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diff --git a/76658-0.txt b/76658-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..388d3b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/76658-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11455 @@ + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76658 *** + + +[Illustration: + + SKETCH MAP OF + SARAWAK] + + + + + MY LIFE IN SARAWAK + + + + +[Illustration: H.H. THE RAJAH OF SARAWAK] + + + + + MY LIFE + IN SARAWAK + + BY + THE RANEE OF SARAWAK + + + PREFACE BY + SIR FRANK SWETTENHAM, G.C.M.G. + GOVERNOR OF THE STRAITS COLONY + HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES AND + LATE CONSUL-GENERAL FOR BORNEO + + + WITH TWENTY-SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP + + + METHUEN & CO. LTD. + 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. + LONDON + + + + + _First Published in 1913_ + + + + + PREFACE + + +It is well for the Malay races of Sarawak that they should find an +advocate in their Ranee, for she loves them. To know Ranee Brooke is +to know that, and those who read her _Life in Sarawak_ will realize +this fact to the full, and will feel that, in the years she spent +with these simple people, she must have proved it to them and won +their confidence by her sympathy. That is the only way to get at the +hearts of a Malay people, and though the native population of this +section of Borneo is divided into at least two sections,--Malays and +Dyaks,--differing widely in religion, customs, and language, they are +still members of the great Malay family which is spread over the Malay +Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, the islands of the Archipelago, +and farther afield. It is well for any of the Malay race that they +should find a sympathetic writer to tell the world something of their +little lives, for they are a silent and exclusive people. They do not +understand publicity, they do not want it, so long as they are fairly +and justly treated; indeed, superficial observers might think that +Malays do not really care how they are governed, and that it is a +matter of indifference to them whether they are treated well or ill. +Those who take the trouble to win his regard know that the Malay is as +keenly interested in his own and his country’s affairs as are those of +other nationalities. He is humble about his own capacity, and that of +his fellow-countrymen, to organize and endeavour, to frame a scheme of +righteous government and to ensue it. He will, if properly approached +and considerately handled by Europeans, be the first to admit that +they understand the business better, that they are more trustworthy in +matters of justice and money, and that they have a conception of duty, +of method, and especially a power of continuous application to work, +which is foreign and irksome--indeed well-nigh impossible--to him. +Treat him fairly, reasonably, justly, remember that he represents the +people of the country for whose benefit, as Lord Curzon of Kedleston +said, the white man is there, and, though the white man retains in his +own hands the principal offices, the real power, and the work which is +his burden, the Malay will give him admiration, gratitude, and loyal +support, and show no sign of jealousy or impatience. If one bears in +mind, as indeed one must, that the growth of the white man’s influence, +and the adoption of that advice which we say makes for good government, +mean always the lessening of the Malay’s authority and the curtailment +or abolition of his privileges,--very often bad privileges in our +opinion,--it is surely rather wonderful and rather admirable that +he should accept his fate with such a good, often even a charming, +grace. The Malay does not always approve of our methods, and sometimes +they are really indefensible, but, though he disapproves, what is he +to say? To whom is he to complain, and how? We sometimes learn his +language, because that is necessary for our benefit; we even take +trouble to inquire about his customs and other matters concerning him +and his life; but very, very rarely does he learn either our language, +or enough of our customs, to make himself heard effectively. He +realizes this better than almost any other thing, and therefore, being +a fatalist, he accepts what comes because he knows there is no other +way. Given his nature, his traditions, his way of life through all the +generations, and his present disabilities, how is he to do otherwise? +When you have handed over to others the control of everything you +once had, can you complain to them of breach of faith, or even of +little things like the neglect of your interests when they happen to +clash with your controllers’ wishes or ambitions? Western people, in +humble or subordinate positions, sometimes find it difficult to assert +themselves, or what they believe to be their rights; to the Malay it is +impossible. + +That being so, one would imagine that every white man who comes into a +position of authority amongst such a people, so circumstanced, will be +doubly and trebly careful to remember that the greater his power, the +more need there is not only to seek, with single purpose, the benefit +of “the people of the country,” but to champion their cause--when +he knows it is right--against all comers, and if need be to his own +detriment. To betray Malays, is like taking a mean advantage of a +blind man who has put his hand in yours, in the firm belief that he +is safe in his blind trust of you. To take advantage of that trust +should be unthinkable. I am not writing of the customs of what is +called business, nor even of the ways of rival powers; for in both +these cases the means employed are less regarded than the end to be +gained, and success justifies all things. I am only dealing with the +mission of the white man when, for any reason whatever, he undertakes +to administer the affairs of a people who possess a possibly rich +territory, but are unskilled in the art of administration. That was +the case of Sarawak when Sir James Brooke undertook its pacification +and development in 1841. This is not the place to describe the task +set before the first white Rajah of Sarawak, but it is, I think, the +opportunity to point the moral of an achievement which probably has +no parallel. James Brooke must have been a man for whom the soft life +of cities had no attraction, but he did not approach the problem of +enforcing peace in a greatly disturbed province of Borneo as large as +England, and suppressing piracy on its coasts, in the spirit of an +adventurer; he described his objects in the following words: “It is +a grand experiment, which, if it succeeds, will bestow a blessing on +these poor people; and their children’s children shall bless me. If +it please God to permit me to give a stamp to this country which shall +last after I am no more, I shall have lived a life which emperors might +envy. If by dedicating myself to the task I am able to introduce better +customs and settled laws, and to raise the feeling of the people so +that their rights can never in future be wantonly infringed, I shall +indeed be content and happy.” + +Those were his intentions, and to that end he worked for twenty-six +years with a success as remarkable as his own devotion and abnegation +of self-interest. When James Brooke died in 1868 he left to his nephew +and appointed successor, the present Rajah of Sarawak, a peaceful and +contented country, the hearts of whose people he had won by studying +them, their interests, their customs, their peculiarities, and their +happiness, and to them he gave his life and energy and everything he +possessed. It was a remarkable achievement, and he left to the country +of his adoption the “stamp” of his heart’s desire. Much more than +that, he established a precedent on which his successor has acted with +unswerving consistency for the last forty-six years; it is the stamp of +Brooke rule, and so long as it lasts all will be well with Sarawak. + +Interesting and successful as were the methods of administration +introduced and established in Sarawak by Sir James Brooke and the +present Rajah, I cannot go into them. It is sufficient to say that +Sarawak has been ruled by the Brookes “for the benefit of the people +of the country,” and Mr. Alleyne Ireland, who was well qualified to +form a sound judgment, wrote in 1905, after spending two months in +travelling up and down the coast and in the interior: “I find myself +unable to express the high opinion I have formed of the administration +of the country without a fear that I shall lay myself open to the +charge of exaggeration. With such knowledge of administrative systems +in the tropics as may be gained by actual observation in almost every +part of the British Empire except the African Colonies, I can say +that in no country which I have ever visited are there to be observed +so many signs of a wise and generous rule, such abundant indications +of good government, as are to be seen on every hand in Sarawak.” +Again, in the same book, _Far Eastern Tropics_, Mr. Ireland wrote: +“The impression of the country which I carry away with me is that of +a land full of contentment and prosperity, a land in which neither +the native nor the white man has pushed his views of life to their +logical conclusion, but where each has been willing to yield to the +other something of his extreme conviction. There has been here a +tacit understanding on both sides that those qualities which alone +can ensure the _permanence_ of good government in the State are to be +found in the white man and not in the native; and the final control +remains, therefore, in European hands, although every opportunity is +taken of consulting the natives and of benefiting by their intimate +knowledge of the country and of the people.” That is high praise from +an experienced critic, but not too high, and the last words of Mr. +Ireland’s sentence cannot be insisted upon too urgently when dealing +with Malays. In Sarawak, the fact which is most striking and which +must command the admiration of every man, especially of those who have +been associated intimately with the administration of Eastern peoples +and their lands, is that throughout the long years from 1841 to the +present time, the two white Rajahs of Sarawak spent practically their +whole lives in this remote corner of Asia, devoting their best energies +to the prosperity and the happiness of their subjects, whilst taking +from the country, of which they were the absolute Rulers, only the +most modest income. That has been the admirable and unusual “stamp” +of Brooke rule: to live with the people, to make their happiness the +first consideration, and to refuse wealth at their expense. Nothing +would have been easier--certainly for the present Rajah--than to live +at ease in some pleasant Western land, with perhaps an occasional +visit to Sarawak, and to devote to his own use revenues which he has +spent for the benefit of Sarawak and its people. The State is rich +in resources, mineral and agricultural; to many it would have seemed +most natural to fill the place with Chinese or to grant concessions to +Europeans. Either of these courses would have meant a large accession +of revenue, and no one would have thought it strange had the Ruler +of the country spent whatever proportion seemed good to him on +himself. Only the people of the country would have suffered; but they, +probably, would have considered that it was perfectly natural, and, +had they thought otherwise, it would have made no difference, for it +is not their habit to complain publicly of the doings of their Rulers. +The Rajahs of Sarawak have made “the benefit of the people of the +country” the business of their lives; all honour to them for their high +purpose. That the tradition they have established by seventy-two years +of devotion, of personal care of the affairs of Sarawak, should be +continued and perpetuated must be the prayer of all who love Malays. + +I make a final quotation from Mr. Ireland’s book. It is this: “Nothing +could better serve to exhibit at once the strength and the weakness of +a despotic form of government than the present condition of Sarawak, +for if it be true that the wisdom, tolerance, and sympathy of the +present Rajah have moulded the country to the extraordinary state of +tranquil prosperity which it now enjoys, the power of an unwise or +wicked ruler to throw the country back into a condition of barbarism +must be admitted as a necessary corollary. The advent of such a ruler +is, however, in the highest degree improbable.” + +Every one must hope that a departure from the Brooke tradition is +impossible, and as the matter is wholly within the discretion of the +present Rajah, who knows better than anyone else what is necessary +to secure the objects set out by his predecessor, and confirmed and +secured by his own rule, there is no reason to fear for the future of +Sarawak. Any real man would be proud to take up and help to perpetuate +so great an inheritance. When the time comes, he will remember the +words of the first Rajah Brooke: “If it please God to permit me to give +a stamp to this country which shall last after I am no more, I shall +have lived a life which emperors might envy,” and he will begin his +rule with the knowledge that his predecessor spent his whole life in +making good the promise of those words. + + F. A. S. + LONDON, _22nd September 1913_ + + + + + INTRODUCTION + + +Every one has heard of Rajah Brooke. He was my husband’s uncle, and +this is how he became ruler of Sarawak. + +Borneo is one of the largest islands of the world. The Dutch occupy +three parts of its territory. The British North Borneo Company, a group +of Englishmen, have established themselves in the north, and Sarawak, +with its five hundred miles of coast-line and its fifty thousand +square miles of land, is situated on the north-west. Until some four +hundred years ago, at the time of Pigafetta’s visit to Brunei, Borneo +was almost unknown to Europe, but ever since then, at various periods, +Dutch, Portuguese, and English have attempted to gain a footing in the +island. The Dutch, however, were the most successful, for it was only +in 1839 that the English obtained a firm hold of a portion of this +much disputed land. It must be remembered that owing to the murders +of Englishmen who attempted to trade with Brunei in 1788, 1803, and +1806, the Admiralty issued a warning as to the dangers attendant upon +English merchants engaging in commercial ventures with the Sultan of +Brunei and his people. About forty years went by without English +people making further attempts to trade in that part of the world, +until one day, in August 1839, James Brooke, the future white Rajah of +Sarawak, appeared upon the scene, and it was due to his bold but vague +designs that peace, prosperity, and just government were subsequently +established in a country hitherto torn with dissension and strife. +James Brooke had always felt a great interest in those lands of the +Malayan Archipelago. As a very young man he had held a commission in +the army of the British East India Company, and had seen active service +in Burmah. He was seriously wounded during the Burmese war, invalided +home, and finally resigned his commission. He then made two voyages to +the Strait Settlements and to China, and it is to be supposed that his +interest in that part of the world dates from that period of his life. +At his father’s death, he inherited a small fortune, which he invested +in the purchase of a yacht of 140 tons, in which he set sail in 1838 +for the Eastern Archipelago. In those days, the Sultan of Brunei owned +the extreme north of the island, and his territory stretched as far as +what is called Cape Datu, now belonging to the Rajah. Whilst staying at +Singapore, James Brooke heard rumours of a rebellion by the Malays of +Sarawak against their Sultan, for both the Sultan and his Brunei nobles +(many of whom were of Arabic descent), in order to enrich themselves, +had instituted a tyrannous and oppressive government against the +people. When Brooke arrived in Sarawak, he made the acquaintance of +the Sultan’s Viceroy, Rajah Muda Hassim, who was an uncle of the Sultan +of Brunei, and the acknowledged heir to the Sultanate. Hence his title +Rajah Muda and Sultan Muda, meaning heir-apparent. They made friends, +when the Malay Governor confided in Brooke and besought his help in +quelling the rebellion. Brooke consented, and the rebellion was soon at +an end. The rebels, determined not to fall back under the yoke of their +former tyrants and oppressors, implored Brooke to become their Rajah +and Governor. Rajah Muda Hassim was favourable to the people’s request, +and in 1841 Brooke was proclaimed Rajah of Sarawak amidst the rejoicing +of its population. Rajah Muda Hassim, as representative of the Sultan, +signed a document resigning his title and authority to the Englishman, +and in 1842 Brooke, being desirous of obtaining from the Sultan himself +an additional proof of his goodwill towards his position in Sarawak, +visited the potentate in Brunei, when the Sultan confirmed his title as +independent Rajah of Sarawak. On the other hand, it is interesting to +realize that Rajah Muda Hassim was never in any sense Rajah of Sarawak, +that country then not being a Raj, but a simple province misruled by +Brunei Governors who never bore the title of Rajah, for after all Rajah +Muda Hassim did not abdicate in favour of Brooke, but it was the people +themselves who insisted on Sarawak being independent of the Sultan’s +and his emissaries’ authority, and chose Brooke as their own Rajah, +thus regaining their former independence. + +When James Brooke first became Rajah of Sarawak in 1841, the area of +his country known as Sarawak proper comprised some seven thousand +square miles in extent. + +It might be as well to give a short account of the manner in which the +first white ruler of Sarawak organized his Government. The Sarawak +Malay nobles, the Datus or chiefs that governed the State before +James Brooke’s accession to power, and who had been superseded and +driven into rebellion by the Brunei nobles, the Sultan’s emissaries, +were recalled by James Brooke and chosen to help in carrying out his +Government. When in the course of years these nobles died, their +sons or members of the same aristocratic families (but always with +the approval of the people) were, and are, chosen to fill the vacant +places. The first of these chiefs who helped to inaugurate and +establish James Brooke’s Government was a gallant Malay gentleman +called Datu Patinggi Ali, who was a direct descendant of Rajah Jarum, +the founder of Sarawak, who led his people against the oppression of +Brunei, and found death by the side of James Brooke, sword in hand, +fighting for his and his people’s cause. His son, the Datu Bandar, +Haji Bua Hassan, held office for sixty years, and died a few years ago +in Kuching, over one hundred years of age. He was a brave and upright +man; intelligent and wide-minded in Council, and a true friend of the +Rajah’s, of our sons, and of mine. Datu Isa, to whose memory I have +dedicated this book, was his wife, and I only wish it were in my power +to put into words her charming, sympathetic personality, and make it +understood how, in her blameless useful life, she set a high standard +of conduct amongst the Malay women of Kuching. + +The present Datu Bandar, Muhammad Kasim, and the Datu Imaum, Haji +Muhammad Ali, are the sons of the late Datu Bandar and of Datu +Isa. These four great Malay officials are members of the Supreme +Council and assistant judges of the Supreme Court. The Datu Bandar, +premier Datu and Malay magistrate, is president of the Muhammadan +Probate Divorce Court. The Datu Imaum is the religious head of the +Muhammadan community. The Datu Tumanggong’s title, signifying that of +Commander-in-Chief or fighting Datu, is no longer employed in that +capacity, but ranks next to the Bandar as peaceful member of the +Council, whilst the Datu Hakim is adviser in Muhammadan law. + +Now that a very short account has been given as to the principal +Malayan officials in Sarawak, we must turn back to the year 1841 and +take up the thread of our story. At that time the more northern rivers +outside Sarawak were infested by pirates, who, under the leadership +of Brunei nobles, devastated adjacent lands. The first Rajah, backed +by his loyal subjects, made many expeditions against these criminal +tribes. In 1849, Her Majesty’s ship _Dido_, commanded by Sir Harry +Keppel, came to his aid, when the combined forces of Malays and Dyaks, +strengthened by the crew of Her Majesty’s ship, completely scoured out +the nests of the redoubtable piratical hordes, and an end was put to +their devastation in those regions. Little by little the authority and +strength of the white Rajah’s government became acknowledged, even by +the ci-devant miscreants themselves, and the inhabitants of the more +northern rivers, realizing that after all honesty is the best policy, +willingly laid down their arms and clamoured to be enrolled in the +territory of the great white chief. + +Being monarch of all he surveyed, unfettered by tradition, and owning +no obedience to the red-tapeism of Europe, Rajah Brooke laid the +foundations of one of the most original and, so far as justice goes, +successful Governments that perhaps has ever been known, its most +salient feature being that from its very beginning the natives of the +place were represented by their own people, and had the right to vote +for and against any law that was made by their Government. Brooke +established stations in the mouths of the principal rivers, and in +each of these stations were appointed one or two English officials to +represent the white ruler. Billian or iron wood forts were built in +each of these settlements, and a small force of Malays, armed with +muskets and small cannons, was placed there in order to enforce +obedience to the laws of the new Government and to inspire confidence +in its supporters. The duty of these officials, called Governors or +Residents, was to protect the people from the tyranny of some of the +higher classes of Malays, to prevent head-hunting, and to discourage +disorder. The co-operation of local chiefs and headmen was elicited +to help in this good work, and one cannot repeat too often that such +native coadjutors have been the mainstay of the Rajah’s Government, +and so they must always remain. The present Rajah and his uncle have +strictly adhered to this excellent policy of associating the natives +with the government of their country. James Brooke began his law codes +in respecting and maintaining whatever was not positively detrimental +in the laws and customs as he found them. Instead of imposing +European made laws upon the people, Muhammadan law and custom has +been maintained whenever it affects Muhammadanism. No favouritism is +allowed, and any white man infringing the laws of the country would be +treated in exactly the same way as would be the natives of the soil. +In the _Sarawak Gazette_ of 1872, the present Rajah at the beginning +of his reign wrote these words: “A Government such as that of Sarawak +may start from things as we find them, putting its veto on what is +dangerous or unjust, and supporting what is fair and equitable in the +usages of the natives, and letting system and legislation wait upon +occasion. When new wants are felt, it examines and provides for them +by measures rather made on the spot than imported from abroad; and, to +ensure that these shall not be contrary to native customs, the consent +of the people is gained for them before they are put in force. The +white man’s so-called privilege of class is made little of, and the +rulers of government are framed with greater care for the interests of +the majority who are not Europeans, than for those of the minority of +superior race.” + +The Supreme Council consists of four Malay officials, together with +three or four of the principal European officers; the Rajah presides +over all its deliberations. The Malay members of the Council always +take an active and prominent part in its decisions. Every three +years a State Council meets at Kuching, under the presidency of the +Rajah, consisting of the members of the Supreme Council, the European +Residents in charge of the more important districts, and the principal +native chiefs, some seventy in number, who come from all the important +districts of the principality. At this meeting questions of general +interest as to the government of the country are discussed; the members +are informed of any recent question relating to public affairs, and are +told of the general progress achieved in the Government, or of anything +pertaining to the State since the Council’s last meeting. Each member +is formally sworn in and takes an oath of loyalty to the Rajah and his +Government. It would be very tempting to anyone who is as interested +as I am in the prosperity of the country to give more details regarding +the incessant work required in order that each law as it is made should +be satisfactory and meet the requirements of the whole of the Sarawak +people; suffice it to say that the Rajah, his English officers, and his +Malay chiefs are indefatigable in their endeavours to promote trade and +commerce, peace and prosperity amongst the people. I have only a short +space in which to speak of these more important matters, and I can only +hope that the very slight sketch I have given in the limited space +at my disposal of the past and present history of Sarawak may induce +those whom it interests to seek further information in the many volumes +that have already been written on the subject. It might perhaps not be +amiss to mention the two last books published on Sarawak, these being +_The White Rajahs of Sarawak_, by Messrs. Bampfylde and Baring-Gould, +and _The Pagan Tribes of Borneo_, by those two well-known English +scientists--Dr. Hose and Mr. McDougall. It must be remembered that Mr. +Bampfylde and Dr. Hose occupied for years very important posts in the +Rajah’s Government, and on that account their experience of the people +and the country must be invaluable. + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + H.H. THE RAJAH OF SARAWAK _Frontispiece_ + FACING PAGE + THE AUTHOR 2 + From a Painting by Mrs. ALFRED SOTHEBY + THE RAJAH’S ARRIVAL AT ASTANA, AFTER A VISIT TO EUROPE 8 + PART OF DATU BAY, NEAR SANTUBONG 14 + A ROOM IN THE ASTANA 22 + DATU ISA AND HER GRANDDAUGHTERS 26 + SEA-DYAKS IN WAR DRESS 34 + SEA-DYAK WOMAN WEAVING A COTTON PETTICOAT 58 + MAIL STEAMERS’ WHARF AND TRADING VESSELS AT ANCHOR, + NEAR EMBANKMENT IN KUCHING BAZAAR 62 + TUAN MUDA OF SARAWAK ⎫ + H.H. THE RAJAH MUDA OF SARAWAK ⎬ 98 + TUAN BUNGSU OF SARAWAK WITH HIS LITTLE SON, JIMMIE BROOKE ⎭ + THE DAIANG MUDA ⎫ + H.H. THE RANEE MUDA ⎬ 102 + THE DAIANG BUNGSU ⎭ + THE AUTHOR AND IMA, IN THE MORNING ROOM AT ASTANA, + KUCHING 136 + SUN SETTING BEHIND THE MOUNTAIN OF MATANG 150 + DAIANG SAHADA, DAIANG LEHUT, MRS. MAXWELL, AND THE + AUTHOR 158 + VERANDAH IN DAIANG SAHADA’S HOUSE AT KUCHING 164 + DAIANG LEHUT, DAIANG SAHADA’S DAUGHTER 166 + INCHI BAKAR, SCHOOL MASTER, KUCHING 174 + MALAY BOY STRIKING FIRE FROM DRY TINDER 200 + SALLEH, A TANJONG CHIEF, PLAYING ON THE NOSE FLUTE, + WITH TWO TANJONG ATTENDANTS 254 + HUT CONTAINING EATABLES TO REFRESH THE GOD OF SICKNESS, + BATANG LUPAR RIVER 260 + PANAU, A SEA-DYAK CHIEF 282 + AN ENCAMPMENT UP THE BATANG LUPAR RIVER 288 + BACHELOR HOUSE AT MUNGGO BABI, BERTRAM’S RESIDENCE + DURING OUR STAY 298 + MAP _Front Cover_ + + + + + MY LIFE IN SARAWAK + + + + + CHAPTER I + + +When I remember Sarawak, its remoteness, the dreamy loveliness of its +landscape, the childlike confidence its people have in their rulers, I +long to take the first ship back to it, never to leave it again. How it +happened that as a young English girl I came into intimate contact with +the people of Sarawak is as follows: In 1868, on the death of the first +English Rajah of Sarawak, his nephew and successor came to England and +visited my mother, who was his cousin. On his return to Borneo in the +early seventies, I accompanied him as his wife. + +Looking over the diaries I kept in those days, they throw little light +upon the new surroundings in which I found myself. I had received the +limited education given to girls in that mid-Victorian period; I had +been taught music, dancing, and could speak two or three European +languages; but as regards the important things in life, these had never +been thought of consequence to my education. + +I was sea-sick almost the whole way from Marseilles to Singapore, so +that when we stayed at the various ports on our way out--Aden, Ceylon, +Penang, etc.--I was much too ill to take any interest in them. I +remember that in Singapore we received invitations from the Governor +and from the residents of the place to stay with them on our way to +Sarawak; but I felt ill, and the Rajah and I thought it best to take up +our quarters at an hotel. However, we dined with the Governor and his +wife, Sir Harry and Lady Ord, and I do not think I had ever met kinder +people. The Chief Justice and his wife, Sir Benson and Lady Maxwell, +were also charming to us, asking us to spend a day with them at their +country house near Singapore. This we did, and it was all delightful +and lovely, barring the fact that I met none of the Singapore natives +on these occasions. + +It was at Singapore that I first tasted tropical fruits--mangoes, +mangosteens, a fruit called the soursop, tasting like cotton wool +dipped in vinegar and sugar; also many other kinds--all of which, under +the distempered state of my mind, owing to the journey, I thought +positively repulsive. As to the delights of first impressions in the +tropics, I must say I did not share in those feelings. I hated the +heat, the damp clammy feel of those equatorial regions, and I then +thought that I should never find happiness in such countries. + + [Illustration: THE AUTHOR + FROM A PAINTING BY MRS. ALFRED SOTHEBY] + +After a few days spent in Singapore, we embarked in the Rajah’s +yacht, the _Heartsease_. She was a wooden gunboat of 250 tons, and +her admirers had told me she was as lively as a duck in the water. +This behaviour on her part was exceedingly annoying to me during the +passage to Kuching, a journey which took two days. It was on board the +_Heartsease_ that I had my first experience of cockroaches and rats, +and these kept me in a perpetual state of terror at night. Cockroaches +are like black beetles, only much larger, flatter, and tawny brown in +colour. At the approach of rain they are particularly lively, and as +rain falls daily in this region, their habits are offensive to human +beings. They fly or spring from great distances, and alight on their +victims. I remember how they startled me by jumping on to my face, arms +and hands, as I lay in my bunk trying to get to sleep. The tiny prick +of their spiky, spindly legs was a hateful experience. + +Every one must be familiar with rats more or less at a distance, but +the _Heartsease’s_ rats were disconcertingly friendly. They glided up +and down the floor of my cabin, sometimes scratching at my pillow, +which did not add to my comfort. + +It was on the third morning after leaving Singapore, that I suddenly +felt the ship moving in absolutely smooth waters. This encouraged me to +crawl up on deck, and look around me at the scenery. It was the most +beautiful I had ever seen. The tide was on the turn, and the morning +mist was still hanging about the watery forests on the banks and about +the high mountains of the interior, and as it swept across the river it +brought with it that curious, sweet, indefinable smell, half-aromatic +and half-sickly, making one think unaccountably of malaria. I remember +that I felt very cold, for everything I touched was dripping with +dew. I could see the high mountain of Santubong, a great green cliff +rising almost out of the water to a height of about three thousand +feet, covered to its summit with luxuriant forests. At the foot of +the mountain was a great expanse of sand, over which enormous brown +boulders were scattered, as though giants had been disturbed at a game +of ninepins. At the back of the sandy shore grew groves of Casuarina +trees (the natives call them “talking trees,” from the sound they make +when a breeze stirs their lace-like branches), looking as though the +slightest puff might blow them all away in clouds of dark green smoke. + +Brown huts, made of dried palm leaves and built on poles, dotted the +beach, and small canoes tethered to the shore held little brown naked +children, playing and baling out the water. Women were washing clothes +on the river-banks. They were clothed in one long, clinging garment, +folded and tucked under their armpits, and their straight, long, black +hair was drawn into huge knots at the nape of their necks. All this I +saw as in a vision; the people were too far off for me to distinguish +their features, and the incoming tide was carrying us up the river at a +swift pace. + +Here and there, on our way up, we met Chinamen standing in the stern of +swift, small, narrow canoes, propelling their boats gondolier fashion, +with cargoes of fish for the Kuching market. We passed boats of all +sorts and sizes, from the small sampan scooped out of a single tree +trunk, with its solitary paddler, to the larger house-boats belonging +to Malays, filled with women and children. These were roofed in to +shelter their inmates from the rain or sun, and were usually propelled +by old men sitting in the bows cross-legged, wearing dirty white cotton +drawers and jauntily placed conical hats, which sometimes allowed the +folds of turbans to be seen, these showing that the wearers had been to +Mecca. My attention was attracted by one very small canoe, for I saw, +sitting amidships, an old woman huddled up in a cotton scarf. A tiny +boy, perfectly naked, was bravely paddling her along, whilst he shouted +insults to his poor old lady passenger as our steamer passed by. + +It was on this morning also, that I made the acquaintance of the Malay +crew of our yacht. Like all people suddenly finding themselves for the +first time in the midst of an alien race, I thought the sailors all +looked alike. I elicited from the Rajah that some were young and some +were old, but whether aged eighteen or fifty, I could see no difference +in them at all. They all had the same almost bridgeless noses, wide +nostrils, thick lips, dark restless eyes, and the lanky hair belonging +to their Mongolian race. I tried to make up to them in a feeble way; +I looked at them and smiled as they went to and fro, but they only +bent double as they passed, paying no more attention to my friendly +advances than they did to my cane chair. They were the gentlest moving +things I had ever seen; yet apparently, their work did not suffer, for +I was told that they were as efficient as any ordinary European crew. + +The Rajah was accompanied on the occasion by one of his officers who +had come to meet us at Singapore. As we three sat on deck, I thought +they were the most silent pair I had ever come across. I wanted to know +about the country, and asked questions, but no satisfactory answer +could be obtained, and I was gently made to understand that I had +better find things out for myself. I wanted to know about the mangroves +which grew in the mud, and which at high tide stand “knee-deep in the +flood.” I wanted to know about those great forests of nipa palms, +like gigantic hearse plumes, fringing the river-banks, and from which +I had been told in Singapore that sixteen different and most useful +products to commerce could be obtained. I wanted to know the names of +long, slender palms towering over the other vegetation farther inland, +whose glossy fronds swaying in the morning breeze looked like green and +graceful diadems. Then I saw great things like logs of wood lying on +the mud, and when these moved, and went with a sickening flop into the +water, I had to find out for myself that they were the first crocodiles +of my acquaintance. I saw the black and mobile faces of monkeys peering +at us from between the branches overhanging the water, grimacing like +angry old men at our intrusion into their solitude, and to my inquiry +as to what kind of monkeys they were, the usual indifferent answer +was given. I remember trying to make friends with the English officer +from Sarawak, with the object of eliciting from him some facts about +the place, but my questions did not meet with any very interesting +responses, and I soon found out that I should have to make my own +discoveries about the country, and from that moment I simply panted +to understand the Malay language and make friends with the people +belonging to the place. + +Although here and there we met a few boats coming up the river, some of +the reaches were deserted and silent as the grave. I was exceedingly +lonely, and felt as though I had fallen into a phantom land, in the +midst of a lost and silent world. But even in such out-of-the-way +places people have to be fed, and I remember my first meal in Sarawak, +brought to me by the Chinese steward. There were captain’s biscuits, +lumps of tinned butter slipping about the plate like oil, one boiled +egg which had seen its best days, and the cup of Chinese tea, innocent +of milk, which the Rajah and his friend seemed to enjoy, but which I +thought extremely nasty. The quiet, matter-of-fact way in which they +participated in this unpalatable meal surprised me, but I thought that +perhaps I, too, might in time look upon such things as mere trifles. + +At last, after steaming in silence for about two and a half hours up +the Sarawak River, I heard the booming of guns--the salute fired to the +Rajah on his return from England--and rounding the last reach leading +up to Kuching, the capital, I saw the Fort on the right-hand bank on a +hill covered with closely cropped grass. I also saw the flagstaff from +which was flying the Sarawak flag. On the opposite bank to where the +Fort was situated stood a bungalow, rather a homely looking house, with +gables and green-and-white blinds, the sight of which comforted me. I +was told that this was the house of the agent of the Borneo Company, +Ltd. This gives me an opportunity of acknowledging, at the outset of my +book, the loyal, and at the same time civilizing influence which this +group of Scotchmen, members of the firm, have always exerted in their +dealings with Sarawak and its people. This house once out of sight, +we steamed on past the Bazaar on the river’s edge, containing the +principal shops of the town, and, a little farther on, the same side as +the Fort, I saw the Astana,[1] composed of three long low bungalows, +roofed with wooden shingles, built on brick pillars with a castellated +tower forming the entrance. + +[Illustration: THE RAJAH’S ARRIVAL AT ASTANA AFTER A VISIT TO EUROPE] + +On the steps of the landing-stage at the bottom of the garden a great +many people were standing. These were the officials, English and +native, and the principal merchants of the place come to meet the +Rajah on his return. I saw four Malay chiefs, and was told that they +were prominent members in the Rajah’s Government. They wore turbans +twisted in great folds round their heads, long flowing robes of black +or dark-coloured cloth opening on to white robes embroidered with gold. +Their feet were shod with sandals, and they carried long staves tipped +with great golden knobs. Then I saw Chinamen, traders in the town, +with their long pigtails, almond-shaped eyes, fat, comfortable-looking +faces, all smiles, dressed in blue silk jackets and wide black +trousers. There were also a few Dyak chiefs of neighbouring rivers, +with beads and bangles on their legs and arms, and gaily coloured +waistcloths of red and yellow and white. I saw about eight or ten +Europeans in white uniforms and helmets, and two ladies, also dressed +in white, the only European ladies then resident in the place. + +As the _Heartsease’s_ anchor was dropped, a large green barge,[2] used +on State occasions, covered with an awning and manned by about twenty +Malays and Dyaks in white uniforms faced with black, their paddles +painted in the Sarawak colours--yellow, black, and red--came to the +companion-ladder to take us on shore. I remember the rhythmical noise +made by their paddles as they rowed us the short distance to the +landing-stage. When we stepped on land, all the people came forward and +shook hands with the Rajah, who presented them to me. It took about ten +to fifteen minutes to shake hands with them all. + +Then a strange thing happened, for which I was not prepared. A very +picturesque old man, rather taller than the other Malays, dressed in +a jacket embroidered with gold, black trousers with a gold band, his +head enveloped in a handkerchief tied in a jaunty fashion, with two +ends standing up over his left ear, came forward with a large yellow +satin umbrella, fringed all round, which he opened with great solemnity +and held over the Rajah’s head. His name was Subu, and, as I learned, +he occupied a great position in Sarawak: that of Umbrella Bearer to +the Rajah and Executioner to the State. The Rajah trudged forward, +the umbrella held over him, up the steps from the landing-place, and +across the broad gravel path, lined with a guard of honour, leading +to the house. At the entrance the umbrella was folded up with great +reverence by Subu, who carried IT back to ITS home the other side of +the river. I followed with the principal European officer present, and +the other people who had met us came after us, up the path, and on to +the verandah of the Astana. There we seated ourselves on cane chairs +prepared for the occasion: the Rajah and myself in the middle of the +company. For some minutes we all looked at one another in dead silence: +then the oldest Malay chief present, the Datu Bandar, leaning forward +with his head on one side and an intent expression, inquired, “Tuan +Rajah baik?” (Rajah well?). The Rajah nodded assent. Then more silence: +suddenly, the Rajah jumped up and held out his hand as a signal of +dismissal. Every one took the hint, got up, shook hands with the Rajah, +then with me, and departed down the steps and garden path to the boats +waiting to convey them to their homes. + +I stood on the verandah and watched them go, the Rajah standing by +me. I turned to him. “Where are the women?” I said. “What women?” he +answered. “The only English ladies staying in the place came to meet +you.” “Oh,” I replied, “they do not matter. I mean the women of the +place, where are they?