of commerce. +The Chinese junks, for years past, have ceased touching here, from the numberless piratical depredations committed upon them; +and the Portuguese from Macao have attempted to renew the trade from time to time, but at length, in 1808, their agent withdrew +to Macao, a large ship having been cut off and the crew murdered the year preceding. They now have no other resource but piracy; +and the produce, such as it is, finds its way in prows to Tringan, Sambas, Pontiana, Lingin, and Malacca. Very large quantities +of the finest camphor in the world are procurable here; it comes down from the Morut country, by the great river; a great +deal of wax, some gold, much birdsʼ-nests of an inferior quality, any quantity of sago, cassia, clove-bark, pepper, betel-nut, +rattans, camphor-oil, &c., tripan, tortoise-shell, &c. + +</p> +<p>The hills hereabout are clear of jungle, and wear a beautiful appearance, and, without the aid of history, bear evident marks +of a more extensive population and culture. There are plenty of black cattle, buffaloes, goats, fruits and vegetables of all +kinds, abundance and variety of fish, turtle, &c. The articles best suited for this market are coarse China, white cangyans, +brass plates, China crockery, brass wire, tea, sugar-candy, coarse China silks and satins, blue and white coarse guras and +salampories, coarse ventipallam handkerchiefs, arcot chintzes, iron and steel, quallies, cooking utensils, and other articles +suited to a Malay market—all coarse; no opium. The Borneo catty is two and a half lbs. + +</p> +<p>The English have been very desirous of a port in the China seas for ages past, but have generally appeared to stumble on the +most unhealthy and ill-adapted places possible, such as Balambangan, Pulo Condore, &c.; and even the principal object of Lord +Macartneyʼs embassy was the obtaining of a cession of this nature. But if a capital harbor, a navigable and majestic river, +a productive country, a healthy site, population ready formed, and a commerce all sufficient to pay the expenses of an establishment +(within one hundred miles of Balambangan) is required, the East India Company ought to have pitched upon Borneo Proper. It +was once a most flourishing country, and a very short period under British auspices would render it the first mart in the +East for China-Malayan commerce. There are large, populous towns of Moruts, and Orang Idan, who abhor the Malays, but who +would be soon reconciled to a milder and less traitorous government. + +</p> +<p>Kimanis lies in latitude 5° 8′ north; this is the first port on this coast ceded to the English by the Sultan of Sulo. The +town lies ten miles up the river, at the foot of some of the most beautiful hills I ever saw, and is inhabited by thirty-five +thousand <a id="d0e6244"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6244">406</a>]</span>Orang Idan. The river is small, and almost choked up at the mouth. This province has the following sea-ports in it, viz., +Kimanis, Benome, Papal, and Pangalat, each governed by Orang Kayas, which still continue to send their produce to Borneo Proper, +consisting of ten piculs of birdsʼ-nests annually, two hundred piculs of wax, two piculs of camphor, and cassia, sago, betel-nut, +and pepper, as much as required; tripan, camphor-oil, and rice; with fruit, fish, and provisions, of sorts which are cheap +and plentiful. The articles mentioned as fit for Borneo answer here, only their produce is had about fifty per cent cheaper. + +</p> +<p>The province of Kiney Baulu has the following seaports:—Putatan, Mangatal, Innanam, Labatuan, Mangabong, Tawaran, Sulaman, +Ambung, Abai, Tampasuk, and Padasan. The whole of this province is tremendously high. The stupendous mountain of Kiney is +about fifteen miles from Tampasuk, which at present is the most considerable pirate-port in the Malay seas, and belongs to +the Rajah of Borneo Proper. The pirates frequenting this place have committed such depredations hereabout as to have induced +the English to call the north of Borneo Piratesʼ Point. These desperate banditti originally resided at Tawaran, but were compelled +to leave it from the resentment of whole tribes of Orang Idan. The whole of this province is very fertile; it is the source +of all the great rivers on the island, and is more populous with the aborigines of the country than perhaps the rest of the +island put together. The gold mines of Tampasuk have been mentioned; there are also mines of rock-crystal. Tawaran and several +other places abound in goats and cattle. Abai has a small harbor, and the whole of this coast is accurately laid down by Lieutenant +James Burton, in the sloop Endeavor. There are produced in this province much wax, tortoise-shell, very fine camphor, sago, +rattans, and a red birdsʼ-nest (which comes from Mantanane isle to Pandasan). They send their produce to Borneo Proper. The +pirates are commanded by Datus from Borneo Proper. The lake in the vicinity of Kiney Baulu is said to be delightful; it is +many miles in circumference, well cultivated, populous, and productive. It is said to be very cold, from the extreme elevation, +and the inhabitants are almost as fair as Europeans. There is a valuable coral-tree somewhere hereabout. + +</p> +<p>The Bay of Maludu, on the north of Borneo, is thirty miles in length, and from four to six in breadth, with numberless rivers +flowing into it. There is no danger on the right-hand shore going up, but what is seen; on the larboard shore considerable +coral-reefs are met with. Laurie and Whittleʼs chart of it is tolerably correct. The principal towns are, Sungy Bassar, nearly +at the head of the bay, and Bankaka, on the left; the former, under Sheriff Mahomed, sends its produce to Sulo; the latter, +under Orang Kayas, trades with Borneo Proper. The British, when last at Balambangan, threw up a small redoubt on the Bankaka +side, with a view to supplies of rice and provisions; and this part is tranquil and a good roadstead, being sheltered from +the swell brought in by the sea-breeze. +<a id="d0e6250"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6250">407</a>]</span></p> +<p>The rich and valuable fishery of copis or Ceylon oyster in this bay has been mentioned; it might be rendered of considerable +value. The whole of the rivers for miles up abound in rattans; Mr. A. Dalrymple thinks four thousand tons might be easily +cut down every year without exhausting it, and sent by junks to China. There are forests of beautiful pines of stately growth, +well calculated for the largest masts, and in high esteem at China. There is no quarter of the world which abounds more in +that species of the sea-turtle (called by the Malays pakayan) which yields the shell; any quantity may be had on all the shores +and isles of this bay. + +</p> +<p>The interior abounds in camphor, which can be had in any quantities; so vastly abundant is it, and so little does the Orang +Idan know of the extreme value of this commodity, that a bamboo of camphor may be procured in exchange for a bamboo of salt. +The petty towns are Sandeck, Bowengun, Patasan, Pone, and Milawi. It produces in one year two hundred piculs of wax, fifty +piculs of tortoise-shell, ten piculs of best camphor, and as much inferior; ten piculs of birdsʼ-nests, at ten dollars the +catty; 1st camphor, twenty-five; rattans, one dollar per picul; tortoise-shell, one dollar the catty; wax, twenty the picul. +Articles required are the same as at Borneo Proper. Rice, provisions, fish, and fruits are abundant and cheap; the sugar-cane +also. + +</p> +<p>The province of Paytan is the principal district for camphor of any in the world. Whole forests for miles everywhere meet +the eye, and the produce from them is the finest that can be conceived, large and transparent as Chin-chew sugar-candy. The +principal towns are Pitan, Kinarubatan, Kulepan, and the famous town of Sugut. The coast is so full of coral-reefs, and has +been so very indifferently surveyed, that it is only frequented by prows; there is a road from Sugut to Bankaka in Maludu +Bay. Much wax, tripan, sago, &c., is produced here. + +</p> +<p>Labuk has the towns of Camburcan, Labuk, and Songsohi; its produce is somewhat similar to that of Paytan, with the addition +of clove-bark and birdsʼ-nests. + +</p> +<p>Sandakan. This celebrated harbor has been already mentioned as one of the finest in the world. The towns within it are Towsam, +Duyom, Lu, Bokean, Dom or Doung, Seagally-hood and Tong luly luku; all these are governed by Datus from Sulo, who have expressly +settled here to collect the prodigious quantities of birdsʼ-nests abounding in this district. They are procured here at ten +dollars the catty; and sent to Sulo, with tripan, wax, &c. The Sulos are very jealous of any ships going in here, and will +leave no attempt untried in cutting off a vessel going in, although an English port. + +</p> +<p>In the province of Mangidora lies the great river Kinnabatingan, which is navigable a vast way up, with several towns of Orang +Idan on its shores. The other towns are Salasany, Supabuscul, Tambesan, which forms also an elegant harbor, Laboan or Saboan, +Tuncu, Salurong, Giong, and Maday, which has a gold-mine, before mentioned. The whole of this province, it is said, will produce +above one hundred piculs of the finest birdsʼ-nests, <a id="d0e6263"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6263">408</a>]</span>much black ditto, some camphor, tripan, honey, wax, dammer, Buru mats, fine spars; sago and pepper were formerly largely cultivated +here. The pearl-banks of Tawi Tawi have been mentioned. + +</p> +<p>Tirun. The sea-ports of this last mentioned and