--the chiefs’ wives and the Malay women, why have +they not come to meet me?” “Malay women,” replied the Rajah, “never +accompany the men on public occasions. It is not their custom.” “But,” +I said, “you are their Rajah. What is the use of my coming here if I +am not to see the women of the place?” “Well,” said the Rajah, with a +smile, “we shall see; things may be different by and by.” + +In the evening the Rajah took me in his comfortable boat for a turn on +the river. Three Malay boat-boys sent us along; their paddles as they +struck the water were as rhythmic as a march tune. We floated past the +Malay portion of the town with its brown houses made of palm leaves, +their roofs and walls so frail that “you might anywhere break them open +with your finger!” Moving westwards we faced the great mountain called +Matang, which bars the sunset, its wooded sides and ravines changing +every moment of the day under the brilliant sunlight or passing clouds. +The sunset behind Matang on that first evening I spent in Kuching was +a memorable one. The dark purple mass seemed palpitating with mystery, +standing out as it did against a background of crimson and rose and +yellow. + + +FOOTNOTES: + [1] Malay word meaning palace. + + [2] The barge was presented by the King of Siam to the late + Rajah in 1851. + + + + + CHAPTER II + + +Sarawak is a land of mountains, of trees, and of water. Steaming from +Singapore on your way to Kuching, you enter a great crescent-shaped +bay called Datu. The most important rivers of Sarawak flow into this +bay. At its southern end stands Tanjong Datu, rising to a height of +700 feet; and across sixty miles of sea in a northerly direction, +almost opposite to this green cliff, is Tanjong Sirik, from whence the +low and sandy coast runs in an almost straight line as far as Brunei. +Harbourless and unprotected, this coast is lashed by the surf during +the north-east wind from September to the end of March. During the +south-west monsoon, which blows for the remainder of the year, fairer +weather prevails, making easier communication between these river +mouths and the rest of the world. If you approach Sarawak in the early +morning, you can see from the deck of a steamer, cobalt blue mountains +hanging baseless between earth and sky. Mists, white as snow-wreaths, +encircle their wooded peaks only to melt away at the first rays of +the sun and return to the land in refreshing showers later in the +afternoon. Cascades born in the mountains, fed by daily rains, tear +down their wooded ravines, rolling stones and trees and soil from +their banks in their headlong course. Impetuous and irresistible, +they widen as they go, until they become mighty rivers tamed by their +passage through muddy plains, where they meander in sluggish ways. + +The river-banks are lined with nipa palms and mangroves. At low tide +you can see the mangroves, standing on trestles of black woody roots, +looking like snakes writhing in the mud. Upon these pedestals, a crown +of bright green leaves, thirty to forty feet in height, form aquatic +forests at the mouth of the rivers all along the coast. Each branch +is weighed down by a fruit, which, when ripe, drops into the mud and +starts a new tree. The nipa palm has matted roots which easily retain +the flotsam and jetsam carried down by the unceasing current of the +waters; it has an angular fruit which, like that of the mangrove, +sinks into the mud and forms forests on its own account. The incessant +action of these encroaching trees add continually to the land. Indeed, +there are certain aged natives who have been heard to say that part +of the coast near Sirik, although exposed to the constant surf of +the north-east monsoon, has encroached on the sea for two miles or +more, during their lifetime. When the land reclaimed by the mangroves +and nipa palms becomes dryer, the trees die, and give place to other +tropical vegetation. On my travels in and out of these rivers, I have +often seen, especially on a hot sunny day, the distant line of coast +just before it recedes into the horizon, looking as though it were +lifted high up in the air, when, between the line of verdure and the +sea, appeared a space of light as though the trees stood on rays of +silvery transparency. + +[Illustration: DATU BAY NEAR SANTUBONG] + +The rivers Lundu, Sarawak, Sadong, Batang Lupar, Saribas, Kalaka, and +Rejang flow into the Bay of Sarawak. The rivers Oya and Muka (from +which two rivers an important trade with sago is carried on), Bintulu +and Baram, are situated in the more northern portion of the territory. +Owing to the perpetual strife between land and water, these rivers +have bars at their mouths, but the bar across the Baram is the most +formidable amongst the rivers of the country. + +Malays and Milanoes have their settlements on or near the coast, +within reach of the tide. Malays are expert fishermen, and excel in +boat building. They are Muhammadans, and are the most civilized of the +Rajah’s subjects. Milanoes inhabit the Rejang delta, the river-banks of +Matu, Oya, Muka, and Bintulu, and are the sago workers of the country. +Though mostly Muhammadans, they have a curious superstitious religion +of their own. Land Dyaks dwell amongst the mountains and hills south of +Kuching; Sea Dyaks frequent the Batang Lupar, Saribas, Kalaka, and the +Rejang Rivers; Kayans live more inland, and their tribes are supposed +to have settlements right across from west to east of the northern +portion of Borneo; nor must we forget the Chinese immigrants who have +settlements all over the principality, and who invade it in increasing +numbers with every succeeding year, greatly adding to the prosperity of +the country. All these people are, as it were, sprinkled over the land. +If one could imagine a giant sower dipping into a bag filled with the +seeds of mankind and flinging it out haphazard by handfuls, some by the +sea, and some by the inland rivers and forests, it might give an idea +of the manner in which the population of Sarawak is scattered over the +country. The different tribes hold themselves entirely aloof from one +another; one never meets with Dyaks residing in Malay settlements, or +_vice versa_, nor do the Chinese build among people of an alien race. + +It must be remembered that there are very few roads in Sarawak, and +as yet no railways; for it can well be understood that road-making +or laying down railway lines would be a costly undertaking in this +country, intersected as it is by marshes, hills, mountains, and almost +unbridgeable rivers. Commerce and trade, however, thrive without +the help of such accessories, for Borneo is known to be one of the +best-watered countries in the world, and the produce of its jungles and +its forests find an easy passage down the numberless canals and rivers +which nature has provided through this watery land. Indeed, it seems +to me that there are three things one cannot escape from in Sarawak: +these being mountains, trees, and water. The sound of water is heard +everywhere; houses are built for the most part on the banks of rivers +or streams, so that the tide, as it swishes backwards and forwards, is +heard by day and night; daily showers drip on to one’s habitation, and +the noise of paddles--for the people use the river as Europeans use +their streets--is never lacking. Even the animals seem to imitate the +sound of water in their morning and evening cries. For instance, the +little monkeys, called wah-wahs, give vent, at the first approach of +the sun, to liquid sounds, which, whenever I heard them, made me think +of the Spirit of the rain pouring refreshing streams through the trees +in which these monkeys congregate. + +It is seldom that flowers form an important feature in the landscape +of tropical countries. It is true there are flowers in profusion, but +they are mostly hidden in the hearts of virgin forests. The purple +blossoms of the lagerstremia, the golden cups of the allamanda, scarlet +rhododendrons, and convolvuli, mauve and pink and white and yellow, +sometimes star with flashes of colour the river-banks more inland; +but orchids, pitcher plants, and flowering parasites are generally +entangled and hidden in the branches of forest trees, for, like +everything lovely, delicate, and perfumed, these have to be diligently +sought for before a closer acquaintance can be made. One of the most +ravishing experiences of Sarawak are the mysterious whiffs of perfumes +meeting one unexpectedly in one’s walks near the forests, or even +on journeys up the rivers. These scented currents are messages from +unknown blossoms flowering unseen and unsoiled far from mankind. +These rare and exquisite visitations always reminded me of the words +of Maupassant, “_C’est une sensation de bien être qui est presque du +bonheur._” + +Now to my mind the people of Sarawak match their strange and beautiful +surroundings. They love sweet scents and flowers, and, above all, they +love the neighbourhood of water, in which, as a fact, they live the +greater portion of the day. Every man, woman, and child swims about the +streams near their homes in the same way as we take our walks in our +gardens. Men and women alike manage boats with wonderful skill, and +women are often seen alone in canoes, paddling themselves in search of +fruits or vegetables to be found on the banks of streams sometimes a +great distance from their village. If you happen to throw in your lot +with these people, you insensibly become, in the course of years, as +fond of the water as they are, so that, like them, you find yourself +perpetually bathing, and after any exertion have recourse to a bath, +much as they plunge into the river to cool themselves. Moreover, they +are perpetually washing their clothes--I have often thought I have +seldom met cleaner people. + + + + + CHAPTER III + + +The Rajah and I had only been a few weeks in Kuching when he had to +leave me and go on an expedition to the interior, and I was left alone +in the Astana with a maid whom I had brought from England. She was an +ordinary sort of woman, with no capacity for enjoying anything that was +not European. She left me soon after, for, as she said, she did not +like living in such an outlandish place. With this solitary exception +there was, at this time, no one in the Astana with whom I could speak, +as I did not know Malay. There was, however, the Rajah’s butler, a +Sarawak Malay, who had been with the first Rajah Brooke for some years. +At the Rajah’s death, my husband took this man into his service. He +was called Talip (a name signifying light). Talip knew a few words of +English, and he and I became great friends. He was good-looking, taller +than most Malays, with dark, intelligent eyes, a black moustache, +and an abundant crop of hair forming a short curly fringe under his +head-handkerchief, which he folded round his head with consummate +skill. He was a bit of a dandy, and very neat in appearance. He wore a +white jacket, under which appeared the folds of his yellow-and-black +sarong, white trousers, and he walked about with bare feet. He was a +favourite with all classes in Kuching, for his many years in the first +Rajah’s service had endeared him to the people. + +During the Rajah’s absence I got a great deal of information out of +Talip, and the way he managed to make himself understood in his broken +English was wonderful. One day I said to him, “I want to see the Malay +women of Kuching. Ask them to come here.” Talip answered, “Certainly. +I bring my two wives play with you!” I gently suggested that, together +with the two wives, the ministers’ and chiefs’ wives and daughters +might be included in the invitation. After talking the matter over, +Talip and I settled that I should hold a reception--my first reception +in Sarawak--and that he should be the chamberlain on the occasion and +invite, in my name, the principal women of the place. + +My life now began to be interesting, for Talip and I had a great many +preparations to make and plans to talk over. The dining-room of the +Astana was large, and could accommodate about two hundred and fifty +guests. I kept impressing on Talip that none of the ministers’ and +chiefs’ lady relations should be forgotten, as it would never do to +create jealousy on this my first introduction to the women of the +country. I found out that the Datu Bandar, the Datu Imaum, the Datu +Temanggong, and the other chiefs all had wives, sons, daughters, and +grandchildren galore. “They must all be invited,” I said; “for I must +know them and make friends with them.” I was then initiated by Talip +into the proper manner of giving parties in Malayland. + +First of all, the question of refreshments had to be considered. Talip +invested in dozens and dozens of eggs, pounds and pounds of sugar, and +I cannot remember the bewildering quantity of cocoa-nuts and of various +other ingredients he deemed necessary for making Malay cakes. These he +judiciously parcelled out to the houses of the people I was going to +invite, so that they could make the cakes with which I was to present +them when they came to call. Talip also borrowed from them cups, +saucers, plates, and many other things wanted for such an important +occasion. + +Some days before the party, on looking out of my sitting-room window +towards the landing-place and the path leading up from it to our +door, I saw a number of little boys staggering under the weight of +numerous round, red lacquer boxes. These were very large, and I sent +for Talip and asked him what they were. He informed me that they were +to be used for the various cakes and fruit in the same way as we use +silver dishes. Talip arranged that on this great occasion we should +all sit on the floor round the room, and that the place occupied by +the chiefs’ wives, with myself in their midst, should be set out with +piles of gorgeous cushions covered with gold brocade--also borrowed +from the houses of my guests.[3] A fortnight or so was occupied in the +preparations, and at last the day came to which I had been looking +forward so much. I glanced into the dining-room in the morning, and +thought how pretty a meal laid out for Malay ladies looked--very +much prettier than the table arrangements at our dinner-parties in +England. Great strips of white and red material, bought for the +occasion in the Bazaar, were laid down both sides of the room with +cross pieces at each end. The red boxes were put at equal distances +on these strips, and between the boxes were dishes with the fruits of +the country--mangosteens, mangoes, oranges, pineapples, etc. The red +lacquer boxes made beautiful notes of colour all round the room. + +[Illustration: A ROOM IN THE ASTANA] + +The tea-party was supposed to begin at 4 o’clock, so accordingly, I +dressed myself in my best garments and was quite ready to enter the +dining-room and receive my guests. I had heard a great deal of noise +going on outside my rooms since 2 o’clock in the afternoon: the rustle +of silks, bare feet pattering up and down the verandah, and, becoming +curious, I looked over the partitions and saw women in silken draperies +flitting about. But Talip was on guard, and every time I came out, or +even looked over the partitions, he said to me, “You must not show +yourself too soon.” However, at 4 o’clock I was dressed, and determined +to go out, when Talip again, like the angel with the flaming sword at +the gate of Paradise, waved me back. He made me understand that I ought +not to show myself before 5.30 on account of Malay etiquette, and went +on to explain that the Rajah’s subjects should await my pleasure. In +his opinion, 9 o’clock would have been preferable for our meeting, but +considering my impatience he would allow me to enter the dining-hall at +half-past five! So another hour and a half went by whilst I patiently +waited to make the acquaintance of my guests, on account of inexorable +Malay etiquette. I felt a little anxious, for I did not know a word +of Malay, so I took Marsden’s Dictionary with me, and armed with the +great volume, at 5.30 punctually, made my entrance into the hall. I was +quite taken aback by the charming sight that awaited me as I entered +the dining-hall. The rows of women and young girls seated on the floor +round the room, with their silken brocades and gauzy veils of rose, +green, blue, and lilac, reminded me of an animated bed of brightly +coloured flowers. I noticed what beautiful complexions most of these +women had, of the opaque pale yellow kind, like the petals of a fading +gardenia. Their dark eyes and long eyelashes, their arched eyebrows, +their magnificent black hair, their lovely feet and hands, and their +quiet manners, were to me quite entrancing. As I came into the room, +Talip told them to get up, and the sound of their rustling silks, all +moving together, was like a gentle wind sighing through the branches +of a bamboo forest. Datu Isa and Datu Siti, the wives of the principal +Malay chiefs, came forward one on each side of me, and, each placing +one hand under my elbows and the other under my finger-tips, led me to +the seat prepared for me against the wall, in the middle of a row of +women. My pile of cushions was uncomfortably high, so I asked Talip +whether I could not have two pillows taken away, but he said: “No, +that could not be. Rajah Ranee must have three cushions more than the +chiefs’ wives.” Therefore, once again I gave way to the conventions of +Malaya. + +Talip and his satellites appeared with huge jugs of lukewarm coffee, +made sweet as syrup to suit the taste of my guests. It was, however, +devoid of milk, as the Malays of Sarawak are unaccustomed to the use +of that liquid.[4] It took some time to help us all, but when each +guest’s cup was full, Talip stood in the middle of the room and shouted +out: “Makan! la.... Minum! la.... Jangan malu!” (Eat. Drink. Don’t be +ashamed). + +After coffee, the real business of the day began. Talip told me to +say something to my guests, and that he would translate my words into +Malay. “Datus, Daiangs, my friends,” I said, “I have sent for you +because I feel lonely without you. I have come to live here and to make +friends with you all. I have waited for this day with great impatience, +because I know we shall love one another, and I feel sure if women are +friends to one another they can never feel lonely in any country.” +Talip translated my speech at great length, and when he had finished, +Datu Isa, the wife of Datu Bandar the chief minister, bent forward, her +eyes cast down, her hands palm downwards on her knees, and replied, +“Rajah Ranee, you are our father, our mother, and our grandmother. We +intend to take care of you and to cherish you, but don’t forget that +you are very young, and that you know nothing, so we look upon you as +our child. When the Rajah is away, as I am the oldest woman here, I +will look after you. There is one thing you must not do: I have heard +of Englishwomen taking the hands of gentlemen by the roadside. Now, +Rajah Ranee, you must not do that, and when you are sad you must come +to me, and I will help to lighten your heart.” Talip translated this to +me, and I smiled in response. But all the women kept that gravity which +never leaves Malays when they are shy or nervous, or in the presence +of strangers. I thought I would try a little conversation on my own +account. I looked out some words in Marsden’s Dictionary, and meant +to inquire of Datu Isa how many sons she had. This remark thawed the +ice, for a ripple of laughter went over the room. Instead of saying +“sons” I had used the words “baby boys”--the old lady being seventy, +no explanation is required! After that, we became very friendly. I +consulted Marsden for the rest of the afternoon, and got on beautifully +with my guests. + +It is strange, even now, how well I remember that party: it might +all have happened yesterday. From that eventful day my home-sickness +completely vanished, for I felt I had found my friends. + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [3] There is no greater pleasure one can give Malays + than that of borrowing their things. Women, however, + ungrudgingly lend their golden ornaments to each other, + and the same may be said of their crockery, their + furniture, their clothes, etc. + + [4] Some Malay women confided in me that they would not + drink it, as by so doing they might get to resemble + animals. + + + + + CHAPTER IV + + +Then began a very agreeable time, such as usually comes with a new +and interesting friendship. I think the Malay women as well as myself +were mutually interested in one another, and I encouraged the frequent +morning visits that one or another of the chieftains’ lady relations +paid to me. I somehow managed to make myself understood, although my +Malay must have sounded strange to them. Indeed, in their strenuous +endeavours to understand what I said, I sometimes noticed a strained--I +might almost say painful--expression flit across their faces. They were +much too kind, however, to laugh or smile, or even to show a moment’s +impatience. Little by little matters mended, and in a few weeks I +became more fluent. + +[Illustration: DATU ISA AND HER GRAND-DAUGHTERS] + +That mighty question of “chiffons,” which is usually thought to belong +only to European womenkind, seemed to me to play quite as important a +part in the minds of my new friends. One day, as I was admiring their +beautiful silks, satins, and golden ornaments, Datu Isa (who was, +you remember, the lady who had undertaken the care of me during the +Rajah’s absence) said to me in a very ceremonious manner, “You are +the wife of our Rajah, and you ought to wear our dress.” I was simply +delighted, and at once agreed. Lengthy discussions then took place as +to what colours I should choose, and where the things should be made. +Finally, the matter resolved itself into the Malay ladies joining +together, and insisting on providing me with the whole dress, and I +must say it was a beautiful one. The garment called “kain tape” (the +Malay name for a woman’s skirt) consists of a narrow sheath; this was +folded and tucked under my armpits, and made to cover my feet. It was +woven in red-and-gold brocade. My jacket was of dark blue satin, and +had gold rosettes sewn over it. The collar of the jacket was edged with +plaques of gold, fastening in front with a larger clasp, shaped like +outstretched wings. All down the sleeves of the jacket, which were +slashed up to the elbow, were tiny buttons of gold that jingled like +bells. A gauzy scarf of white and gold, obtained from Mecca, covered my +head, and a wide wrap of green silk and gold brocade was flung over the +left shoulder ready to cover my head and face when wearing the dress in +my walks abroad. According to Datu Isa, my right eye alone should peep +forth from the golden wrap on such occasions. + +Datu Isa had a great many things to say as to the wearing of these +garments. “You are my child, Rajah Ranee,” she said, “and I have +thought a good deal as to whether, being a married woman, you ought +to wear golden ornaments, because it is the custom in our country +for virgins only to be thus decorated, but as you are the wife of our +Rajah, I think that your Malay dress should be as splendid as possible, +and we all agree that it will suit you well.” I did not share in this +opinion. I loved wearing the dress, because of its beauty, but if the +truth were told, a tall Englishwoman cannot expect to wear it with the +grace which belongs to those tiny frail-looking daughters of the sun. +They are all very small indeed, and the noiseless way they move about +lends additional beauty to the dress. No European woman, accustomed +as she is to freedom, exercise, and somewhat abrupt movements, can +possibly imitate with any degree of success the way in which they glide +about and manipulate their silken and gauzy draperies. + +It is interesting to know the ideas Malay women entertain about the +wearing of these clothes. I was somewhat embarrassed with the length of +my sarong, ordered by Datu Isa, and arranged by her so that it should +fall in folds draggling on the ground. “Never mind, Rajah Ranee,” she +would say, “you will get accustomed to it by and by, and you must +remember that the Rajah’s wife never shows her feet.” “But why?” I said +to Datu Isa. “Because,” she answered, “she is never supposed to walk +about. She must have servants and subjects at her call every moment of +the day. Now, if you wear that dress properly, you would not fasten +it in very securely anywhere, but you would sit on cushions almost +motionless, because at the slightest movement your clothes would fall +off. The wives of the Sultan of Brunei never secure their kain tapes.” +This was all very well; moreover, it must be remembered that Datu Isa +was strictly conservative. Her ideas concerning ceremonial dress and +deportment in Sarawak were as rigid as were those of aristocratic old +ladies in Early Victorian days. But Datu Isa’s daughter-in-law, Daiang +Sahada, who is about my own age, reassured me when I felt a little +anxious as to whether I could play my part satisfactorily and not +derogate from the exalted position Datu Isa was always striving to put +me in. “We understand, Rajah Ranee,” she would say. “You must not be +too anxious; we all know Datu Isa; she is kind and good and you must +humour her. Little by little, she will understand, and will not mind if +you wear your kain tape so as to allow you to walk a yard or so.” + +But talking of these sarongs and the wonderful cloths manufactured by +the women of Sarawak, it always surprises me when I consider, given the +idea that Sarawak was such an uncivilized country when the first Rajah +went there, and that its people were sunk in a state of barbarism, how +it was possible that the womenkind of the Malay population living in +the place evolved the marvellous embroideries and brocades that nearly +all the women of Sarawak are capable of weaving. + +The patterns on these golden cloths are very similar, for no kain +tape worn by the better classes of Sarawak women is considered quite +correct unless the stuff, powdered all over its ground of red silk +with open rosettes made of gold thread, is divided by a broad band of +different pattern marked in gold thread in a series of Vandyck-shaped +lines, reminding one of the dog-tooth design. Inside each tooth is an +ornament, supposed by some to represent trees of life. This design is +apparently to be met with all over Malaya. + +Nor is the making of these cloths at all an easy matter. To help to +amuse me and to while away the time, Datu Isa and her maidens brought +to the Astana a great loom prepared with golden and silk threads, to +teach me how to weave these brocades. The loom was so large that one +could sit inside it. A sort of pad made of wood supported one’s back +and acted as a lever with planks at one’s feet to keep the thread taut. +A shuttle in each hand threw the thread backwards and forwards in the +usual manner, but the effort of keeping the thread tight with one’s +back and feet was a somewhat fatiguing experience. I must confess I +never achieved many inches of these cloths, although it interested me +much to learn the Malay methods of weaving them. + +Datu Isa sometimes brought with her a friend, whom I got to know +well. This lady was a Seripa, that is to say, a descendant of the +great Prophet himself. Such descendants are numerous all over the +Archipelago. I never quite made out how the many Serips[1] and +Seripas[5] I met in Sarawak traced their descent from the great +founder of Islam, but as their countrymen and women accepted their +great position, it must have been unassailable, and I never attempted +to solve the mystery. Seripa Madjena’s husband was also a Serip, for +female descendants of the Prophet may not marry out of their rank, +although Serips may marry whom they please. Serip Hussin was employed +as an overseer at one of the Rajah’s coffee plantations not far from +Kuching. Datu Isa told me, and I found out for myself, that Seripa +Madjena could do most wonderful embroideries. As she was a poor woman, +Datu Isa suggested that she should come so many hours a day to the +Astana to work for me and to teach me her craft. Most Malay women, as +I have said before, are able to embroider, and their methods greatly +interested me. My first lesson was conducted in this fashion. The +Seripa was seated in the middle of the floor of my sitting-room, and +the lady Datus, their friends, and I, were seated round her to watch +the proceedings. The Seripa asked for pieces of foolscap, which she +cut into broad bands of about nine or ten inches wide and about a yard +and a half in length. She then folded them into about five layers, and +with a sharp penknife began punching out the design through the top +layer. The penknife went in and out, cutting notches here, rounding +circles there, without any preliminary lines to guide it. In fact, +the Seripa was doing free-hand with a penknife! I had prepared boxes +of betel-nut and sirih for the refreshments of my guests. Datu Isa +never moved without her sirih box, and she prepared a mouthful of this +delicacy for me from her own store. She took a leaf of betel-vine, +smeared it with a little shell-lime, stuck a small portion of the +areca-nut on the lime, wrapped the leaf into a bundle, and presented +it to me. “Bagus sekali” (very nice), she said, and watched the effect +on me as I began munching at this Malay delicacy. I did not like it, +but did my best to appear as though I did. When the ladies present had +been presented with betel-nut and sirih, we sat chewing in a silence +only broken by ejaculations from the Seripa, together with long-drawn +sighs and invocations to Allah. “She is working in earnest,” said +Datu Isa. We all nodded assent, whilst giving vent to little grunts +of approval. The punching went on, and the little scraps of paper lay +like snow around the Seripa, who suddenly gave a louder sigh than +usual and a more lengthy invocation to Allah, and shaking the pattern +free from the cuttings of paper, we saw a delicate and flowing pattern +of conventional leaves, of birds and of fishes, rustling itself free +from her fingers to the floor. This improvised work over, she laid +layers of foolscap one over the other, stuck them together, laid her +prepared pattern on the top, and the punchings began afresh with the +penknife. When the design was all cut out, the strip was laid over +green satin stretched on a long, wooden frame, about a yard in length. +We had chosen green, as it is the colour of the Prophet. The perforated +pattern was stitched here and there on to the satin, and the Seripa +worked gold thread backwards and forwards over the cardboard, until +the design stood out from the satin background a compact mass of gold, +recalling to my mind certain medieval church embroideries I knew of in +Northern Italy, dating from the sixteenth century. + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [5] Arabic: Sherif and Sheripa. + + + + + CHAPTER V + + +The expedition which had taken the Rajah into the interior was only one +among many he had to undertake in order that trade and commerce might +be established in safety in remote parts of his kingdom. In Sarawak, +epidemics of head-hunting are apt to occur unexpectedly amongst Dyak +tribes, just as of late years the plague has unaccountably broken out +afresh in different parts of the world. + +[Illustration: SEA DYAKS IN WAR DRESS] + +One of the largest rivers in the country, the Rejang, whose waters +are deep enough for 170 miles to float vessels and schooners of +moderate size, has ramifications in the smaller tributaries which run +in various directions into mountainous districts. On these hills, +sometimes two or three thousand feet in height, Dyaks, who dearly +love their independence and to feel the importance of being able to +undertake skirmishes on their own account, build houses (to which +they can retire temporarily for protection) on the precipitous sides +of mountains and hills, like eagles’ nests clinging to lofty peaks, +and to which apparently only birds can soar. These people, however, +climb like monkeys; their activity is wonderful, and when one of these +tribes ensconces itself in such inaccessible places it is difficult +to dislodge and coerce it into moving to lower and more civilized +portions of the territory. At the time of which I am writing, one +of these tribes had been particularly tiresome. A Dyak chief, named +Lintong,[6] had gathered round him a considerable force of followers, +entrenched himself at the head of a stream, where he had managed to +build a fleet of boats from the enormous forest trees which grew in the +neighbourhood. At the head of his fleet, he harassed and plundered the +more law-abiding inhabitants of the delta. + +Mr. Harry Skelton, one of the Rajah’s officers stationed at a place +called Sibu, a fortified settlement sixty miles up from the mouth of +the Rejang River, had incurred Lintong’s displeasure owing to severe +sentences he had inflicted on one or two members of the tribe, who had +been caught red-handed. This made Lintong exceedingly angry, and one +night, about a fortnight after my first arrival in the country, Lintong +descended with his fleet of boats, manned by some three thousand men, +and attacked Mr. Skelton’s Fort just before daybreak. It was nearly +taken by surprise, for Dyaks have a way of muffling the sound of their +paddles, and although the Fort was built about twenty yards from the +river, and the fleet came within earshot of it, no sound was heard by +the sentries, notwithstanding that they were on the look out for any +emergency. “Face of Day” and his men landed, dashed up to the Fort +with horrible yells and threw showers of poisoned arrows and pointed +bamboo spears at the building. Sarawak Forts are all built on the +same pattern--square stockades with watchtowers at each corner, made +of planks of iron-wood, which no native missile can penetrate, being +bullet proof. The stockade is about twenty feet high, and between that +and the roof, to give air and light, is a trellis-work made of the same +iron-wood which divides an overhanging roof, made of wooden shingles, +from the wooden walls. The shingles are made detachable to prevent fire +when the enemy throw lighted brands on the roof. + +Sibu Fort was then garrisoned by thirteen Sikhs, under the command +of Mr. Skelton. These Sikhs were ci-devant Indian Sepoys, who had +been exiled to Sarawak as punishment for the share they had taken +in the Indian Mutiny. These men, although rebels, were amongst the +lesser offenders in the Mutiny, and subsequently proved themselves +to be valuable servants to the Sarawak Government. They were fierce, +magnificent-looking beings, very tall, and smartly conspicuous, with +great turbans twisted round their heads, black beards carefully tended, +and moustaches with aggressively curled ends. There were also staying +in the Fort two or three Dyak chiefs and a recently joined English +cadet, Mr. Low, son of Sir Hugh Low, who was then Colonial Secretary +in Labuan. A few poisoned arrows and barbed bamboo spears found their +way through the trellis-work of the Fort, but no one was struck by +these missiles. The party in the Fort made a brave resistance, and in a +short time the rebels were repulsed and sent flying to their boats on +the beach, leaving about a dozen dead and wounded companions under the +wooden walls, Lintong’s son being amongst the slain. + +The account which Mr. Skelton gave me when I saw him afterwards of +the manner in which the friendly Dyak chiefs behaved during the +skirmish amused me very much, for they did nothing but peer through +the lattice-work, and shout Dyak insults at the attacking party, most +of whom they knew very well. They made unpleasant remarks about the +enemy’s mothers, and inquired whether the men themselves belonged +to the female sex, as their efforts were so feeble, etc. It appears +the noise was terrific, the attacking party yelling, shouting, and +screaming whilst the battle lasted. + +It was this serious state of things at Sibu that had called the Rajah +away from Kuching a few days after my arrival in Sarawak. He gathered +round him some seven thousand Dyaks belonging to friendly tribes, +and with Mr. Skelton and one or two other English officers led an +expedition up the Rejang River into the interior of the country, and +reduced the enemy to subjection. He deemed it advisable to remain at +Sibu for some weeks in order to restore peace and order in this part +of his country. Meanwhile Lintong and his people were hiding in the +head-waters of remote streams in the neighbourhood; and he and all his +tribe became outcasts in the land. The Rajah’s object was to persuade +these people to confess the error of their ways, own themselves +vanquished, make peace, and build a new village on the main river under +the surveillance of the Rajah’s neighbouring Forts. The Rajah’s policy +on many similar occasions was always the same: when he had succeeded in +crushing the head-hunting ambitions of these tribes, the thing then to +be done was to turn these people into decent subjects by making them +understand that the benefits to be derived from trade and commerce were +more satisfactory to their well-being than their methods of murdering +and cutting off the heads of their often harmless neighbours. + +About a month or six weeks had elapsed since the Rajah’s departure from +Kuching, when one morning a dispatch boat from the scene of action +arrived at our landing-place with a letter from the Rajah, telling me +that he would be back in two or three days. He wanted me to return with +him to Sibu and stay for a month or so at the Fort. He mentioned that +he was bringing one of the chiefs from the interior with him, because +he thought it would interest me to see him and make his acquaintance. + +I well remember the day of the Rajah’s return. I was interested in +hearing all the details of the expedition, whilst I had much to tell +him about my new women friends. I think he was amused, in the course +of my story, at Malay expressions I let fall with great pride and a +good deal of ostentation. At the end of my narrative--and I must say I +talked a good deal--I was rewarded by his saying, “Why, you have become +a real Malay!” + +That evening, after dinner, he sent for Apai Minggat, the chief who had +accompanied him to Kuching. We were sitting in the dining-room when +this individual entered, a middle-aged Sea Dyak chieftain, who had +often fought the Rajah’s battles by his side and saved his life on more +than one occasion, for he was a famous warrior, with a considerable +following of fighting men. He seemed to be treading on eggshells, his +toes were turned out, and his body bent. A dingy handkerchief was +twisted round his head, which was clean-shaven, with the exception of +a lock of hair hanging at the back of his neck; this he had retained, +like all Sea Dyaks, in a spirit of true courtesy, in case his head were +taken by an enemy, when this lock would serve as a handle for them to +carry his head by. He had on a waistcloth, and a dirty plaid covered +his shoulders. He put out his hand from the folds of this garment to +shake hands with the Rajah and with me. + +I was anxious to hear a war yell, and I asked the Rajah to get him to +give vent to one of these sounds of gratification heard when any heads +are taken by Dyaks without loss to themselves. A curious falsetto +sound issued from his lips. It went higher and higher, louder and +louder, something between the crowing of a cock and the whistle of a +steam-engine, and then it died down into a whisper. Two or three times +he repeated this performance, which greatly interested me. It was not +so terrible as I had imagined it must be, but the Rajah explained that +when heard in a chorus of thousands of men, all yelling at once, as he +had heard these sounds of victory after successful skirmishes against +the pirates, it was a most terrifying experience, and froze the blood +in one’s veins. + +Mr. Harry Skelton had also returned with the Rajah, and was our guest +at dinner: this over, I got up as custom demands, and left the Rajah +and his friend at their claret and cigars; but, not wishing to sit +by myself, I made signs to the chief and took him with me into the +drawing-room. There I sat in one of the arm-chairs, with the old Dyak +at my feet. He removed his head-handkerchief, rubbed his head, and +gave vent to strange sounds and groans. I sent for Talip, fearing he +was ill. Talip, however, informed me, “He say he bad head--he wants +gin.” I was rather shocked at this idea of Talip’s, and thought he was +maligning the old man. When Talip had left the room, happening to have +a scent bottle in my hand filled with eau-de-Cologne, I poured some +on my fingers and rubbed it on poor Minggat’s head. This he seemed to +enjoy, and made signs to me as though he found it soothing. The moment +I left off, he signed to me to go on again, so on I went rubbing his +head with eau-de-Cologne, and I remember that it smelt of cocoa-nut +oil. Busily engaged as I was, I did not notice that the Rajah and Mr. +Skelton had suddenly appeared in the room. I am sorry to say that the +Rajah was not at all pleased at my token of sympathy with the old +chief, and forthwith ordered him out of the room. “Poor old man,” I +said to the Rajah, “he has a bad head. Why should I not rub it with +eau-de-Cologne?” The Rajah, with right on his side, replied, “If you +encourage them in this way, how can you expect me to keep them in +order?” Mr. Skelton was much amused, but he told me privately that such +tokens of sympathy from a Rajah’s wife, was not a very tactful way of +behaving in an Oriental country. + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [6] His _nom de guerre_, by which he was usually known, was + Mua-ari, or the Face of Day. + + + + + CHAPTER VI + + +The next day we embarked on the _Heartsease_ for Sibu. My journey +down the river was very different from my voyage to Kuching two or +three months before, for everything now interested me. I wanted to +talk to every native I came across. I wanted to find out what they +thought and how they looked upon the things that we passed. My Malay +was not brilliant even then, but still I could manage to make myself +understood. We steamed past the Santubong Mountain, out to sea, and, of +course, the minute we were bobbing over the waters of the bar (the sea +was not rough) down I went into the cabin and took my usual position +on such occasions--a mattress laid on the floor, a bucket by my side, +and a bottle of champagne to ward off the sea-sickness. The heat was +terrific. For five hours, until we got to the other side of the mouth +of the Rejang, I was helpless, and the natives and everything else +faded from my mind. Sea-sickness is much laughed at, but I know of no +discomfort that equals it. However, it came to an end, and the smooth +waters of the river on the other side soon put me right again. + +When we arrived at Sibu, I was surprised to see the extraordinary +flatness of the land. Mr. Harry Skelton was most kind and considerate. +He gave up his rooms to us, and nothing could exceed his hospitality. +I well remember the first morning of my stay: it was all so different +from the way things were managed on board the _Heartsease_. My +breakfast tray was brought in by my Malay maid, who had accompanied me +from Kuching. Mr. Skelton had arranged the tray himself: the captain’s +biscuits were there, but the tea was delicious; somehow he had managed +to get some cows, for there was milk. The boiled egg was new laid, and +even the tinned butter was washed and pretended to be fresh. Then, in +the middle of the tray, was a little bunch of flowers from his garden, +jasmine, plumbago, and gardenia, tied in a ravishing effect of blue +and white. I stayed in the Fort about six weeks, and every morning +these charming flower tokens of Mr. Skelton’s kindness were carried +in to me with my breakfast. But what interested me more than anything +were our evening walks. There was a Bazaar where the Chinese had, even +in those days, a considerable settlement. As the sun set and the air +became cooler, the Rajah, Mr. Skelton, and I set out for our walk, but +not before Mr. Skelton had sent for the four Sikhs who were to guard +us during our constitutional with loaded muskets. We would sally forth +round the settlement, in the middle of our four protectors, for there +were usually some bad characters about who were discontented at the +turn affairs had taken, and Mr. Skelton was not very certain that in +the long grass near by there might not be some one hiding, who, in a +fit of insanity, might attempt our lives. On the other hand, I rather +liked the idea. One felt oneself important being guarded by men with +loaded muskets, and I must say I did not believe in the danger, owing, +probably, to my scant knowledge of the country. + +Two or three days afterwards we went up the river to visit some of the +tribes, for, as I have said before, the Rejang is a long river, with +villages dotted here and there along its banks. Another surprise was in +store for me: when I went on board, I found that wire-netting had been +stretched fore and aft the vessel, so as to secure it from any attack. +When we were inside, and the wire-netting securely fastened all round +us, we must have looked like animals in a cage! We started early in +the morning. The sun had hardly risen, and there was a thick fog which +hid the land. There was a freshet coming down the river, the effect +of heavy rain of the day before in the mountains farther inland. Our +speed did not exceed eight knots an hour. In a very short space of time +the fog began to lift, and we could see the flat, marshy land through +which we travelled. It was bitterly cold, and I remember that I wrapped +three or four railway rugs round my shoulders, over my white muslin +dress, prepared as I was for the intense heat with the advent of the +sun. Cocoa-nut and a few sago palms were planted on the banks, for the +water here was brackish, but there were no other signs of cultivation. +Near the Fort the river is about twelve hundred yards wide. There were +signs of jungle everywhere, the ancient sites of cleared rice lands, +with creepers, small trees, and coarse lalang grass covering the soil. +There were no virgin forests on these banks. In former years these +were the Dyaks’ farm grounds, but the people had long since removed up +the river to plant their paddy in its tributary streams. Farther up, +the banana and sago plants were replaced by the shrub called rengas, +resembling, in the distance, a hedge of clipped holly; but on closer +examination, although its leaves are dark and shiny, they are more like +laurels in shape with young shoots of brilliant