valuable province, ceded to the English by the Sulos, are chiefly inhabited +by Buguese people. The towns are Sibuku, Sambakung, Leo or Ledong, Sikatak, Sabellar, Kuran or Barrow, Talysion Dumaung, Tapeandurian. +The principal ports are Kuran and Sibuku; they produce a large quantity of very fine white birdsʼ-nests, a quantity of black +ditto, much dammer, sago, tripan, wax, rattans, camphor, honey, Buru mats, gold, &c. The people of Tapeandurian are represented +as very ferocious, and the sea-coast hereabout requires surveying. + +</p> +<p>The ports of Pasir and Coti originally belonged to the King of Benjarmasing; very fine birdsʼ-nests are procured here at twenty +dollars the catty; much gold, tripan, wax, &c. + +</p> +<p>Were Borneo to be settled, I think the principal factory ought to be at Borneo Proper; the second at Sambas; the third at +Benjarmasing; the fourth at Pasir; the fifth at Tabesan or Sandakan. + +</p> +<p>In looking over the map of the world, it is a melancholy reflection to view so large a portion of the habitable globe as all +Borneo abandoned to barbarism and desolation; that, with all her productive wealth and advantages of physical situation, her +valuable and interesting shores should have been overlooked by all Europeans; that neither the Dutch nor the Portuguese, with +centuries of uncontrolled power in these seas, should have shed a ray of civilization on shores bordering upon their principal +settlements; that her ports and rivers, instead of affording a shelter to the extensive commerce of China, should at this +enlightened period of the world hold out only terror and dismay to the mariner; and that all that she should have acquired +from the deadly vicinage and withering grasp of Dutch power and dominion has been the art of more speedily destroying each +other, and rendering themselves obnoxious to the rest of mankind. Now that her destinies are transferred to the enlightened +heads and liberal hearts of Englishmen,—now that her fortunes are embarked under the administration of a wise and liberal +government,—we may confidently hope that a happier order of things will, under the blessing of an all-ruling Providence, speedily +restore these extensive shores to peace, to plenty, and to commerce; and we ardently trust that another age may not be suffered +to pass away without exhibiting something consolatory to the statesman, the philosopher, and the philanthropist. + + + +<a id="d0e6273"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6273">409</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="div2" id="d0e6274"> +<h3 class="label">No. V.</h3> +<p><i>Extracts from the late Mr. Williamsonʼs Journal.</i> + + +</p> +<p>In October, 1845, Mr. Brooke commissioned some of the European gentlemen of his party to make a tour of inspection through +the outlying Dyak tribes dependent on Sarāwak, for the purpose of ascertaining their condition and prospects, and taking steps +for the redress of any grievances of which they might have to complain. A few extracts from the rough journal kept on that +occasion by Mr. Williamson may not be uninteresting to the reader, as showing what a large measure of success had already +attended Mr. Brookeʼs wise and earnest efforts to restore peace and plenty to the poor persecuted Dyaks; what incessant vigilance +on his part was still requisite to check the inveterate propensity of the knavish Malays to plunder and oppress them; and +with what well-directed activity he pursues his labors for the physical welfare and the moral regeneration of his subjects +and neighbors. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Wednesday, Oct. 8th.</i>—At 11 <span class="smallcaps">A.M.</span> arrived at Pankalum Bunting, where we found about thirty Dyaks in a small hut ready to welcome us, and carry our luggage +up to the village. At one oʼclock started for the Bakar village, about five miles from the landing place, at the foot of the +Sadong hills. This tribe consists of one hundred families, occupying four villages. There are about twenty-five houses in +Mungu Babi (<i>i. e.</i> Hog Hill), the village where we are at present, and five padi stores. It is very recently that the Dyaks have ventured to +store their padi in houses. At 8 <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span> attended the feast given in our honor, where we saw the women dancing; they appeared very happy, and pleased to see us. + +</p> +<p>“<i>9th.</i>—This morning we had all the Orang Kayas of the four villages, who informed me they were very comfortable and happy. I told +them the object of my mission, at which they all seemed pleased, and said that that if they were oppressed they would come +to Sarāwak and complain to the Tuan Besar, When I asked them about the Sadong Dyaks, they said I should hear all when I met +them, as they will hide nothing from me. + +</p> +<p>“The only thing these Dyaks complain of is, that Nakodah Mahomed told them he had the Tuan Besarʼs chop, and gave them to +understand that the powder, muskets, &c., in his possession, belonged to the Tuan Besar; in consequence of which they carried +these goods for Nakodah Mahomed without receiving any payment for their labor. I told them that in future they need not carry +goods for any man coming from Sarāwak, or elsewhere, without due payment in ready money; and that should traders at any time +leave their goods in the Dyak houses, they need not be alarmed, but bring the goods to the Tuan Besar and tell him how they +were left behind. They further told me that the Siringi wish to claim their siri cave, where they get their birdsʼ-nests which +is close to Kumpung, and has belonged to them as long as they can remember; that this cave is a whole dayʼs <a id="d0e6304"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6304">410</a>]</span>journey from Siring—how, then, can it belong to the Siringi? I answered, that on my return the Tuan Besar would set the matter +right, and give the cave to its proper owners. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Same day.</i>—Proceeded to Jinan, about eight miles distant. There are here fifteen houses, and the Dyaks are very comfortable, having +plenty of grain, and being well off for sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, plantains, betel-nut, beside various other fruit-trees. +The houses here, as at Mungu Babi, are very shabby. + +</p> +<p>“<i>10th.</i>—This morning met Orang Kaya Kusunan, who told me the Toup Dyaks were waiting half way to receive us. At 4 <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span> I had the Orang Kaya Tumangong of Toup, and the Orang Kaya of Kurran, Si Labi, Si Mabong, Daah, Bugu (Sadong tribes), and +the Orang Kaya Pasunan, beside other Dyaks, the Bandar Cassim, with his Sadong Malays, and our own people, at the house where +I was staying. I explained my mission to them, and made them understand that, at the Bandarʼs express wish, the Tuan Besar +had sent me to them to ascertain their condition. The Bandar then told them it was his wish to institute the same laws and +customs as at Sarāwak; after which, I informed the Dyaks that there will be no more forcing of goods on them at exorbitant +prices, and that for the future, should any one ‘serra’ them, they must complain to the Bandar, and subsequently lay their +case before Mr. Brooke. The conference, I am glad to say, ended to every oneʼs satisfaction. + +</p> +<p>“At 8 <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span> the Orang Kaya Rih and two others of the same tribe complained to me of their grievances, and told me that Si Tore, a Sadong +man, had forced 10 pieces of iron, weighing 15 catties, on them about two years and a half ago, and that he now demanded 100 +pasus of padi for it. (This is serra with a vengeance: 100 pasus are equal to 2½ tons weight!) They had paid 10 pasus; should +they, they asked me, pay the rest? I told them I would settle the business at Bandar Cassimʼs village. + +</p> +<p>“<i>11th.</i>—The Dyaks gave us a feast last night; the women danced and the merriment was kept up till morning. At 11 started in boats +with Bandar Cassim, and at 2 <span class="smallcaps">P.M.</span> arrived at his village<a id="d0e6332src" href="#d0e6332" class="noteref">1</a> called * * *, where every thing had been got ready for our reception; a house was well fitted with gay curtains and mats, +and after a salute of three guns as we approached, we took up our residence and made ourselves very comfortable. At 7 in the +evening we met all the respectable part of the community of this little Malay village. I told them what I was sent for, the +Bandar as usual giving way to our wishes, and repeating that Sarāwak and Sadong, and Sadong and Sarāwak, were as one country. +I told Si Tore, Sebi Gani, and Sirdeen, that they must make no further demands on the Rih Dyaks, and that neither they nor +anybody else could serra the Dyaks any longer—not even the Bandar himself; for they must recollect that the Sadong Dyaks would +take refuge in Sarāwak if oppressed. + +</p> +<p>“After the Bandar had left, the brother-in-law of the Orang <a id="d0e6337"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6337">411</a>]</span>Kaya of Sinkaru, together with the Orang Kaya of Si Nankau Kujang, and Orang Kaya Kurang, came to me. The former of these +complained that Abang Tahar (the old Patingiʼs son-in-law), about two years ago, forced a small tatawak<a id="d0e6339src" href="#d0e6339" class="noteref">2</a> and one brass dish on them, for which he demanded three Dyaks as slaves, whom he seized at the time and took away, and that +now he demanded another Dyak boy. I replied they were on no account to comply, that they must complain to the Bandar; and +if he took no notice of it, to go to Sarāwak to the Tuan Besar. + +</p> +<p>“The Orang Kaya likewise told me that formerly there were twenty-five families in his tribe, but now they were reduced to +fifteen, the rest having been seized and sold into slavery! (Here follow other complaints. The dayʼs journal concludes thus:)—The +Sinkaru Dyaks have not yet returned to their former Tumbawong,<a id="d0e6344src" href="#d0e6344" class="noteref">3</a> but are scattered about in the jungle and very poorly off. I told them to return to their former place of residence, and +to collect the tribes there. + +</p> +<p>“<i>Sunday, 12th.</i>—Orang Kaya Si Rubin and Orang Kaya Signa Mantay, of Rubin, likewise came to me to say that they were scattered, some at * +* * some at Bedope, and some at Rubin, and all badly off for grain. When collected, they have about thirty families; formerly +they had about fifty. Those missing had mostly been seized and made slaves. At 11<sup>h</sup> 30<sup>m</sup> we started for * * * (part of Rubin tribe), where we arrived about half-past two. We found one house with five families in +it, and a Pangah<a id="d0e6358src" href="#d0e6358" class="noteref">4</a> attached. Pa Rigan, the * * * of this tribe, told me that Abang Tahar, Abang Ally, Abang Bakar, &c. &c. (all of Gadong, under +Patingi Müel), demand from the Dyaks old serras, which have been paid long ago. Dangon, a Sirkaru Dyak, told me that Abang +Tahar, a short time since, demanded from his tribe a Dyak boy, and four Dyak boys from the En Singi Dyaks. Bandar Cassim put +a stop to these demands at the time; but he has revived them since. The Malays of Sadong, whenever they go among the Dyaks, +seize their fowls, eggs, rice, cocoa-nuts, and all sorts of property. The Bandar tells me he never permits these people to +go among the Dyaks, but that they do it by stealth over land, and that the Tuan Besar must do something to prevent them from +oppressing and frightening the Dyaks. (Here follow other complaints against the Gadong people, after which the journal continues.) + +</p> +<p>“<i>13th.</i>—Girang, a Bedope Dyak of the Rubin tribe, told me how very much he is bullied and troubled by the Gadong people, who are +constantly threatening to attack him. I advised him to collect the tribe at Rubin, their old Tumbawong. At 7 started back +for the Bandarʼs village, where we arrived at 10 oʼclock. After a bath and breakfast, the Bandarʼs mother came to me with +a present of two sarongs, one for the Tuan Besar and one for myself, and begged that I would urge the Tuan Besar to take <a id="d0e6366"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6366">412</a>]</span>care of the Bandar as if he were his own son, and not to cast him off. I told her that Mr. Brooke would support the Bandar +as long as he conducted himself properly. The Orang Kaya Baga, Orang Kaya Sinching of Milikin, * * * of En Tayen, Orang Kaya +Laja of Rahmone, Orang Kaya Rinjou of Sirkaru, Orang Kaya Mior Muntah, Pangara Lilli of Bunan, Orang Kaya Nijou of Mapuh, +Orang Kaya Ganggong of En Kelas, and Pangara Achong of En Singi, all met me. I told them the object of my mission in presence +of the Bandar and several other Malays, and they were highly delighted. They asked me to allow the Bandar to govern them, +as they are much troubled by the Gadong people. Abang Tahar lately demanded four Dyak boys of Pangara Achong, and two from +the Orang Kaya of Sirkaru; beside which, the Sadong people seize their property whenever they go among them. They are very +poorly off for grain. They asked me for a letter which should prevent people from annoying them. I told them I should represent +the matter to the Tuan Besar, and that no doubt he will give his chop to each tribe. They all speak well of Bandar Cassim; +but his people are bad, and those at Gadong<a id="d0e6368src" href="#d0e6368" class="noteref">5</a> are worse. + +</p> +<p>“<i>14th.</i>—At 6<sup>h</sup> 30<sup>m</sup> started up the river Kayan toward Tumma, having left Talip with nineteen men to return to Sarāwak by way of Samarahan. At +8 we stopped at Mang-garŭt, where the Dyaks presented us with a deer they had caught. These Dyaks are badly off for grain, +and it is the same tribe Bandar Cassim attacked in the Goa Siri (siri cave) some few years ago. Orang Kaya Pa Jampat told +me, that on that occasion the Bandar seized eight Dyaks and took them with him.<a id="d0e6382src" href="#d0e6382" class="noteref">6</a> The river here begins to be narrow and shallow, with pebbly banks, and clear water. At noon we stopped at Muara Rubin, where +we intended to stay a day to inquire for coal, which was stated to have been found in this neighborhood; but as nobody knew +the whereabout, and as the Hindoo remains (said to consist of one stone in the shape of a Malay hat) were five hours out of +our way, we continued our route till evening, having parted company with the Bandar at Muara Rubin, as I well knew the Tumma +Dyaks would be afraid of his approach. + +</p> +<p>“<i>15th.</i>—At daylight started toward Tumma, and at 9 stopped below Muora Sangan, where we breakfasted, after which we pushed up again, +and at 1 arrived at Si Sijack, where the Tumma are. Orang Kaya Pa Muany, the chief, told me they were very much bullied, as +a Sarāwak man, named Pakar, and Marrat, the father-in-law of Bandar Mulana of Sarāwak, forced upon them a quantity of goods +in the name of the Tuan Besar and the Bandar Mulana. (Here follows a list of things, such as gongs, tatawaks, jackets, handkerchiefs, +and the like, with the most exorbitant prices affixed to them. The rice and padi had not, however, been paid for.) There are +three villages of this tribe; two about <a id="d0e6390"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6390">413</a>]</span>250 yards apart; one of which, containing about ten families, is ruled by the Orang Kaya Pa Muany, and the other, with about +thirty families, by the Orang Kaya Mayo and the Orang Kaya Pa Balet. In the other village, about three reaches above, is the +Orang Kaya Pa Magong, with ten families. They said they were very comfortable under the Patingi Ali (father of the present +Bandar Mulana), but that since Bandar Mulana has succeeded, they have been oppressed. They told me they had run away from +Sadong because they heard the Tuan Besar was a just and good rajah, and that all his Dyaks were comfortable, but now they +are oppressed. Pakar told them that if they did not take his tatawaks they must not remain here, but run away! + +</p> +<p>“There are forty families of the Si Nangkan Soyar tribe, and thirteen families of the Tibader tribe. The Orang Kayas told +me that, had I not arrived, the rice in payment of the goods forced on them would have been taken down, as Pakar was here +hurrying them to carry it to Sanar; but that when he heard of my coming he could not be persuaded to wait and meet me. The +following goods have just been returned by the Gregan Dyaks (here follows a long list of goods and prices). Pangara Achong +of the En Singi tribe told me that he has one family of his tribe at Gregan, and he wanted them to return with him. I asked +the Pangara of Gregan whether this family wished to return, but he did not know. I then told them no one could force them, +but that they might do just as they pleased. The Orang Kaya Pa Jampat goes down with me to Kuching to lay before the Tuan +Besar a claim made upon him by the Malay Pangeran of Samarahan. Beside which, I take down the Orang Kaya and Pangara of Tumma, +Si Markan Singan and Tebadu, together with all the goods forced on them, that the case may be judged by the Tuan Besar. + +</p> +<p>“Bandar Cassim demands a debt of the Orang Kaya Pa Muany of Tumma; he originally sold them (<i>i. e.</i> forced on them, of course) a gong for 150 pasus of padi, 100 of which was paid; and the question is, whether they were to +pay the rest. This was four years ago. I left it for the Tuan Besarʼs decision.” (Here follows a list of goods forced on the +Tebadu Dyaks.)<a id="d0e6399src" href="#d0e6399" class="noteref">7</a> + + + +</p> +<p class="aligncenter">THE END. + + + + + + + + + +<a id="d0e6406"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6406">414</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="footnotes"> +<hr class="fnsep"> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e6332" href="#d0e6332src" class="noteref">1</a></span> The MS. having been under water in the wreck of the Great Liverpool steamer, this name and some others are illegible. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e6339" href="#d0e6339src" class="noteref">2</a></span> A sort of gong. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e6344" href="#d0e6344src" class="noteref">3</a></span> Tumbawong is a place they have deserted, or been forced to quit. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e6358" href="#d0e6358src" class="noteref">4</a></span> A head-house. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e6368" href="#d0e6368src" class="noteref">5</a></span> Gadong is a small Malay village on the Sadong, considerably nearer the sea than the Bandarʼs village. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e6382" href="#d0e6382src" class="noteref">6</a></span> This occurred during Seriff Sahibʼs time; the Dyaks were frightfully oppressed. +</p> +<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a id="d0e6399" href="#d0e6399src" class="noteref">7</a></span> The goods brought down by Mr. Williamson were on a public trial confiscated, and the parties concerned fined. These Dyaks +from their distance and timidity, were afraid to complain, but will in future not be imposed upon. It would be a hopeless +task trying to prevent the Malays playing their tricks on the Dyaks; and the only chance of freeing the Dyaks from these exactions +is by inspiring them with confidence. In Sarāwak this has been done, and may easily be extended; for the Dyak, though greatly +depressed by a course of persecution, I have always found ready to state his complaints whenever he has a hope of redress. +The Orong Kaya Pa Jampat of Mang-garŭt was freed of the debt claimed by the Samarahan Pangara; and the other complaints referred +to my decision have been either rectified, or steps taken to do justice, and to render the Dyak tribes of Sadong happy and +easy.—<i>Note by Mr. Brooke.</i></p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e159">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="normal">HARPERʼS NEW MISCELLANY<br> +OF<br> +POPULAR STERLING LITERATURE. +</h2> +<p>“Books that have an <i>aim</i> and <i>meaning</i> in them.” + +</p> +<p>Now in course of publication, a new and attractive library of sterling books, elegantly printed in duodecimo, on fine paper, +and <i>bound in extra muslin gilt, fitted for permanent preservation</i>. + + +</p> +<p>PRICE FIFTY CENTS A VOLUME. + +</p> +<p><i>The cheapest Popular Series of Works yet Published.</i> +</p> +<hr class="tb"><p> + +</p> +<p>I., II. + +</p> +<p>Elements of Morality and Polity. + +</p> +<p>BY WILLIAM WHEWELL, D.D., + +</p> +<p>AUTHOR OF “HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE INDUCTIVE SCIENCES,” &c. + +</p> +<p>2 vols. 12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, $1 00. + +</p> +<p>Dr. Whewellʼs work ought to be read, because it can not be read without advantage: the age requires such books.—<i>London Athenæum.</i> + +</p> +<p>A text-book of simple truths, from which, by induction, a complete system of morality is constructed, applicable to all the +relations and circumstances of life, and embracing every department of human action. The reader who shall carefully study +these volumes—and a more inviting page, clear and legible, the eye does not often rest upon—will find his labor more than +rewarded.—<i>New York Commercial Advertiser.</i> + +</p> +<p>Professor Whewellʼs “Elements of Morality” have been universally received in England as a contribution of rare value to the +department of moral and political science.—<i>Baltimore American.</i> + +</p> +<p>A splendid production by one of the most distinguished of the scientific men of the age. This is a book, not to be read merely, +but to be re-perused and patiently studied, we have heard it pronounced by no mean critic the most complete and lucid work +on ethical philosophy ever produced. We commend this work to the especial notice of thinkers and readers, to scholars and +schools generally, as a most admirable text-book—<i>Sun.</i> + +</p> +<p>The style of the work, though simple, is extremely clear, strong, and eloquent. It is a book to be <i>studied</i> rather than superficially read, and can not fail to be of the very highest importance in instructing and disciplining the +public mind.—<i>American Patriot.</i> + +</p> +<p>This is beyond all comparison the most complete, comprehensive, and luminous treatise on the important subjects it discusses, +that is to be found in the language, and its careful study is indispensable to every one who would obtain true and definite +notions in regard to the principles of public and private morals. It is profoundly learned and philosophical, but the writer +thinks logically and clearly, and is therefore at all times lucid and comprehensible.—<i>Buffalo Commercial Advertiser.</i> + + + + +<a id="d0e6478"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6478">416</a>]</span> + + + + +</p> +<p>III. + +</p> +<p>The Philosophy of Mystery. + +</p> +<p>BY WALTER COOPER DENDY. + +</p> +<p>12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, 50 cents. + +</p> +<p>This is a learned and elaborate work, in which the writer goes into the investigation of all the phenomena of mind in the +erratic operations and phantasies of ghost seeing and spectral hallucinations, and aims to give the true philosophy of all +such delusions. He is a medical man of considerable eminence, and has spared no pains in his researches, giving a great number +of facts and cases to illustrate his philosophy. The volume will be much sought for, as it is really a desideratum in the +world of literature. We know of no work on this subject which lays the same just claim to public attention, or the study of +the philosopher.—<i>Christian Advocate and Journal.</i> + +</p> +<p>The volume before us is both instructive and amusing, and at this particular time, when the extremes of superstition and philosophy +have shaken hands, it will be likely to effect an inconceivable amount of good, if properly studied. It is one of the most +remarkable productions of the day, and must create an extraordinary degree of interest in the public mind.—<i>Merchantʼs Magazine.</i> + +</p> +<p>It belongs to that class of writings which you can take up and put down at pleasure, and which may be subjected to repeated +readings. The work is pleasant, however, in spite of this—pleasant because of its facts, its numerous details of mystery, +its vast collection of anecdote, its developments of <i>diablerie</i>, its tidings from the spiritual world, and the many cases which it brings together of the curious and the wonderful in nature +and art, which former ages, and ignorance and superstition, have concluded to consider supernatural. Where science and modern +speculation furnish the solution to the mystery, Mr. Dendy couples it with the statements, and the book is thus equally valuable +and amusing.—<i>Charleston Transcript.</i> + +</p> +<p>Here lies a remarkable work; beautiful in its style, and wondrous in its matter. The work is strictly philosophical in its +tendency, yet more amusing than a novel.—<i>True American.</i> + +</p> +<p>This is a book for the lovers of marvels and of mysteries. It contains an immense collection of anecdotes of spectral apparitions, +of illusions of vision or of hearing, of striking phenomena exhibited in dreams, in insanity, in trance, or in magnetism, +and furnishes many very valuable hints to aid in the solution of these mysteries, by which so many have been bewildered or +affrighted. It is written in a style of great ease and elegance, and can not fail to find a very wide circle of welcoming +readers.—<i>Albion.</i> + +</p> +<p>This unique and remarkable book has just been placed on our table; we know its reputation of old; it is an admirable discourse +on the subject of supernaturalisms, such as mental illusions, dreams, ghosts, mesmeric phenomena, &c. If any one will but +read the first half dozen pages, we will vouch for it he will not neglect the rest of the volume: it is one of the best written +books on one of the most curious range of topics that could engage the pen of a writer, or the attention of a reader. It is, +in fact, one of the most curious volumes ever perused, upon a series of the most singular subjects, and, in this new and neat +form, it will command a vast number of readers.—<i>Sunday Times.</i> + +</p> +<p>“The Philosophy of Mystery” is an exceedingly able work; far better, we think, than the “Natural Magic” of Brewster, a book +of identical purpose, carried out in a totally different way. The “Natural Magic” is the more ratiocinative, Mr. Dendyʼs essay +the more poetical, the more imaginative, and to us the more interesting.—<i>National Press.</i> + + + + +<a id="d0e6526"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6526">417</a>]</span> + +</p> +<p>IV. + +</p> +<p>The Life of Mozart: + +</p> +<p>INCLUDING HIS CORRESPONDENCE. + +</p> +<p>BY EDWARD HOLMES, + +<span class="smallcaps">AUTHOR OF “A RAMBLE AMONG THE MUSICIANS Of GERMANY,”</span> &c. + +</p> +<p>12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, 50 cents. + +</p> +<p>It is written in a beautiful, narrative style, and can not but be every where acceptable. To all who appreciate the extraordinary +genius of Mozart, the delicate structure of his mind, the incidents of his life, and his romantic death, this volume will +indeed be a treasure.—<i>Boston Gazette</i>. + +</p> +<p>It contains, in addition to much of his interesting correspondence, and other papers, a detailed account of his life, adventures, +and rise as an artist, and a discriminating sketch of his character, the peculiarities of which are happily illustrated by +anecdotes. Many things of him, unknown even to his admirers, are here given to the world, and his biographer, fully appreciating +the artist, has yet, not like a flatterer, but with true independence, spoken candidly of the faults of the man.—<i>Merchantʼs Magazine</i>. + +</p> +<p>Of this far-famed life of Mozart it is scarcely necessary for us to say a word; the foreign reviews have been so unanimous +in their encomiums, that we suppose few will be found insensible to the strong inducement of its perusal, especially as the +work may be obtained at the trifling cost of half a dollar, and in so beautiful a guise. We have looked into the biography +but slightly, yet find it redolent with interest, and fully sustaining the high estimate placed upon the work by the <i>London Athenæum</i> and <i>Blackwood</i>. If the Harpers continue to fill their new library with sterling works like the present, it will present the most truly valuable +series, yet the cheapest, ever attempted in any age or country.