red. The wood of this +shrub is valuable, and is used a good deal for making furniture by the +carpenters in the Straits. It has peculiar and disagreeable effects +on certain persons. Some natives can lop off its branches without its +doing them the slightest harm, whilst others, if they but attempt +such work, become swollen, and are sometimes absolutely blinded, or +are made uncomfortable in various other ways for hours, even if they +merely touch or turn aside its branches. On the other hand, those who +are immune from its ill-effects can approach the plant with impunity, +hack it about as they choose, and can thus obtain its young shoots, +which make an excellent dish when boiled as a vegetable. After a time +we could see nothing but low, green hills on the edge of the water, +and everlasting masses of driftwood hurrying down on the freshet to +the sea. This kind of landscape continued for another hour or so, +when the banks began to close in, and we saw here and there bright +vermilion patches about the green grass near the water. These were +made by clerodendron blossoms, a flower of predilection amongst the +Sea Dyaks. They have a kind of reverence regarding it: they decorate +the heads of enemies taken in battle with its spiky blossoms, for they +imagine that by so doing they will prevent the curses uttered by the +victims in the next world from falling on their heads. They plant its +roots round their houses, so that whenever one sees these flowers on +the banks, it generally denotes that once the land was occupied by Sea +Dyaks. No one is allowed to cut the flower or injure it in any way, +for it is only used for sacred purposes or during head-feasts. When I +first saw the flowers they were growing amongst the lalang grass, and +looked like great coral chandeliers set in a background of malachite. +They are called by the Dyaks “Pemula Sumpah.” Then, we passed several +tributary streams famous in Sarawak history for the many expeditions +the Rajah and his officers have led there, for this district was +formally the haunt of the most redoubtable head-hunters. Like all +the rivers of Borneo the Rejang forms a succession of cataracts near +its source, and behind these it was easy for the Dyaks to imagine +themselves safe to indulge in their favourite pastime of head-hunting. +We had been steaming for hours, when late in the afternoon we passed +Kanowit on the left-hand bank of the river. It was at this spot, in +1859, that Messrs. Fox and Steele, two of the first white Rajah’s +officers, were murdered through the disaffection of a few natives, +and at the instigation of Serip Masahor, one of the very few traitors +in Sarawak history. This man ended his days in exile at Singapore. +We now came to a series of little hills shelving into the water. +The formation of these hills is somewhat peculiar: they are regular +in outline and, all being of the same height and wooded with jungle +growth, with a few ancient forest trees at their summit, it would seem +as though a straight line might be drawn all along their tops, each +hill touching the line at its highest point. They rise to a height of +750 feet. There was a kind of brushwood growing on the hills whenever +farming had been of recent date, and groves of wild bananas grew here +and there. I think the long fronds of the banana plant are amongst the +loveliest growing things one can see. When the plants find a sheltered +position, unmolested by gales of wind, their long leaves are tinted +with the most wonderful colours, as though emeralds and sapphires +had been melted together and poured over them; moreover, a certain +bloom rests on them, like that seen on grapes and plums. I think this +beautiful effect depends on the light in which the plants are growing, +for I have noticed the same bloom spread over ferns growing in dells +and shady nooks of virgin forests. It might be as well to mention +that Malays often use banana fronds to bind up wounds; their coolness, +softness, and purity possessing healing properties absent from +ordinary poultices. These wild bananas thrive luxuriantly on recently +abandoned paddy lands, until masses of other weeds grow up and choke +them. The plant possesses an excellent fibre, its fruit being bright +green, small, and hard. The look of such deserted farms is exceedingly +pathetic as they stretch along the banks of rivers or climb the sides +of steep hills. Here and there are trees, once lofty and magnificent, +partially turned to tinder, their charred trunks standing brown and +shrivelled from out the green vegetation. Sometimes they become draped +with parasites and creepers. I remember one such charred skeleton, over +whose shrivelled remains the bright yellow blossoms of the allamanda +flung a curtain of green and gold. + +As we proceeded up the river, I remember noticing men in boats fishing +inside little creeks, who, I was told, were Sea Dyaks or Kanowits. +These little creeks were barred across from bank to bank with bamboo +palisades to prevent the egress of fish into the main river, for the +streams had been poisoned with a root called tuba, a method of fishing +prevalent all over Borneo. This root is pounded with pestles, its juice +extracted, and thrown into the river at low tide, when the fishes +become stupefied, and rise to the surface, so that the natives find no +difficulty in netting or spearing them. These people were drawing up +nets full of fish as we passed, but, as is their wont, when they saw +the vessel and the Rajah’s flag flying at the main, they shouted to us, +excitedly inquiring where we had come from and where we were going. I +sat on the deck looking about me, and, as I thought, taking most things +in, when apparently from out of nowhere a boat suddenly appeared full +of Dyaks under our companion ladder, clamouring to be let in for a few +words with the Rajah. The Rajah and Mr. Skelton (both of whom knew +every one in the district), could distinguish whether the people were +friends or enemies. When friends, the engine was stopped, the companion +ladder let down, and the chiefs came solemnly on board, after our +wire netting had been opened to allow them to enter. The chieftains’ +followers remained where they were, their canoes drifting astern of our +vessel, and were towed up the river while the chiefs held conversation +with the Rajah. Before we got to the end of our journey, our ship was +towing along a little flotilla of canoes filled with dusky warriors. + +A place called Ngmah was our destination, where was a Fort built on +the top of a hill. We anchored beneath the hill for a night and then +returned to Sibu. Our journey up river, against the freshet and tide, +had taken us two days to accomplish; ten hours sufficed to float us +back to our headquarters at Sibu. Then our usual life at Sibu began +again for another fortnight--the breakfasts, the little bunches of +flowers, and the walks at sunset round the settlement--when the Rajah +went up river again. On this occasion he did not take me with him, but +he left Mr. Skelton and Mr. Low to look after me in the Fort. + +The Rajah had not been gone a week, when one morning, just as day was +breaking, I was awakened by the noise of two muskets being fired from +the Fort. I got out of my mosquito curtains, just as I was, tied a +sarong over my nightgown, and rushed out of the room. I met Mr. Skelton +on his way to warn me that in the semi-darkness preceding dawn, the +Sikhs on the look out had noticed what seemed to be two long Dyak boats +floating down the river. They had not answered to the challenge from +the Fort, and, fresh from the previous attack, Mr. Skelton imagined +another disturbance was imminent. My room had to be given up to two +fortmen, who were posted with armed muskets to defend that portion of +the building, and Mr. Skelton, Mr. Low, and myself congregated in the +sitting-room. It was an exciting time, for we all thought that at any +moment we should hear the yell of the Dyaks rushing up to attack us. I +recollect so well Mr. Skelton, fussy and excited, fearing I should be +frightened: but I was really rather enjoying all this commotion, never +thinking it strange that we should be sitting together in our night +garments; indeed, that fact never entered our heads at all. I suggested +to Mr. Skelton, as I did not then know how to manage a musket, that +I should sit behind the cottage piano I had brought with me from +Kuching, as it would serve for a rampart against poisoned arrows or +spears that might find their way into the Fort. Mr. Skelton agreed, +and I ignominiously took my post behind the piano. We were all on the +look out, our nerves strained to the utmost. Daybreak appeared and we +could see all round the Fort, but still nothing happened. I hardly like +to confess that I was rather disappointed. Every five minutes, Mr. +Skelton invited me to partake of some ham which he had just procured +from England, and some soda-water, evidently thinking that these would +have a soothing effect on my nerves! We waited and waited, and at last +I thought I might just as well go back to bed. Then a most delightful +incident occurred. Our Chinese cook, whom we had brought from Kuching, +anxious to show his zeal and valour, offered Mr. Skelton to take his +post at my door with his large carving knife. Of course Mr. Skelton +allowed him to do so, and, thus guarded, I turned into my mosquito net +and had an hour’s sleep. When I awakened the sun was shining, and all +fear of the attack had passed. It is a well-known thing that Dyaks +always choose the hour just before dawn to raid any settlement. I think +Mr. Skelton was rather annoyed at his mistake. + +When the Rajah returned from his trip, he was vexed at what had taken +place, for he did not think it possible that another tribe of Dyaks up +the Rejang River would have dared another attack so soon after the +last one. Moreover, it would have been impossible for them to have +done so, as his gunboat _Heartsease_, with himself on board, was at +the time stationed in the higher reaches of the Rejang River. I fancy +the real truth of the matter was, that Mr. Skelton and his fortmen +had become over-anxious, and I imagine my presence on the occasion +also had something to do with it. It was whispered afterwards that two +enormous tree trunks, borne down past the Fort by the current (in the +semi-darkness just before dawn when it is difficult to distinguish +objects at a distance), were the harmless factors of this scare. +Nevertheless, I must again repeat, I was disappointed at the tame +manner in which the expected attack fizzed out. + + + + + CHAPTER VII + + +The Rejang River deserves a few words of explanation. It is a +magnificent roadway to commerce in the interior, and once the +head-hunting propensities of the tribes in its neighbourhood are +abolished, it promises to be a great centre of activity and trade. A +large number of Kayans and Kenyahs are to be found in its tributaries. +These people are, next to the Sea Dyaks, the most important and +advanced of the tribes of Sarawak, and are scattered about the +country in various rivers. They have attained a fairly high degree +of civilization, whilst other tribes consist of primitive people +called Punans, Ukits, and Bukitans. These do not cultivate land, but +rely on the wild fruits and game they find in the forests. Curiously +enough, however, as though to show they have descended from a higher +civilization, they are able to manufacture the weapon in use amongst so +many Bornean tribes--that thing we call the blow-pipe.[7] The Punans +make their temporary homes under leafy shelters, in limestone caves, +or in the buttresses of huge trees, called Tapangs, which afford +shelter to whole families. When they have exhausted the surrounding +localities of their fruits and game, they wander off to some other +spot, where their life begins afresh. Notwithstanding their wild state, +these people weave beautiful mats and baskets from palms gathered in +the vicinity. They ornament such articles with patterns which must +have been handed down to them from time immemorial--another proof of +their probable degradation from a higher form of existence. A favourite +pattern of theirs is the Greek “key” pattern. They are very shy, +and might perhaps--from fear, but not from malice--kill a stranger +wandering near their settlements. + +After remaining some weeks in the Rejang, and when peace had been +restored amongst the disturbed people, who began to resume work on +their farms, the Rajah and I left Sibu and our kind hosts, Mr. Skelton +and Mr. Low, for a trip to the Batang Lupar. We embarked once more on +the _Heartsease_, and steamed down the left-hand branch of the Rejang, +when, on leaving the mouth of the river, we steered due south, passing +the mouths of the Kalakah and Saribas Rivers. We had, alas for me, +about four hours of sea to negotiate before we found smooth water +again, so that I did not see much of the coast. The sea was supposed +to be calm, but a hateful swell drove me to the cabin. I went on deck +after we had passed over the bar of the Batang Lupar. I could not +believe it to be a river; the shores were so far off, with a stretch +of four miles of water between them, and this width continued all down +the straight reach as far as Lingga. + +Lingga was a desolate place. Its Fort was built on a mud-bank. A small +Malay village, its houses built on stilts, lined the banks, and were +surrounded by cocoa-nut palms, which palms are said to flourish in +brackish water. The present Rajah made this place his home for one +year, moving from thence in 1854. He resided in this Batang Lupar +district for about ten years, whence he led many punitive expeditions +into the interior. The old pirate chief, Rentap, who committed so many +crimes, murdered so many people, and prevented peace from settling +on the land, was entrenched with his miscreant tribe in neighbouring +mountains, and was repeatedly attacked by the present Rajah, who +finally dislodged him from his fastnesses, and rendered him harmless +by his many defeats. It was from the banks of the Batang Lupar River +that the Rajah’s friendly Dyaks, sometimes numbering twelve to fourteen +thousand men, were gathered together to follow their white chief in his +many attacks against the pirate’s Fort. For years the present Rajah is +said never to have slept securely on account of the incessant alarms +and attacks on innocent people by this inveterate head-hunting pirate, +who, in spite of a very advanced age, managed to work so much havoc in +the neighbourhood. + +We did not land at Lingga on this occasion, but went on to a +settlement near a place called Banting, where the Society for the +Propagation of the Gospel had charge over a thriving community of +Christians. Bishop Chambers, whose name can never be forgotten in the +annals of Sarawak, here began his work of civilization as a missionary. +He was a great friend of the present Rajah, and for many years, these +two men, in their different ways, worked unremittingly for the good +of the natives. This missionary settlement is about fifteen miles by +river from Lingga, and it was here that I had my first experience of +travelling in a Dyak war-boat. + +These vessels are comfortable enough, being about seven feet wide +amidships by about seventy feet in length. A crew, numbering some +fifty, paddled us along. A roofed compartment in the middle of the +canoe, furnished with mattresses and pillows, afforded us comfortable +accommodation, and curtains hanging from the roof kept off the heat and +glare from the river in the daytime; whilst the rhythmical noise of the +paddles, and occasional wild bursts of songs from the crew helped to +make the journey a pleasant one. + +As the crew shipped their paddles, I saw a long Dyak house, propped on +stilts about forty feet high, planted some yards from the river-bank. +As this place was situated within reach of the tide and we arrived at +low water, a vast expanse of mud stretched between us and dry land. I +could see nothing in the way of a landing-stage to help our way to the +house, excepting a few poles dovetailing one another laid across the +mud, supported by trestles. I wondered how I was to get across, but not +liking to make inquiries of an unpleasant nature, I said nothing; it is +better in any emergency to let events take their course with as little +fuss as possible, so that when our canoe was pushed by the side of the +supported poles, I kept silent. I remember noticing how cleverly our +Dyak crew manœuvred our boat, plunging knee-deep into the mud in their +efforts, and yet moving about quickly all the time. The Rajah led the +way and walked along some six or seven yards of the poles leading to +the Dyak village. I admired the way in which he kept his balance, never +slipping once during the journey. When my turn came, four Dyaks helped +me out of the boat. My progress across the poles was not a graceful +one, for I found them to be as slippery as glass. My four supporters, +two on each side of me, must have suffered severely, as I slid first +on one side and then on the other. However, their kindly efforts +prevented me from taking headers into the mud. But my troubles were not +yet over. I saw, leaning against the house at a steep angle, another +long pole with notches cut in it all the way up to the door of the +building. I saw the Rajah hopping up this small cylindrical stairway +with the agility of a gazelle. No explanation was given to me, but the +Dyaks signed to me that I had to do the same, so I tried to climb the +pole. It was only about twenty inches in circumference, so it will be +realized that this was a disconcerting sight to a person unaccustomed +to acrobatic feats. However, the Rajah seemed to take it as a matter of +course, and I tried to do the same, but the difficulty of turning one’s +feet out to the right angle was very trying at first. I clasped the +pole with great fervour as I went up, and one of the Dyaks behind me +took hold of my ankles, placing my feet on each notch with great care. +A Dyak in front of me held my left hand and with my right I clutched +the bamboo pole, and thus, with a good deal of slipping and a great +deal of fright, I managed to reach the verandah of the house. + +[Illustration: SEA DYAK WOMAN WEAVING A COTTON PETTICOAT] + +An extraordinary thing happened on this visit. In every Dyak house +of note--and this was the residence of a great Dyak chief, called +Banting--a portion of the building is assigned entirely to the women +of the tribe. On this occasion, the women were anxious that I should +visit them in their room, which I did. The room was a large one and +was simply crammed. A little stool covered with yellow calico and a +fine Dyak mat were prepared for me, and the women and children squatted +all round me on the floor. They took hold of my hands and pushed up +my sleeves to see if my arms were white all the way up. I had with me +one of the Mission people, who acted as interpreter. He told me that +the women wanted me to give them medicine to make their noses stand +out from their faces as mine did; they also wanted medicine to make +their skin white. Babies were brought to me to touch, and I promised +to send them pills for their various ailments from Kuching. The +women gave me a basket they had made for me, and then showed me their +mats which they make so cleverly, their hats, and their paddles--much +in the same way English women would show their collection of fans. +The conversation went on merrily, when suddenly we heard some ominous +cracks underneath our feet, and before I knew where I was, the flooring +had given way and the women and children, the interpreter, and I, were +plunged about four feet through the floor. We hung in bags, as it were, +for the mats covering the floor were secured to the sides of the walls, +and these prevented us from dropping to the ground below. The Dyak +warriors sprang forward and helped me into safety. The women screamed, +and I never heard such a noise in all my life. The Rajah, in the +distance, sat imperturbably on, as though nothing out of the way was +happening. I think he could see there was no great danger and that the +mats would support us. When the dignity of the situation allowed him to +do so, he came to where the accident had taken place and said to me, +“It is all right, the room was overcrowded. You had better come into +the verandah and then everything will be quite safe.” He was pleased +with the manner in which I had taken this catastrophe, and the Dyak +chiefs told him it was evident that I knew how to behave in emergencies. + +We then returned to our boats. To make a long story short, I found +the return down the notched pole even more difficult than the going +up, but it is wonderful how soon one gets accustomed to anything out +of the ordinary run of things, and I went away from Banting very much +delighted with my experience in the first Dyak house I had visited. + +We rejoined the _Heartsease_ at Lingga and steamed to Kuching, which we +reached the next morning. + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [7] Nowadays Punans, Bukitans, and most of the Ukits live + in houses and do some farming. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + +Some months had gone by since the day of my first arrival in Kuching +and, odd as it may seem, Europe and all its ways were relegated as it +were to an almost imperceptible background in my memory. The charm of +the people, the wonderful beauty of the country, the spaciousness, +and the absence of anything like conventionality, all enchanted me. +Moreover, the people were my own, and every day that passed--and I am +not ashamed to own it--little by little I lost some of my European +ideas, and became more of a mixture between a Dyak and a Malay. The +extraordinary idea which English people entertain as to an insuperable +bar existing between the white and coloured races, even in those days +of my youth, appeared to me to be absurd and nonsensical. Here were +these people, with hardly any ideas of the ways of Europeans, who came +to me as though they were my own brothers and sisters. They must have +thought some of my ways curious and strange, but instead of finding +fault with them, they gave way to me in everything. I suppose they +saw how ready I was to care for them and consider them as members of +my family, and as the country became more familiar to me, little by +little, much as when one develops photographic plates, some hitherto +unperceived trait in their character came out and charmed me. + + [Illustration: MAIL STEAMERS’ WHARF AND TRADING VESSELS AT ANCHOR NEAR + EMBANKMENT IN KUCHING BAZAAR] + +I wish I could give a description of our home in Kuching as it appeared +to me then and as I think of it now. How I delighted in those many +hours spent on the broad verandah of our house, watching the life going +on in the little town the other side of the river. I think I have +said before that at high tide the breadth of the river where it runs +under the banks of our garden is as broad as the Thames at Westminster +Bridge. The little town looked so neat and fresh and prosperous +under the careful jurisdiction of the Rajah and his officers, that +it reminded me of a box of painted toys kept scrupulously clean by a +child. The Bazaar runs for some distance along the banks of the river, +and this quarter of the town is inhabited almost entirely by Chinese +traders, with the exception of one or two Hindoo shops. The Chinese +shops look very much like those in small towns on the Italian Lakes. +Groceries of exotic kinds are laid out on tables near the pavement, +from which purchasers make their choice. At the Hindoo shops you can +buy silks from India, sarongs from Java, tea from China, and tiles +and porcelain from all parts of the world, laid out in picturesque +confusion, and overflowing into the street. Awnings from the shops +and brick archways protect purchasers from the sun, whilst across +the road all kinds of boats are anchored, bringing produce from the +interior of Sarawak, from the Dutch Settlement, from Singapore, and +from adjacent islands; these boats are picturesque in the extreme. +The Chinese junks were always a delight to me, with their orange and +tawny sails drying in the sun, and the large “eyes” painted in the bows +to enable the vessels to see their way during their journeys. Dutch +schooners with their horizontally striped flag of blue, white, and red +are to be seen, and English, French, and Siamese flags also fluttered +amongst the many masts carrying the Sarawak colours. The most important +portion of the Bazaar lay behind the wharf, where the mail steamer was +moored, then bringing mails every ten days from Singapore. The Chinese +houses of the Bazaar are decorated with coloured porcelains; one sees +green dragons, pink lotuses, little gods and goddesses in grotesque +attitudes, all along their fronts. The roofs are of red tiles, some +of these being higher than the rest and having the curious Chinese +termination at each end, thus breaking the line and making it more +picturesque. Behind the Bazaar rise a succession of hills, on which are +situated European bungalows surrounded by pleasant gardens of flowers +and fruit. The houses with their white walls and green and white +painted blinds make a charming accessory to the background of forest +trees. Churches of the different denominations stand out prominently in +the landscape, for all Faiths enjoy the same privileges and freedom at +the hands of the Sarawak Government. One sees the Roman Catholic and +Protestant churches, Chinese temples marvellously decorated, Hindoo +shrines, and Muhammadan mosques. Right opposite to the Palace stands +the gaol and court-house, the latter a broad, low building with a +castellated tower at its entrance. The Malay town lies towards the +west, along the banks of the river, and beyond the town stretch miles +and miles of flat forest land. + +When I was in Kuching, it seemed to me that the machinery of life was +moved by clockwork, the Rajah being the most punctual man alive. At +five o’clock in the morning, just before daybreak (we must remember +that in those latitudes there is scarcely any difference in the +length of days), a gun was fired from the Fort, at which signal the +Rajah jumped out of bed. Wishing to do the same as the Rajah, the +Europeans, Malays, Dyaks, and Chinese jumped out of bed too. One had +to dress and bathe by lamplight, and just as one came out to drink +one’s morning tea, the sun rose. At six o’clock, Kuching was fairly +astir, and the Rajah and I used to go across in our boat (for there +is no bridge anywhere over the river) to the landing-place below the +court-house, where our horses were awaiting us. Mounting our animals +was occasionally fraught with difficulty. Our Syces (grooms) in Sarawak +were mostly recruited from the Buyan people of an island off Java, who +are extraordinarily sympathetic in their treatment of animals. For +instance, my pony had been bought in Labuan, chosen from out a herd of +wild ponies which roam about the plains of that more northern portion +of Borneo. The pony had never been broken in properly, according to our +European ideas of what a horse’s perfect manners should be, and very +often as I approached to mount the animal (he was only about thirteen +and a half hands high) he would turn round and round. I would say to +the Syce, “Try and keep him still,” whereupon the Syce would reply, +“He doesn’t want to keep still!” Therefore so long as it suited the +pony to turn round and round, the Syce turned round and round too. It +generally took some time before the pony became amenable, when I would +seize the moment and scramble on to his back as best I could. This kind +of thing went on nearly every morning before I started for my ride. In +those days, with the exception of a few paths in and out of the town, +there was only one well-made road extending for about a mile and a half +into the country. Up and down this road, the Rajah and I pounded on our +horses for the necessary exercise which every one must take, whether in +or out of the tropics. + +On coming home, we found the gateway into the Palace full of all sorts +of people--Malays, Dyaks, and Chinese--anxious to see the Rajah. The +Rajah never refused to see any one, and after hearing their complaints, +he dismissed them kindly with a few words of advice. The motley morning +crowd always reminded me of pictures in the Bible stories of my +childhood, for there were turbaned Hajis in their flowing robes, women +draped in dingy folds of cotton from head to foot, youths, maidens, and +sometimes little children, crawling, walking, running, or jumping down +the path after their interviews, but whether chieftains or beggars, +Seripas or women of a lower class, there was always an innate dignity +belonging to these people; they could not look common or vulgar however +much they might try to do so. + +This business over, the Rajah issued forth from the Astana with the +yellow satin umbrella held over him by the redoubtable Subu. Four Malay +chiefs, dressed in flowing robes and holding their golden-knobbed +sticks, accompanied him to the Court, where five days in the week +the Rajah dispensed justice from 8 to 10.30. a.m. A retinue of young +men and boys, who had paddled the chiefs to the Palace, followed +the procession. I used to watch the boats crossing the river to the +landing-place, when Subu once again held the umbrella over the Rajah’s +head to the door of the Court. There, the umbrella was furled, when +Subu, the umbrella, the Rajah and his ministers, disappeared from my +view into the building. + +I then went to my rooms, where I usually found some Malay women waiting +to see me. On one occasion, I was sitting with two or three Malay +friends having coffee in the morning, when a young Chinese girl, in +a cotton sarong and Malay jacket, dashed into the room, followed by +one of the Guards. Her face was covered with scratches, her arms were +one mass of bruises, and round her neck was a red mark as though she +had been half strangled. She rushed up to me, caught hold of both my +knees, and said: “I hope in you because you are the Rajah’s wife. The +place I am in is a wicked one. I am a servant to a Chinese woman who +is jealous of her husband. When her husband goes out, she locks me in +a room and beats, scratches, and tortures me in every possible way, +because she thinks her husband looks upon me with favour. I will stay +with you always, I will not leave you, for if I go back to those people +the woman will kill me.” The girl was very pretty, with a pale yellow +skin and beautiful eyes, and I could quite understand that any woman +might feel jealous of such an adjunct to her household. I sent the +Guard away, and told the girl she might remain in a corner of my room +until the Rajah came back from the Court. Meanwhile, her employers, +finding she had run away from their house, had straightway gone to the +Court, where the Rajah was then sitting, and an application was made +for an order compelling the runaway to return. The Rajah, being told +that the girl had gone to the Palace and not knowing the rights of +the story, sent some police to bring her to him over the water. When +I was told that they were below, the girl took hold of my gown, and +said that if she was to go across to the courthouse, I was to go too to +protect her. I had with me at the time, the wives of the three chief +ministers of the Rajah’s Council, so we held a discussion as to what +was to be done. They were all on my side, and urged me not to let the +girl accompany the police sent by the Rajah. I must say I felt rather +nervous. “Never mind,” they said: “if our husbands make any difficulty, +when they come home they shall know it. You do the same with the Rajah, +and let us save the girl if we possibly can. Moreover, when the rights +of the matter are known and they see how dreadful the girl looks, they +too will not wish to send the girl back to her employers, but will see +the justice of our decision.” When the Rajah came back from the Court, +and heard the details of the story, he decided to keep the girl at the +Palace. Meanwhile, the matter was inquired into, and the woman who had +been so cruel was punished by having to pay a fine of money to be given +to the girl, who became one of my servants, and remained with me some +time, until a kind English lady, then living in Kuching, took a fancy +to her, and with the Rajah’s permission took her into her service as +lady’s maid. In course of time this victim of unjustifiable jealousy +found a Chinese husband, and I believe the couple are still living in +Kuching under comfortable circumstances. + +A day or two after this incident, a war-boat full of Dyaks, headed +by their chief, arrived in Kuching and came to the Astana to see the +Rajah. If I remember rightly, these Dyaks had been, until recently, +enemies of the Sarawak Government, owing to the usual failing--their +love of head-taking. They had come to lay their submission before +their ruler, and to express contrition for their misdeeds, whilst +promising to behave better in the future. The Rajah wished to hear +what the chief had to say, and gave him an audience in his private +room. The chiefs followers, about fifty in number, who were not +wanted at this interview, were left on the verandah, and the Rajah +asked me to keep them amused and occupied whilst he was engaged with +the chief. As the Rajah and the chief disappeared down the stairway +leading to the study, I made signs to the warriors to follow me into +our drawing-room, thinking its furniture, so new to them, might prove +of interest. They wandered about in a desultory way, and as I could +not speak to them (not knowing their language) I opened the piano and +struck a note or two. These sounds apparently delighted them, and I +made signs to them to sit on the floor whilst I played that ordinary +piece of music, the _Danse Nègre_, by Ascher. Grunts of satisfaction +and noddings of heads intimated their approval of my performance. As I +went on, I noticed that the rhythm of the music acted on them somewhat +strangely. They reminded me of a number of marionettes with strings +attached to their arms and legs, moved by invisible hands in time to +the music. Their bodies, arms, and legs jerked spasmodically, and +before I quite realized what was happening, they all sprang to their +feet and bounded about the room, yelling and waving their arms in the +throes of an animated war-dance. I did not know how to stop them, and +felt apprehensive for the safety of the furniture and knick-knacks +placed about the room; indeed, one large palm tree standing in a pot +in a corner was nearly hurled to the ground. As the noise grew louder, +the bounds higher and higher, and I myself playing louder and louder, +I wondered what would happen, when, in the midst of all this turmoil, +the Rajah and the chief appeared in the doorway. The warriors stopped +suddenly and looked rather sheepish; some scratched themselves, while +others cleared their throats, and they all flopped down in squatting +positions on the floor. I went on playing for a little while after +the Rajah had come in. The chief said something to his followers, and +the Rajah dismissed the company kindly. We all touched one another’s +hands, and the Dyaks then filed put of the room and disappeared down +the verandah. The Rajah was amused and interested at the idea of my +rhythmic piano tune having carried the people so completely off their +feet, whilst I was rather pleased at the effect of my playing on such +a wild audience, and although realizing that my music does not rouse +English people to the same frenzy of enthusiasm, I felt that morning I +had gained a success that Rubinstein himself might have envied. + + + + + CHAPTER IX + + +Despite my love for Sarawak, there were three great drawbacks to my +comfort, namely, malaria, mosquitoes, and rats. + +One knows that the tropics, especially where the moisture is excessive, +are trying to European constitutions. When one remembers the abrupt +transitions from wet to dry, the fierce rays of the sun that beat down +on the vegetation, the exhalation of myriads and myriads of leaves +drawn up by the heat of the day and cast forth again in poisonous +perfumes or evil odours into the atmosphere, all these things must +have a pernicious effect on the health of Europeans. But we now also +know that these things obvious to our senses are not the sole or the +whole cause of some of the worst tropical ailments, but that these +are due to the invisible life teeming in earth, air, and water. For +instance, it is now established that the disease capable of so many +variations, called malaria, is due to the sting of my arch-enemy, the +striped black-and-white mosquito. This discovery had not been made when +I first visited the tropics, but now I do not wonder at my feelings of +repulsion whenever I saw these horrible pests feeding on me. + +A short time after my arrival in the country, I was seized with a +somewhat unusual form of malaria. Now the ordinary malaria is known by +almost all Europeans who live in the tropics. The Rajah, for instance, +suffers from this ordinary but very trying and sometimes dangerous +kind of fever, but the way the pest attacked me was of a kind not +often experienced by Europeans. My kind was more prevalent amongst +the natives. Its symptoms are disconcerting to your friends, for you +feel very bad tempered. The palms of your hands get hot and dry, and a +feeling of impending disaster takes hold of you. These preliminaries +are painless. Then, all of a sudden, more often at sunset, you feel +sick: nothing happens, but a band of iron, as it were, presses round +your body, becoming tighter and tighter until you imagine that fingers +of steel are twisting you up inside. You retire to bed, propped by +pillows, for you can neither hold yourself up nor move in any way, +and there you remain gasping for breath until the attack is over. It +may last half an hour, or continue for half a day, when it returns +the next afternoon at the same hour--the attacks resembling those of +angina pectoris. Your complexion turns a bright yellow and your face +is covered with an ugly rash. These attacks have lasted off and on for +two or three months, when life becomes unbearable. You can neither eat +nor drink, and get reduced to a shadow. Our English doctor in Sarawak, +who was clever and intelligent, never understood the disease. He +prescribed leeches, cupping-glasses, poultices, and fed me up with +champagne, brandy, and even port wine, with the result that all these +would-be remedies made me very much worse. I became frightfully thin, +so that after nearly four years’ residence in Sarawak the Rajah decided +to take me home, in order to recover my health. + +One morning, during the first years of my residence in Sarawak, my +Malay maid, Ima, rushed into my room and told me that a friend of +hers, living in a house near her own, was lying at the point of death +owing to continuous attacks of this disease. I could well sympathize +with the woman’s sufferings, and although powerless to cure myself in +such emergencies, decided to try what I could do to help Ima’s friend. +I took with me a box of pills, a bottle of meat juice, some milk and +arrowroot, and, accompanied by Ima, sallied forth to the sick woman’s +house. I climbed up the ladder that hencoop fashion led into her room, +and pushing open the dried palm-leaf door saw a woman rolling about +on the floor in paroxysms of agony. Here were the symptoms I knew +so well--the bright yellow complexion and rash all over the face. +The woman was so weak she could hardly move. Ima went up to her, and +lifting her up in her arms said: “Rajah Ranee, who knows of medicines +that will make you well, has come to see you.” The woman looked at me, +and shook her head. I told her I had brought some marvellous remedies, +known only to Europeans, and made her take two pills and a spoonful +of Liebig. When her husband came in, I told him to give her a little +milk every hour, and forbade her to touch or eat anything besides what +I had prescribed for her. She was carried inside her mosquito curtains, +bent double as she was, and gasping for breath. The next morning, when +I visited her, I found her better, for the attack had not lasted so +long as that of the previous day. I was delighted with the result of +my doctoring, and for about a fortnight went to see this woman nearly +every day. She was very poor, the wife of a man who earned his living +by selling fish which he netted in the river and also by doing odd jobs +in neighbouring pine-apple gardens. The woman finally recovered and +remained quite well whilst I stayed in Kuching. + +As I was sitting writing inside my mosquito house in my morning-room, +one day, I heard a fuss going on outside. Our sentry was evidently +trying to keep back a visitor who wished to see me. I told Ima to let +the visitor in, whoever he might be, when an old and wizened personage, +without a jacket, and with garments dripping with mud and water, came +in, carrying a net bag in which were a number of crawling things. He +ran up to me, deposited the bag at my feet, and catching hold of both +my knees, said: “Rajah Ranee pitied my wife, made her well with her +medicines and incantations. These shrimps are for Rajah Ranee. I caught +them in the river. I nothing else to give. Cook make them into curry.” +I thought this touching on the part of the affectionate husband, and +thanked him many times. The sight of the shrimps crawling about in the +net, however, greatly disturbed me, for I cannot bear to see animals +uncomfortable. I therefore got rid of my grateful friend as soon as I +could, and, directly he had left, told Ima (I could not do it myself, +for there was a blazing sun outside) to carry the shrimps back to the +river whence they had come. I watched her go down the garden path, +carrying the net bag, but I question whether she did as I told her. I +rather think that she and her husband, Dul, enjoyed shrimp curry that +evening. However, I asked no questions--“What the eye does not see the +heart does not grieve over!” + +This story of the sick woman has a sad ending, for during one of my +absences from Sarawak she was again seized with the illness, and died. +I was afterwards told that she often used to say: “If Rajah Ranee were +here, with her medicines, her visits, and incantations, I should get +over it, but I hope no more now, and I know I must die.” Until the day +of her death, she never wearied extolling my medical skill, and this +cure of mine led to some embarrassing situations, for whenever there +were serious cases of illness, the people sent for me, begging that +I would cure them as I did the fisherman’s wife. On one occasion, a +poor woman in the Malay town gave birth to twins, both children being +born with hare-lips. The morning of their arrival, Ima came to me +with an urgent message from the father of the twins, requesting me +to go directly to their house and put the babies’ mouths straight. I +was sorry to have to refuse, but--unlike a good many medical men and +women--I realized my limitations in certain cases! + +Now for mosquitoes. Nothing one can say or write can give any idea +of the tortures one undergoes by the actual biting of mosquitoes. A +great many people imagine that these pests only begin to torment one +at sunset. This is a mistaken idea. A certain kind of black mosquito, +striped with white, is a most pernicious pest. By day and night it +harassed me so much that if I wanted to do anything at all, I had to +retire behind the shelter of a mosquito house. My Malay friends did not +seem to care whether mosquitoes stung them or not; indeed, they seemed +to enjoy the heavy slaps they administered on their faces, hands, +or legs, in their attempts to kill the foe. Their methods, however, +required a certain amount of skill. The results of their slaps were not +pleasant to witness, and when imitating their methods of slaughter, I +always had, close by, a basin containing a weak solution of carbolic +acid, and a towel. After a bite, the spot was washed, the remains of +the mosquito disposed of, and I was ready for another onslaught. Malay +women were not so particular, for after killing a mosquito, they would +rub off all traces with their coloured handkerchiefs. My paraphernalia +of basin, sponge, and towel elicited from them various grunts. +They made funny noises in their throats and appealed to Allah at my +extraordinary patience in taking these precautions. + +I now come to rats, which were a far more serious business. A Malay +woman once told me she had watched a detachment of rats, four or five +in number, trying to get