—<i>Evening Gazette</i>. + +</p> +<p>The only authentic biography of the great composer that is extant in the English language, and the events of his career are +replete with useful admonitions and warning to the sons of genius, and they whisper to those whose present claims are not +allowed that there is a future full of promise. In his life Mozart was neglected and impoverished, and he went to his grave +with more than the bitterness of death crowding on his thoughts, but fame has taken possession of his memory, and among those +who move as gods in musical art, few are equal to him, none are superior. This biography possesses an interest for all who +feel interested in the great men of the earth. It is not only remarkably well written, but has a completeness about it we +have never found before in any life of Mozart.—<i>Louisville Journal</i>. + +</p> +<p>There is such a charm in this narrative, that the lovers of good biography can not hear of it too soon. We can not conceive +a more fascinating story of genius. To a style which would alone have sufficed to the production of an interesting and striking +narrative, Mr. Holmes unites a depth of knowledge and musical appreciation very rare and remarkable. We thank him cordially +for a most pleasing addition to our standard biographical literature.—<i>Examiner</i>. + +</p> +<p>The book is one of extraordinary interest, not merely to the lovers of music and appreciators of the great composer, but to +the general reader, as a vivid picture of the life of a man of genius, who encountered all the difficulties, trials, and sufferings +usually the lot of genius when it comes before a world incapable of appreciating it, and indifferent to its welfare. The domestic +portions of the book are invaluable; his relations to his father and his wife are very beautiful. The work is admirably executed, +as well in the scientific as anecdotical passages, and is worthy of the widest sale.—<i>News</i>. + + + + +<a id="d0e6577"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6577">418</a>]</span> + + +</p> +<p>III. + +<b>The Philosophy of Mystery.</b> + +</p> +<p>BY WALTER COOPER DENDY. + +</p> +<p>12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, 50 cents. + + +</p> +<p>This is a learned and elaborate work, in which the writer goes into the investigation of all the phenomena of mind in the +erratic operations and phantasies of ghost seeing and spectral hallucinations, and aims to give the true philosophy of all +such delusions. He is a medical man of considerable eminence, and has spared no pains in his researches, giving a great number +of facts and cases to illustrate his philosophy. The volume will be much sought for, as it is really a desideratum in the +world of literature. We know of no work on this subject which lays the same just claim to public attention, or the study of +the philosopher.—<i>Christian Advocate and Journal.</i> + +</p> +<p>The volume before us is both instructive and amusing, and at this particular time, when the extremes of superstition and philosophy +have shaken hands, it will be likely to effect an inconceivable amount of good, if properly studied. It is one of the most +remarkable productions of the day, and must create an extraordinary degree of interest in the public mind.—<i>Merchantʼs Magazine.</i> + +</p> +<p>It belongs to that class of writings which you can take up and put down at pleasure, and which may be subjected to repeated +readings. The work is pleasant, however, in spite of this—pleasant because of its facts, its numerous details of mystery, +its vast collection of anecdote, its developments of <i>diablerie</i>, its tidings from the spiritual world, and the many cases which it brings together of the curious and the wonderful in nature +and art, which former ages, and ignorance and superstition, have concluded to consider supernatural. Where science and modern +speculation furnish the solution to the mystery, Mr. Dendy couples it with the statements, and the book is thus equally valuable +and amusing.—<i>Charleston Transcript</i>. + +</p> +<p>Here lies a remarkable work; beautiful in its style, and wondrous in its matter. The work is strictly philosophical in its +tendency, yet more amusing than a novel.—<i>True American</i>. + +</p> +<p>This is a book for the lovers of marvels and of mysteries. It contains an immense collection of anecdotes of spectral apparitions, +of illusions of vision or of hearing, of striking phenomena exhibited in dreams, in insanity, in trance, or in magnetism, +and furnishes many very valuable hints to aid in the solution of these mysteries, by which so many have been bewildered or +affrighted. It is written in a style of great ease and elegance, and can not fail to find a very wide circle of welcoming +readers.—<i>Albion</i>. + +</p> +<p>This unique and remarkable book has just been placed on our table; we know its reputation of old; it is an admirable discourse +on the subject of supernaturalisms, such as mental illusions, dreams, ghosts, mesmeric phenomena, &c. If any one will but +read the first half dozen pages, we will vouch for it he will not neglect the rest of the volume: it is one of the best written +books on one of the most curious range of topics that could engage the pen of a writer, or the attention of a reader. It is, +in fact, one of the most curious volumes ever perused, upon a series of the most singular subjects, and, in this new and neat +form, it will command a vast number of readers.—<i>Sunday Times.</i> + +</p> +<p>“The Philosophy of Mystery” is an exceedingly able work; far better, we think, than the “Natural Magic” of Brewster, a book +of identical purpose, carried out in a totally different way. The “Natural Magic” is the more ratiocinative, Mr. Dendyʼs essay +the more poetical, the more imaginative, and to us the more interesting.—<i>National Press.</i> + + + + +<a id="d0e6626"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6626">419</a>]</span> + + + + +</p> +<p>IV. + +<b>The Life of Mozart:</b> + +</p> +<p>INCLUDING HIS CORRESPONDENCE. + +</p> +<p>BY EDWARD HOLMES, + +</p> +<p>AUTHOR OF “A RAMBLE AMONG THE MUSICIANS OF GERMANY,” &c. + +</p> +<p>12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, 50 cents. + + +</p> +<p>It is written in a beautiful, narrative style, and can not but be every where acceptable. To all who appreciate the extraordinary +genius of Mozart, the delicate structure of his mind, the incidents of his life, and his romantic death, this volume will +indeed be a treasure.—<i>Boston Gazette.</i> + +</p> +<p>It contains, in addition to much of his interesting correspondence, and other papers, a detailed account of his life, adventures, +and rise as an artist, and a discriminating sketch of his character, the peculiarities of which are happily illustrated by +anecdotes. Many things of him, unknown even to his admirers, are here given to the world, and his biographer, fully appreciating +the artist, has yet, not like a flatterer, but with true independence, spoken candidly of the faults of the man.—<i>Merchantʼs Magazine.</i> + +</p> +<p>Of this far-famed life of Mozart it is scarcely necessary for us to say a word; the foreign reviews have been so unanimous +in their encomiums, that we suppose few will be found insensible to the strong inducement of its perusal, especially as the +work may be obtained at the trifling cost of half a dollar, and in so beautiful a guise. We have looked into the biography +but slightly, yet find it redolent with interest, and fully sustaining the high estimate placed upon the work by the <i>London Athenæum</i> and <i>Blackwood</i>. If the Harpers continue to fill their new library with sterling works like the present, it will present the most truly valuable +series, yet the cheapest, ever attempted in any age or country.—<i>Evening Gazette.</i> + +</p> +<p>The only authentic biography of the great composer that is extant in the English language, and the events of his career are +replete with useful admonitions and warning to the sons of genius, and they whisper to those whose present claims are not +allowed that there is a future full of promise. In his life Mozart was neglected and impoverished, and he went to his grave +with more than the bitterness of death crowding on his thoughts, but fame has taken possession of his memory, and among those +who move as gods in musical art, few are equal to him, none are superior. This biography possesses an interest for all who +feel interested in the great men of the earth. It is not only remarkably well written, but has a completeness about it we +have never found before in any life of Mozart.—<i>Louisville Journal.</i> + +</p> +<p>There is such a charm in this narrative, that the lovers of good biography can not hear of it too soon. We can not conceive +a more fascinating story of genius. To a style which would alone have sufficed to the production of an interesting and striking +narrative, Mr. Holmes unites a depth of knowledge and musical appreciation very rare and remarkable. We thank him cordially +for a most pleasing addition to our standard biographical literature.—<i>Examiner.</i> + +</p> +<p>The book is one of extraordinary interest, not merely to the lovers of music and appreciation of the great composer, but to +the general reader, as a vivid picture of the life of a man of genius, who encountered all the difficulties, trials, and sufferings +usually the lot of genius when it comes before a world incapable of appreciating it, and indifferent to its welfare. The domestic +portions of the book are invaluable; his relations to his father and his wife are very beautiful. The work is admirably executed, +as well in the scientific as anecdotical passages, and is worthy of the widest sale.—<i>News</i> + + + + +<a id="d0e6677"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6677">420</a>]</span> + + + + +</p> +<p>V. + +<b>The Practical Astronomer:</b> + +</p> +<p>COMPRISING ILLUSTRATIONS OF LIGHT AND COLORS; PRACTICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL KINDS OF TELESCOPES, &C., WITH DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNTS +OF THE EARL OF ROSSEʼS LARGE TELESCOPES, AND OTHER TOPICS CONNECTED WITH ASTRONOMY. + +</p> +<p>BY THOMAS DICK, LL.D., + +</p> +<p>AUTHOR OF THE “CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER,” “CELESTIAL SCENERY,” “THE SIDEREAL HEAVENS,” &c. + +</p> +<p>100 Engravings. 12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, 50 cents. + + +</p> +<p>The <i>name</i> of the distinguished author of this work is a sufficient passport to public favor and a sure guarantee to its sterling value, +and those who have read Dr. Dickʼs former works will need no recommendation of this book by us. He is not only an original +and profound observer of nature, but truly a most excellent <i>Christian</i> philosopher, whose powers of intellect and expanded views of the character of the great Architect of the universe are so +eminently calculated to direct the mind not alone to the grandeur, the magnificence, and sublimity of the laws and principles +of the material world, but to look through nature up to “Natureʼs God.” It is truly a valuable work.—<i>Farmer and Mechanic.</i> + +</p> +<p>The merits of this work are of the highest order; Dick is one of the profoundest and purest of modern philosophers.—<i>Western Continent.</i> + +</p> +<p>Here is the ninth volume presented by this gifted author to the public; <span id="d0e6710" class="corr" title="Source: he">the</span> aim of all of which has been to simplify sciences which before have been too often considered as every way <i>above</i>, and therefore unworthy of the attention of ordinary readers. It is specially addressed to private students and the higher +schools, and comprises a large amount of new and valuable matter connected with astronomy, and pointing out ways in which +the more humble student can in the best way improve the advantages placed in his way.—<i>Auburn Journal.</i> + +</p> +<p>Let not the inquisitive fear that the intricacies of science or the technicalities of language will obstruct the pleasure +they will derive from the study of this book; for the clearness of the authorʼs style, and the elucidation of the one hundred +engravings, render it within the scope and comprehension of every intelligent student.—<i>Industrial Record.</i> + +</p> +<p>The copious use of engravings and of pictorial illustrations, together with the plain, popular explanations, render this book +a truly <i>practical</i> work. Dr. Dick is not only thoroughly scientific, but he knows well how to render his acquisitions available to the great +body of common readers, by his accurate method and clear descriptions.—<i>Watchman.</i> + +</p> +<p>We have always been an admirer of the writings of this gentleman, and popularity keeps on his side wherever he is known. He +is a profound thinker and a devout Christian. His works all tend to illustrate the simple as well as the sublimest principles +of philosophy, and while they instruct, can not fail to enlighten. The present volume comprises illustrations of light and +colors, practical descriptions of all kinds of telescopes, the use of the equatorial-transit, circular, and other astronomical +instruments, and other topics connected with astronomy. It is illustrated by 100 engravings, and will be found a most valuable +book for all classes, but particularly as a work of instruction for youth.—<i>Illustrated Magazine.</i> + + + + +<a id="d0e6737"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6737">421</a>]</span> + + + + +</p> +<p>VI., VII. + +<b>The Life of Paul Jones.</b> + +</p> +<p>BY ALEXANDER SLIDELL MACKENZIE, U. S. N. + +</p> +<p>2 vols. 12mo, Portrait, Muslin, extra gilt, $1 00. + + +</p> +<p>The history of the naval adventures and victories of Paul Jones forms one of the most romantic chapters in the record of great +deeds, and can not fail to attract general and ardent attention, since it relates to the very beginning of the American navy.—<i>Commercial Advertiser.</i> + +</p> +<p>The various biographies of Paul Jones now extant have been carefully searched by Mr. Mackenzie; as also the log books of Jonesʼs +various cruizes and papers in possession of his heirs, with a view to procure a full and authentic collection of facts and +incidents for the present work. Thus industriously compiled and stored, and that by an able hand, this edition must necessarily, +as it does, possess considerable merit.—<i>Philadelphia Chronicle.</i> + +</p> +<p>Paul Jones will always be regarded as one of the most daring and gallant heroes who ever made the ocean the theater of their +exploits. Such a name can never be forgotten by Americans, nor can the services which he rendered to the cause of American +liberty, in its infant struggles, ever pass into oblivion. No better biographer for such a character could have been found +than Captain Mackenzie. Familiar with all the details of seamanship, possessing the same bold patriotism which made the career +of his hero so illustrious, and being an accomplished and vigorous writer, he has given us a most admirable biography.—<i>Courier and Enquirer.</i> + +</p> +<p>This is a capital American biography, of an American naval hero, scarcely less renowned and no less gallant and gifted with +an heroic spirit than Nelson, the great British admiral. There is scarcely a more stirring life in the whole compass of literature +than that of Jones; and the important part he played in giving force and almost life itself to the American navy, then in +its earliest infancy, renders his history peculiarly interesting and attractive. No man certainly ever performed more gallant +exploits, and few have rendered more important service to the cause of freedom than he. Many of his actions for bravery, skill, +and the performance of almost incredible deeds, by apparently the most inadequate means, are scarcely rivalled by any thing +in the records of naval history. His life should be familiar to American readers; and in the elegant, forcible, and graphic +style of Commander Mackenzie it can not fail to be universally read.—<i>True Sun.</i> + +</p> +<p>We are glad to see the life of this celebrated man by one competent to write it. His adventures border so much on the marvelous +that one is glad to be sure of reading only what is authentic, and that written in a style and language becoming the subject. +There is a good moral lesson conveyed in this life of Paul Jones.—<i>Christian Advocate and Journal.</i> + +</p> +<p>The name and achievements of Paul Jones are indissolubly connected with American history; and his renowned deeds, which made +him the terror of the coast of Britain, are among the most romantic in the annals of naval warfare, and impart to this work +the highest interest. This is the most complete and authentic biography of Commodore Jones ever published, as all accessible +materials have been collected, and are used by Commander Mackenzie with the ability and tact which he possesses as an accomplished +scholar and an officer, accomplishments which peculiarly qualify him to write naval biography. A fine portrait of this true +naval hero will be found in the first volume.—<i>Baltimore American.</i> + +</p> +<p>We have read it with some care, and compared it with other biographies, and think it greatly superior to any yet published. +It contains a full narrative of all the important events in Jonesʼs eventful career, and yet is less voluminous than previous +works.—<i>Highland Courier.</i> + + + + + + +<a id="d0e6783"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6783">422</a>]</span> + + + + +</p> +<p>VIII. + +</p> +<p>The Ascent of Mount Ararat, + +(ACHIEVED FOR THE FIRST TIME). + +</p> +<p>BY DR. FRIEDRICH PARROT. + +</p> +<p>TRANSLATED BY W. D. COOLEY. + +</p> +<p>12mo, Map and Wood-cuts, Muslin, extra gilt, 50 cents. + + +</p> +<p>This is a most interesting book, both in its description of the country and inhabitants of Central Asia, and in its connection +with the remarkable event of our world—<i>the Flood</i>. Mount Ararat, which was ascended by M. Parrot, must ever possess to the Biblical reader most intense interest, as the resting +place of the ark after the universal deluge.—<i>Pittsburgh Chronicle.</i> + +</p> +<p>A work destined, from the intrinsic interest of the subject, and the fullness of detail which is spread before the reader, +to a very wide circulation. The idea of ascending Mount Ararat seems to have risen with the traveler to a passion; previous +travelers had never accomplished it; the natives of the region looked upon it as impossible; their superstition regarded the +inaccessible summit as the mysterious resting place of the ark to this day. How Dr. Parrot approached the region, what adventures +he met with by the way, what manners and customs he witnessed, how he twice essayed to reach the sacred peak and turned back, +and how on a third attempt he accomplished the feat through difficulties the recital of which has led scientific men still +to doubt if the ascent were really performed—may all be read in this compact volume, illustrated by maps and engravings, with +every aid to the readerʼs comprehension.—<i>News.