at some fowls’ eggs she had laid by for +cake-making. She was inside her house (Malay houses are often rather +dark), and in the dim light she saw these swift-gliding creatures +hovering near the place where the eggs were stored. She waited to +see what would happen, and saw a large rat--large as are Norwegian +rats--somehow or other get hold of an egg, roll over on its back, +holding the egg firmly on its stomach with its four paws, when the +other rats took hold of its tail, and by a series of backward jerks +dragged their companion to a hole in the leafy walling of the store, +where it disappeared from sight. I believe this particular story is +told with variations all over the world. + +A great many stories might be related of rats, but the most +extraordinary thing I ever saw regarding these animals was a migration +which took place one evening at dusk through my bedroom. I was just +getting better from a severe attack of malaria, and was lying on the +bed inside my mosquito house half awake and half asleep, with my Malay +Ayah sitting against the wall in a corner of my room. Suddenly, I saw +two or three long objects moving across the middle of the room, their +black bodies standing out against the pale yellow matting. My room +opened on to verandahs from all sides (as every one who is acquainted +with the architecture of tropical houses will understand), and it was +easy for any animal to climb over the outer verandah and pass through +the screened doors leading to the opposite verandah. I watched these +crawling creatures, and, being only half awake, wondered what they +were. At first I thought it was the result of malaria, making me see +things which did not exist, but when the rats were joined by others +coming in at one door and going out of the other, in numbers of tens, +of twenties, of sixties, then it must have been hundreds, for the +floor was one mass of moving objects, I called to the Ayah, who sat +motionless the other side of the room. “Don’t move,” she said; “they +are the rats.” I was too frightened not to move, and I screamed out to +the Rajah, who I knew was in the room next to mine. As he came in, the +rats ran up one side of him, and I remember the dull thud they made as +they jumped off his shoulder to the floor. Some fortmen, hearing my +screams, also appeared. The Rajah told me to make as little noise as +possible, so I had to remain still whilst thousands and thousands of +rats passed through my room. This abnormal invasion lasted for about +ten or fifteen minutes, when the rats began to diminish in number, +until there were only a few stragglers left to follow the main body. + +It appears that such migrations are well known all over Sarawak, and +that people fear them because they are accompanied by a certain amount +of danger. It is said by the natives that if any one should kill one +of these rats, his companions would attack the person in such large +numbers that his body would be almost torn to pieces. Looking deeper +into the matter, one wonders why these creatures should so migrate, and +where they go; but this no one seems to know. Their area of operations +is a restricted one, for it appears that on this occasion my bedroom +was the only human habitation through which they went. + +By the time the last rat passed through my room, and I began to +breathe freely again, darkness had come. My room was lit by the dim +light of a wick floating in a tumbler of cocoa-nut oil, enclosed in a +lantern of glass. The Ayah took up her position again and squatted by +the wall without saying a word, nearly petrified with terror at what +had happened. I pictured this mass of swiftly-moving, crafty-looking +creatures, under the influence of some mysterious force unknown to +ourselves, and remembered Cuvier, that great Frenchman, who wrote +that when one thinks of the family life of even the most loathsome of +creatures, one is inclined to forget any repulsion one may feel towards +them. + +Rats, however, were a great trouble to me. I have recognized individual +rats visiting me on different occasions. I don’t know whether they +wanted to make friends, one will never know, but they frightened me +dreadfully. I often pitied the way the poor creatures were trapped, +poisoned, and killed, when after all they were only trying to keep +their place in the world, just as we do. + +On another occasion, I was fast asleep when I woke up feeling a sort of +nip. I opened my eyes and saw a large rat sitting on my arm. I shook +it off, and it fell to the ground. Being in my mosquito house, I was +curious to discover how the rat had got in, and lighting a candle, +found that it had gnawed a hole through the muslin to get at some food +placed on a table for me to eat during the night. + +As luck would have it, these rat visitations invariably took place +when I was ill, so perhaps it magnified the disgust I felt towards +these creatures. But thinking on the matter many times since, I have +largely got over my loathing for rats, and I do not think nowadays, I +should mind their migrating through my room, because I have become more +familiar with animals and their ways. + + + + + CHAPTER X + + +There are certain animals in Sarawak, very little mentioned by +travellers, with which we are always surrounded. These are the lizards +which run up and down the walls of all houses in the tropics. They are +light grey-green in colour, make a funny little noise, and on this +account the natives call them chik-chak. They have the peculiar and +rather disagreeable property of shedding their tails; once or twice +they have dropped these appendages on to my head as they ran to and +fro on the ceiling. It sometimes happens that if a picture or a piece +of furniture standing against a wall is moved, a very large black +chik-chak, about twice the size of an ordinary chik-chak, will come out +from behind these shelters. I have noticed that a great many rooms are +inhabited by one of these black chik-chak ensconced behind such safe +retreats, and these giants of the same species are called by Malays, +“Rajah chi-chak.” + +One might also make remarks of an uncomplimentary nature about +centipedes and scorpions, but I know very little about these formidable +insects--if they are insects. I only remember on a certain afternoon, +when getting up from my usual siesta, I saw on the muslin walls +of my mosquito house a large black thing looking like a miniature +lobster. I called the Rajah, who at once recognized it as an enormous +scorpion. He took hold of a spear leaning against the wall, so as to +kill it, well knowing the awful effects of its sting. I could never +have believed what a difficult thing it is to kill a scorpion. Its +shell is apparently so thick that it takes a long time to give it its +death-blow. I hate seeing anything killed (although on this occasion +it was absolutely necessary), so I rushed out of the room. Needless to +say, the Rajah ultimately dispatched it. + +As for snakes, I am not going to say a word against them. They are the +most beautiful creatures one can possibly see, and in my experience +they are not nearly so deadly or so dangerous as people seem to think. +The most deadly snake in Sarawak is the much-feared hamadryad. Its +dangerous character comes from its very virtues. Whenever a hamadryad +is laying her eggs, her mate looks after her safety, and resents the +presence of any human being within yards of where she has her nest. +One afternoon, one of our Malay servants came screaming up the steps +leading from the garden to our verandah, closely followed by one of +these hamadryads, and had not a Guard seen her danger and killed the +snake, she must have been dead in three or four seconds. + +Although beasts of prey, such as tigers, panthers, etc., are unknown +in Sarawak, the most dangerous reptile in the country is without doubt +the crocodile. I do not think that any statistics have been taken of +the loss to human life caused by these creatures in Sarawak, but that +their victims are numerous is certain, for every one living in the +country has known, or has witnessed, the destructive powers of these +creatures. I remember when we were at dinner one evening, we heard the +most terrible commotion in one of the little streams running around our +garden. They came from a man and from the women folk of his house, and +we sent to inquire the cause. We were told that the man had gone to +bathe in the creek near his house, and had been seized by a crocodile. +The man had laid hold of the log which served as a landing-stage, and +the crocodile had managed to tear off one of his legs. He was taken to +his house, and although our English doctor did all he could for him, he +died the next morning. + +I have often, in my excursions up and down the river, been followed in +our small river boat by these reptiles, and generally the boat boys +were the first to see the tiny conical roofs above their eyes--the only +portion to be seen above the water--and as these move swiftly towards +the boat, you conclude that you are being followed by a crocodile. +The experience is not a pleasant one, although it is seldom that the +reptile is powerful enough to upset a canoe capable of carrying six or +seven people. The danger to the inhabitants of Sarawak lies in the fact +that they go about from one house to another on the river-banks in very +small canoes, which only hold one person. Sometimes the canoe is so +small you can hardly see its wooden sides, and its solitary occupant +appears as though he were sitting on the water, paddling himself along. +Both men and women are very skilful in the management of any craft on +the waters of these rivers, and despite the fact that crocodiles often +with a swish of their tails knock the boats in the air, and seize the +occupants as they fall back into the river, paddle in hand, the people +seem quite indifferent to the risks they run in these small canoes. + +A great many years ago, before Kuching became as civilized as it is +now, and when it had few steamers on the river, an enormous crocodile, +some twenty feet in length, was the terror of the neighbourhood for +three or four months during the north-east monsoon--the rainy season +of the country. Our Malay quartermaster on board the _Heartsease_ was +seized by this monster as he was leaving the Rajah’s yacht to go to his +house, a few yards from the bank, in his little canoe. It was at night +that the crocodile seized him, the canoe being found empty the next +morning. Although no one had actually witnessed the calamity, it was +certain the poor man had been taken by the monster. This was his first +victim, but others followed in quick succession. The crocodile could +be seen patrolling the river daily, but it is very difficult to catch +or shoot such a creature. At length the Rajah, becoming anxious at the +turn affairs were taking, issued a proclamation offering a handsome +reward to any one who should succeed in catching the crocodile. +This proclamation was made with as much importance as possible. The +executioner, Subu, bearing the Sarawak flag, was given a large boat, +manned by twenty paddles, painted in the Sarawak colours, and sent up +and down the river reading the proclamation at the landing-stages of +Malay houses. Looking from my window one morning, I saw the boat gaily +decorated and looking very important on the river, with the yellow +umbrella of office folded inside and the proclamation from the Rajah +being read. A few yards behind the boat I imagined I could see, through +my opera glasses, the water disturbed by some huge body following it. +The natives had noticed this too, and it was absolutely proved that +wherever the boat went up or down the river, the monster followed it, +as if in derision of the proclamation. + +A great deal of etiquette had to be observed after the capture of this +crocodile. As it was being towed a captive to the place of execution, +the process to be observed required that it should be first brought to +the Rajah, and until it was safely landed in the Rajah’s garden, the +most complimentary speeches were made to it: “You are a Rajah”; “You +must come and see your brother”; “You are the light of the day”; “You +are the sun and moon shining over the land,” etc. These flattering +remarks were made by the captors as they dragged the huge scaly thing +to its doom, but once it was safely in the presence of the Rajah, it +was made a target for the most insulting language. I saw the crocodile +as it lay helpless with its paws tied over its back in the Rajah’s +garden. The Malays were careful to keep out of reach of the switch +of its tail, as one blow from it would have seriously injured anyone +who went too near. The Rajah having passed sentence, the reptile was +dragged off to be killed by having its head cut off. This done, the +body was opened, when human remains, together with the rings and +clothes of our unfortunate quartermaster, were found, thus proving our +surmises as to his death to be correct. + +Full of excitement and zeal after what had taken place, the Malays who +had captured the crocodile considered that the deceased quartermaster’s +silver ring, in which was set a diamond of the country, should be +presented to me. Therefore, Talip, holding the ring between his thumb +and forefinger, with many bows and ceremonious speeches, brought it +to me for my acceptance. I am sorry to say that my feelings were too +strong for me on the occasion, and I could not possibly touch the +thing. I was so sorry, and told Talip I was grateful for such kindness, +but that I thought the ring ought to belong to the victim’s wife or +daughter. I sent my thanks for the kind thought, and was very glad when +Talip and the ring disappeared from view. So ended the history of the +great crocodile, whose doings are even now spoken of in Sarawak. + +As we are on the subject of animals, we must not forget to talk about +those very delightful creatures, the monkeys. A most delicious Gibbon +exists in Sarawak, which the natives call the wah-wah; it is the one +which imitates the sound of running water in the morning. Wah-wahs are +easily tamed, and quickly take to human beings. I was presented with +one of these little animals by Datu Isa, wife of the Datu Bandar, and +its pathetic little jet black face, its round, beady, frightened eyes, +its grey fur fitting its head like the wig of a clown, soft almost as +that of the chinchilla but thicker and longer, and its black arms and +legs, made it a beautiful little creature. Datu Isa placed the animal +in my arms, when it clung to me as children do. The care of this little +being, so helpless, so frightened, so full of a want of affection, +really made me quite miserable. I tried to give it the food it liked, +I took great care of it and kept it always with me when I was in the +house, but it went the way of beautiful sensitive animals taken by kind +ignorance into the company of human beings. Like most monkeys of its +kind in captivity, the poor little wah-wah developed pneumonia a few +months after it had been given to me, and died. It was a great grief to +me, and I begged my Malay friends, as kindly as I could, not to give +me any more such charming and yet such sorrowful presents. The wah-wah +cannot live in captivity, for it is the lack of their own natural +food that kills these delicate creatures, though they will eat almost +anything, even cocoa-nut, which is fatal to them. + +A friend of mine, a Malay woman living in the Malay town near our +house, possessed an Albino wah-wah. It was considered a powerful +“mascotte,” and it lived with her people some time. It must have died +during one of my visits to England, for I never heard of it again after +I left Sarawak for the first time. On my return, I asked my native +women friends what had happened to it, but they were very reticent in +giving me news of the little creature. At last they said: “It went to +another world, and we would rather not talk about it any more.” + +Another interesting animal in Sarawak is the buffalo. These animals are +tiresome when they come into contact with Europeans. In fact, they are +dangerous to meet, should they be uncontrolled by natives. Natives, +apparently, can do what they like with them. They never ill-treat the +animals, but talk to them as though they were human, this treatment +making the beasts tame and easy to manage. In one of our settlements, +near a coal-mine, where buffaloes were required to drag trucks of coal +to and from the mines to the landing-stage, whence it was shipped to +Kuching and Singapore, the animals were housed in stables made of +palm leaves, and their keepers, who were Boyans, stayed with them. In +course of time, the stables became unfit for habitation either for man +or beast. The Rajah therefore ordered new stables to be built for the +buffaloes and their keepers. When the new stables were finished and +ready for their reception, it was noticed that neither the buffaloes +nor their keepers made any use of them. The Rajah, hearing this, made +inquiries, when the overseer of the coal-mine, a native who wrote +English, sent the Rajah a dispatch informing him that the animals +were so much annoyed and put out with their new quarters that they +absolutely refused to occupy them, and therefore their keepers, not +wishing to incur the displeasure of their friends, preferred to stay in +the leaky dwellings. In course of time the question was satisfactorily +solved, for the Rajah being of a tactful nature, usually surmounts +difficulties that may arise with any of his subjects, men or buffaloes. + + + + + CHAPTER XI + + +During those first four years of my stay in Sarawak, the advent of +a little girl and twin boys served to show still more strongly the +affection and devotion of the people for their chief. Looking back to +that time, I cannot help remembering with pleasure the way in which the +people took my children to their hearts; the funny little jingling toys +they made to amuse them when they were quite babies; the solicitude +they showed for their health; the many times they invited them to their +houses, when I felt that they were even safer in their keeping than in +my own. All this often returns to my mind, and makes me feel more of a +Malay than ever. + +One sad incident I must mention, if only to contradict the common idea +that Muhammadans are all fanatics and incapable of sympathy towards the +religious feelings of those who are outside their creed. Once, when +returning from a journey with the Rajah, I met with a bad accident. I +fell down the hold of a steamer, which resulted in one of my children, +a son, being born dead. When this happened, the Rajah had been called +away by urgent business up some of the far-off rivers of the interior. +Naturally, I was very ill, and the four Malay chiefs of the Rajah’s +Council were anxious to show their sympathy with me. When they heard +that the child had never lived, they went to the doctor and asked him +where it was to be buried. The doctor naturally referred them to the +Bishop, who had no other alternative but to decide that it could not +be buried in consecrated ground. But the chiefs thought differently. +They came that night to the Astana, bringing with them a coffin and +carried the little body to the consecrated ground on our side of the +river, where some of the Rajah’s relatives are laid. These chiefs dug +the grave themselves, and covered it over with a grass mound. I was +much too ill at the time to know what was going on, but I was told +afterwards that Datu Isa insisted on a tree of frangipani being planted +over the spot. I am sorry to say the tree died, but this additional +proof of those dear people’s sympathy can never fade from my memory. + +The Rajah returned to Kuching immediately he heard the news, and in a +few weeks I began to mend. When I was well enough, Datu Isa sat with +me daily, and she said the event of my recovery must be marked by a +thanksgiving ceremony, for which an afternoon had to be set apart. “You +must lie quiet all the morning, Rajah Ranee,” she said, “and think +kind thoughts, so that your mind may be serene. I will appear at three +o’clock with my women.” I did not in the least know what she was going +to do. At three o’clock, according to her promise, Datu Isa headed a +long procession of my friends, who came to the door of my room. I was +told not to speak, and we were all as silent as the grave. Datu Isa +opened the door of my mosquito house; she carried in one hand a piece +of something that looked like dried shark’s skin, and in her other she +held a ring of pure gold. One of her daughters had a basket containing +grains of rice dyed with saffron. Datu Isa rubbed the ring against the +“something” two or three times, and then traced signs over my forehead +with the ring. She scattered a tiny pinch of gold dust on my hair, +and threw a handful of the yellow rice over me. “Thanks be to Allah, +Rajah Ranee, for you are well again.” I was just going to speak, but +she motioned me to be quite silent, and she and her women departed. +Being somewhat given to superstition, I feel sure that this quaint rite +hastened my recovery. + +Before I close this chapter of the first years of my stay in Sarawak, +it would be ungrateful of me did I not mention the tokens of affection +and kindness I received from the English ladies of the place, almost +all of them having come to live in Kuching since my first arrival +there. Mrs. Crookshank, wife of the Resident of Sarawak; Mrs. Kemp, +then the wife of the Protestant Chaplain; indeed, all the ladies then +living in Kuching were always charming to me. We saw a great deal of +one another, and whenever any of these ladies left the country, their +absence from our tiny English society was very much felt. + +As regards my relations with the Malay women, the Rajah himself +encouraged our friendship; he approved of my methods regarding them, +and sympathized with them most completely. Owing to his desire to make +the place more agreeable to me, he appointed my brother, Harry de +Windt, his private secretary. This was a great joy to me, my brother +and I being devoted to one another. I like to imagine that the interest +he took in Sarawak, and the many expeditions on which he accompanied +the Rajah, first inspired the travelling passion in him and led to his +future achievements in the many world-wide explorations, for which +(though he is my brother) I think I may rightly say he has become +famous. It was also during his stay in Sarawak that he wrote his first +book and began his career as an author. + +So my first four years of residence in Sarawak passed away as a dream, +until it was realized that malaria and the climate made it impossible +for me to remain in the country without a change to England. Therefore +the Rajah made up his mind to go home for a year or so, for he himself, +with his incessant work, expeditions, and journeys here and there for +the good of the people, had suffered quite his share of fever. As we +stepped into the _Heartsease_, all my women friends congregated on the +lawn of the Astana to say good-bye to me. No need now to ask where +were the women, and no need now to send for them lest they might be +too frightened to come of their own accord. There they were, the best +friends I ever had, or ever hope to possess. I felt inclined to cry +as I said goodbye to them all, and had it not been for ill-health, I +think the idea of a journey to England would have been hateful to me. + +It was during this voyage that the first great sorrow since my arrival +in Sarawak occurred. The three children we were taking home with us +died within six days of one another, and were buried in the Red Sea. + + + + + CHAPTER XII + + +It might be interesting to explain, as briefly as possible, the +position the Rajahs and their people occupied in that great concern +we now know under the name of the British Empire. When the first +Rajah Brooke undertook the government of the country, he did so, as +he thought, temporarily, imagining that the British Government would +in time take the country under its protection. Apparently the British +Government was not anxious to increase its responsibilities in the +Far East, so that for years the first Rajah struggled on protecting +his people unsupported and alone. One important fact to be remembered +is that ever since the Brooke dynasty has existed in Sarawak, only in +very few instances, have the forces of the British Empire been required +to help the two Rajahs and their Government against their external +enemies, although these were the enemies of the world at large, for +it was only in expeditions against pirates who swept those seas, thus +hindering commerce, that British guns came to the assistance of the +white Rajahs. If we view the matter dispassionately and, shall we +say, from the standpoint of the man in the street, the position was +without doubt a difficult one, both for the British Government, and +for the Rajahs themselves. Most of us are aware that vast lands of +tropical countries--many of them ill-governed by native princes who +are only anxious to amass money for themselves, regardless of the +welfare of their subjects--have over and over again been exploited for +shorter or longer periods by European adventurers. History teaches us +that Europeans, from the time of Cortes down to these days, have on +different occasions swooped like vultures on almost unknown tropical +countries, have gained concessions, the money paid finding its way into +the treasuries of the various princes who claimed the soil, and in this +way the unfortunate inhabitants, the real owners of the land, have been +enslaved and forced by nefarious, cruel, and tyrannical methods to give +their very life’s blood so that these land-grabbing aliens might become +rich. + +Being so intimately associated with the Rajah and his people, it is +natural I should be the last to hear the opinions of that portion of +the British public unacquainted with the methods of these rulers, +but I cannot help thinking that very probably then, and even now, +the white Rajahs of Sarawak are classed with such adventurers, and +on this account they found it so difficult to get proper recognition +of their sovereignty from the British Government. Here was a country +come suddenly into existence, with all the paraphernalia of a good +Government, with its Ministers, its Courts of Justice, its safety +for life and commerce, all in English hands, and owned by private +individuals. Communication was slow in those days, and the real +position of the rulers and their people was only known to very few +and inquiring minds amongst the élite of English-speaking people. +The Rajahs were, individually, subjects of the British Crown, and, +despite of their belonging to an old and very much respected English +family, they had few friends at the English Court to push forward their +interests. + +The full recognition of Sarawak as an independent State by England +occurred in 1863, whilst Lord Palmerston was Premier and Lord John +Russell Secretary for Foreign Affairs. It was then that the first +English Consul was appointed to Sarawak as a formal acknowledgment of +its independence. Warships calling at Kuching saluted the Rajah’s flag +with twenty-one guns, so that within his own country the Rajah was +acknowledged by the British Government as an independent ruler. The +first Rajah died five years after the appointment of the Consul, for it +will be remembered that the present Rajah succeeded his uncle in 1868. + +On our first visit to England after our marriage, the Rajah was anxious +to pay homage to Her Majesty, which was only an ordinary act of +courtesy on his part, considering his position as ruler in a portion +of the Malayan Archipelago. When he requested leave to attend one of +Her Majesty’s levees as Rajah of Sarawak, the answer given by the +Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was somewhat disconcerting, in +view of Sarawak having been recognized as an independent State. The +Rajah was informed that Her Majesty’s Government did not see their way +to present him to the Queen as Rajah of Sarawak, but that he could +attend a levee in the private capacity of an English gentleman, simply +as “Mr. Brooke.” The difficulties of the position were obvious, when +one remembers that the Rajah was governing Sarawak for the benefit of +his people, the British Government having recognized the country over +which he ruled. Owing to the exigencies of his Government, the Rajah +had to employ Englishmen to assist him in his work; these gentlemen, +being nominated by him and paid out of the Sarawak treasury, owed +no allegiance to the Foreign or Colonial Offices at home. To ensure +success in the Rajah’s endeavours, these English gentlemen were bound +to honour and obey him, and to acknowledge him as their chief, yet here +was the British Government absolutely refusing to recognize the Rajah +of Sarawak in England as ruler of his own country! + +After much correspondence and several interviews with the heads of the +different departments in power, the Rajah, a most loyal servant of Her +Majesty’s, obtained what the Government called the favour of being +presented to Her Majesty as Mr. Brooke. The officials insisted that +_Rajah of Sarawak_ should be placed in brackets, as though in apology +for the Rajah’s position! + + [Illustration: TUAN MUDA OF SARAWAK] + + [Illustration: H.H. THE RAJAH MUDA OF SARAWAK] + + [Illustration: TUAN BUNGSU OF SARAWAK WITH HIS LITTLE SON, JIMMIE + BROOKE] + +Very few people even nowadays understand the position of the Brookes +in Sarawak, and it is difficult to drive into their heads that the +Rajah’s wish to be recognized as Rajah of Sarawak had nothing to do +with his own personality. No one can gainsay the fact that nothing is +so dangerous to the prosperity of a country as the anomalous position +of its ruler and its Government. Although I had nothing to do with the +politics of my adopted country, I shared in my husband’s wishes that +the position of Sarawak might be protected, and its ruler’s position +acknowledged by the Queen, in order to give additional security and +stability to its Government and its people. However, in spite of +the scant personal recognition shown for many years to the Rajah by +the British Government, the country managed to flourish--an obvious +testimony to his single-minded and statesmanlike methods. + +Notwithstanding these purely political preoccupations, the time we +spent in England was wholly delightful. I quickly regained my health, +and enjoyed the English life very much, but never for a moment did I +forget my land of predilection the other side of the world, for I was +always looking forward to the time when I should return there and begin +again the life amongst my beloved Malays and Dyaks. + +The present Rajah Muda was born during this visit to England, and his +arrival telegraphed to Sarawak, elicited from the people many kind and +delightful letters. When the time came for our return to our country, +our son was six months old, and owing to the sorrowful experience we +had had of the dangers of a sea-voyage for young children, we left him +in charge of our good friends, Bishop and Mrs. MacDougall. Our baby was +to stay with them in England until he had completed his first year, +when he was to rejoin us in Sarawak. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII + + +When we returned to Sarawak, I felt, as it were, a giant refreshed. +All symptoms of malaria had gone, and, as we steamed under the +landing-place of the Astana, I could see on its broad verandahs my +Malay women friends waiting for me. We had lots of things to talk +about. Datu Isa was the proud possessor of four more grandchildren, and +these were duly presented to me, wrapped in the tight swaddling clothes +usual to Malayan babies. I was told that Datu Isa and the other chiefs’ +wives were delighted with the behaviour of their lords and masters +during my absence, who had not so much as hinted at the possibility of +adding an additional wife to their household. Talip was also radiant +at our return, as was the redoubtable Subu, present with the yellow +umbrella, splendid, as usual, in his executioner’s uniform of gold and +green satin shimmering with ornaments. It was about this time, although +I do not know just how it came about, that I got to know Subu better +than I ever did before. He was an old man then, nearing the end of +his career, for he was one of those who had been with the first Rajah +Brooke when he was made Rajah of Sarawak. Such stories the old man +had to tell of his encounters with pirates, also of the difficulty he +had with his wives, for, sad as it may seem to relate, he had embarked +on three, one less than the number allowed to good Muhammadans by +the great Prophet himself. The youngest wife he had married not so +long ago gave him a good deal of trouble. “She will not listen to the +exhortations of my wife No. 1,” he would tell me. “This troubles my +heart; it makes me sick. She is too wilful and arrogant in her youth. +She is pretty, it is true, but she need not always be counting my +eldest wife’s wrinkles. It is not the way young people should behave +to those who are older than themselves, for even in old wives lie the +wisdom of time; young ones are thoughtless, stupid, and unknowing.” +Notwithstanding these domestic storms at home, Subu’s wives always +called on me together. They would come in strictly in their precedence, +No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, and I am bound to say that so long as they +remained with me, the No. 2 and the No. 3 wives always asked permission +of the No. 1 wife before they ventured on a remark. These women, +however, were not brilliant specimens of the womanhood of Malaya, so, +to be quite truthful, I preferred Subu’s visits unaccompanied by these +dames. + + [Illustration: THE DAIANG MUDA AND HER SON ANTHONY BROOKE] + + [Illustration: H.H. THE RANÉE MUDA] + + [Illustration: THE DAIANG BUNGSU] + +He used to sit on the floor of my room, on a mat prepared for him, +and tell me of many events, fights, and hairbreadth escapes he had +encountered in his chequered career. His most interesting stories, +however, related to the victims whom he had dispatched into the next +world. They almost all belonged to the same order of criminals. There +were a few Chinese murderers, who had killed people through avarice; +Malays, who had slain people on account of jealousy, or through temper; +but the greater number of the evildoers were Dyaks who had taken heads +on their own account, just for the honour and glory of possessing one +of these ghastly trophies. As far as Dyak and Malay malefactors went, +it appears the same scene was nearly always enacted, but I had better +say at once that no man has ever been executed in Sarawak without the +Rajah’s sanction, he alone having power over life and death throughout +the country. Very often the trial of more serious crimes lasted some +days, so thorough were the inquiries set on foot by the Rajah and his +ministers. + +The trial for murder in Kuching is hedged around by the same +precautions when a human life is at stake as it is in the Courts of +Law in England. A jury consisting of the culprit’s own countrymen is +usually empanelled, and the magistrate of the district (an Englishman), +the Rajah’s ministers (generally three in number), and the Rajah +himself, weigh the evidence with the most minute care. When the death +sentence has to be passed, it is only after all other resources have +failed, and the condemned man is usually led out to his doom the +morning after the sentence is passed. The criminals are executed by +the kris, with which weapon Subu was wonderfully expert. A kris is +a curious-looking dagger, straight and flat, the blade double-edged, +eighteen inches long, with a sharp point. It is inserted in the cavity +of the condemned man’s right shoulder, and thrust diagonally across the +body through the heart, causing instantaneous death. “Do they never +tremble?” I would ask Subu. “No,” he said; “they do not tremble. They +smoke cigarettes while their grave is being dug, and sometimes they +eat betel-nut and sirih. Then, when I tell them, they sit on the brink +of their grave as though they were sitting on the edge of their bed, +prepared to take their afternoon sleep. We always parted good friends,” +said Subu, “and very often we talked all the way to the place of +execution.” + +The condemned men never quite knew when their last moment had come, for +they sat placidly smoking until Subu approached from behind them, and +with one blow of the kris sent them into eternity. “You white people +fret too much about trifles, and that makes you frightened of death,” +Subu would say. “We take it just as it comes, and consider that Allah +has chosen the best moment to end our lives. Many such murderers have +I sent to their peace,” he often said to me. “I am an old man now, +but I hope Allah in His mercy will permit me to kris ten more before +He gathers me up into His paradise. Just ten more, Rajah Ranee, and +then I shall consider my work is done.” Poor old Subu, in spite of +his bloodthirsty words he possessed a tender heart. He was gentle and +kind to children and animals, indeed, to all who were desolate and +oppressed. + +The people of Sarawak recognize the justice of capital sentences in +the most wonderful way. I remember one case in point. The Rajah has +a battalion of drilled men, some five hundred in number, recruited +from the Dyaks and Malays of Sarawak, together with a few Sikhs, who +voluntarily come forward to join this paid force. The Commandant in +charge of this battalion--called the Sarawak Rangers--is nearly always +a retired officer from the British army, and the Rajah usually engages +a retired Gunner from one of His Majesty’s ships, as Instructor, to +teach the men the use of guns. The men are very apt at drill, and are +as active as cats in the manipulation of guns. They all take great +pride in their work, and particularly enjoy the management of field +pieces. Their uniform is of white drill with black facings; they wear +forage caps, and are armed with Snider carbines. Whenever the Rajah +goes on expeditions, and sometimes on his journeys up the rivers, a +certain number of these drilled men form his bodyguard. They also act +as sentries in the Palace and other Government buildings in Kuching. + +One day, one of these Sarawak Rangers, with a gang of his friends, +all young men, went on a holiday excursion to some fruit gardens in +the suburb of Kuching. They came to a tempting-looking fruit orchard, +full of ripe oranges, mangosteens, custard apples, pine-apples, etc., +fenced in by rotten railings and owned by an old Chinaman. All fruit is +dear to native hearts, for they are essentially a fruit-eating people. +The youths, seeing these tempting morsels, demolished the palings, +entered the garden, and began eating the fruit. The noise they made +hacking at the trees brought the old man out of his house built in +the orchard. He remonstrated with the thieves, who took no notice, so +he raised his voice in order to elicit the help of passers-by on the +road. This so exasperated the youths, who were bent on carrying off +some of the old man’s fruit, that in a fit of anger the Ranger drew his +parang[8] (he was in mufti), and killed the Chinaman. Realizing what he +had done, he took to his heels, followed by his friends, leaving the +Chinaman in a pool of blood under the fruit trees, where he was found +by the Rajah’s police--an efficient body of Malays under the command of +an English officer. The crime was brought home to the Ranger, who was +brought to justice and condemned to death. + +On the morning of the man’s execution, the Rajah had arranged to go for +a visit to the Batang Lupar River. I was to go with him, and the guard +chosen to accompany him happened to include the brother of the man +who was to be executed that day. The Instructor in charge of the men +informed the Rajah that the prisoner’s brother was in a very excited +state, and had been heard by the natives speaking rather wildly in +the barracks. I believe he even expressed himself as ready to take +vengeance on the Government which had condemned his brother to death. +The Instructor suggested to the Rajah that it might not be quite safe +to have this man included in his personal bodyguard. “On the contrary,” +said the Rajah, “for that very reason let him come with us.” Needless +to say, the man did accompany us and behaved himself perfectly, and by +the time we returned to Kuching he had proved himself to be one of the +most exemplary members of the Rajah’s bodyguard. + +Now with regard to the police. It has often been a matter of wonder +to me how efficient this body of Malays and Dyaks becomes under the +charge of young Englishmen. The Sarawak officers are chosen in a very +original way. Many of them fresh from some university have somehow +heard of the methods of the Rajah and his Government, and very likely +feeling an admiration for the romantic story which has led to the +present state of affairs in Sarawak, feel they would like to join the +Rajah’s service. Often these men have had no particular training for +the work they are called upon to undertake, and yet they grow into +it, as it were. The heads of the Rajah’s police (in the person of the +officers whom he has chosen) have been, and are, capable of unravelling +the most intricate and delicate affairs. I cannot imagine what their +methods may be, but plots have been found out, organized by Chinese +Secret Societies against the Government, which, if they had been +carried into execution, would have set the capital in flames and killed +every white person living in Kuching. Thanks to the intelligence, zeal, +and unceasing vigilance of these officers, such calamities have been +averted. This efficiency says a good deal for the loyalty and devotion +of the Rajah’s Englishmen who, in spite of the drawbacks of a tropical +climate, of frequent illnesses, lack of amusement, dullness consequent +upon no English society to fall back upon in moments of depression, and +despite of their very modest salaries, have entered so wholeheartedly +into their work. If only their exploits were known and related as they +deserve to be in all their details, these English officers would stand +in the first rank of heroes, even of those who have won the Victoria +Cross. Owing to the little attention given to Sarawak and its affairs, +their deeds will never become known to the British public, and although +they themselves will not reap the benefit of their unselfishness and +loyalty to the Rajah’s country, the seed they have sown in Sarawak has +borne fruit in the growing security and contentment of its people. + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [8] A sword. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV + +We had hardly settled down to our ordinary life at Kuching, when the +news came of a tribe of Dyaks giving trouble in the Batang Lupar +district. Mr. Frank Maxwell was in charge of the place, and was living +at Fort Alice at Simanggang. It happened that the Rajah’s yacht was +then being docked in Singapore, so the Rajah decided to make his +journey to Simanggang in a war-boat. As I was rather anxious for the +Rajah’s safety on this occasion, I thought I would like to accompany +him and to stay at Simanggang while he went up country to quell the +rebellion. The Rajah did not like the idea of taking me, on account of +the long boat journey, but I insisted and, as usual, got my own way. + +We started at midday, and had to spend the first night of the journey +anchored in our boat at the mouth of the Sarawak River. I never shall +forget the sand-flies that tormented us on this occasion; if possible, +these insects are more trying than mosquitoes. They attack one in +swarms, and are almost invisible, so that the meshes of a mosquito net +are useless in keeping these pests from one’s face and hands. The heat +was stifling, the temperature being from 90° to 95°. I wrapped myself +up--face and hands included--in the folds of a silk sarong, and in that +manner passed the night in the boat. A good deal of discomfort was +obviated by my wearing Malay dress. I need not say that my beautiful +garments, made by the chiefs’ wives, were discarded on this occasion. +Over a shift of white silk, I folded a cotton sarong, and wore a +long Malay cotton jacket over that. In countries hot as is Sarawak, +perpetual changes of garments are necessary, and I took with me dozens +of cotton sarongs, cotton jackets, and one silk scarf (not forgetting +Datu Isa’s injunctions that only the right eye should be visible). A +large conical straw hat effectually shaded my face from the sun, and +served as an umbrella. + +After spending a somewhat disturbed night, in the morning I had to +think about getting a bath. Ima, my maid, was with me, and proved a +valuable assistant on my journey. Our boatmen, numbering some thirty, +were well acquainted with the banks of the Sarawak River, and knew +of several pools of fresh water not far from the place where we had +anchored. Our boat, being of great size, could not be pulled level +with the bank, so a very small canoe was brought alongside, into which +Ima and I established ourselves. Ima took the paddle and we wobbled to +the shore. I held desperately to the sides of the boat, and luckily +only a few strokes were required to bring us to land. Ima brought my +changes of clothes, and directed me to a pool in the jungle. It was a +slimy-looking place, screened in by trees, and here we had our morning +dip. I had brought with me a piece of soap, and tying a sarong under +my armpits stepped into the pool, and with the help of a dipper made +of palm leaves poured the water over my head repeatedly, and in this +manner managed to obtain a fairly enjoyable bath. I dressed myself in +a fresh sarong and jacket and made my way back to the boat, where the +Rajah, who had also found a pool to bathe in, was awaiting me. + +We crossed the narrow strip of sea dividing us from the Batang Lupar +River, and slept the next night at Lingga Fort. Our paraphernalia when +travelling was very simple--the mattresses, which were stretched across +the boat for the Rajah’s and my comfort during the voyage, were carried +on shore and laid on the floor in the Fort, the mosquito curtains were +then hung up, and thus we were provided with a comfortable shelter for +the night. + +The next day, after 45 miles of paddling, we arrived at Fort Alice, +taking Mr. Maxwell by surprise, for although he knew that the Rajah +would make his way to Simanggang immediately on receipt of his +dispatch, he had not expected to see me as well. There, however, as +elsewhere, I met with nothing but kindness. Mr. Maxwell cheerfully +gave me his rooms, and disappeared--goodness knows where--in some dim +portion of the Fort. He would have none of my apologies, and pretended +he thought it a pleasure to have the benefit of my company. + +The next day great animation prevailed all over the place. The loyal +and friendly tribes, who were to accompany the Rajah in his expedition, +had been summoned to Simanggang by messengers to the various districts +bearing calling-out spears, together with knotted strings. Each morning +a knot is taken out by the chief of the tribe to whom the string has +been sent, marking off the number of days that are to elapse before the +Rajah requires his trusty subjects to follow him. It might be as well +to mention that, with the exception of the Rangers (the drilled force +from which the Rajah chooses his fort-men, sentries, and bodyguard), +the remainder of the force might be compared to the English Reserves, +for although the taxes of the people are very light--Dyaks paying one +dollar per annum for their whole family--this does not exempt them from +military service. Those Malays who pay an exemption tax of two dollars +per annum per family are exempted from military service. As a matter +of fact, whenever the services of Malays or Dyaks were required on +expeditions, the Rajah usually found himself at the head of a far too +numerous body of men, every man and boy being always eager for a fight, +and whenever the fight was a lawful one, engaged under the leadership +of the Rajah himself, hardly any of the Dyak male population could be +persuaded to remain in their homes. + +A large number of chiefs assembled in the great hall of the Fort, where +were stacked the rifles and arms. When any serious matter required +to be discussed, these chiefs were bidden into Mr. Maxwell’s private +sitting-room, capable of holding fifty or sixty people squatting +comfortably on the floor. I have often been present at such meetings. +The Rajah and Mr. Maxwell sat on cane chairs, and the chiefs squatted +in rows on the floor giving vent to long-winded and extraordinarily +fluent speeches. I do not know the Dyak language, and it is impossible +to imagine the torrent of words that can pour out for hours together +from the lips of these warriors. Their language resembles Malay in +a disconcerting way; knowing Malay, I supposed I might understand +what they said, but I could only catch a word here and there. Sea +Dyaks speak in a jerky manner, and in councils of war sit perfectly +motionless, their eyes fixed on the ground, and talk interminably, +until the Rajah, sifting the important matter from the flow of +rhetoric, stops the speaker and orders another man present to give his +views on the subject. Dyaks are born orators, and think a great deal of +anyone who can hold forth for hours without pausing for a word. They +talk about such men in eulogistic terms: “He is good,” “He is brave,” +“His mouth is beautiful,” etc. I used to think such councils of war, +from the lengthy speeches made, must prove trying to the Rajah and +his officers, but living amongst primitive people seems to change the +temper, and make patience an ordinary accompaniment to life in those +regions. + +I well remember the morning of this particular conclave. After the +council of war, the Rajah, Mr. Maxwell, the chiefs, and I, went +into the hall where the arms were kept. Many obsolete weapons are +to be found in nearly all Sarawak Forts. Some of the blunderbusses +in Simanggang Fort were more than a hundred years old, having been +taken in punitive expeditions from the houses of head-hunters. A Dyak +present on this occasion took from a rack an old blunderbuss, and was +handling the weapon unobserved by the authorities present. Suddenly, a +sharp report rang out, and we saw smoke issuing from the funnel of the +blunderbuss and a Dyak in the crowd holding his head. The man smiled, +“Medicine gone from that gun,” he said, “and hit my head-handkerchief.” +He took the handkerchief off and held it up, when we could see it +had been pierced by the charge that had so unexpectedly gone off. +By a happy chance no person was wounded in the crowded room. I felt +disturbed and looked at the Rajah, who was pulling his moustache as +he does when anything out of the way takes place. “Strange!” he said, +looking at the man; but Mr. Maxwell was very angry. “Why do you touch +those things?” he said; “I always tell you not to meddle with the +arms.” The man gave a grunt, but showed no other signs of disturbance, +and the conversation went on as though nothing unusual had happened. +When the Rajah, Mr. Maxwell, and I met at breakfast, the matter was +discussed at length, and it was thought extraordinary that the powder +should be sufficiently dry to ignite a charge after so many years. The +mystery was never solved, but the incident had served to bring out +sharply a curious trait in the native mind. + +In a few days, arrangements were completed, and the force started from +Simanggang under the command of the Rajah. It was a picturesque sight, +the Dyaks in their war dress, their shields and war caps bristling +with horn-bills’ plumes, their flowing waistcloths of bright colours, +their swords and spears rattling as they carried them proudly to the +landing-place and stacked them in their boats. A regular flotilla +of large war canoes followed the Rajah’s boat, the paddles making a +thundering and rhythmic noise as they churned up the waters of the +river. It was very splendid, exhilarating, and picturesque. All the +able-bodied Malay men in the place followed the Rajah, so that the +Malay village of Simanggang, lying beyond the Chinese Bazaar, was +almost deserted of its male population. A prince of Brunei, called +Pangiran Matali, who once had been a subject of the Sultan of that +country but who had become a Sarawak subject, a chief called Abang +Aing, and two other Malay chiefs from neighbouring rivers, brothers, +called Abang Chek and Abang Tek (whose names and curious personalities +reminded me of Tweedledum and Tweedledee, for they seemed inseparable +friends), also accompanied the Rajah. Pangiran Matali and Abang +Aing always took their share in expeditions against head-hunters. +They invariably stood by the present Rajah through thick and thin, +and had on many occasions risked their lives for him. The Rajah has +often spoken to me of their loyalty, their courage, and also of their +extraordinary aptitude in helping him with advice in political matters +referring to the Sarawak Government. Daiang Kota, Abang Aing’s wife, +was a famous woman, a worthy helpmeet to her husband and a loyal +subject of the Rajah’s. I knew all these people well, and their memory +can never fade from my heart. + +A wonderful being, called Tunku Ismael, was left to guard the Fort and +me. He was a Serip, a descendant of the Prophet; he was thin and taller +than most Malays, and had beautiful ascetic features, dark piercing +eyes, and a hooked nose. He was always dressed in white, and wore the +white skull cap that followers of the Prophet often wear, instead +of the more cumbrous turban. This charming old gentleman and I were +friends, for I always met him during my many visits to Simanggang. Mr. +Maxwell’s little dog, called Fury, a half-breed Yorkshire terrier, +a valiant little creature, old and toothless, brave as a lion and +helpless as a mouse, was also left in the Fort, and an old Malay, +called Sunok, bent double with age, appointed himself my bodyguard. He +slept at my door, and accompanied me in my daily walks round the Malay +village and through plantations of sugar-cane and fruit orchards that +lay around this settlement. Of course, Ima was with me, and she sent to +the village for an old lady of her acquaintance, whose name was Dalima +(meaning pomegranate), to come and help her wait on me. My days went by +as regularly as clockwork. I got up at 5.30 a.m., sat on the terrace +outside the Fort to watch the sunrise, and with Sunok went round and +round the paths and through sugar-cane plantations, etc. Then I came in +to bathe, have a cup of tea, and receive the Malay women of the place. +After this I had my solitary breakfast, served by one of our Malay +servants, who had been left behind to attend on me. From 12 to 2 I had +my siesta, then more visits from the natives until 5, when it was cool +enough to go out again with Sunok until 6.30--the hour of sunset more +or less all the year round. Then, after a hasty meal spent in fighting +with mosquitoes which fell in clouds on to my food, I made a hurried +exit inside my mosquito curtains to escape from these pests. Here, as +elsewhere, the rats were numerous. They almost nightly stole the wick +of my night-light from out the tumbler of cocoa-nut oil. They ran away +with the candles placed on chairs by my bedside, and were to be seen +in companies scurrying in and out of the guns placed in the port-holes +of my bedroom. Sometimes, as I was preparing for the night, the rats +would sit upon the guns, their heads on one side, and brush their +whiskers, as though they were taking stock of my toilet. Fury used to +lie at my feet, inside the mosquito curtains, and it required all my +persuasion to prevent him from sallying forth on the warpath against +the rats, some of which were almost as big as himself. I dreaded the +poor little animal meeting some horrible fate in an encounter with +these formidable visitors. The rats, attracted by the candles and +cocoa-nut oil, came in such numbers after a few days, that I asked +Ima and Dalima to put their mattresses in my room and keep me company +during the night. When first this measure was broached to Dalima, she +said, “I quite understand your being frightened, because the enemy +might attack the Fort and take us unawares during the night!” to which +remark I replied--what was really very true--that the rats frightened +me much more than could any Dyaks in the country. + +Although my stay in Simanggang was rather lonely, I had certain +compensations which did not entirely come from human companionship. I +fancy every one must have heard of those beautiful birds--now being +exterminated all over the world to satisfy the stupid vanity of +ignorant and frivolous women--the egrets, or, as Sarawak people call +them, paddy birds. From a terrace overlooking the river I used to +watch, a little before sunrise and at sunset, for the daily migration +of these birds to and from their roosting-places to the fishing grounds +on the coast. Simanggang is divided by about sixty miles from the sea, +and every morning and evening I could be certain, almost to the minute, +of seeing this company of white wings in triangular battalions flying +across the river. The shafts of light breaking against their bodies +in tints of orange and rose made symphonies of colour as they formed +and re-formed with the movements of the birds. I fancied the beautiful +things understood the pleasure they gave me as they flapped their great +white wings over my head, across the river, across miles of forest, +finally disappearing like dots of glittering light in the morning and +evening mists. + +Another wonderful sight on the shores of that Batang Lupar River was +the Bore, a fortnightly phenomenon. Now the Batang Lupar, as I have +said before, is four miles in breadth at its mouth. This vast volume +of water progresses undisturbed for fifteen miles from the mouth of +the river, when the channel narrows until at Simanggang there are only +five hundred yards from bank to bank. At each flood-tide, the water is +forced, as it were, into a funnel, through which it rushes, beating +against sandbanks, rocks, snags, and other impediments existing in this +shallow river, hurling itself against such obstructions with a noise +like thunder which can be heard for miles away. For some minutes the +noise of its advent was noticeable from the Fort, when in great walls +of white foam it rounded the last reach before it passed Simanggang. +Sometimes tiny boats, in which were seated Malay children, were borne +along the swiftly-moving backs of the waves, the little canoes looking +like flies on the surface of a whirlpool. The children seem to have +charmed lives on such occasions, for they can apparently play with +the Bore with impunity, although men and women have often been known +to find their death in the flood. As it pounded up the banks, tossed +itself against snags, and fell back in huge cataracts of water, the +spray, touched by the sunlight, looked like a rain of precious stones. +Then on it went in its furious course, shaking the boats moored to +the banks near the Bazaar, tossing them hither and thither, sometimes +tearing one or two away from their moorings, until growling, fighting, +and wrestling, it was lost to sight. For the first weeks of my stay +in Simanggang, the flocks of egrets and the Bore were the two great +attractions of the place. + +As I was seated at breakfast one morning, a perspiring Dyak, frightened +and incoherent, found his way to my room and fell at my feet. Ima and +Dalima were with me, and Dalima, understanding the Dyak language, +translated the man’s words to me. “The Rajah is killed,” he said. “All +are dead, and I go home.” I looked at the man and saw his complexion +was of a pale greenish brown, like that of some people when terrified +or ill, and I imagined he must be of an hysterical nature. I sent for +Tunku Ismael, who was then having his breakfast at his home in the +village. The refugee sat on the floor, dressed in a bark waist-cloth +and wearing a dirty cotton handkerchief round his head. I told him +not to move, when he gave vent to sighs and grunts, and remained +speechless. When Tunku Ismael arrived, he shook hands with me, and took +his seat cross-legged on a sofa opposite me near the wall. He did not +speak, but sat with his eyes cast down and his hands palms downwards +on his knees. “Tell me, Tunku,” I said, “what is the meaning of this? +This man says the Rajah and his followers are killed. He is a liar, +is he not?” “Bohong benar” (truly a liar), the Tunku replied. “It is +impossible such a thing could have happened and he the only survivor.” +“You are a liar,” said Tunku Ismael, turning to the man, who had become +greener than ever. “You have left the force because you are afraid.” +Another grunt and contraction of the throat from the man on the floor. +“Dead, all dead,” he repeated, “the Rajah too, and the enemy will be +here to-morrow.” “All lies,” Tunku Ismael assured me, and once more +turning to the man, he said, “Get out of this, and never let me see you +again.” With that the man slowly departed, left the Fort, and to my +knowledge was never again seen or heard of. I asked Tunku Ismael why +the man should have told this story. The Tunku thought he must have +become terrified and run away from the force. “Let him go in peace,” he +added, “a coward like that is better out of the Rajah’s bala” (force). +No more attention was paid to this rumour than to the buzzing of a +mosquito, and we soon forgot all about it. + +Shortly after this incident, Tunku Ismael came to me one morning with +a grave face and said, “Rajah Ranee, you are under my care, you go out +for long walks all round the settlement, and seem to have no idea of +danger, or that there might be bad spirits about. Sunok is exceedingly +old, and if anything should happen to you during your long walks, +what could I do to protect you?” I inquired what danger there was, +for I knew of none. “Oh yes,” he said, “there are many dangers. There +are people we call _Peniamuns_ who dress in black, cover their faces +with black cloth, and sit in trees waiting to pounce on passers-by. +Now, Rajah Ranee, should one of these _Peniamuns_ get hold of you, we +could never get you back again, so will you kindly walk up and down +the terrace of the Fort, and not go any farther, for the _Peniamuns_ +are a real danger.” I listened politely to Tunku Ismael, but continued +to take my customary walks down to the Bazaar, across a plank of wood +thrown over a ditch, separating the Chinese Bazaar from the Malay +settlement, along the row of Malay houses, where the women and children +were always on the look-out for me, and then home by the more lonely +orchards and sugar plantations, so feared by Tunku Ismael. + +One morning, I saw through the lattice-work of the Fort a flotilla of +some fifteen war-boats coming up the river. I hastily sent for Tunku +Ismael to inquire what these boats were. Tunku Ismael could not quite +make them out, because, he said, they looked like war-boats. We +watched the boats as they were paddled past the Fort, anchoring along +the banks near the Bazaar, and we stepped outside to see what was +happening. We saw a group of Kayans from the boats, carrying spears +and swords, rushing up to the Fort, headed by a small man recognized +by Tunku Ismael as being a chief named Tama Paran, who did not bear a +very good character in the Rejang district. This chief came up to me, +brandishing his spear, and carrying a basket which, he said, the tribe +had made for me. I asked him where they had come from, and tried to +look very stern. “We hear the Rajah has gone on the war-path, and we +have come to accompany him,” said Tama Paran. “But,” I replied: “the +Rajah has been gone on the war-path this last month, and you do not +know exactly where he has gone. You cannot accompany him now to the +scene of action.” “Yes,” he said; “we are going on to-morrow, because +we wish to fight for the Rajah.” I realized that this was a serious +state of things. If I allowed this force to go after the Rajah, with +no responsible European or Malay leader to keep it in check, the +Kayans might attack some unprotected village up the higher reaches of +the Batang Lupar River, take some heads, and pretend it was done on +the Rajah’s behalf. I said to the chief, “You must not move from here +until the Rajah comes back, unless you return to your village.” The +man did not look pleased. He could not wait in Simanggang, he said, +neither could he return home, but at any rate he consented to remain +at Simanggang that evening. Tunku Ismael and I, with Sunok present, +then held a council of war. We agreed it would never do to allow these +Kayans to follow the Rajah, as they would probably endanger the safety +of the country up river and frighten its inhabitants. We could see the +fleet from the Fort, anchored near the Bazaar, and the Tunku estimated +that the force numbered some six hundred men. He owned it would be +somewhat difficult to keep them in order if the Rajah’s return was long +delayed, but, at the same time, we intended to do our best. + +Tunku Ismael warned me not to walk out that evening along the Bazaar, +because he feared that these Kayans, not being accustomed to white +Ranees, might be disagreeable. I also felt a little apprehensive as to +what my reception would be, but after thinking the matter well over, +I came to the conclusion that if I did not take my usual walk, the +women and children of the settlement would feel nervous, for, after +all, it was unlikely the Kayans would do me any harm, for fear of +the consequences when the Rajah returned. I therefore sallied forth +that evening feeling a bit nervous, accompanied by the trembling +octogenarian, Sunok, and the small dog Fury. I went along the Bazaar, +and found the Chinamen standing outside their shops, who told me, in +Malay, as I passed, that they wished very much those men would go away. +The Kayans were cooking their rice, and were not at all friendly. They +made no attempt to shake hands with me, and say “How do you do,” as +they would have done under ordinary circumstances. They looked rather +impertinently, I thought, at my humble procession. When I reached the +end of the Bazaar and was about to cross the narrow plank of wood +leading to the Malay settlement, I saw a big burly Kayan standing the +other side of the plank with his legs straddled, almost daring me to +pass. His arms and legs were tattooed, his ears were ornamented with +wild boar’s tusks, his hair hung over his neck, cut square in the +front, and he wore a little straw crown and a waist-cloth of bark. I +got within two feet of the man, who gave a not very pleasant smile +as Fury barked loudly. There he stood motionless. I turned to Sunok. +“Remove that man,” I said, but Sunok weakly replied: “He is too strong, +I can’t!” The situation was ludicrous. Had I turned back, it would +have shown fear on my part, so I asked the man, in Malay, to get out +of my way, but he remained as though he had not heard me. There was +nothing left for me but to press forward. I walked slowly across the +plank until my chin (I was taller than the Kayan) nearly touched his +forehead. Still he did not move, so I stood as immovable as he, and +waited. After a few seconds the man skulked off, and I went on my way. +The Malay women had witnessed this incident from their gardens, and +they rushed up to me saying: “Do take care, Rajah Ranee, and do not go +out by yourself like this. The Kayans are a terrible people, and might +cut off all our heads before we know where we are.” I laughed lightly, +although feeling somewhat upset, and finished my evening walk. + +The next day, two or three Kayan chiefs came and asked for a sum of +money which they knew was kept at the Fort, in order, as they said, +that they might buy provisions and follow the Rajah. I again told them +they were not to follow the Rajah and that I should not give them any +money. Every day the chiefs came on the same errand, requesting money +and permission to move. Personally, I was surprised they did not move, +because nothing I could do would have prevented them. Tunku Ismael said +they feared me, and he was sure the course we were taking was the only +one to prevent disturbances in the country. + +These Kayans were a great nuisance in Simanggang. They went about +flourishing their spears and swords, frightening the shop-keepers and +agriculturists into providing them with food. Indeed, the situation was +daily becoming more alarming, and the interviews between the intruders +and myself became more and more stormy, until one afternoon, when they +had been in the neighbourhood for ten or twelve days, they became +almost unmanageable. “We must have money,” they said, “and we must +follow the Rajah, and we do not care what anyone says.” Tunku Ismael +and I hardly knew what to do, when a bright thought struck me. I knew +these people liked long speeches, discussions, councils of war, etc., +and attached great importance to dreams; so putting on a very grave +expression, I said, “Tama Paran and you all who are his followers, +listen to my words. You are not to go up river, and you are not to have +money, because the Rajah would not wish it. But as I see there is a +strong will among you to do what you should not do, at any rate, stay +here over to-morrow; for to-morrow is a particular date I have fixed +within myself, having last night had a dream. To-morrow I will tell you +about that dream, and I will make you understand my reasons for wishing +you to do as I tell you.” “And if we go to-day, what will you do?” +inquired Tama Paran. I pointed to the guns--with, I hope, a magnificent +gesture. “If you disobey my orders, the medicine from those guns will +swamp every boat of yours in the river.” With those words, I got up and +dismissed them, after they had promised to come and hear my speech the +next day. Tunku Ismael gently remarked: “But we do not know how to fire +the guns.” “No,” I said; “that does not matter; they think we know, and +after all that is the chief thing!” + +That evening I went for my walk unmolested, and retired to bed earlier +than usual. I felt anxious. I should have been so disgusted had the +Kayans gone away, in spite of my orders to the contrary. I should have +lost prestige with the women and even the children of Simanggang, so +that I think had I seen any signs of their boats leaving the place, I +should somehow have found means to fire the guns into their midst. All +that night I could not sleep. I was wondering what on earth I could say +to the intruders to make them realize the force of my arguments. + +The question, however, settled itself. The very next morning I heard +the yells of victorious Dyaks in the distance, then their paddles, and +I knew all would be safe because the Rajah was returning. The Rajah +soon sent the Kayans back to their homes, and, when all was said and +done, I had quite enjoyed the novel experience. + + + + + CHAPTER XV + + +The Rajah’s expedition had been successful. The enemy’s villages and +rice farms were destroyed so as to compel the people to move farther +down the river and form settlements under the supervision of the Lobok +Antu Fort officials, about fifty miles above Simanggang. + +Two or three days after the Rajah’s return we took leave of Mr. +Maxwell, and embarked in our travelling boat to return to Kuching. +We spent the night at Lingga, and started off again the next day, +intending to break our journey at a place on the coast called Sibuyow. +We arrived late in the evening at Sibuyow village, where a messenger, +sent by the Rajah the day before, had informed the people that we +wished to spend the night at the chief’s house. It had been exceedingly +hot during the journey, and when we arrived at our destination I was +almost dead with fatigue. Serip Bagus, another descendant of the +Prophet, chief of Sibuyow, accompanied by the whole village, men, +women, and children, was awaiting our arrival on the bank, with gongs +and all sorts of musical instruments, making a weird and rhythmic +noise. The moon had risen and the palms and mangroves lining the banks +looked jet-black against the pale, starlit sky. The mangroves all down +the river were one mass of fireflies, reminding me of Christmas trees +magnificently illuminated. + +My passage on shore was made with the customary difficulty. The ladder, +laid across the mud, was not at all easy for me to negotiate, for the +rungs were from two to two and a half feet apart. There were so many +people to help me, however, that I managed the ascent without mishap. + +Serip Bagus and his wife, the Seripa, had taken great pains to put +their house in order for our arrival. Following the Rajah, the chief’s +wife took me by the hand and led me into a room, at one end of which +was a large raised platform, on which were laid mats and embroidered +cloths for the Rajah and myself to sit on. This audience-room, similar +to those built in almost all Malay chiefs’ houses, was filled with the +village people, who had come to see the Rajah and listen to what he +had to say. I was very tired and longed for rest, but did not like to +say anything for fear of disappointing the people who had so kindly +prepared this reception for us. The Rajah and I sat side by side on +the platform, whilst the chiefs made interminable speeches. I got more +and more tired, and at last said to the Rajah: “I must go away; I am +so tired.” The Rajah begged me to try and keep up a little longer on +account of the people. At length, however, people or no people, I could +stand it no longer, and going behind the Rajah on the platform, laid +full length on the floor, and fell fast asleep, regardless of any kind +of etiquette. I must have woke owing to the conversation ceasing, and +found the chief’s wife bending over me. She told me she would lead me +to a room where a bed was prepared for me, and taking my right hand, +followed by her daughter, a young girl, dressed in silks, satins, and +gold ornaments, together with four of the most aged females it has ever +been my lot to see alive, she led me into the women’s apartment, where, +occupying about a quarter of the room, was a huge mosquito house. +This was hung with valances of red-and-gold embroidery. Lifting up a +corner of the curtain, the chief’s wife took me, as she called it, to +bed. Seven pillows, like hard bolsters, stiff and gorgeous with gold +embroidery, were piled one over the other at the head of the bed--these +being the seven pillows used on all Muhammadan couches, and below them +was a hard, knobbly gold-embroidered bolster for me to rest my head on. +The chief’s wife took her position at my feet, with a fan, whilst the +four old ladies, who grunted a good deal, each occupied a corner of +the curtains, two of them holding sirih boxes and two paper fans, in +order that I should not want for anything in the night. When daybreak +came, I knew I should have to tell them I was awake and wanted to get +up, seeing they would not dare to speak. All over Sarawak, whether +amongst Malays or Dyaks, it is thought dangerous to awaken anyone from +sleep, in case their souls should be absent from their bodies and +never return again. Ima was not permitted inside my mosquito curtains, +nor was she allowed to accompany me to my morning bath. The chief’s +wife, his daughter, his female cousins, his aunts, and the four old +cronies with their sirih boxes and paper fans, came with me into the +garden, where there was a pool of water. I stepped into this, and was +handed a leaf bucket by the chief’s wife, with great ceremony; this I +filled repeatedly with water from a jar at the side of the pool and +poured over my head. Dressed, as I was, in Malay costume, and bathing +in a sarong, my change of clothes was easily effected. After my bath +I joined the Rajah, who was having his tea. We partook of this meal +in public, the villagers bringing us baskets of mangosteens, oranges, +limes, eggs, ancient and modern, and many other things, too numerous to +mention, considered delicacies by these people. + +On this occasion we were without either guards or police, and if I +remember rightly, the Rajah’s crew consisted of men from the village of +Simanggang. + +As I was in the throes of negotiating the slippery ladder at the +landing-place, on my way to the boat, a very shabby and not overclean +old lady, who, I believe, was one of the chief’s servants, rushed up +to me and deposited in my hand a solitary egg. I carried this touching +little present to the boat in fear and trembling, lest it should break +or fall out of my hand, and thus disappoint the old dame. + +Our journey across the sea was not without incident. We were in a +shallow canoe, manned by some thirty men, and as we hugged the shore +(it would not have been safe to go very far out to sea) a storm came +on, and the boat began to rock badly. It was lucky that at critical +moments our crew could jump out along that shallow part of the coast +and keep the boat from turning turtle. Curiously enough, I am never +sea-sick in a small boat. The danger on this occasion lay in the fact +that to get into the Sarawak River we had to cross the mouths of the +Sadong and Samarahan Rivers, and although I was perfectly unaware of +the danger, the Rajah was a little anxious once or twice when, in +crossing the bar, great rollers dashed themselves against our palm-leaf +awnings and threatened to overwhelm us. I think the journey took +about six hours, and by the time we entered the Sarawak River we were +drenched. It was difficult to change one’s clothing in the boat, as we +were exposed to view, so we had to make the best of it. It is often +said that sea water never gives one cold, and I suppose this must be +true, for in spite of our wetting we were none of us the worse for the +experience. Ima was very amusing; she kept whispering to me that if the +Rajah liked he could make the sea behave better, but as he did not +seem to worry, she supposed it did not matter very much. I was very +glad when we arrived at our comfortable Astana, and could sleep between +linen sheets once more. + + + + + + CHAPTER XVI + + +A week after our return to Kuching, the Rajah and I had the great +pleasure of welcoming to Sarawak our eldest son. An experienced English +nurse had brought him out, and I remember so well the mail-boat +arriving late in the afternoon, when from the verandah I saw through my +glasses a short European lady, in white, carrying in her arms a baby +in a blue sash. I am sorry to say that the salute from the guns of the +Fort annoyed him exceedingly, and he was brought yelling and screaming +to the landing-place, and it took some time before we could soothe his +shattered nerves, unaccustomed as he was to such honours. The next day, +all the chiefs’ wives, Datu Isa heading the contingent, and nearly all +the women in Kuching, came to see the boy. He was very good with them, +and appeared to understand that they were his true friends. It is a +real happiness to me to know that the affection which he showed these +people at the beginning of his life has lasted all through these years. + +I was not destined to remain long in peace at Kuching, for the Rajah +was always full of work in his schemes for the advancement of his +country. Many requests came to him from chiefs of rivers beyond our +territory, begging to be allowed to become his subjects, in order to +be placed under the protection of his Government. It would perhaps be +as well just now to refer to the map of Sarawak. When the first Rajah +began to reign, Sarawak consisted of the territory stretching between +Cape Datu to the Sadong River. The maladministration of the Sultan of +Brunei’s agents in the rivers of the Rejang, Muka, and Bintulu forced +the people of these districts to seek for better government. This, they +found, so to speak, at their very doors. In the space of fifteen years, +these rivers were annexed to the Sarawak Government, at the request of +the inhabitants, so that when the present Rajah first inherited the +country from his uncle it extended as far as the Bintulu River. Turning +again to the map, it will be seen that the rivers of Baram, Trusan, +Lawas, and Limbang now also form part of the Rajah’s territory, but in +the days of which I write the Baram River still belonged to the Sultan +of Brunei, although the people were discontented under his rule. + +[Illustration: THE AUTHOR AND IMA, MORNING ROOM AT ASTANA, KUCHING] + +The Baram River possesses a considerable Kayan population, and these +people were anxious the Rajah should visit them in order to establish +commerce and trade with Sarawak. The Sultan of Brunei was averse +to the idea, and did all he could to prevent the Rajah’s influence +extending to this district. At that time, Her Majesty’s Government +had a Representative in the little island of Labuan, off the coast +of Borneo. Sometimes these Representatives were hostile to the +Rajah’s policy, taking the Sultan’s side, without perhaps knowing +the intricacies of the case. The Rajah was eager to go to Baram to +ascertain for himself the position of affairs in the neighbourhood, +and in order not to appear as though he were embarking on a hostile +expedition against the Sultan’s Government, he thought it advisable to +take me with him on this trip. + +We stayed two days at Muka Fort on our way up the coast. Muka was then +in charge of the late Mr. Claude Champion de Crespigny, a man whose +name must be beloved for all time in Sarawak. He was sympathetic, +wide-minded, intelligent, and the Muka people loved him. The people +of Muka are Milanoes: they work the sago, which flourishes in this +district and forms a very important article of commerce in Sarawak. +Some one told me that more than one-half of the whole of the sago +exported to England comes from Muka and its neighbourhood. I do not +know if this is so, but it is certain that a great deal of sago does +find its way from this place to the English markets. The Borneo +Company, Ltd., had then a sago factory at Muka. + +I remember our tour in a boat round the Muka township: it was like most +Malay settlements--the houses are built on the river-banks on piles. I +thought a sago manufactory the most evil-smelling thing in existence. +Here I observed how my rings, chains, etc., made of almost unalloyed +Sarawak gold, turned black, and it was impossible to restore them to +their original colour so long as I remained in the atmosphere of this +busy but unsavoury town. The Milanoe women flocked to the Fort to see +me, but they were not very talkative, and were rather shy, as hitherto +they had had no experience of Englishwomen. Their features are square, +and they have the slanting eyes, the squat noses, and thick lips of the +Mongolian race, but their complexion is fairer than that of the other +natives in Sarawak. They flatten their children’s heads when they are +tiny babies; oddly enough, the same custom exists amongst the American +Indians inhabiting the Mosquito River. I have been told that the +religion of the Milanoes resembles that of the Cochin Chinese, and this +fact reminds me of the opinion expressed by Mr. Wallace as to these +people originally coming to Borneo from the north. Milanoes are not so +refined in their diet as are the Sea Dyaks. For instance, Sea Dyaks +would never dream of eating oysters as we do, for they consider them +living things. Milanoes prefer to eat uncooked fish cut up very fine, +and are very fond of grubs; they also eat monkeys, sharks, snakes, and +other reptiles. A great delicacy with them is a sort of transparent +white-wood worm, which they rear with as much care as do English people +oysters. They soak a large raft made of soft wood in the river for some +weeks, when it is supposed to have fulfilled its purpose. It is then +fished up, laden with the wriggling bodies of the worms. + +After leaving Muka, we sailed for the Baram River, and about thirty-six +hours’ steaming brought us to its mouth. This river has an evil +reputation; it is very broad, and a sandbank lying across its mouth +only permits of the passage of shallow ships. The _Heartsease_ drew +seven feet of water, and as we could not find any channel deep enough +to float her across, we embarked in the Borneo Company’s vessel, called +_Siri Sarawak_, which was accompanying us on this trip. The scenery +is very different in this more northern part of Borneo. Instead of +mangroves and nipa palms lining the banks, we saw great plains of +coarse lalang grass and stretches of sand. + +It was ticklish work proceeding up this river, there being no +chart, for we were the only white people who had as yet entered its +inhospitable borders in a vessel of any size. Mr. de Crespigny, who had +been an officer in the English Navy, undertook to make a chart, and sat +on the bridge the whole day, paper and pencil in hand, as we steamed +carefully by snags and sandbanks, under the direction of a Kayan, +who had been induced to leave his canoe at the mouth of the river to +pilot our vessel to a place called Batu Gading, our destination. As we +passed the Kayan houses, built on high poles near the banks, the people +crowded on their verandahs to see the passage of the “fire ship.” It +was very exciting, and we all pulled out white handkerchiefs and waved +them at the people to make them understand we were peaceful visitors. +I did not like to ask indiscreet questions, but it did occur to me at +the time whether these natives understood our signs. I have since found +out that they did. + +I think it took us about ten days to reach the settlement of Batu +Gading (meaning rock of ivory, so called from a white rock embedded in +the bank, shining like a beacon up one of the reaches of the river). +Batu Gading was then the most populous Kayan settlement up this +waterway, and it was here that the Rajah intended to land. We anchored +in front of the longest Kayan house I had yet come across, but we could +see no signs of life in the village. The Rajah sent his interpreter on +shore to parley with the chief, Abang Nipa, but the answer returned +was that the house was under what they called “pamale” (under a ban, +spiritual or otherwise), and that the people of the village could not +allow us to land because, under the circumstances, it was impossible +for them to receive visitors. The Rajah, Mr. de Crespigny, and a +gentleman belonging to the Borneo Company, Ltd., talked the matter +over, and came to the conclusion (afterwards proved to be correct) that +emissaries of the Sultan of Brunei, fearing a visit from the Rajah, +were in the village and were preventing the people from receiving us +inside their houses. Notwithstanding this drawback, our ship remained +anchored in the middle of the stream, and a messenger was sent daily +from the Rajah, always returning with the same answer. After the fourth +or fifth day, the Rajah made it understood that if the pamale were to +last a year, he would wait a year also, and that he was determined +to see the chief in spite of all pamales. At length the princes of +Brunei saw the futility of preventing the Rajah from carrying out his +intention, and one morning Abang Nipa’s son, accompanied by four or +five stalwart Kayans, was seen on his way to our steamer. They brought +with them an invitation to the Rajah from the chief, asking him to pay +them a visit, and the interview was fixed for that very afternoon. A +discussion then followed as to whether I should accompany the party +on shore or not. The Rajah and Mr. de Crespigny, who knew the working +of primitive people’s minds better perhaps than any Europeans alive, +thought it would be a good thing if I went also. + +I remember the visit as though it were yesterday. A dinghy was +prepared, and the Rajah, Mr. de Crespigny, the Borneo Company’s agent, +the English officers who had escorted the Rajah (my brother being +amongst them), and I, entered the boat and were rowed to shore. The +Rajah was followed by four or five of his guard, carrying muskets, but +as they were about to step into a second boat the Rajah waved them +back. “There must be no armed man in our party,” he said; “for the +slightest appearance of suspicion on our part might put the Kayans’ +backs up, and perhaps make them dangerous.” As the guards disappeared, +I wondered how it would be, but was not seriously apprehensive. + +I never shall forget getting up the pole into this house. As usual, +the house was built on stilts, but these were higher than those of +any house I had previously seen, and the notched pole, serving as a +ladder, slanted at an angle of one in ten for about forty feet! It +was no use worrying--up this ladder I had to go. The Rajah hopped up +it like a bird. The chief’s son and two or three other Kayans, seeing +my hesitation, came forward and helped me up the perilous way. I must +say, my helpers were most gentle and charming, and they took me up as +though I were as brittle as egg shells. The other Europeans present +found it quite easy to mount this interminable pole. I dare say it was +my petticoats that made my ascent difficult, for women’s clothes are +much in the way on such occasions. The entrance into the broad verandah +was a wonderful sight. All the way down, as far as I could see, it was +lined with rows of fighting men, holding their lances in one hand, in +all their war dress, tattooed from head to foot, with boar’s tusks +sticking out from their ears, grass crowns round their flowing locks, +and holding themselves as though they were Greek gods. We walked as far +as the centre of the house, where the chief’s apartments were situated. +There we found two stools, covered with yellow calico, and fine mats +laid on the floor in readiness for our reception. The interior was +divided by curtains made of mats or of Kayan stuffs of wonderful +designs, similar to Celtic patterns, brown, white, blue, and very deep +red. The Rajah and I seated ourselves on the little stools, whilst the +other Englishmen took their places on the floor. We were quite silent, +and the presence of two of the Sultan’s emissaries moving in and out of +the crowd, whispering to the people, did not look very promising for +the success of our mission. The Rajah pulled his moustache, but said +nothing, and we sat on, all silent, looking at one another. At last +Mr. de Crespigny said to me: “There are no women or children here. We +must get them in.” I believe it is a fact that amongst uncivilized or +barbaric tribes the absence of women and children is one of the signs +of intended treachery. Mr. de Crespigny suggested I should ask the +chief if I might make the acquaintance of his wife and the other women +of the tribe. I turned to the chief and asked the question in Malay, +which our interpreter translated into Kayan. The Sultan’s emissaries +did not look pleasant, but the chief seemed pleased, and made a sign +to one of the men standing near him, who at once disappeared behind +the curtains. In a few moments the man came back and held the curtains +aside, when, through the opening, came a procession of women. It was +a pretty sight. The chief’s wife, a remarkable lady, much feared and +respected by her tribe, headed the procession. Her black hair flowed +over her shoulders, falling almost to her knees, and on her head she +wore a fillet of straw. Her garment of white cotton hung in folds from +the waist to her right ankle, leaving her left side bare, excepting at +the hips, where it was fastened with strings of beads. Her left arm +and leg were bare but tattooed, and looked as though they were encased +in sheaths of dark blue velvet. All the women following her, young and +old, wore the same costume. They might have been Greek priestesses +paying tribute to some god. They shook hands first with the Rajah, +then with me, and seated themselves in a group at my feet. The usual +conversation followed as to the number of their children, how their +farms were progressing, etc., and I then asked to see some of the mats +and cloths they had made. After these had been duly admired, we became +quite friendly. My sleeves were pushed up to see whether my arms were +white all the way up. From the ejaculations which followed, I cannot be +certain whether they were those of admiration or not! + +I had round my neck a gold chain from which was suspended a red coral +charm, much in vogue amongst Neapolitans to ward against the evil eye. +Mr. de Crespigny suggested I should give this to the chief’s wife, +and I at once took the chain of gold off my neck and put it round +hers. I remember how the little narrow gold chain looked as it lay +against her mass of black hair, and the blood-red coral charm appeared +extraordinarily strange, yet picturesque, as it hung amongst the folds +of her white cotton garment. She was delighted with the ornament, and +when we parted the Rajah and the people had become good friends. I +said good-bye to the chief’s wife, and experienced a strange pang of +regret, as I always did when parting, perhaps after a few minutes’ +conversation only, from a newly made friend, a member of a tribe whom I +might never see again. + +It is extraordinary what important parts several of these Kayan women +have played in the history of those far-off countries. This particular +chief’s wife became, on the death of her husband, a great force for +good in the Baram River, whilst another chieftainess, Balu Lahai +(meaning widow of Lahai), had a powerful influence for good over a +tribe of some thirty thousand people, who acknowledged her as their +Queen. She undertook the management of the whole tribe, and until the +day of her death (which occurred not so long ago) her word was law to +every man, woman, and child in the village. + +To make a long story short, the Rajah’s visit to the Baram River +produced great results. The Sultan of Brunei, powerless to stem the +will of the Kayans, ceded the river to the Rajah. Forts and trading +settlements sprang up as though by magic all along its banks, and it +is now one of the richest and most populous rivers of the country. +Mr. de Crespigny was the first of the Rajah’s officers to take charge +of the Baram district, and he did very valuable work out there before +Dr. Charles Hose became Resident there some years later, at Mr. de +Crespigny’s death. Mr. de Crespigny was true to the Rajah’s policy, +and notwithstanding ill-health he most unselfishly and courageously +remained at his post, and by so doing gave additional impetus to +the trade and commerce of Sarawak, and security to the life of its +inhabitants. Dr. Hose became his worthy successor, and by his zeal, +hard work, and true sympathy with the natives has managed to crown Mr. +de Crespigny’s work by the magnificent results he has achieved in the +true civilization of the Baram people. + +On our return journey to Kuching, we stayed for a few days at Bintulu +Fort. The dress of the women of Bintulu differs slightly from that +of the Kuching Malays, as regards the texture of their sarongs and +jackets, and as regards their gold ornaments. These people appear +to prefer sombre tints to the bright colours worn by their Kuching +sisters. A sarong much favoured by the Bintulu women is made of cotton +with fine black threads running through, forming a check pattern +all over the skirt, without the dog-tooth stripe so conspicuous in +Javanese, Sumatran, and Malayan designs. This cotton material is so +fine in texture that it is as costly to buy as some of the gold and +silken brocades. The Bintulu women manage to obtain a gloss on the +material making it shiny like satin. One has to pay as much as £6 or £7 +for one of these sarongs. Over this black-and-white sheath, these women +wear a jacket of either black or dark blue satin, imported from China. +It fastens in front with three huge knobs of gold, and small gold knobs +are sewn all up the slashed sleeves. Large round ear-rings, sometimes +very exquisite in design, shaped like open lotus flowers, are thrust +through the lobes of their ears. Their scarfs are of quiet colours, +devoid of gold thread, but their hats are marvellous. Sometimes they +are as much as a yard across, so that no two women can walk near one +another. They are made of straw, conical in shape, and are ornamented +with huge pointed rays of red, black, and yellow, meeting towards the +centre. Mr. de Crespigny, who knew of the dresses and habits of these +people, told me to look out for the ladies as they wound their way up +the path leading to the Fort, and it was indeed a curious sight to see +two or three hundred of these discs, one after the other, apparently +unsupported, winding slowly up the steep ascent. When the women +reached the Fort, they left their hats somewhere--I never fathomed +where--before they came into the reception-room. + +They are pleasant-looking people, these Milanoes of Bintulu, with +their square, pale faces and quantities of jet-black hair. Their +ankles and wrists are not perhaps quite so delicate as are those of +the more southern people, for Milanoes are sturdier in build. They +belong to the same tribe as the sago workers of Muka, but, owing to +their more sedentary habits, their complexion is paler. Europeans who +know them well have many interesting stories to relate regarding their +superstitions and incantations, particularly in the case of illness, +when the beautiful blossom of the areca-nut palm plays an important +part. + +On the night of our arrival at the Fort, native dances were the +programme for the evening. A few Kayans from the far interior were +present, and we were promised some new and original performances. A +large space was cleared in the middle of the reception-room, when a +small, rather plump individual, a Kayan, active as a cat, was ushered +in, brandishing his parang. At first he crouched down and bounded about +the room like an animated frog. After a while he gradually straightened +himself, and bounded from one side of the space to the other, jumping +with the most wonderful agility, spinning round on one leg, and +screaming out his war-cry. His parang, in his rapid movements, became +multiplied and appeared like flashes of lightning. Once or twice he +came so near to where we were sitting that I fancied the blade caused +a draught over my head. I said nothing and sat on unmoved, but, before +one could realize what was happening, three Kayans squatting on the +floor sprang to their feet, and taking hold of the man, led him out +of the hall. The Rajah pulled his moustache. “What is it?” he said. +“Why has the man been taken away?” We were then informed that this +Kayan, who was a famous dancer, had previously, in a country outside +the Rajah’s jurisdiction, become so excited in his dancing, that he +had actually swept the head off one of his interested spectators. +The three Kayans who had taken hold of the dancer had witnessed the +gruesome scene, and they realized that on this occasion he was +becoming over-excited. Other dances followed, some sedate and slow, +others frenzied and untamed. The evening ended very pleasantly, and at +a somewhat late hour the Rajah dismissed his guests and we retired to +bed. I thought a good deal about the little dancing man, and came to +the conclusion that he must have been an artist in his way! + + + + + CHAPTER XVII + + +One morning, as I was watching the arrival of the mail-steamer from +my verandah at Kuching, I noticed the figure of a tall European lady +standing on deck. A few moments after, a messenger brought me a letter +from Singapore from the Governor’s wife, Lady Jervois, introducing a +traveller to Sarawak, whose name was Marianne North. The Rajah was +away, so I sent his Secretary on board with a pressing invitation to +the lady, of whom I had heard so much, but had not had the pleasure of +meeting. Miss North’s arrival in Sarawak is a great and happy landmark +in my life. Many of my English friends were devoted to her, and I was +delighted at the idea of her coming to stay with me. I watched our +small river-boat fetching her from the steamer, and went to meet her. +She was not young then, but I thought she looked delightful. We shook +hands, and the first words she said to me were: “How do you know if +you will like me well enough to ask me to stay with you?” From that +moment began a friendship which lasted until her death. Many people +know the great work of her life, and must have seen the gallery of +her pictures which she gave to Kew Gardens. Many of these pictures were +painted in Sarawak. + + [Illustration: SUN SETTING BEHIND THE MOUNTAIN OF MATANG] + +The first evening of her stay in Kuching we went for a row on the +river, and the sunset behind Matang was, as she said, a revelation. +That land of forests, mountains, and water, the wonderful effect of +sunshine and cloud, the sudden storms, the soft mists at evening, the +perfumed air brought through miles and miles of forest by the night +breezes, were an endless source of delight to her. Sometimes as we sat +on our verandah in the evening after dinner, a sweet, strange perfume +wafted from forest lands beyond, across the river, floated through our +house--“The scent of unknown flowers,” Miss North would say. + +Our boat-boys were sent on botanical expeditions for jungle plants, +and every morning and evening a great variety of things arrived at +the Astana, many of which I had never seen or even heard of. In the +morning I would take my work into Miss North’s room and sit with her +whilst she painted, for I loved her companionship. She it was who +first made me realize the beauty, solace, and delight found in trees, +plants, and flowers. But sometimes she was very stern; she thought me +young and stupid. She would look at me through her spectacles, very +kindly, I must say. “Why, you know nothing,” she said, “although you +are so late from school!” She once asked me where pitcher-plants were +to be found. “Pitcher-plants,” I said; “I have never heard of them. +I don’t think there are any in the country.” “But this is the land of +pitcher-plants,” Miss North replied, “and if you like we will try and +find them together.” I sent for the boat-boy. I remember distinctly the +picture she was painting at the time--a clump of sago palms growing +in our garden. She told me how I could describe pitcher-plants to the +faithful Kong Kong, one of our boat-boys, a Sarawak Malay, an odd and +uncouth individual, with long hair flowing over his shoulders. He had +been with the Rajah for many years. “Oh yes,” said Kong Kong, “I know. +They grow where earth is marshy. I can show you where they grow.” One +morning Miss North and I got up early and crossed the river almost +before sunrise, and with Kong Kong as our guide, went in search of +the pitcher-plants. We walked for a little way along the Rock Road, +and turned into a path leading through a kind of moor, where the +sensitive plant lay like a carpet covering the ground. That curse of +agriculturists always delighted me. I felt a certain enjoyment in +walking through the great patches of this shrinking stuff with its +myriads of leaves closing at the slightest touch. We left a pathway +behind us of apparently dying vegetation, but a minute or two after our +passage it resumed its normal shape. Malays call it the “Shy” plant. +Kong Kong then led the way over a swamp, where logs of wood were laid +to keep passers-by off the mud. Our progress across these logs was +not an easy matter. We went through a grove of trees, and suddenly, +in a clearing, we came to the spot. I do not think anyone who has +only seen pitcher-plants growing in the sedate way they do at Kew can +have any idea of the beautiful madness of their growth when in a wild +state. Here they were, cups long, round, wide, and narrow, some shaped +like Etruscan vases, others like small earthenware cooking-pots, the +terminations of long, narrow, glossy green leaves. Their colour, too, +was perfectly exquisite--a pale green ground, splashed over with rose, +carmine, yellow, and brown, the little lids to the cups daintily poised +just above each pitcher. I suppose there must have been thousands of +these plants, twisting, creeping, and flinging themselves over dead +trunks of trees, falling in cascades of colour above our heads, forming +a perfect bower. We all stood still, silently looking at them. At +length Miss North remarked: “And you said yesterday there were no such +things in the country!” + +Miss North remained with us about six weeks, and when I very +sorrowfully accompanied her on board the steamer on her return to +England, I felt that something new and delightful had come into my +life, for she had not only introduced me to pitcher-plants, but to +orchids, palms, ferns, and many other things of whose existence I had +never dreamed. Miss North was the one person who made me realize the +beauties of the world. She was noble, intelligent, and kind, and her +friendship and the time we spent together are amongst my happiest +memories. She used to paint all day, and, thinking this must be bad +for her, I sometimes tried to get her away early in the afternoon for +excursions, but she would never leave her work until waning daylight +made painting impossible. I remember how she painted a sunset behind +Matang, which painting she gave to me. She sat on a hill overlooking +the river until the sun went behind the mountain. The world grew dark, +and the palms in the neighbourhood looked black against the sky as she +put her last stroke into the picture. She put up her palette, folded +her easel, and was preparing to walk home with me to the Astana, when +for some moments she stood quite still, staring at the thread of red +light disappearing behind the shoulder of the mountain. “I cannot speak +or move,” she said. “I am drunk with beauty!” + +But there was one thing that Miss North and I did not agree upon. She +did not approve of the view I took of our Dyak and Kayan people. She +liked to meet Malay ladies, because, as we all know, they have better +manners than most Europeans, but she could not bear the thought of +either Dyaks or Kayans. I could never eradicate from her mind the idea +that they were savages. I used to try and interest her in these people, +for I longed that she should accompany us in some of our journeys +into the interior, but this she would never do. “Don’t talk to me of +savages,” she would say; “I hate them.” “But they are not savages,” I +would reply. “They are just like we are, only circumstances have made +them different.” “They take heads: that is enough for me,” she would +add severely, and would listen to no defence for that curious custom of +theirs, for which I could find so many excuses. + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII + + +A few months after Miss North’s departure, my second son Bertram was +born. His arrival gave pleasure to the people of the country, for they +think a great deal of a Rajah’s son who is born on their soil. It may +be on this account they look upon him as their particular property. +My Malay friends poured into my room as he lay in his cradle, and +made various remarks as to his future: “A Sarawak boy,” “A son of our +Rajah,” “He will be great some day,” “Look at his nose,” and they +tenderly took this feature between their thumb and forefinger (even in +those days Bertram’s nose was rather prominent), and then felt their +own flat noses. The many toys and jingling ornaments that hung over his +cradle made a forest of glittering things above his head and caused +him much enjoyment. He is called “Tuan Muda” (young lord), a title +given in Sarawak to the second brother in succession to the Raj. Malay +children were brought to play with him, and his arrival strengthened +even more the bonds of friendship already existing between the people +and the Rajah’s family. “How good it will be, Rajah Ranee,” Daiang +Sahada would say, “when he grows up and marries and has children, and +you and I will be here to take care of him and his family. It will make +Sarawak still more beautiful than it is now, for it will ensure our +future happiness.” It is sad to think that nearly everything we most +look forward to in life does not come to pass, and instead of my now +being with my sons, their wives, and their children, happily settled +in Sarawak amongst the best friends we have in the world, I should be +writing this book and wasting my life here in this city called London. + +Bertram’s arrival on the scene prevented me from taking as many +expeditions with the Rajah as before. I now spent months together in +Kuching, and day by day added to my knowledge of the people, of their +beliefs and their aspirations, and made me love them more than ever. +It was during this period the idea came to me that it was a pity +Malay women could not read or write their own language. They were +fond of ancient lore and enjoyed hearing the legends and romantic +tales relating to their race, handed down to them through traditional +sources. In all the suburbs of Kuching curious old women were to be +found, many of whom had acquired in some mysterious manner these tales +from those of past generations. Such old women were called reciters, +and Malay ladies when giving parties often hired their services to +entertain their friends. Having learnt of this amusement, I started +parties of recitation at the Astana, which generally took place in +the evening. Clad in our best silks and satins, and stiff with gold +brocade, we sat together in my private room with the reciter, poorly +dressed in dark cotton clothes, pouring out wonderful stories of kings, +queens, and princesses; of royal gardens, monkey-gods, peacocks, +flowers, perfumes, and such-like things. I could not follow these +stories very well, because these old ladies sang every word. Sometimes +the voice was low, sometimes very shrill, and when embarrassed for a +word, they trilled and quavered, remaining on a very high note until +they remembered how the story went, when they gleefully descended +the scale, began again, and poured forth further torrents of words. +Sometimes they paused, walked rapidly across the room, and spat through +the window. “She is full of understanding,” Datu Isa would say after +one of these journeys to the window. “She knows her work!” “Her words +come from ancient times!” “It is beautiful exceedingly!” Meanwhile, the +reciter, holding her draperies firmly round her, left the window, and +bending double as she passed us as a sign of respect, took her place +once more in the centre of her admiring circle and began afresh, until +stopped again in the same way, when the same ejaculations of admiration +came from us all. + + [Illustration: DAIANG SAHADA, DAIANG LEHUT, MRS. MAXWELL, THE AUTHOR + AND ATTENDANTS] + +After one of these evening parties, as Datu Isa and her satellites +were sitting talking to me in my room, I suggested that we should all +learn to read and write Malay, which language is written in Arabic +characters. I asked Datu Isa how we had best set to work, for I +thought it would be good for the Malay women and myself to be able to +read and write Malay for ourselves. “No,” said Datu Isa; “that would +never do. Writing amongst women is a bad habit, a pernicious custom. +Malay girls would be writing love letters to clandestine lovers, and +undesirable men might come into contact with the daughters of our +house. I do not agree, Rajah Ranee, with the idea, and I hope it +will never come to pass.” This was rather crushing, because Datu Isa +was a tremendous force in our social life in Kuching, but I was not +altogether dismayed, and being anxious for this additional pleasure to +come into my friends’ lives, I pondered on the subject. + +A good many months went by before I could put my suggestion into +execution. Meanwhile I began to study on my own account, and sent for +Inchi Sawal, a celebrity in the Kuching circles of those days. He was +called a “Guru” (master of arts). He knew Arabic, was a good Malay +scholar, and had taught a great many of the Rajah’s officers in the +intricacies of the language. Formerly he had been Malay writer to the +late Rajah. Malay is easy enough to talk ungrammatically, and one can +make oneself understood by stringing together nouns and adjectives, +regardless of verbs, prepositions, etc. The natives of Sarawak, +although learning the language by ear, speak very good Malay, but +it was deplorable, in those days, to hear it spoken by some of the +English people residing in Kuching. The Rajah, however, is one of the +best Malay scholars in Malaya, and it is a real pleasure to hear his +Malay speeches to his people. + +Inchi Sawal was a great stickler for grammar. He was a Sumatran +Malay, and his face was rounder, his features rather thicker and his +complexion darker than our Malays; moreover, his hair was curly, and +his whole appearance was cheerful, genial, and kindly. His functions +were numerous. He was, of course, a Muhammadan, and had friendly +relations with all the Malay chiefs of Kuching, by whom he was looked +upon as a cultured man: in fact, they considered him the arbiter +of Malay literature. He was a butcher, and knew exactly what was +required in the killing of bullocks for Muhammadan consumption. He was +a wonderful confectioner, and made delicious preserves with little +half-ripe oranges growing in orchards round Malay houses in the town. +He sent me some of this preserve as a present for New Year’s Day, and +as I liked it so much, I wanted to know how it was made. Accordingly, +Inchi Sawal came to the Astana to give me a lesson. It would take too +long to tell of the methods he employed in the preparation of the +fruit, but it seemed to me that a good deal of religion was mixed up +with the cooking of those small, bobbing green balls, as they simmered +in the boiling syrup. A number of invocations to Allah secured a good +result to his labours. Inchi Sawal had a different appearance during +each of his occupations. When cooking oranges, a grave, religious +aspect seemed _de rigueur_ as he leant over the pot. When talking of +bullocks, his victims, a devil-me-care expression spread over his +countenance, as though in the slaughter of each beast he had to wrestle +with a sanguinary foe. At lessons he became urbane, courtier-like, and +mild. + +When his teachings began, Inchi Sawal brought with him pens made from +the mid-ribs of palm leaves, used by most Arabic scholars in Malaya. +I am afraid I did not prove a very apt pupil. My tutor pronounced a +word, which I said after him. I found great difficulty in giving an +adequate sound to the Arabic letter غ (_aing_), awkward for Europeans +to pronounce. I read Malay in these characters with him, and it annoyed +him very much whenever I let a vowel pass without pronouncing it +properly. “The beauty of reading,” he would say, “is to look at a word +well before you give vent to its sound. Think over the letters, Tuan, +and although it should take a year to master one word, when you have +mastered it, it will give your heart relief and comfort.” + +One morning Inchi Sawal was more solemn than usual. “I have spoken to +the Datu Imaum about our lessons,” he said, as he came into the room, +“and he quite agrees that we should together study the Koran. I will +bring the book wrapped in many cloths, and, if you do not object, we +will wash our hands before we handle its leaves. We might do a little +of the Koran before we begin our Malay lessons, which will put us in +the proper frame of mind for the things we have to learn. The Datu +Imaum also approves of your learning to read and write, as he thinks it +will be a great incentive to the Malay women to improve their minds and +strengthen their hearts.” + +Very gravely he unfolded the wrappings in which the Koran lay, and +reverently handled the pages of this marvellous book of wisdom, as we +read together the first chapter:-- + +“Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures; the most merciful, the +king of the day of judgment. Thee do we worship, and of thee do we beg +assistance. Direct us in the right way, in the way of those to whom +thou hast been gracious; not of those against whom thou art incensed, +nor of those who have gone astray....” + +As time went on and Datu Isa found I could read and write Malay, she +relented so far as to allow her married daughters and daughters-in-law +to join me in my studies. We had great fun over our lessons, and, after +some time, Daiang Sahada (Datu Isa’s daughter-in-law) began to write +almost better than the great Inchi Sawal himself. She commenced to +describe the history of Sarawak, from the advent of the first white +Rajah, in poetry, and played a prominent part in the education of her +sisters. In her comfortable house, she and her husband, Abang Kasim +(now the Datu Bandar), helped me in my efforts by instituting a school +for women and young boys. In a short time the pupils were too numerous +for the size of her house, and the Rajah, being interested in this new +impetus given to education by the women of Kuching, built a school +where Malay reading and writing were taught, and installed Inchi Sawal +as master.[9] + +One must mention that even in those days the Mission schools, +organized by the Protestant Bishops of Sarawak, their chaplains, and +missionaries, had attained considerable proportions, and were doing +immense good amongst the Rajah’s Chinese and Dyak subjects, but for +very good reasons the Muhammadans were never approached by Christian +teachers. As the country developed, the Muhammadans (Malays) also +longed for educational facilities on their own lines, so the Rajah +instituted a school where Arabic was taught. + +Writing of these educational matters recalls many happy hours I spent +in Inchi Sawal’s company. I regret to say that some years ago he was +gathered to his fathers, and buried in the little Muhammadan cemetery +I know so well. I can fancy his weeping women wrapping him in a sheet, +according to the Muhammadan custom. I can also picture the little +procession of boats, accompanying the canoe in which his body was +placed covered with a white umbrella, paddling to the shores of his +last resting-place, where his grave had been dug by members of the +Faith--that shallow grave about three feet deep, allotted to followers +of the Faithful, from whence, at the resurrection, at the bidding of +the Angel Azraïl, together with other good Muhammadans, Inchi Sawal +shall rise up and be folded in the bosom of Allah--the Merciful, the +Compassionate. + + [Illustration: VERANDA IN DAIANG SAHADA’S HOUSE AT KUCHING] + +Another Malay school, on the opposite side of the river, was founded +by Inchi Bakar, the son of old Inchi Buyong, also a Sumatran Malay. +Inchi Bakar succeeded his father as Court Interpreter, and was also the +Head of the Customs. He and his family are great friends of mine, and +I often paid them visits. He is, perhaps, more a man of the world than +was Inchi Sawal. The profession of butcher fell into other hands, nor +do I think that Inchi Bakar is an adept at cooking the little oranges +of which I was so fond. He is, however, a great light in his way, and +his house is a meeting-place for the more educated Malays of Kuching. +Whilst retaining his Arabic culture, one can talk to him almost on any +subject, for he reads and writes English as well as most Englishmen. +He was partial to Chinese society, for amongst the Chinese merchants +of Kuching are to be found enlightened and cultured gentlemen. Many a +time I have sat on the broad and comfortable verandah of Inchi Bakar’s +house and witnessed Chinese plays enacted on narrow wooden tables, with +their feast of colour, curious costumes, Chinese music, and clashing +of cymbals. Although the stage was narrow and there was no scenery +beyond curtains of scarlet and gold, on which were embroidered rampant +dragons, we could understand the intricacies of the drama better, +perhaps, from the fact that so much was left to our imagination. +Chinese players often came to Sarawak, and are now permanently +established in the Chinese Bazaar, but as it is not customary for Malay +women to mingle with a crowd, private parties, at which these dramas +were acted for their benefit, were frequent amongst the aristocrats in +Kuching. + +I am happy to say that Inchi Bakar is still living, and I often +hear from him. Although he and I may be parted, sometimes for years +together, the friendship that exists between us is as strong as it +was in the early days of our acquaintance, when he was a young lad +visiting me at the Astana with his mother and grandmother. Malays are +faithful friends, nor does absence blunt their friendship. I derive +great consolation from that fact, when, as often happens, a sort of +home-sickness comes over me, and I feel as though I must take the next +ship back to the land I love so well, never, never to leave it again. + +In those days Inchi Bakar’s wife was also included in our educational +group. She was a relation of Datu Isa, and she and Daiang Sahada were +friends. I should like to draw special attention to the part played by +these two Malay ladies in the education of the women in Kuching, who +were much impressed by their kind interest and sympathy. Those were +pleasant days for us all, groping about the letters of the Arabic +alphabet, and trying to obtain calligraphic perfection. After what we +considered our hours of hard work, we thought recreation was necessary, +so that on most days, as it got cooler and the sun began to sink behind +Matang, we would go into the Astana garden in order to “eat the air,” +as they said. Those walks in our garden were a great delight to them. +They loved the roses, the jasmine, the honeysuckle, the tuberoses, +and many other tropical plants which grew in beds on the closely mown +lawns round our house. They often asked permission to take some of +the flowers home, and their methods of picking the flowers were so +refined, gentle, and economical, that they might pick as many as they +liked without any devastation being noticeable in the beds after their +passage. Malays never pick flowers with their stems; they only take +the heads of flowers which they set floating in saucers filled with +water. They used to ask me why we ordered our gardeners to break off +great branches of blossoms to put in water in our drawing-room. “They +are so high up,” they would say, “their perfume can never be thoroughly +enjoyed. Besides it destroys the plant.” So that in my rooms I always +had great basins full of sweet-smelling stemless flowers floating on +the surface of the water to please my friends. If only we could free +ourselves from the conventional ideas, we must realize it is entirely +erroneous to imagine that in order to make a room beautiful we must +decorate it with long stems of flowers and buds. I think Malays have +much better taste in such matters, because flowers smell quite as sweet +and last just as long under the methods they employ of perfuming their +houses. + + [Illustration: DAIANG LEHUT--DAIANG SAHADA’S DAUGHTER] + +Our evening strolls through the Astana grounds reminded my friends of +the legends related by the old lady reciters. “Here we are,” they often +exclaimed, “in the Rajah’s gardens, playing, smelling sweet perfumes, +and looking at ponds over which floats the lotus--just like the old +stories.” Beyond the miles and miles of forest land stretching to the +north between Kuching and the sea, the mountain of Santubong could be +seen from our garden towering on the horizon. Viewed from Kuching, the +outline of the mountain as it lies against the sky, has the appearance +of a human profile, bearing an extraordinary resemblance to the first +white Rajah of Sarawak. The Malays are aware of this fact, and the +women have frequently said to me as we stood looking at the mountain, +“The gods knew what they were about, they fashioned Santubong so that +the image of the first white Rajah should never fade from the country.” + +Another source of joy on these occasions was the presence of a peahen +we kept roaming about at liberty in our garden. The naked feet of the +women pattering up and down the paths was, for some mysterious reason, +more than the bird could stand. The appearance of my Malay friends +was the signal for it to single from out the group one unfortunate +member, when it would rush at her toes and follow her in and out the +bushes on the lawn. The victim, half-amused and half-frightened at the +pecks, would move quicker than is customary amongst Malay aristocrats. +Sometimes the bird got so violent in its attacks, that I had to call +the sentry on guard at the door of the Astana. The sentry (either a +Malay or a Dyak), in his white uniform with black facings, musket in +hand, appeared very courageously at first to protect the woman from +her feathered persecutor, until the peahen turned her attention to his +toes, whereupon his musket was dropped, and the little figure of the +sentry rushing hither and thither in his frantic attempts to escape +from the bird caused us much merriment. This was a frequent occurrence, +and my Malay friends called it “playing with the peahen”! I was glad I +wore shoes, for I do not think I should have enjoyed the bird’s antics +quite so much as they did. + +Sometimes the party stayed until 6 p.m., when, on fine evenings, more +punctual than any clock, we heard a shrill trumpeting noise issuing +from the woods near the Astana. I believe this came from a kind of +cricket. “It is the six o’clock fly telling us to go home,” they said, +and, at the first sound of this musical alarum, my friends bade me +good-night, stepped into their boats, and were paddled to their homes. +I often watched them as they went away in their covered boats, the +paddles churning up the golden or flame-coloured waters of the river +tinted by the sunset, and thought how absurd it is that different +coloured skins should be a bar to friendship between white and dark +people, seeing that kindness and sympathy are not confined to any +region of the earth, or to any race of men. + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [9] This school became known as Abang Kasim’s school, and + now has a large attendance. + + + + + CHAPTER XIX + + +Malay people have a great reverence for age, and Datu Isa’s many +years apparently endeared her still more to the younger generation at +Kuching. Her children, grandchildren, and I, were delighted when she +would tell us about her early life, and also about the superstitions +and legends of her country. Her conversation was always interesting, +and I wish I could give an impression of her manner when relating these +tales. When sixteen years of age, she, together with several Malay +women of Kuching, had been liberated from captivity by the menacing +guns of James Brooke’s yacht, turned on to the Palace of her captor, +Rajah Muda Hassim, who had intended to carry her off to Brunei for the +Sultan’s harem. This personal reminiscence invariably served as the +prelude to other interesting tales. The story of the Pontianak ghost, +for instance, was the one which perhaps thrilled us most. Malays almost +sing as they talk, and their voices quaver, become loud or soft, or die +off in a whisper, the words being interspersed with funny little nasal +noises, together with frowns, sighs, or smiles. When about to relate a +dramatic incident, Datu Isa became silent for a moment, looked at us +with knitted brows, although she did not see us, so intent was she on +her story. + +This is the story of the Pontianak. When a baby is about to be born, +the father walking under the flooring of his house hears a low chuckle +behind him. He turns round, and sees a beautiful woman looking at him. +Her face is like the moon, her eyes are like stars, her mouth is like +a half-open pomegranate, her complexion is white, her hair intensely +red. She wears a sarong round her waist, and no jacket covers her +shoulders. Should the husband have neglected to set fire to the bunch +of onions, tuba roots, and other ingredients, the smoke of which keeps +evil spirits away, the woman stands there for some moments without +uttering a sound. Then she opens her mouth, giving vent to peals of +laughter. By this time the husband is so frightened that he can think +of no spell by which to combat her evil intentions. After a while, her +feet rise an inch or two from the ground, and as she flies swiftly past +him, her hair flows straight behind her like a comet’s tail, when he +sees between her shoulder blades the large gaping wound, signifying +that she is a Pontianak. After this apparition, there is no hope for +the woman or the babe about to be born, they are doomed to die, so that +the Pontianak is one of the most dreaded ghosts haunting Malay houses. + +As Datu Isa finished the Pontianak story, we all clamoured for more. +The old lady loved to see our interest, and went on telling us many +other superstitions: Unless you cover the heads of sleeping children +with black cloth, and put a torn fishing net on the top of their +mosquito curtains, the birds, Geruda, Dogan, and Konieh (supposed to be +eagles), will come close to them and cause convulsions. You must put +knives or pinang cutters near your babies, and when walking out with +them you must take these instruments with you, until your babies can +walk alone. Then turning to me, Datu Isa would say: “I hope you will +never see the sun set under the fragment of a rainbow, Rajah Ranee, +for that is a certain portent that the Rajah’s wife must die, although +rainbows in other portions of the sky do not matter if you know how +to address them. When my children and grandchildren are out in the +garden, and a rainbow arches over the sky, we pluck the heads off the +more gaily coloured flowers and place them on the children’s heads, and +say: ‘Hail, King of the Sky, we have come out to meet you in our finest +clothes.’” + +It is unlucky for a child to lie on its face and kick up its legs, this +being a sure sign the father or mother will fall sick. When a woman +expects a baby, the roof of her house must not be mended, nor must her +husband cut his hair or his nails. During this time a guest must not +be entertained for one night only; they must stay two. When a woman +dies in childbirth, during the fasting month of the Muhammadans, she +becomes an “orang alim” (a good spirit), and all the sins she may have +committed are forgiven her. + +Datu Isa had great faith in a bangle I possessed, made of a kind of +black seaweed found on the Sarawak coast, and she was anxious I should +take care not to break it. It was given me in this way: During the +first years of my stay in Sarawak, an old gardener employed at the +Palace, having in some way misbehaved himself, was dismissed. Shortly +afterwards, I met the old man in a state of great depression during +one of my walks the other side of the river, and he begged me to use +my influence with the Rajah and get him taken back again, promising +he would behave better in the future. He was a lazy old man, but as +I felt sorry for him, I asked the Rajah to give him another trial. +The Rajah agreed, and the man resumed work in the Astana garden in +his own desultory way. I often used to watch him pulling up the weeds +from the paths; he would sit on his haunches, stare at the river, and +take some minutes’ rest after every weed he extracted. Notwithstanding +these drawbacks, he was a grateful soul, and on the morning of his +reinstalment amongst the Rajah’s gardeners he brought me a bangle +made of this black seaweed. It was very small and I had difficulty in +getting it over my hand, so the old man put it into boiling water to +make it more elastic, and, after some little trouble, it was forced +over my hand. “Lightning, snake bites, and antus can never harm you,” +he said, “as long as you keep the bangle round your wrist, but should +it ever break, it would bring you bad luck!” The bangle is on my wrist +now, and I dread lest anything should happen to it, for should it ever +get broken, I should feel just as nervous of the result as would any of +my Malay women friends. + +Some of the Malays in Sarawak use somewhat disconcerting methods to +frighten away evil spirits on the occasion of very bad storms. After a +frightful gale, accompanied by incessant lightning and thunder, that +occurred in Kuching, two or three owners of plantations in the suburbs +of the town came to the Rajah and complained that some of their Malay +neighbours had cut down all their fruit trees during the hurricane, in +order to propitiate the spirit of the storm. Nowadays these drastic +measures to other people’s property are seldom heard of, because the +Rajah has his own methods of dealing with such superstitious and +undesirable proceedings. It took some time to eradicate these curious +and unneighbourly customs, but I believe they are now a thing of the +past. + + [Illustration: INCHI BAKAR--SCHOOL MASTER, KUCHING] + +I must tell one more curious belief existing amongst Malays. Just +before I left for England, a Malay woman from one of our out-stations +brought me a cocoa-nut, very much larger than the ordinary fruit of +the Archipelago. I believe these huge cocoa-nuts are only to be found +growing in the Seychelles Islands, and the natives call them “cocoa de +mer” The woman told me she had brought me this fruit on account of the +luck it brought its possessor; at the same time assuring me it came +from fairyland. I asked her to tell me its story, when she informed +me that, as every one knows, in the middle of the world is a place +called “The navel of the sea.” In this spot, guarded by two dragons, +is a tree on which these large cocoa-nuts grow, known as Pau Jinggeh. +The dragons feed on the fruit, and when they have partaken too freely +of it, have fits of indigestion, causing them to be sea-sick; thus +the fruit finds its way into the ocean, and is borne by the current +into all parts of the world. These enormous nuts are occasionally met +with by passing vessels, and in this manner some are brought to the +different settlements in the Malayan Archipelago. The fruit brought +for my acceptance had been