</i> + +</p> +<p>Hardly a subject could have been selected more stirring in its character than “A Journey to Ararat.” Held in equal veneration +by Jew, Christian, and Mohammedan, and regarded with superstitious feelings even by the pagan, that mountain has always enjoyed +a degree of celebrity denied to any other. Sinai, and Horeb, and Tabor may have excited holier musings; but Ararat “the mysterious”—Ararat, +which human foot had not trod after the restorer of our race, and which, in the popular opinion, no human foot would be permitted +to tread till the consummation of all things—Ararat the holy, which winged cherubim protected against the sacrilegious approach +of mortals, and which patriarchs only were permitted to revisit, appeared in many respects an object of curiosity as unique +as it was exciting.—<i>London Athenæum.</i> + +</p> +<p>It is a highly entertaining work, embodying much historical, geographical, and scientific information, and conveying a knowledge +of the character, habits, and manners of the people among whom the author traveled. The ascent of Mount Ararat is so very +difficult that many persons have doubted whether the feat was accomplished by Dr. Parrot, but his acknowledged integrity ought +to place his claims in this respect above suspicion. The lovers of bold adventure will find in this volume much to gratify +their peculiar taste, and the general reader can hardly fail to be pleased with it.—<i>New York Tribune.</i> + +</p> +<p>This volume has claims upon the public, as a scientific and truly valuable work, which have been possessed by few others. +It is, in fact, the condensed narrative of an exploring expedition sent out by the Russian government into the region about +Mount Ararat, a region which possesses more interest for scientific men, perhaps, than any other in the world which has been +so little explored.—<i>New York Courier.</i> + +</p> +<p>It reads more like the travels of Von Humboldt than any book we have lately read. The writer is a man of science and observation, +and the book we recommend to the public.—<i>Lowell Courier.</i> + + + + + +<a id="d0e6828"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6828">423</a>]</span> + + + + +</p> +<p>IX. + +</p> +<p>Remarkable Criminal Trials. + +</p> +<p>TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF FEUERBACH, + +</p> +<p>BY LADY DUFF GORDON. + +</p> +<p>12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, 50 cents. + + +</p> +<p>A book of thrilling interest; one that can not fail to be read with avidity.—<i>New York Courier.</i> + +</p> +<p>This work abounds with singular cases of criminal jurisprudence in Bavaria, of the most astounding and thrilling interest, +the details of which are of remarkable character, and differ essentially from those hitherto familiar to the public in England +or this country. They are fully equal, in their absorbing interest, to any thing in the famous “Causes Celebres” of France; +and, perhaps, for their unique and striking features, are unexcelled by any delineations of crime elsewhere on record.—<i>True Sun.</i> + +</p> +<p>Public attention was first drawn to this work by an able and interesting article in the Edinburgh Review. They are all narratives +of marvelous interest—more strange and wonderful, many of them, than any work of fiction, and giving to the reader a clear +view of the nature and peculiarities of the criminal jurisprudence of Germany.—<i>N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.</i> + +</p> +<p>Its illustration of the many curious customs of German criminal jurisprudence will be sufficiently startling to the English +reader; but, apart from this, the extraordinary subtle discrimination thrown into the narrative of each particular crime gives +to the volume, as a mere story book, the intellectual interest, the passion, and all the rich and various coloring of a philosophical +romance. The translation is excellent, and a judicious compression of the original has added much to the effect.—<i>London Examiner.</i> + +</p> +<p>The narratives abound with thrilling interest, setting forth the constant recurrence of crime, detection, and punishment, +in which the attention of the reader is roused by the novelty of the scene, and rewarded by the light thrown upon the darkest +portion of human nature.—<i>New Bedford Mercury.</i> + +</p> +<p>This work has been so highly extolled by the Edinburgh Foreign Quarterly and other reviews, that not much need be said of +its character and claims to public notice. It presents some of the most remarkable stories of horrible crimes and their exposure +we have ever met, and gives a very clear and vivid conception of the peculiarities of German criminal jurisprudence. It is +a book which will be universally read, as one of the most thrilling and absorbing interest. The translator has given in the +preface a very good account of the criminal law of Germany, and has selected only those portions of the original work which +will have the greatest value and interest.—<i>Mirror.</i> + +</p> +<p>This book is of an entirely different character from works of a similar title that have hitherto appeared. It contains an +account of fourteen trials for murder in Germany, and the object of it is to show the peculiar mode of trial instituted by +the Bavarian code.—<i>Evening Gazette.</i> + +</p> +<p>The records of crime are not usually a profitable kind of reading. The contagion of the example is generally greater than +the warning of the fate of the criminal; and many a villain has been made by the very means taken to keep him from crime. +But as much depends on the manner of the narrative, and as it is possible to extract some of the gravest lessons of virtue +and wisdom from the misdeeds of others, it gives us pleasure to state that the present work is unexceptionable in this respect, +while the cases possess extraordinary interest, and are replete with instruction. They afford much insight of human motives, +and teach impressive lessons of the retributive justice of Providence, and the misery and evil of sin.—<i>Biblical Repository</i>. + + + + + + +<a id="d0e6880"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6880">424</a>]</span> + + + + +</p> +<p>X., XI. + +</p> +<p>Journal of Researches + +</p> +<p>INTO THE NATURAL HISTORY AND GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTRIES VISITED DURING THE VOYAGE OF H. M. S. BEAGLE ROUND THE WORLD. + +</p> +<p>BY CHARLES DARWIN, M.A., F.R.S. + +</p> +<p>2 vols. 12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, $1 00. + + +</p> +<p>This is another most valuable contribution to the cause of <i>popular education</i>, issued in Harperʼs New Miscellany; a series that bids fair to surpass even their Family Library in the sterling excellence +and popularity of the works which it renders accessible to all classes of the community. The work contains, in a condensed +and popularized form, the results of the British Exploring Expedition, which Mr. Darwin accompanied at the special instance +of the lords of the Admiralty. The voyage consumed several years, and was performed at a very heavy expense on the part of +the British government. Yet here we have its most important results, divested of all scientific technicalities, and presented +in a form at once attractive and accurate. The work is entitled to secure a very wide circulation. It contains an immense +amount of information concerning the natural history of the whole world, and is superior, in point of interest and value, +to any similar work ever published.—<i>New York True Sun.</i> + +</p> +<p>A work very neatly issued, and has the interest of a leading subject well developed, the unfailing secret of producing a book +of character. In the present state of the world, when new countries are opening every day to the great conqueror, Commerce, +such publications are of unusual importance. Perhaps no information, just now, can be of more consequence to us than that +which puts us in possession of the movements of English discovery.—<i>News.</i> + +</p> +<p>This is a most valuable and a most interesting work; one which combines true scientific worth with the graces of style suited +to render it popular, better than almost any similar work which has recently come under our notice. The voyage of the Beagle +was, in truth, a scientific exploring expedition; and Mr. Darwin accompanied it at the special request of the lords of the +Admiralty. Its results have been published in several very elaborate, extensive, and costly volumes in England; but as these +were entirely beyond the reach of the great mass of the reading public, Mr. Darwin prepared these volumes, in which all the +important results of the expedition are fully, clearly, and distinctly presented, interwoven with a most entertaining narrative +of personal incident and adventure.—<i>N. Y. Courier.</i> + +</p> +<p>This is a work of remarkable interest and value. The author, in circumnavigating the world, under commission of the British +government, for scientific and exploring purposes, visited nearly every country on the globe, and preserved in this brief, +simple, but beautiful narrative all the singular facts of a scientific, social, or geographical nature which are of general +interest. The amount of information condensed in these volumes is incredible; and the skill with which the useful and interesting +is selected from that which is unimportant or well known is admirable. We admire the style, the straightforward sincerity +of the writer, the apparent candor, and the erudite research which he uniformly exhibits. Without one quarter of the bulk +or pretension of our famous exploring expedition, the present work is hardly inferior to it in value and interest. This series +is gaining a fine character, of which we hope the publishers will be jealous.—<i>New York Evangelist.</i> + + + + + +<a id="d0e6915"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e6915">425</a>]</span> + + + + +</p> +<p>HARPERʼS FAMILY LIBRARY. + +</p> +<p><i>Books that you may hold readily in your hand are the most useful, after all.</i>—<span class="smallcaps">Dr. Johnson.</span> + + +</p> +<p>The above-named series, extending to 173 volumes, comprises a rich and varied collection of works in the several departments +of literature, forming a most valuable circle of useful, instructive, and entertaining knowledge, adapted for popular use. +The utmost care has been taken, not only to exclude whatever can have an injurious influence on the mind, but to embrace every +thing calculated to strengthen the best and most salutary impressions. + +</p> +<p>No family ought to be without this library, as it furnishes the readiest resources for that education which ought to accompany +or succeed that of the boarding-school or the academy, and is infinitely more conducive than either to the cultivation of +the intellect.—<i>Monthly Review.</i> + + +</p> +<p>CONTENTS OF THE SERIES. + + +</p> +<p>1, 2, 3.—MILMANʼS HISTORY OF THE JEWS. $1 20. + +</p> +<p>4, 5.—HISTORY OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 90 cents. + +</p> +<p>6.—SOUTHEYʼS LIFE OF LORD NELSON. 45 cents. + +</p> +<p>7.—LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 45 cents. + +</p> +<p>8, 74.—NATURAL HISTORY OF INSECTS. 90 cents. + +</p> +<p>9.—GALTʼS LIFE OF LORD BYRON. Portrait, 40 cents. + +</p> +<p>10.—BUSHʼS LIFE OF MOHAMMED. Engravings, 45 cents. + +</p> +<p>11.—SCOTTʼS LETTERS ON DEMONOLOGY. 40 cents. + +</p> +<p>12, 13.—GLEIGʼS HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 80 cents. + +</p> +<p>14.—DISCOVERY IN THE POLAR REGIONS. 45 cents. + +</p> +<p>15.—CROLYʼS LIFE OF GEORGE IV. 45 cents. + +</p> +<p>16.—DISCOVERY AND ADVENTURE IN AFRICA. 45 cts. + +</p> +<p>17, 18, 19, 66, 67.—CUNNINGHAMʼS LIVES OF EMINENT PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS. 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RECOLLECTIONS OF A HOUSEKEEPER. + +</p> +<p>BY MRS. C. GILMAN.—18mo, muslin gilt, 45 cents. + + +</p> +<p>XI. THE MAYFLOWER; OR, SKETCHES OF SCENES AND INCIDENTS AMONG THE DESCENDANTS OF THE PILGRIMS. + +</p> +<p>BY MRS. HARRIET B. STOWE.—18mo, muslin gilt, 45 cents. + +</p> +<p>A series of beautiful and deeply interesting tales, remarkable for a rigorous yet disciplined imagination, a lively and pure +style, and their high moral tone. They are books which will interest mature readers as well as children and youth. As an author +she will take her place among that fine and elevated class to which Miss Sedgwick and Mrs. Child belong; authors whose writings +unite with the graces of composition a deep sympathy with all that is human, and a noble philanthropy.—<i>Biblical Repository.</i> + + +</p> +<p>XII. CONQUEST AND SELF-CONQUEST; OR, WHICH MAKES THE HERO? + +</p> +<p>18mo, muslin gilt, 37½ cents. + +</p> +<p>An admirable volume; admirable in style, in sentiment, and in tendency.—<i>Courier and Enquirer.</i> + + +</p> +<p>XIII. + +</p> +<p>THE COUSINS. A TALE OF EARLY LIFE. + +</p> +<p>By the Author of “Conquest and Self-Conquest.”—18mo, 37½ cents. + +</p> +<p>We have read this volume with unmingled satisfaction. It is replete with instruction, not only for the young, but for all +who are concerned to know and judge their motives of life. We thank the author for her nice and interesting discriminations +between the motives of conduct. Indeed, we do not know of any works of this description from the American press which are +entitled to a more just popularity than those which have proceeded from the pen of this writer. They place her beside the +Edgeworths, and the Barbaulds, and the Opies, who have so long delighted and instructed our children and us.—<i>New-York Observer.</i> + + +</p> +<p>XIV. PRAISE AND PRINCIPLE; OR, FOR WHAT SHALL I LIVE? + +</p> +<p>By the Author of “Conquest and Self-Conquest.”—18mo, 37½ cents. + +</p> +<p>A book most worthy to be put into the hands of youth engaged in their educational course, and can not but inspire the love +of truth and goodness for their own sakes.—<i>Biblical Repository.</i> + +</p> +<p>This little work is designed to inculcate upon the minds of youth the importance of a steadfast adherence to <i>principle</i> in the concerns of life; and among “children of a larger growth” its perusal may afford both pleasure and improvement.—<i>Bedford Mercury.</i> + + + + +<a id="d0e7082"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e7082">428</a>]</span> + + +</p> +<p>107, 108.—PARRYʼS THREE VOYAGES. 90 cents. + +</p> +<p>109, 110.—LIFE OF DR. 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Map, 90 cents. + +</p> +<p>143, 144.—HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY. 90 cents. + +</p> +<p>145.—BUCKEʼS BEAUTIES OF NATURE. 45 cents. + +</p> +<p>146.—LIEBERʼS ESSAYS ON PROPERTY. 45 cents. + +</p> +<p>147.—WHITEʼS HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 45 cents. + +</p> +<p>148.—WRANGELLʼS EXPEDITION TO SIBERIA. 45 cts. + + + + +</p> +<div class="transcribernote"> +<h2>Colophon</h2> +<h3>Availability</h3> +<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give +it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/">www.gutenberg.org</a>. + +</p> +<p>This eBook is produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at <a href="http://www.pgdp.net/">www.pgdp.net</a>. + +</p> +<p>This eBook is produced from scans generously made available by Google Books at <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=w8A5U1LYzrEC">http://books.google.com/books?id=w8A5U1LYzrEC</a> (accessed 5 October 2007). Pages 291 and 381 where missing from this source. Their content has been supplied from another +edition, also available at Google Books, at <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=3jENAAAAIAAJ">http://books.google.com/books?id=3jENAAAAIAAJ</a> (accessed 5 October 2007). + +</p> +<h3>Encoding</h3> +<p></p> +<h3>Revision History</h3> +<ul> +<li>04-OCT-2007 Started. + +</li> +</ul> +<h3>Corrections</h3> +<p>The following corrections have been applied to the text:</p> +<table width="75%"> +<tr> +<th>Location</th> +<th>Source</th> +<th>Correction</th> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e1020">Page 38</a></td> +<td width="40%">in</td> +<td width="40%">is</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e1285">Page 58</a></td> +<td width="40%">matress</td> +<td width="40%">mattress</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e1392">Page 67</a></td> +<td width="40%">printde</td> +<td width="40%">printed</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e1871">Page 85</a></td> +<td width="40%"> +[<i>Not in source</i>] + +</td> +<td width="40%">“</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e1876">Page 86</a></td> +<td width="40%">,</td> +<td width="40%">.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e2021">Page 94</a></td> +<td width="40%">fruit-itrees</td> +<td width="40%">fruit-trees</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e2097">Page 101</a></td> +<td width="40%">coacoanut-shell</td> +<td width="40%">cocoanut-shell</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e2166">Page 107n</a></td> +<td width="40%"> +[<i>Not in source</i>] + +</td> +<td width="40%">”</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e2375">Page 136</a></td> +<td width="40%">conducteded</td> +<td width="40%">conducted</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e2535">Page 151</a></td> +<td width="40%"> +[<i>Not in source</i>] + +</td> +<td width="40%">“</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e2578">Page 153</a></td> +<td width="40%"> +[<i>Not in source</i>] + +</td> +<td width="40%">.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e2817">Page 173</a></td> +<td width="40%">Bnt</td> +<td width="40%">But</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e2861">Page 176</a></td> +<td width="40%">,</td> +<td width="40%">.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e3005">Page 188</a></td> +<td width="40%">.</td> +<td width="40%">,</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e3745">Page 263</a></td> +<td width="40%"> +[<i>Not in source</i>] + +</td> +<td width="40%">.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e3813">Page 265</a></td> +<td width="40%">“</td> +<td width="40%"> +[<i>Deleted</i>] + +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e3924">Page 278</a></td> +<td width="40%">goverment</td> +<td width="40%">government</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e4127">Page 301</a></td> +<td width="40%">Sakaraan</td> +<td width="40%">Sakarran</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e4399">Page 322</a></td> +<td width="40%">Badjaws</td> +<td width="40%">Badjows</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e4680">Page 348</a></td> +<td width="40%">cortainly</td> +<td width="40%">certainly</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e4722">Page 352</a></td> +<td width="40%">Goverment</td> +<td width="40%">Government</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e5349">Page 370</a></td> +<td width="40%">of</td> +<td width="40%">on</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e5553">Page 371</a></td> +<td width="40%"> +[<i>Not in source</i>] + +</td> +<td width="40%">.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e6173">Page 397</a></td> +<td width="40%">equiable</td> +<td width="40%">equitable</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e6710">Page 420</a></td> +<td width="40%">he</td> +<td width="40%">the</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> +</div> +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. 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