given to the woman by a captain of a Malay +schooner, who had rescued it as it was bobbing up and down in the water +under the keel of his boat. “I thought you would like to have it, Rajah +Ranee,” she said, “because it cannot be bought for love nor money.” The +fruit now occupies a prominent position in our drawing-room at Kuching, +and is a source of great interest to the natives. + +With our ideas of European wisdom, we may be inclined to smile +superciliously at these beliefs, but we should not forget that a great +many of us do not like seeing _one_ magpie, we avoid dining thirteen +at table, we hate to see the new moon through glass, we never walk +under a ladder, or sit in a room where three candles are burning; and +how about people one meets who assure us they have heard the scream +of a Banshee, foretelling the death of some human being? Putting all +these things together, I do not think either Malays or Dyaks show much +more superstition than we Europeans do; after all, we are not so very +superior to primitive races, although we imagine that on account of our +superior culture we are fit to govern the world. + + + + + CHAPTER XX + + +During my residence in Sarawak, I witnessed several epidemics of +cholera, and to any who have nervous temperaments, its advent is +alarming. On one of its visitations, some curious incidents occurred, +on account of the superstitious practices of the Chinese residing in +Kuching. + +In order to allay panic as much as possible, the Rajah and I drove +or rode every morning through the Bazaar, where cholera was rife and +where the atmosphere was impregnated with the smell of incense and +joss-sticks, set burning by the Chinese in order to mitigate the +plague. Many devices were resorted to by these people, superstitious +and otherwise. I remember one magnificent junk, built regardless of +expense, the Chinese merchants and their humbler and poorer brethren +giving their dollars and cents ungrudgingly to make this vessel +glorious, as a sop to stay the ravages of the infuriated god. The junk +was placed on wheels and dragged for three miles down a bad road to a +place called Pinding, where it was launched on the waters of the river, +to be borne by the tide--it was hoped--to the sea. The procession +accompanying this vessel was extremely picturesque. Great banners, +scarlet, green, and blue, on which were embroidered golden dragons, +etc., were carried by Chinamen, and the clashing of cymbals made a most +frightful noise. + +Nor was this the only procession organized whilst the cholera was at +its height. One morning, after I had been riding round the settlement, +and had got off my pony at the door of our stables across the river, I +saw in the distance a crowd of people coming along the road, shouting, +clashing cymbals, and bearing something aloft. This “something,” on +coming nearer, turned out to be a man seated on a chair looking like +an arm-chair, but formed entirely of swords, their sharp edges forming +the back, the seat, and the arms. The man was naked, with the exception +of a loincloth and a head-handkerchief. His head rolled from side to +side, his tongue protruded, and only the whites of his eyes could be +seen. I thought he must be mad or in a fit, but one of our Syces told +me the man was trying to allay the cholera. The mob following him +was screeching, yelling, bounding about, beating gongs, and making a +terrific noise. As it swept close to where I stood, I could see that no +one in the crowd took notice of anybody or anything in their way. The +procession went round the Chinese quarters of the town, and, meanwhile, +the man in the chair was apparently immune from wounds. Our English +doctor subsequently examined the chair, and having realized for himself +the sharpness of its blades, he could not understand how the man could +have escaped cutting himself to pieces. + +This gruesome procession took place morning and evening during the +first weeks of the epidemic, but instead of allaying the scourge it +appeared to have the effect of increasing it. Moreover, the minds +of the people were in danger of becoming unhinged by this daily +spectacle, and the man who sat in the chair was beginning to exercise +an undesirable influence over the people in the Bazaar. This senseless +proceeding also became a serious obstacle to the more intelligent +attempts to stamp out the disease. The Rajah therefore ordered the +procession to be suppressed. The day after the order was given, the +Rajah and I were driving in one of the roads near the town, when we +met the forbidden procession with a still more numerous following of +Chinamen than hitherto. The Rajah said nothing at the time, but when we +reached the Palace he sent a force of police under an English officer +to arrest the sword-chair man and imprison him. The following morning, +before daylight, a band of Chinamen encircled the gaol, and somehow +managed to liberate the fanatic. The Rajah, hearing of this matter, +sent for the principal shopkeepers in the Bazaar, and informed them +that if the man was not restored to the prison before six o’clock that +evening he would turn the guns of the _Aline_ on to their houses in +the Bazaar, and batter them down over their heads. It was an exciting +time. I remember seeing the _Aline_ heave anchor and slowly take its +position immediately in front of the Bazaar. At five o’clock that +evening a deputation of Chinamen asked to see the Rajah. “The man is +back in gaol,” they said; “he will not trouble the town any more.” +The Rajah smiled genially at the news, shook hands with each member of +the deputation, and I realized again, as in so many other cases, the +Rajah’s wisdom in dealing with his people. The man who was the cause of +the trouble was subsequently sent out of the country. + +There are many mysteries regarding these curious Eastern people which +Europeans are not able to fathom. Another practice of the Chinese, +when in any straits or when about to embark on some new commercial +enterprise, is to lay down burning charcoal for the space of several +yards, over which two or three initiated individuals are paid to walk +barefooted. If they come through the ordeal unscathed, which I am given +to understand is nearly always the result, the enterprise is considered +a favourable one. This practice was once resorted to in Kuching, when +a company of Chinese merchants, anxious to open up pepper and gambier +gardens in Sarawak, set certain Chinamen to gambol up and down the +fiery path unscathed. The pepper and gambier gardens were established, +and proved a great success. One can only wonder how it is that these +people’s bare skins appear to be impervious to fire and to sharp +instruments. + +The outbreak of cholera did not confine itself entirely to the Chinese +quarter. It began picking out victims here and there, and the Kampong +of my friends, Datu Isa and her relations, also suffered severely. +Every morning, notwithstanding, my Malay friends found their way to the +Astana, and during one of these visits, whilst we were talking quite +happily and trying to keep our minds free from the all-absorbing topic +of the sickness that was laying so many low and bringing mourning to +so many houses in Kuching, I saw the Datu Tumanggong’s wife, a buxom +lady of forty years, fat and jolly in appearance, suddenly turn the +ashy-green colour that reveals sickness amongst these people. She +rubbed her chest round and round, and then exclaimed: “Wallahi, I +feel very ill.” Good heavens! I thought, she is seized with cholera. +Datu Isa said to me, “Wallahi, perhaps the sickness!” I had recourse +to heroic methods. I sent for a bottle of brandy, some hot water, and +chlorodyne. I gave the poor lady a strong dose of the spirit (which +certainly, being a Muhammadan, she had never tasted before), mixed +with about twenty drops of chlorodyne. The mixture filled half a +tumbler, and I told her to drink it and she would feel all right. She +was trembling and frightened, but did not demur for one instant, and +swallowed the draught, making an extraordinary gulp in her throat. She +gave me back the tumbler, and immediately sank back on the floor and +lay inanimate on the rugs in my room. For one moment I thought I had +killed her, and looked at Datu Isa and my other friends to see how they +would take it. “You have cured her, Rajah Ranee,” they said. “We will +go home and leave her to finish her sleep.” I pretended to feel no +anxiety, although I must say I did not feel very comfortable. + +I sent for Ima, and we two stayed in the room to await developments. +The lady lay like a log, and her pulse beat very fast. After some time, +I saw her colour becoming restored, and in the space of two hours she +sat up and appeared to be perfectly well again. “Wallah, Rajah Ranee,” +she said. “You do understand. You white people have secrets that no one +else can know.” Personally, I was not so sure, but I was delighted when +I realized she was none the worse, and saw her escorted down the path +to her boat by Ima and the boat-boys. Her attack and my remedy did not +appear to do her any harm, for, from that day, she always came to me +for help in any ailment. + +The Rajah was called away from Kuching during the epidemic, and I was +alone with the children at the Astana. One morning, a chief, whom I +knew very well, paid me a friendly call. We sat and talked on the +verandah, and I thought he had never been so talkative or seemed so +full of life as on that particular morning. About eleven o’clock we +shook hands, and he went back to his house. That same day, as I was +getting up after my afternoon nap, Talip came to my room and asked +whether Datu Mohammed’s wife could have some flowers from our garden. +“Certainly,” I said; “tell them to pick what flowers they like. But I +did not know Datu Mohammed was having a feast to-day.” “He is not,” +Talip replied; “he died of cholera at three o’clock.” This was said +with a smile, for Malays, whenever they have sorrowful or tragic news +to impart, always smile, in order, I suppose, to mask their feelings. +The death of a favourite cat would elicit sighs and groans, but in any +sorrow they hide their true feelings, even from their nearest relations. + +Some of the Malays had curious methods in trying to combat the disease. +There was an old lady living in Kampong Grisek, called Daiang Kho, who +was beloved by the Malays of Kuching on account of her blameless life, +her rigorous attention to religious duties, and above all, because she +had achieved the great pilgrimage to Mecca. Daiang Kho had brought with +her from Mecca a Muhammadan rosary, and this was made great use of in +cases of illness in Kuching. The rosary was placed in a tumbler of cold +water over night, and the liquid poured into various bottles the next +morning, to be used as medicine. Daiang Kho informed me that the cures +performed by the rosary were wonderful, but, as we all know, in some +cases mind triumphs over the body, and I was not therefore surprised +at hearing that this innocuous drink had sometimes been successful in +curing sufferers when attacked by the first symptoms of disease. + + + + + CHAPTER XXI + + +During one of my visits to England our youngest son Harry was born. +He is called Tuan Bungsu (the youngest of a family), a title given to +the youngest son of the Rajahs of Sarawak. As time went on and our +boys were growing up, it became incumbent on me, for obvious reasons, +to spend more time away from our country. I had to make my home in +England, on account of the education of our sons, but, whenever +possible, I hurried over to pay visits to what is, after all, my own +land. I think one of the happiest periods of my life occurred just +before Bertram went to Cambridge, when he accompanied me to Sarawak. We +then stayed there some months, part of which time the Rajah was obliged +to be in England. + +Bertram and I gave many receptions to our Malay friends, and it did +not take us long to pick up again the threads of our life in Sarawak. +I should like to give an account of some journeys which Bertram and I +took to some of the outstations. For instance, I was anxious we should +visit the Rejang district together, and the Rajah, agreeing with these +plans, gave us his yacht for our journeys. + +We started one morning from Kuching, accompanied by our great friend +Mr. C. A. Bampfylde, then administering the Government in the Rajah’s +absence, and Dr. Langmore, who had come with us from Europe, for a +round of visits to our Dyak and Kayan friends. + +We stayed a day or two at the little village of Santubong, at the +mouth of the Sarawak River, where the Rajah had built a bungalow for +the use of Europeans requiring change of air to the sea. The chief +of this village is a kindly, well-educated Malay, named Hadji Ahmad. +This gentleman has been to Mecca, and is thought a great deal of both +by Europeans and natives. At any of these small settlements in the +Rajah’s country, Malay gentlemen of the standing of Hadji Ahmad occupy +the office of magistrate, and are entitled to inquire into, and try, +all the petty cases that may occur even in such simple out-of-the-way +and almost sinless communities. As I think I have remarked before, the +more serious criminal cases are under the control of the Rajah and his +Council at Kuching. + +When we arrived at the bungalow, we found Hadji Ahmad’s wife, sisters, +aunts, and female cousins sitting on the floor arrayed in silks and +satins with gold bangles, waiting for us. Hadji Ahmad was anxious we +should be amused during our stay, and, being an enthusiastic fisherman, +he was eager to show us a good day’s sport. He offered to erect a +fishing-shed for us, with as thick a roof as possible, to protect us +from the sun, on the shallow, shelving bank of sand which at low tide +lies uncovered for miles on the Santubong shore. When the hut was +built, some twenty fathoms from the shore, Hadji Ahmad asked permission +to bring his family to join in the expedition. We started off at +ebbtide in a long, narrow canoe, covered with white awnings. The Malay +ladies had taken their position in the boat for about an hour and a +half before our arrival, and as I stepped into the canoe they almost +sent us overboard in their tender attempts to settle me down in the +most comfortable corner. Hadji Ahmad’s wife was a buxom dame of thirty +years. She and her five companions talked incessantly, and one of the +elder women kept us amused and the Malay women in a perpetual giggle, +at the manner in which she chaffed her brother, who was our helmsman. +She was most personal in her remarks, drawing attention to his swarthy +complexion, his beard and moustache that sparsely covered his chin and +lips (Malay men are seldom adorned with either beard or moustache), but +he took his sister’s witticisms good-humouredly. + +The fishing-hut looked like a bathing machine, standing on stilts in +the middle of the risen tide. It had been decorated with the beautiful +blossom of the areca-nut palm, and mats and all kinds of draperies +embroidered in gold (the work of the Malay women of the village) were +hung round the hut. We made our way up the wide-rung ladder, some ten +feet high, through which the water shone and glistened in the most +alarming manner. A salvo of Chinese crackers were let off as we entered +the hut, causing great delight to my female escort, who highly approved +of the din. The hut groaned and creaked as our party, some fourteen in +number, took their seats on a small platform jutting out from it over +the sea. The construction of these sheds was very ingenious. They were +erected upon a series of stout timber poles disposed at the back of the +leaf building in the shape of a boat’s keel. A number of canoes, which +had conveyed ten or fifteen of the most experienced fishermen in the +village, were tied to these poles. Four great poles, acting as levers, +swung horizontally each side of the hut, jutting out twenty feet in +front, between which the nets were hung. + +As the tide came in, the excitement of the party grew intense, and the +fishermen sang a dirge-like melody, inviting the fish into the net, +telling them the Rajah’s wife and son were expecting their arrival, +and that, therefore, it would only be good manners and loyalty on +their part to pay their respects by being caught and eaten by them! +When sufficient time had elapsed, according to Hadji Ahmad’s idea, for +the net to be full of fish, the fishermen hung on to the poles at the +back of the hut, their weight swinging the ends on which the nets were +tied out of the water, when we saw a number of fish wriggling in their +meshes. Amongst the fish were two or three octopuses, those poisonous +masses of white, jelly-like substances which all fishermen in the +Straits dread like the evil one himself, on account of their poisonous +stings; these, when captured, were tossed back again into the sea. + +After an enjoyable day, we went back to the house for tea, and +started off again in the cool of the evening to visit a creek in the +neighbourhood, where lies a great boulder of sandstone, upon which the +figure of a woman is carved. On this occasion, we travelled in one of +the _Aline’s_ boats, our crew having provided themselves with paddles +in order to make their way through the aquatic vegetation which abounds +in the small streams. Bertram took his place at the helm, and, without +asking any questions, proceeded to steer us through a maze of nipa +palms and mangroves, twisting in and out of these numerous channels +for an hour or so. Dr. Langmore and I, thinking the way rather long, +at last inquired whether we were on the right track, when Hadji Ahmad +informed us that we were drifting in quite the wrong direction. “But +why did you not say so?” I said to Hadji Ahmad. “We could not set the +Rajah’s son right until he asked us to do so,” he replied. Therefore, +had we not inquired the way, I suppose we might even now be wandering +about the maze of water, with Bertram at the helm. The Hadji soon +put us right, and Bertram was as amused as we were at the extreme +politeness of our Malay entourage. At length the stone was reached, +and it was indeed a curious object. One had better explain that at the +foot of this mountain of Santubong, in the alluvial soil washed down +by the frequent rain of those tropical countries, traces of a former +settlement, in the shape of beads, golden ornaments, and broken pottery +have been found lying here and there with the pebbles, gravel, and +mud, rolled down from the mountain. Experts who have visited this spot +are confident that a considerable number of people once lived here, +and, owing to some unknown cause, deserted the spot. Amongst some of +the debris, the remains of a glass factory and golden ornaments of +Hindoo workmanship have been discovered. This race of people has faded +completely from the memory of the present inhabitants of Santubong. +The sandstone boulder with its effigy was only discovered during quite +late years by a gardener who was clearing the soil in preparation for a +vegetable garden. + +We landed in the midst of mud and fallen trees. Narrow planks of wood, +raised on trestles, led us through a morass to the figure. It rests +under a roof of iron-wood shingles, erected by the Rajah’s orders to +protect the carving from the effects of the weather. The carved figure +is about life-size, and apparently represents a naked woman flung face +downwards, with arms and legs extended, clinging to the surface of the +rock; a knot of hair stands some inches from her head, and all round +the figure the stone is weather-beaten and worn. Lower down, on the +right of the larger carving, Bertram and I discovered the outline of +a smaller figure in the same position. A triangular mark, with three +loops on its upper bar, is to be seen near by on the stone, looking +like the head of an animal rudely scratched. The natives of Santubong +have turned the place into a sort of shrine for pilgrimage. Hadji +Ahmad told me that the men and women of his village imagine the figure +to have been that of a real woman, given to torturing animals for +her amusement, and turned to stone by an avenging Deity. The people +of Sarawak, at least all those with whom I have come in contact, are +under the impression that anyone guilty of injuring, ill-treating, or +laughing at animals is liable to be turned into stone by an offended +god, and nearly all the stones or rocks to be met with in the beds of +rivers, and elsewhere, are thought by the people to be the remnants of +a human race, guilty of such crimes. They call these stones Batu Kudi +(the stones of curses), but how these legends took root and became so +firmly implanted in the minds of Sarawak people remains a mystery to +this day. + +This mysterious Santubong figure puzzles and interests me greatly. +There is no one nowadays in Kuching capable of fashioning such a +thing. Moreover, the tops of carved pillars, and other fretted +fragments of stone, have been found in these gravel beds, so that I +imagine somewhere on the mountain must be hidden more vestiges of +a long-departed people, in the shape of temples and maybe of other +buildings. When one remembers Angkor Wat and the manner in which that +stupendous work of men’s hands lay buried for centuries, under its +shroud of leaves, which more completely than desert sand obliterated +the works of humanity for a long while, one can almost be certain that +Santubong and its mysteries will be unveiled some day. I only wish +I could live long enough to see it. Musing over the past history of +semi-deserted countries, such as these, entrances and terrifies one. +Under the shade of innumerable generations of trees, men and women have +come and gone, struggled to live their lives, raised altars and temples +to their gods, with perhaps the quietude of endless previous centuries +lulling them into factitious security. Then that “something” happens, +when, helpless as thistledown blown about by puffs of wind, such people +are destroyed, driven forth or killed, when the relentless growth of +the tropics takes possession of their deserted homes, and the trace of +their existence is blotted out by leaves. Those great forests of the +tropics must hold many secrets, and when staying near the Santubong +mountain, its mystery weighed on me, and I longed to know the fate of +those who had gone before. For reasons such as these, it is a pity that +some of the Europeans who come into touch with natives should do all +they can to wipe out from their minds legends and tales bearing on the +origin of their race--yarns they call them. Hadji Ahmad was a proof of +the manner in which these methods affected him. I was anxious to know +what was thought by the Santubong people about this stone. The Hadji +said some obvious things, but when I pressed him further, he begged me +not to do so, for he was afraid Englishmen in Sarawak might accuse him +of telling lies; therefore he preferred to keep what he thought about +the stone to himself. I cannot repeat too often that such criticisms +made by Europeans to imaginative Eastern peoples amongst whom they live +are helping to suppress secrets which, if unveiled, might prove of +inestimable value to science. + +Before closing this chapter, I must recount a conversation I had +with one of my Santubong friends the evening before our departure to +the Rejang. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and the mountain of +Santubong looked black against the sky. Within a few yards of the house +a grove of casuarina trees were swaying in the evening breeze. The +murmur of their frail branches made an exquisite sound in the stillness +of the night. As we stood on the verandah, my Malay friend said: “If +you like to go out by yourself, Rajah Ranee, and stand under those +trees at midnight, you will hear voices of unknown people telling you +the secrets of the earth.” I wish now I had gone out and listened, for +I am foolish enough to believe that the secrets told by those musical +branches might have been worth listening to, but afraid of the night, +of the solitude, and, above all, of the criticisms of my European +friends, I refrained. I have since come to the conclusion that I have +lost a wonderful and beautiful experience which may never occur again. + +“I know a story about the mountain of Santubong. Would Rajah Ranee +like to hear it?” said my friend, as we stood looking at the mountain. +“Say on,” I replied; “I should well like to hear.” “In the days of long +ago,” she began, “a holy man, whose name was Hassan, lived in a house +at the foot of this mountain. He was a Haji, for he had been to Mecca, +and wore a green turban and long flowing robes. He read the Koran day +and night, his prayers were incessant, and the name of Allah was ever +on his lips. His soul was white and exceedingly clean, and whenever +he cut himself with his parang whilst hewing down the trees to make +into canoes, the blood flowed from the wound white as milk.[10] He +occasionally visited his brothers and sisters living in Kuching, taking +about half a day to accomplish the journey, but he was never away from +his solitary home by the sea-shore for very long. He never suspected +that a beautiful lady, the Spirit of Santubong and the daughter of +the moon, lived on its highest peak, and from thence had watched him +admiringly on account of his blameless life. One day she flew down +into the valley, entered his house, and made friends with him. Their +intercourse ripened into love, they were married, and the daughter of +the moon wafted her Haji husband to her home beyond the clouds. Haji +Hassan and his spirit-wife lived for some years in this lofty region. +They were such good people that it seemed as though nothing could +ever happen to mar their happiness. But as time went on, the good +man grew weary of this unalloyed happiness, and sighed for a change. +From his home on the mountain-top he could see the roof of his little +palm-thatched house, where he had lived alone for so many years, and he +could see the lights of the village near it twinkling in the darkness +of nights. He thought of his brothers and sisters in Kuching, and of +his other friends living there, and a great longing came over him to +return, if only for a short space of time, to the grosser pleasures of +earth. + +“One day he spoke these words to his wife: ‘Delight of my life and +light of my eyes, forgive me for what I am about to say. I want to +go to Kuching to see my brothers and sisters, and to stay with them +a while.’ A great sickness of heart seized the daughter of the moon; +nevertheless, she let him go, pledging him to return to her when a +month had gone by. She called her servants and ordered them to prepare +a boat to carry her husband to Kuching. So the Haji departed, and the +days seemed long to the daughter of the moon. At length the Haji’s time +had expired, but week after week went by and his wife sat alone on her +mountain peak, longing for his return. + +“Meanwhile, Haji Hassan was enjoying himself with his friends at +Kuching. He was made a great deal of; bullocks were killed for his +consumption at great banquets in the houses of his friends, where he +was the honoured guest, and always the one chosen to admonish his +friends and give them lessons in good conduct before the meal began. +In fact, he was so lionized that he forgot his wife waiting for him +amongst the clouds at the top of Santubong. + +“Some months had elapsed, when one morning, as the Haji was returning +from the river-bank where he had bathed and prayed before beginning the +day, he looked towards the north and saw a great black cloud forming +over the peak of the mountain; then he suddenly remembered his wife. He +hastily summoned his servants, and, when the boat was made ready, the +tide and strenuous paddling of his crew bore him speedily to the foot +of Santubong. He clambered its steep sides and reached his home--only +to find it empty and desolate, for the daughter of the moon had flown. +At this the Haji’s heart grew sick and he shed bitter tears. He went +back to his relations at Kuching, and there became gloomy and silent, +constantly sighing for the presence of his wife. + +“One evening, a man in a canoe passed by the Haji’s landing-place, +where he was sitting, staring at the river. ‘Eh, Tuan Haji,’ the man +called out, ‘your wife has been seen on the top of Mount Sipang,’ +and quickly paddled off. The Haji sprang into his canoe tied to the +landing-place, unloosed its moorings, and paddled himself to the foot +of Mount Sipang. He rushed up to its highest peak, but his wife was +not there. Subsequently he heard news of her on Mount Serapi, the +highest peak of the Matang range, but on reaching the mountain-top he +was again disappointed. Thus from mountain peak to mountain peak the +disconsolate husband sought his wife all over Borneo, but the daughter +of the moon had vanished out of his life for ever. He went back to +Kuching, and soon after died of a broken heart.” + +This was the end of the story, but my friend went on to explain that +whenever the peak of the Santubong mountain is bathed in moonlight the +people imagine the daughter of the moon is revisiting her old home. + +It was almost midnight. “I ask your leave to go, Rajah Ranee,” my +Malay companion said. “I hope you will sleep well.” She walked away +in the moonlight to her home in the village below, and I went to bed +and dreamed about the Haji and his moonshine, whilst the talking trees +outside told their secrets to the stars. + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [10] An idea entertained by some Sarawak Malays that the + blood of those who lead holy lives is white instead + of red. + + + + + CHAPTER XXII + + +One of my places of predilection in the country is called Lundu. It +differs from most of the other settlements in Sarawak by the fact that +a good deal of agriculture goes on in the neighbourhood, and that the +country is flat near the Government Bungalow. We embarked for this +place in the _Aline_, and although the water is shallow on the bar we +managed to time our arrival at high tide, when the nine feet necessary +to float our yacht enabled us to steer our way comfortably into the +river, the banks of which are sandy at the mouth. Groves of talking +trees grew close to the sea, and tufts of coarse grass were dotted +over the sands. As we proceeded farther the soil became muddy and +nipa palm forests appeared. We could see the mountain of Poe, three +thousand feet in height, towering inland. It is one of the frontiers +between the Dutch country and Sarawak, so that the Rajah and the Dutch +Government each possess half of this mountain. It is not so precipitous +as is Santubong, and has forest trees growing thickly right up to the +top. Fishing stakes were stretched across some of the sandbanks at +the mouth, but not a living soul was to be seen on the sea-shore. We +steamed through a broad morass, crossed in every direction by little +streams travelling down to the main river. Farther on we noticed, about +twenty or thirty yards from the banks, a tree full of yellow blossoms, +like a flaming torch in the green gloom of the jungle. No one could +tell me what these blossoms were, and I was deeply disappointed at our +inability to reach the tree and obtain some of its branches, which +might as yet be unknown to science. It would have taken our sailors +many hours to hew their way to it, so we contented ourselves with +looking through opera glasses, across a jungle of vegetation, at the +gorgeous blossoms, although that did not help us to discover what the +tree was.[11] A little farther on were huts built near the river, and +we could see men sitting on the rungs of ladders leading from their +open doors to the water. + +When we arrived at Lundu, our friend Mr. Bloomfield Douglas, Resident +of the place and living in the comfortable Government bungalow situated +a few yards from the river, came to meet us at the wharf, accompanied +by a number of Dyaks. A Dyak chief styled the Orang Kaya Stia Rajah, +with his wife and relations, came on board with Mr. Douglas to take us +on shore. Both men and women wore the conical hats of the country, made +of the finest straw. A piece of light wood delicately carved to a point +ornamented their tops, which were made splendid with bright colours. +My old friends, the Dyak women, were affectionate and kind. They took +hold of my hand, sniffed at it, and laid it gently back by my side; +some of the Dyak men followed suit. These people never kiss in European +fashion, but smell at the object of their affection or reverence. I +always felt on such occasions as though two little holes were placed on +the back of my hand. + +On the day of our arrival, the sun was blazing overhead and it was +fearfully hot. Our shadows were very short as we moved along, and the +people lined the way right up to the Resident’s door. We had to touch +everybody individually as we marched along, even babies in arms had +their little hands held out to touch our fingers. These greetings took +some time in the overpowering heat of midday, and it was a great relief +when at last we reached Mr. Douglas’s pretty room, which he had been +wise enough to leave unpainted and unpapered. The walls were made of +the brown wood of the country, and were decorated with hanging baskets +of orchids in full flower, vandalowis, philaenopsis, etc.--a mass of +brown, yellow, pink, white, and mauve blooms, hanging in fragile and +delicate cascades of colour against the dark background. Rare and +wonderful pots of ferns were placed in my bedroom, and quantities of +roses, gardenias, jasmine, and chimpakas scented the whole place. + +In the evening we took a walk round the settlement. The many +plantations of Liberian coffee trees looked beautiful weighed down with +green and scarlet berries, some branches still retaining their snowy +blossoms. The contrast of berries and flowers, with the glossy dark +green of the leaves, made them a charming picture in the landscape. +We went through fields planted with tapioca and sugar-cane, and +across plantations of pepper vines. These latter are graceful things, +trained up poles, with small green bunches hanging down like miniature +clusters of green and red grapes. In every corner or twist of the road +we met little groups of men and women waiting for us. They stood in +the ditches by the side of the paths until we came up to them, when +they jumped out, rushed at us, sniffed at the backs of our hands, and +retired once more to the ditches without saying a word. + +During the night I heard the Argus pheasant crying in the woods, in +response to distant thunder. These beautiful birds roam about the hill +of Gading, which is close by the bungalow and thickly covered with +virgin forest. The sound they make is uncanny and sorrowful, like the +cry of lost souls wandering in the sombre wilderness of innumerable +trees, seeking to fathom the secrets of an implacable world. Any sudden +loud sound, as of a dead tree falling or the rumble of thunder, however +remote, apparently calls forth an echo of terror from these birds. + + [Illustration: MALAY STRIKING FIRE FROM DRY TINDER] + +The next evening the chief of the village invited us to a reception +at his house, situated a short distance from the bungalow. It was a +fine starlight night, and we walked there after dinner. The house was +built much in the same way as are other Sea Dyak houses, the flooring +being propped on innumerable poles about thirty feet from the ground. +A broad verandah led into the living-rooms, but, as usual, we had to +climb a slender pole with notches all the way up, leaning at a steep +angle against the verandah. The chief, with an air of pomp and majesty, +helped me up the narrow way as though it were the stairway of a palace. +His manner was courtly and his costume magnificent. His jacket and +trousers were braided with gold, and the sarong round his waist was +fastened with a belt of beaten gold. + +The house was full of people: Dyaks who had come from far and near, +Chinamen resident in the place, Malays from over the Dutch border, +and even a few Hindoos, or Klings, were to be seen. The chief took us +to the place prepared for us at the end of the verandah, where was +hung a canopy of golden embroideries and stiff brocades. Branches of +sugar-canes and the fronds of betel-nut palms decorated the poles of +the verandah. A great many lighted lamps hung from the roof, and the +floor was covered with fine white mats. Bertram, Mr. Douglas, Dr. +Langmore, and I sat on chairs, whilst the rest of the guests squatted +on mats laid on the floor. + +The women and young girls sat near me, one of the latter, whose name +was Madu (meaning honey), being very pretty indeed. Her petticoat of +coarse dark cotton was narrow and hardly reached her knees, and over +this she wore a dark blue cotton jacket, fastened at the neck with +gold buttons as big as small saucers. Her eyes were dark, beautiful +and keenly intelligent, and her straight eyebrows drooped a little at +the outer corners. The high cheek-bones, characteristic of her race, +gave her a certain air of refinement and delicacy, in spite of her nose +being flat, her nostrils broad, and her lips wide and somewhat thick. +Her hair was pulled tightly off her forehead, and lay in a coil at +the nape of her neck; it seemed too heavy for her, and as she carried +her head very high, the great mass looked as though it dragged it +backwards. Her hair, however, had one peculiarity (a peculiarity I had +never seen in Sarawak before); it was streaked with red, and this made +Madu unhappy, for Malays and Dyaks do not like the slightest appearance +of red hair, some of the tribes shaving their children’s heads from +early infancy until they are seven years old, in order to avoid the +possibility of such an occurrence. The little creature looked pathetic, +as she sat nursing her sister’s baby, around whose wrist was tied a +black wooden rattle, like a small cannon-ball. The baby was about two +months old, and appeared to be healthy, but a sudden kick on its part +removed a piece of calico, its only article of clothing, when I saw +that the child’s stomach had been rubbed over with turmeric, to prevent +it from being seized by the demon of disease. The chief told his +daughter to leave the child to its nurse, when a very old lady rushed +forward and took it away. + +Refreshments were then handed round. We had glasses of cocoa-nut milk, +cakes made of grated cocoa-nut and of rice flour, intensely sweet. +There were large trays of pumeloes, cut in quarters, together with +oranges, bananas, and mangosteens. Glasses of gin, much diluted with +water, were handed to the male guests, and after refreshments a place +was cleared right down the room, the chief’s native friends sitting on +mats on the floor, leaning against the walls. + +The orchestra was placed on one side of the hall. It consisted of a set +of gongs, called the Kromang, seven or eight in number, decreasing in +size, fixed in a wooden frame, each gong sounding a different note--a +scale, in fact. These gongs are beaten by one individual, and when +skilfully played they sound like running water. Other members of the +orchestra played gongs hung singly on poles, and there were also drums +beaten at both ends with the musician’s fingers. These instruments +played in concert and with remarkable rhythm were pleasant to listen +to. When the band had finished the overture, two young men got up after +an immense amount of persuasion, and walked shyly to the middle of the +cleared space. They were dressed in Malay clothes--trousers, jackets, +and sarongs--and smoking-caps, ornamented with tassels, were placed +on one side of their heads. They fell down suddenly in front of us, +their hands clasped above their heads, and bowed till their foreheads +touched the floor. Then they got up slowly, looked at one another, +giggled, and walked away. The master of the house explained that they +were shy, and thought their conduct quite natural. It was evidently +the thing to do, for several other couples went through this same +pantomime. At last the first couple were induced to come back, when +their shyness vanished, and the performance began. + +One of the dancers held two flat pieces of wood in each hand, clicking +them together like castanets. The other man danced with china saucers +held in each hand, keeping time to the orchestra by hitting the saucers +with rings of gold which he wore on each forefinger. He was as skilful +as any juggler I had seen, for he twisted the saucers round and round, +his rings hitting against them in time to the music with wonderful +accuracy. The dancers were never still for a second. Their arms +waved about, their bodies swayed to and fro, they knelt first on one +knee with the other leg outstretched before them, then on the other, +sometimes bending their bodies in a line with the floor--the castanets +and the saucers being kept going the whole time. Although the movements +looked stiff, it was impossible for them to be ungraceful, and at every +new pose they managed to fall into a delightful arrangement of lines. +The dances were evidently inspired by Malay artists, although performed +by Dyaks, for they were full of restraint. + +Other dances followed, all interesting and pretty. Sometimes empty +cocoa-nut shells, cut in two, were placed in patterns on the floor. +The dancers picked up one in each hand, clashing them together like +cymbals, whilst hopping in and out of the other cocoa-nuts, this +performance being called by the people “the mouse-deer dance,” for they +imagine that the noise made by clashing the cocoa-nut shells resembles +the cry of plandoks (mouse-deer) in the forests. + +After the men had finished, the women’s turn came. These wore stiff +petticoats of gold brocade, hanging from under their armpits and +reaching almost to the floor, under which were dark blue cotton +draperies hiding their feet. The pretty Madu, with the red-streaked +hair, headed a procession of about thirty young women and girls, who +emerged from the open doorway at the other end of the room, in single +file. They stretched out their arms in a line with their shoulders, and +waved their hands slowly from the wrists. Their sleeves were open and +hung from the elbow weighted with rows upon rows of golden knobs. With +their heads on one side and their eyes cast down, they looked as though +they were crucified against invisible crosses, and wafted down the +middle of the hall. When they approached us, they swayed their bodies +to right and left and extended their arms, beating the air gently with +their hands, keeping exactly in line, and followed Madu’s gestures so +accurately that from where I stood I could only see Madu as she headed +the dancers. It would be interesting to know the origin of such dances. +I imagine the Hindoo element pervades them all. How surprised these +so-called savages would be if they were present at some ballet, with +women in tights and short stiff skirts, kicking their legs about, or +pirouetting on one toe, for these natives are innately artistic, if +kept away from the influence of European art and its execrable taste. +Each time a movement more graceful than the last was accomplished by +these young women, the men evinced their approbation by opening their +mouths and yelling, without showing any other signs of excitement on +their immovable faces. + +The dances went on for some time, after which wrestling matches took +place between little boys of the tribe, about eleven or twelve years of +age. When one of these small wrestlers was defeated he never showed bad +temper or appeared maliciously disposed towards his conqueror. + +We all enjoyed ourselves, and it was late when we left this hospitable +house. The chief and his daughters offered us more cocoa-nut milk, +cakes, and bananas, and the leave-taking took some time. One old Sea +Dyak, who had been very conspicuous during the evening, for he had +bounded about and joined in the dances, took my hand and put it into +the hand of a friend of his, another Sea Dyak, whom he particularly +wished me to notice. “You make friends,” he said, “for my friends are +your friends.” I hope I responded sympathetically, and after a while we +managed to drag ourselves away. + +Our hosts escorted us back to Mr. Douglas’s bungalow. I led the way, +hand in hand with the chief, and Bertram followed, hand in hand with +the chief’s son, who kept assuring Bertram that he felt very happy, +because they had become brothers, for was not Rajah Ranee, his mother, +walking home hand in hand with his father, and as he was doing the +same with her son, that quite settled the relationship. The orchestra +followed us the whole way home, and the people sang choruses to +impromptu words, composed in our honour by the poet of the tribe. The +chief told me the song was “manah” (beautiful), as its words were in +honour of Bertram and me. + +A recent shower had left the night fine and the air cool, as we went +through avenues of betel-nut palms and over carpets of lemon grass, +whose long spikes beaten over the path by the rain gave a delightful +fragrance crushed by so many feet. We crossed a little bridge over a +bubbling stream, and passed by Chinese houses, whose inhabitants opened +their windows to look at our midnight procession. When we reached the +bungalow, the arbor tristis or night-flowering jasmine was in bloom +all over the garden, and white moon-flower bells hung wide open over +the verandah. Half an hour later, as I leaned out of the window of my +bedroom, I could still hear the people singing on their way back to the +village. The trees in the garden were full of fireflies looking like +stars entangled in the branches. + +We left Lundu the next day with regret. We were sorry to say good-bye +to our kind host, Mr. Douglas, and to the Dyaks of the place, and +as we steamed away I felt almost inclined to cry. Although I may be +accused of being unduly emotional, I am not ashamed to own that after +a visit in any of the Sarawak settlements I always left a piece of my +heart behind. + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [11] This tree, which no one could tell me the name of + at the time, was the only one of its kind I had seen; + therefore, it was not strange I formed the idea it might + be unknown to science. Its leafy image persisted in my + mind, and the thought of it haunted me. I have now been + informed that it is not unknown, and is a creeper, + called Bauhinea, and not a tree at all. Seen at a + distance, its appearance is like that of a tree in + blossom, for it completely covers--and perhaps smothers-- + the tree upon which it fastens itself. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII + + +When Bertram and I stopped at Sibu for a few days on our way up the +Rejang to Kanowit, he was much interested in all the things I had to +tell him about Sibu. The early days of my life were lived over again, +and I was delighted to see the interest he took in the smallest details +of my first and most interesting stay in these regions so many years +before. During this later visit, Mr. Bampfylde told me of a Haji who +had experienced an interesting and somewhat alarming adventure with a +sea-serpent. As I wished to hear the tale from the man’s own lips, Mr. +Bampfylde sent for him the next morning. Haji Matahim was a typical +Malay from Sambas. He lived at Sibu with his relations. He possessed a +small trading schooner of about 200 tons, and made voyages to the Dutch +Settlements, to Rhio, and to Singapore. His face was round and short; +he had a receding chin and a protruding upper lip, shaded by a black +and bristly moustache. He was flat between the eyes, and his complexion +was rather darker than most Malays, being tanned by exposure and sea +air. + +He told me that about two or three months before the time of which I +write he was sailing from Pontianak, a place in Dutch Borneo, with a +cargo for Singapore. One day he was becalmed not far from an island +called Rhio, when his ship was suddenly surrounded by an extraordinary +shoal of fishes. As the fish swarmed round the ship, the crew managed +to haul them up with buckets and baskets, capturing them in enormous +quantities. Having no salt on board, with which to preserve the fish, +the crew, eight in number, cleaned them there and then on the vessel’s +deck, and threw the offal into the sea. Haji Matahim was standing in +the bows looking at this extraordinary capture, when suddenly the +rudder chain snapped. This was nothing out of the way, for it had +previously been broken and mended with a piece of wire. The Haji +and his crew were busily discussing how best they could remedy the +accident, when a man in the stern saw a floating mass of “something,” +striped white and green, lying motionless under the clear surface of +the water. He rushed up to the Haji and told him what he had seen, +whereupon the Haji ordered the lead to be thrown over to ascertain +the depth at which this unlooked-for object was lying. The lead gave +only six fathoms, whereas it is well known that in that particular +region the sea is about fifty fathoms deep. Then the Haji saw a flat, +monstrous head rising out of the water, some ten or twelve yards from +the vessel, the schooner’s bows floating between its eyes. The head was +like that of a fish, and, according to the Haji’s account, the eyes +looked like two round balls stuck at the end of spikes, seven or eight +inches long: the time for observation was sufficient, as the monster +remained motionless for about half an hour. The Haji and his crew were +too terrified to move or speak, but after a time they collected their +wits together sufficiently to procure some tuba and garlic (stowed on +board for cases of emergency), which they hung over the side of the +ship, whereupon the beast slowly sank and disappeared. I could not find +out from the Haji how much the water was troubled when the monstrous +head plunged back again into the sea, for if the beast had been of such +extraordinary dimensions, it must have caused some motion to their +vessel, however slowly it went under. The Haji was not very coherent +on the subject, and he told me at the time that he intended giving up +trading voyages for the rest of his life. Subsequently he changed his +mind and continued his trading excursions in the same schooner for some +years afterwards. + +Personally I am inclined to think that the creature, whatever it was, +could not very well have remained motionless for the length of time as +stated by the Haji, but I give his tale as I took it from his own lips. +Mr. Bampfylde told me that he had taken the trouble to question some +of the members of the crew separately, and the tale told by the Haji +tallied in every respect with theirs. I have related this story because +it struck me as interesting, but am not prepared to enter into the +old controversy as to whether the sea-serpent exists or not. It has +been said that even the scientists are now keeping an open mind on the +question. Well, I am going to do the same. It is perhaps necessary to +say that garlic plays a great part in the superstitious rites of some +Malays, and I believe the Haji was firmly convinced that the tuba and +garlic together were quite sufficient to make the monster disappear. + +A day or two afterwards we embarked on the _Lucille_, a small steamer +of forty tons kept for the use of the Rajah’s officers at Sibu, and +started in the cold mists of morning for Kapit. As we forced our way +round a somewhat difficult point, through a mass of driftwood borne +down by a freshet, after heavy rains during the night, our vessel +bumped against and heeled over a snag. Great trunks of trees swirled +and eddied round the ship at this spot, and the Malay at the wheel +changed from one leg to the other, cleared his throat perpetually, +frowned, and stared vacantly ahead until the corner was rounded, the +mass of driftwood passed, and the danger over. Although the steersman +handled the ropes very gently, as though fearful of breaking them, he +got over the difficulties with the greatest ease and with little waste +of energy. After this trifling incident, we went on our solitary way, +our steam-launch the only living thing in this wilderness of wood and +water. Farther up the river the years that had passed by since my first +visit to the district had brought peace, comfort, trade, and commerce +to the river-side, and one or two new settlements. It was interesting +to notice at Kanowit that the beneficent efforts of our Roman Catholic +missionaries were bearing splendid fruit. The missionary fathers have +built there a substantial and handsome church; their school, also, is +remarkable for the efficiency of their Dyak and Chinese scholars. A +group of nuns have set up a school for girls, near by, which is being +well attended and productive of good results in the civilization of the +people. The Roman Catholic methods of teaching these native children +are excellent. It would take too long to describe them in full, but +the blameless lives of these men and women, who have cast away all +thoughts of comfort in the world and elected to throw in their lots for +ever amongst the aborigines, cannot fail to impress the people amongst +whom they live. Spiritually and materially their beneficent influence +is felt throughout the land, and when we are gathered to our ancestors +and the tales of these rivers are told, I believe it will be known that +one of the principal factors in the spiritual advancement of Sarawak is +largely due to the work of Roman Catholic missionaries. + +Farther up the river, we passed another small settlement of recent +growth, called Song, where a small Fort stands on the top of one of the +little hills shelving into the river. Along the road, lining the bank, +stood a row of Chinese houses, and a footpath, made of wooden planks +and supported on poles, was crowded with Dyaks and Chinamen. The banks +were covered with bundles of rattans, brought from the interior. Mats, +baskets, cordage for ships, flooring for houses, etc., are usually made +of rattans. The Tanjong people are about the best basket-makers of the +country, and the wild Punans make the best mats. At this spot, where +the trade in rattans is active, we saw up-river Dyaks hurrying up the +steep banks with loads of rattan and gutta-percha, on their way to sell +them to Chinamen. A great many boats, full of produce, were anchored +to the banks, waiting their turn to be unloaded. The little Bazaar +was crowded with almost naked people, for they only wore waistcloths. +Even the Chinamen, with their pigtails twisted round their heads, had +nothing on but cotton drawers. No women were to be seen, and the men +looked like long brown-legged spiders, jumping or clambering in and out +of the water. + +Having passed this spot of activity in a desert of leaves and water, +reach after reach was rounded, where we met with no other company but +that of hawks flying rather low overhead, of brown moths so large that +I mistook them for birds, and of butterflies, blue, yellow, and white, +appearing here and there over the mud-banks in clusters of delicate +colours. + +About six in the evening we reached Kapit. The Fort stands on a hill, +and steps cut out in the sharp, steep banks lead up to its front door. +It stands some forty feet above the level of ordinary tides, but in +the rainy season, when heavier freshets than those in the fine season +collect up river, the water has been known to reach several feet above +the flooring of the Fort. As the anchor was dropped near the wooden +wharf, a crowd of Chinamen, Dyaks, Tanjongs, and Kayans, rushed from +the Bazaar and helped to carry our luggage. We had brought our Chinese +cook with us, and he struggled up the bank with cages full of cocks +and hens which he had brought from Sibu. Some of the people carried my +dressing-bag and rugs, Mr. Bampfylde’s, Dr. Langmore’s, and Bertram’s +portmanteaux were seized and borne to the Fort by Kayans with their +hair streaming over their shoulders. All these people talked at once, +ordered one another about, exclaiming, screaming, and hustling in the +most good-humoured and merry fashion. + +Suddenly the crowd fell back, as a rather stout, dark, middle-aged man +came down the path to meet us. This was F. Domingo de Rosario (called +“Mingo” by his friends), Commandant of Kapit Fort. His father was a +Portuguese from Malacca, and Mingo had come to Sarawak during the reign +of the first Rajah Brooke, to whom he was butler. Mingo was born in +Sarawak, and was educated at the Protestant Mission at Kuching, and +when old enough to join the Rajah’s service he was sent to the Rejang +district, where he has remained ever since. Mingo is well acquainted +with the wild inhabitants in his district, and is much beloved by them. +With his burly figure, his dark, kindly face, his utter disregard to +personal danger, and, above all, for the way he has of looking at life +as a huge joke, the Dyaks often compare him to “Simpurei”, one of their +jolly war-gods. + +Mingo has been through strange adventures, fought many battles, and on +one occasion, many years ago, was attacked in a place called Ngmah, +where a Fort had been erected, but which has long since been pulled +down and dismantled. In these quieter days, when life on the banks of +the Rejang is comparatively free from danger, Mingo is sometimes heard +to regret the fine old times when his time was spent in perpetual +excitement. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, he takes the change +philosophically enough. He is married to a Tanjong woman, who takes +great care of him, and they have a daughter named Madu (meaning honey), +to whom he is much attached. + +We settled down comfortably in Kapit Fort, and the days passed quickly +by. A constant stream of Dyaks and Kayans came from the countryside +to see us, for Mr. Bampfylde had made them aware of our intention to +visit Belaga, a place some three weeks’ journey by boat, situated at +the head-waters of the Rejang--Belaga being the real object of our +journey up this river. Knowing my intense wish to visit all the places +I possibly could, Mr. Bampfylde had suggested this trip to Bertram and +myself. The great charm of the undertaking lay in the fact that to get +to Belaga innumerable rapids had to be surmounted, and we had to go +through an interesting stretch of country lying between Kapit and this +distant Fort, for it is essentially the land of Kayan people, and here +and there along the banks of those higher reaches of the Rejang are to +be seen interesting and wonderful monuments of Kayan industry, in the +shape of tombs carved by the people containing the remains of their +most famous chiefs. On such expeditions, it is customary for the people +of the country to paddle the boats in which the Rajah or his family +make excursions up these difficult and sometimes dangerous cataracts, +like giant stairways, which lead into the interior. + +Many of the chiefs and people who came to Kapit were old friends +of mine, whilst others were strangers, for only the year before a +head-hunting craze had broken out in the neighbourhood, and one of +the most smiling chiefs, named Rawieng, who came to greet us on this +occasion, had been attacked by the Government, his house burned down, +and his possessions taken from him, owing to members of his tribe +taking heads of innocent people living in the remote interior. Rawieng +took his punishment well, for he bore no malice, and stretched his hand +out to us all with the utmost cordiality. + +Although the greetings I received at the hands of these chiefs were +usually hearty and affectionate, I thought on this occasion their +manner was more friendly than usual, and the reason came out before +long. Having been summoned by Mr. Bampfylde to paddle my boat and +accompany me to Belaga, they imagined I intended going on the warpath. +This idea pleased them much, and great was their disappointment when +Mr. Bampfylde informed them that my journey was quite a peaceful one. + +But our cherished plans were doomed to failure. When all preparations +were completed for our great voyage, the weather behaved in an +unexpected manner for that time of the year; for we were then in July, +at which period, in the ordinary course of things, heavy storms of +rain are rare. However, the day after our arrival and for many days +and nights, heavy storms of rain thundered on the roof of the Fort, +and the water of the river almost flooded the banks on which it stood. +Tree-trunks, leafy branches, fruits, berries, and even blossoms, were +torn from the banks and swept along in the angry stream, and it seemed +as though the bad weather would never come to an end. The rapids in +the neighbourhood were insurmountable, and day after day the chiefs, +Mr. Bampfylde, Mingo, and ourselves discussed the situation, wondering +whether or no it would be safe to face such torrents. The Sea Dyaks, +who thickly populate this district, were present at these discussions +and gave vent to their opinions in endless streams of words. The near +inhabitants of Kapit, who were Tanjongs, with Tubam and Salleh, their +chief men, whose houses were built on the banks opposite the Fort, +were annoyed at the Dyaks from neighbouring rivers laying down the +law about matters in which they thought themselves more competent to +give an opinion, owing to their closer acquaintance with the rapids. +Therefore, in these discussions, Tubam, who had frequently been to +Belaga, thought he had every right to assert himself. + +Tubam’s appearance was not prepossessing. He was old, shrunken, and +wrinkled. His black hair, untouched with white, hung in oily corkscrew +ringlets from under his little Kayan crown of plaited straw. Three +lines of tattoo simulated a beard round his chin. He had plucked out +his eyebrows and eyelashes, and his eyes looked like two little slits +framed in pink lids, the pupils being almost invisible. One day he +made a speech. He said he felt anxious about our going up the rapids +with the river in its present state. Only that morning he had seen on +its surface flecks of foam from the great cataracts miles away, borne +past his house just above the Fort. “It would not matter much to Rajah +Ranee, or to Tuan Muda, if either of them was drowned,” he said, but it +mattered much to him. “Think of the shame,” he went on, “which would +fall on me and my tribe if such a thing were to happen in our river.” +Then he got excited, clenched his fists, his thumbs pointing in the +direction of the river. “And I forbid you to go, for are you not my +grandmother, and as old as the world?” + +These words of his would have clinched the argument with his own +people, for they elicited nods and murmurs of approbation from Salleh +and other members of his tribe. Salleh was second in importance in +the village, and had offered to steer our boat on the occasion of +our journey up the rapids. He was the most skilful steersman in the +district, and he now confessed that he did not like the job unless the +water were in a better condition. But the Sea Dyaks were persistent. +They insisted on having the last word, and Hovering Hawk (a title +given him by his tribe on account of his exploits in war) came up to +me, picking his steps across the room, and moving his legs with high, +birdlike action. He squatted himself by me, sniffed, cleared his throat +once or twice, and whispered, “Don’t mind what Tubam says; he knows +nothing about it. He talks too much, his mouth is very large, and he is +a bumptious fellow!” + +Seeing that the Dyaks and the Tanjongs were of different opinions, I +asked Hovering Hawk news of his wife and family, and a vexed subject +was dropped. Then Hovering Hawk, purring with contentment, imagining +he had got the best of the argument, unfastened a small basket hanging +at his side and emptied its contents on to a piece of rather dirty +white calico he laid on the floor for the purpose. Bits of betel-nut, +shreds of tobacco, a little brass box filled with lime, and a piece +of sirih leaf fell out one after the other. He smeared the leaf over +with lime, collected the other ingredients together, wrapped them in +the leaf, and, with this large pill swelling one side of his face, sat +contentedly at my feet for the remainder of the interview. + +As day after day went by, and still the rain showed no signs of +abatement, we realized that it would be impossible for us to undertake +the journey in the time at our disposal. Mr. Bampfylde, seeing my +disappointment, suggested the better plan would be to stay on at Kapit +until the weather improved, when we could at least take a shorter +journey to a rapid, called Pelagus, the first cataract of a series up +the Rejang River. This comforted us somewhat, and we thought of ways +and means of diverting ourselves and our company whilst being kept +prisoners in the Fort by the flood. + +Many of the boats that had brought Dyaks from all parts of the +neighbourhood were anchored in the river below. Tubam, Salleh, and the +Tanjong women could easily reach the Fort from their houses close by, +so Mr. Bampfylde and I arranged an evening reception for our friends, +and invited them to the Fort after dinner. Some of the Tanjong women +and other warriors, competent in such arts, having expressed their +willingness to give us a performance of the dances of their tribes on +the occasion, we were able in spite of the bad weather and delay to +pass the time very agreeably. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV + + +On the evening fixed for the party a storm was raging; the rain poured +on the roof with the noise of a hundred cataracts, making conversation +impossible. Vivid flashes of lightning revealed patches of the +surrounding country through the lattice-work of the room; we could +see little bits of the river-bank opposite, the rank vegetation, an +intricate entanglement of creepers and parasites, palms tossed about +by the wind and rain, blazing into view, exuberant in detail, like +over-exposed photographic plates. A thick grey veil of water streaked +the landscape with silver bars, and each vivid flash was succeeded by +terrific peals of thunder almost overhead. It was a weird scene. The +walls and ceiling of our rooms were of wood, the mats on the floor were +dark, a lighted lamp hung from the centre of the ceiling, and here and +there were placed tumblers of cocoa-nut oil in which floated lighted +wicks, giving out a flickering light. + +Tubam had come at the head of the men and women of his village. Kayans +from the far interior were easily recognizable by their hair cut in a +fringe over their foreheads, flowing behind, and covered with crowns of +plaited straw. Their bodies were tattooed, and two great fangs from +some wild beast’s jaw were thrust through their elongated ears. The +Sea Dyaks were very picturesque; their young warriors wore a mass of +fringes and beads, of silver bangles, of waving plumes, of ivory and +brass armlets, and of silver waistbands. Their women shone resplendent +in innumerable rows of brass rings twined under their armpits, reaching +far below their waists, over very short petticoats of beadwork, that +glistened at every movement. + +All natives seem to love the ceremony of touching hands. Dyaks and +Kayans turn the palms of their hands upwards, and bend their fingers +in the shape of claws; into these cavities you dip your fingertips, +when the slightest touch on your part appears to give satisfaction. It +is extraordinary how cool and dry the hands of Sarawak natives are at +night, or when a storm is in progress. On this tempestuous evening, +none of the hands I touched felt either warm or clammy. + +Our guests were very affectionate to Bertram and me, and seemed glad +to see us again. The Tanjong women were the first to come forward; +their silken draperies rustled, their armlets tinkled, but their naked +feet moved noiselessly across the matted floor; they swept along as +though wafted by an invisible wind, and in the semi-darkness looked +like groups of brightly draped ghosts. After them came the Dyak women, +noisier and heavier of tread, with their Amazon-like cuirasses, and +their very short petticoats. When the women had passed, Kayan warriors +swaggered up. Then came the Dyaks, and the long procession finished +with the flower of ci-devant piratical contingents--thin, spare old +men, still known and addressed by glorified titles won in exploits +during their youthful days--Bald-Headed Hawk, Torrent of Blood, +Face of Day, the Cobra, and many other titles, equally terrifying +and appropriate. These old gentlemen were full of swagger, with a +tremendous sense of their own importance. + +The greetings having taken place, we called for the dances to begin. +On such occasions the arrangement of the programme is a matter +of difficulty, as none of the performers appear to like figuring +in a _lever de rideau_. I inquired in Malay who should begin the +performance, Mingo translating my remarks in a loud voice, so that +all should hear; but the women sat sullenly in their corner, the men +squatted motionless in various parts of the room, and no one seemed +inclined to respond to the invitation. We waited a considerable time, +and I began to despair. There was nothing for it--Mingo must come to +the rescue. I told him to ask the Tanjong ladies to open the ball. +Mingo looked at me sternly, nodded his head, glared round him for a +second or so, and then marched up to one of the corners of the room, +where the girls were sitting in a group. He laid hold of two shrinking +figures and dragged them resolutely under the lamp swinging from the +centre of the ceiling. For a minute or two the girls remained where he +placed them, giggling, shrugging their shoulders, and pulling the hem +of their jackets over their mouths. They pretended to be shy, sliding +their feet in and out of their trailing petticoats, and suddenly rushed +back to their former places and flopped down in the midst of their +friends. Quick as lightning, Mingo was after them. He got hold of their +hair, their arms, their draperies, anything that came to hand, and +pulled them back under the lamp. + +Meanwhile the music had started. A clear space was left in the centre +of the room, and three young Tanjong girls were sitting there in +preparation. They were a pretty group, huddled close together, their +eyes cast down and their features expressionless. Two of them pinched +the strings of bamboo guitars, thereby producing the mildest, meekest +little tinkles imaginable. The third damsel beat the ends of a bamboo +drum, thus bending her fingers back almost to her elbows. The music +continued through the pantomime of refusal, the musicians taking no +notice of what was going on. + +We began to think we should not see any dancing that night, and even +Mingo seemed about to lose his temper. He stood in the middle of +the room, storming at the girls, threatening them with fines, with +imprisonment, and with all manner of punishments, unless they commenced +to dance. I must say Mingo’s threats did not appear to have much effect +on them, for they stood obstinate and immovable. But by and by, for +no apparent reason, their bodies began to sway to and fro, and we +understood that at last the performance had begun. + +The change that came over these girls was wonderful. Their nervous +giggling came to an end, an expression of scorn appeared on their +faces, their eyebrows were lifted higher than usual, and their heavy +eyelids were half-drawn over their eyes. They looked like tiny +sphinxes, ancient and inscrutable, as though moving in a dream, +obedient to an occult power. They might have been Hindoo goddesses, +torn from off the wall of a Brahmin temple, practising strange +rites in the midst of ordinary mortals. They were slim, young, and +fragile-looking, with pale yellow skins, made yellower by a liberal +amount of turmeric rubbed over their faces, necks, and arms. Their +mouths were large, their noses flat and broad, but we scarcely noticed +their departure from our European standards of beauty, so charmingly +did the girls fit into their surroundings. We could almost admire the +lobes of their ears, hanging down to their collar-bones, weighted with +pieces of lead. We remembered Sakhya Mouni’s descendants who are always +depicted with very long ear-lobes. Some people will tell you this ear +fashion is a sign of princely descent amongst Buddhist believers. The +girls stood and moved so well, a straight line might have been drawn +from the crown of their heads to their heels. Their costumes were +pretty, their black satin jackets, fringed round with little bells, +reaching half-way to their knees, and their long petticoats of fine +dark red and blue tints sweeping over their feet. Their straight +black hair hung as far as their shoulder-blades, from whence it was +gathered up in sweeps of darkness and tucked inside little crowns of +plaited straw, brightened with beads, cowrie shells and all manner of +glistening things. Knobs of beaten gold fastened their collars, and +the sleeves of their jackets were pushed above their elbows, revealing +masses of shell, ivory, and silver armlets encircling their arms; I +thought this a pity, since the ornaments hid the symmetry of their +slender wrists. + +The dance is difficult to describe. It was slow, undulating, seductive, +tender. As the dancers stood motionless before us, their draperies hung +straight from their chins to their toes, their feet being hidden in +the folds of their petticoats. When they slowly lifted their arms, an +undulation wrinkled up the folds of their garments, as though a sigh, +beginning at their heels, ran upwards and lost itself in the air above +their heads. Then putting their heels together, they slid along the +floor, their toes, peeping in and out the trailing folds, beating the +ground in time to the music. Sometimes the figures were drawn up to +their full height, when they looked like empresses in the regal pose of +their heads. Sometimes they hung their heads, stretched out their arms +and flapped their hands, like the wings of a bird, when, in the sudden +transition from an appearance of haughtiness to one of humility, they +looked charming, unhappy, and meek. I turned my head to listen to a +remark Bertram made, and when I looked again the dance was finished. +The proud and mysterious goddesses had vanished, and the giggling girls +had reappeared. They moved awkwardly, I thought, as they waddled back +to their corner in the midst of their friends, where they were lost in +the shadows of the room. + +Meanwhile the storm continued and increased in fury. A vivid flash of +lightning was followed by a terrific crash, and a gust of wind blew +the rain through the lattice-work across the room. Mingo rushed to the +shutters, pulled them to, and barred out the storm. This unexpected +douche appeared to silence the party; conversation flagged, and I am +not sure that we were not becoming a little bored. Suddenly a luminous +idea struck Mingo, and he rushed off for refreshments! Although these +were of the simplest description, our guests were mightily pleased +when Mingo reappeared with a great black bottle of gin under his arm, +followed by a satellite bearing some water and two tumblers. The spirit +was measured out in the tumblers by Mingo with the most punctilious +care, and diluted with a fair amount of water, when the tumblers went +the round of the hall, each warrior drinking his share and passing the +tumblers back to Mingo, who, bottle in hand, refilled them. There were +cocoa-nut cakes, cocoa-nut milk, coffee, biscuits made of sago, and +other delicacies for the ladies, some of whom glanced wistfully at the +black bottle, and perhaps regretted that the spirit should be kept +entirely for the men. This diversion infused new life into the party, +and the hum of voices was soon heard all over the hall. + +At this juncture, a strongly built and very brown old gentleman left +his seat and moved towards me with ponderous dignity. A handkerchief +was twisted round his head, and he wore a cotton scarf held tightly +across his bony shoulders. We had already greeted one another in the +general “shake-hands” earlier in the evening, but it all had to be +gone over again. “Long I have not seen you,” he said, as his hand +shaped itself into the customary claw in which I dipped my fingers. +He fairly beamed on me; his smile was patronizing and friendly, and +although I knew his face I could not remember his name. I turned to +Mingo, who was standing at my elbow, and a whisper from him soon put +matters straight between us. I was glad to see that Rawieng, who only +the year before had kept the district in a state of terror owing to +the head-hunting propensities of his tribe, had mended his ways; his +presence at the party being an irrefutable proof of the purity of his +future intentions. It was interesting to notice how friendly were the +relations existing between Rawieng and Mr. Bampfylde. Only two or three +years previously, owing to an atrocious murder committed on the main +river by some of Rawieng’s followers whom the old chief refused to +give up to justice, Mr. Bampfylde (then Governor of the Rejang) was +compelled to lead a fleet of boats into Rawieng’s country, attack his +village, and burn his paddy. Nor was this result obtained without a +good deal of risk and difficulty to the attacking party, for owing to +Rawieng’s conservative ideas he had pitched his house on a precipitous +hill, only to be reached after scaling innumerable rapids and marching +a considerable way inland. Rawieng was a rich old man, and was heavily +fined for the atrocious murders his tribe had committed. The long line +of jars ranged along the walls of his house (the chief glory of the +village, as they were supposed to have been made by spirits and given +by them to Rawieng’s ancestors) were taken by Mr. Bampfylde and stored +in the Fort as pledges and hostages for Rawieng’s future good behaviour. + +There we were, that evening, the recent enemy and I, sitting over the +spot where the precious jars were stored. Rawieng’s conduct at our +party showed that he did not bear malice, though it was but a few +weeks since he and his people had tendered their submission to the +Rajah’s Government. His tribe had become weary of wandering as outcasts +in the forests, and the only food they could obtain--wild fruits, +game, and anything they might pick up--was not sufficient. Although +there were many warriors present who had followed Mr. Bampfylde’s +expedition and lent a helping hand in punishing Rawieng’s tribe, it +was amusing to hear the old man holding forth before these people as +to the completeness of his defeat. “Tuan Bampy (for so he pronounced +Mr. Bampfylde’s name) was a very pandi (clever) Tuan. He could fight +for the Rajah and punish evil-doers, and, above all, he knew not +what fear was.” Imbued as all these people are with a veneration for +courage, Rawieng expatiated at length as to the risks run by the white +man’s attacking force, and how thoroughly he and his people had been +vanquished. Then, The Bald-Headed Hawk, The Cobra, The Torrent of +Blood, and other old chiefs seeing that Rawieng and I were holding an +animated conversation, and disliking being left out in the cold, joined +us, and thus turned the channel of our talk into other directions. + +The refreshments having again been handed round, and other dances being +in the programme, Mingo decided that some of the Dyaks should now +entertain us. + +Three warriors came into the cleared space in the centre of the +room, dressed in bark waistcloths, their black hair streaming down +their backs. One man played the keluri, a Kayan instrument, made of +bamboos of different lengths and sizes, fixed on a gourd, and in sound +resembling bagpipes, although softer and more musical. To the tune of +the keluri these men danced the deer dance, the monkey dance, and the +mouse-deer dance, winding up with the head dance, this being considered +the “clou” of the evening. Two performers wore their war dress for the +occasion. Their arms were thrust into sleeveless jackets, covered with +rows upon rows of hornbill’s feathers, which stood out like the quills +of a porcupine at every movement of the dancers. In one hand they +grasped long, narrow-pointed shields, ornamented with a monstrous human +face--two round staring eyes, a stroke that served for the nose, and +a wide mouth with teeth sticking out--painted in red and black, over +which hung patches of human hair. In the other hand they held sharp +swords, which play a great part in such performances. + +This principal item, the head dance, contains a shadowy kind of plot. +Two men are supposed to meet in a forest; they are unacquainted with +one another, therefore they are enemies. From the first moment they +are supposed to catch sight of one another through the entanglement of +tropical vegetation, they crouch and jump about like frogs, looking +first to one side and then to the other, from behind their shields. +One of the dancers suddenly springs to his full height, and rushes +at his opponent, who is ready to receive him. A struggle begins, and +they appear to be in deadly earnest. They wave their swords with such +rapidity that it looks as though a number of steel Catherine wheels +were flying about the room. They hack at one another, but never thrust. +After this sort of thing has been going on for some time, one of +the performers becomes exhausted, and falls to the ground, when his +opponent seizes the advantage, grips him by the throat, kneels on his +fallen body, and pretends to saw at the head until it is apparently +separated from the body. This part of the play, somewhat disagreeable +to me, was received with yells of delight from the warriors present, +who made a noise as though a number of dogs were baying at the moon. +The victor then takes the cap from the fallen man’s head, to represent +the real head he is supposed to have cut off. He then takes high jumps +and rushes about the room in the exhilaration of his victory. As he is +about to hang the trophy to his waist-belt by the lock of hair left for +the purpose, he looks at the dead face and discovers the head to belong +to his brother. Another dance is gone through, but now the steps denote +dejection. The man goes about with bent knees, dragging his feet; +he rubs his eyes with his knuckles, and fondles the headless body, +imploring it to return to life. But even this tragedy ends happily. A +friendly spirit passes by and whispers advice in the bereaved brother’s +ear. Acting upon the spiritual counsel, the murderer fits the head into +its place between the shoulders of the corpse, when in a short time it +is supposed to grow again on the body. The brothers are reunited, and +another dance of whirling sabres, of leaps and bounds, takes place, +after which the head dance is ended. Through it all, the lightness of +the dancers is extraordinary, for however high they jump, or however +far their stride may be, these Dyak dancers are invariably graceful and +noiseless as panthers. + +By this time it was getting late, the room was stuffy and hot, so I +left the party as quietly as possible and went to the other side of +the Fort, fitted, for the time being, as my private room. The rain +had ceased, and the moon in its last quarter was struggling through +the clouds. I lay in a long chair, and could see through one of the +port-holes some of our guests returning to their boats, the lighted +torches they carried being reflected in the turbid waters of the river. +Only a night-light was burning in my room, and I fancied myself alone, +when a nervous cough behind me made me start. I called for lights, +and when they were brought, I saw a row of people sitting on the +floor against the wall. I was surprised, for natives are usually very +tactful. Salleh was the culprit on this occasion; he had come with his +wife Penus, and his daughters Remi and Remit, to ask me if I could +see an Ukit woman, who had been too shy to come forward and speak to +me before so many people at the party. Having heard that morning that +she was in the neighbourhood, I told Salleh to bring her to me one day +when I should be alone, so I suppose he did not see why he should not +effect the introduction there and then. After all, I was anxious to see +and talk to an Ukit woman, and as Penus was present and understood her +language, this was a good opportunity. + +Judging from what I had heard about the wild habits of the Ukit people, +I was surprised to find my visitor an engaging little person. She was +curious looking, but not quite ugly. An enormous breadth lay between +her high cheek-bones, and there was absolute flatness between her eyes, +which were small, narrow, and raised in the outer corners. Her figure +was slight, and her wrists and ankles delicate to a degree. She usually +wore a short petticoat of bark, but Penus had evidently attempted +to improve her appearance for the occasion by lengthening it with a +broad piece of red calico falling over her feet. Her hair hung down +to her knees, and she wore a little crown of black and yellow beads, +a head-dress usually worn by these people. The little thing soon lost +her shyness, and talked away quite unreservedly. Her language sounded +soft and guttural. She had a pretty voice, and very nice manners. Her +weird, fantastic appearance attracted me, and I took a great interest +in this creature of the woods. She addressed some remarks to me, and +was evidently asking for something. Penus, interpreting her words, told +me she wanted some of the “sweet-smelling gutta” that white people rub +over their skins when they wash themselves. I sent for a piece of soap +(I had brought a good deal of this commodity with me); it was wrapped +in mauve paper, made glorious to such eyes as hers with gold letters. I +gave the package into her hands, and showed her how to take the paper +off. She followed my instructions with great care, folded up its mauve +wrapper with its tissue lining, and stuffed both in her hair inside +her crown. She sniffed at the soap and handled it as though it were +brittle. “Now I shall sweeten the air for a great space as I walk +along,” she said, and moved off to crouch near the wall of my room, +with the soap at her nose the whole time. But she had a husband, and +he had been looking for her. Mingo ushered him into my room. He looked +more like her grandfather than her husband, for he was very old, and +she almost a child. He was a dirty old man too, and belonged to another +branch of this Ukit tribe. He came up to me grumbling, and as I put +out my hand, he pinched the tips of my fingers. He then showed me his +wrist, round which was tied a piece of mouse-deer’s bone to take away +his sickness, as he had sprained his arm whilst cutting down trees in +the forest a few days previously. He did not remain long with us, but +told his wife to come away. She obeyed meekly, and he followed her, +scowling, and chewing betel-nut. We wondered whether he were jealous of +his attractive wife, and felt sorry for the little creature, whose soft +and charming manners had, even in so short a time, won our hearts. + +I bade Salleh and his party good-night, but Penus stayed behind, as +she wanted to have a parting word. Moreover, she had brought a basket +she had made for me, thinking it would be useful in packing some of my +things on my boat journeys. The basket was a large cylinder, made of +palm-straw, and woven in intricate patterns of black and white, with +a dome-shaped cover fitting into its top. These kind of baskets are +quite impervious to rain, and the Tanjong people excel above all other +tribes in their manufacture. I thanked Penus for her kind present. “It +is good to see you here,” she said, “and our hearts are glad, I only +wish my daughter, who died last year, had been here too.” Penus was +very sad about the death of this daughter. She had never spoken about +her to me before, but I suppose the lateness of the hour, the night, +and our parting of the next day, made her more expansive than usual. +“Do you think the dead come back, Rajah Ranee?” I could not answer her, +for I don’t suppose I knew more about the matter than she did. But I +asked her if she believed in Antus (spirits), or if she had ever seen +one. “Oh yes,” she said; “a spirit often comes to our house. When it +gets dark, and night is not yet come, he stays in the rafters of our +room, and the spark from his cigarette comes and goes in the darkness.” +“Do you ever speak to him?” I asked. “Oh no; because Antus never answer +human beings. If I could speak to him I would ask him the road by which +my dead daughter went, so that I could follow her.” + +We touched hands, and Penus left me to join her friends. As I fell +asleep, I heard the murmur of the people as they settled themselves for +the night in their boats anchored in the river. + + + + + CHAPTER XXV + + +The day had not risen when Mr. Bampfylde, Bertram, Dr. Langmore, and I, +started from Kapit Fort two days after the floods had ceased and the +river had resumed its normal aspect. We were followed down the steep +steps leading to the river by a great company of Kayans and Dyaks, our +Chinese cook, our Malay servants, and Ima, my inseparable attendant +when I lived in Sarawak. Mr. Bampfylde, Ima, and I, occupied one of the +war-canoes, and Bertram and Dr Langmore another. Our boat was called +_Bujang Naga_ (Bachelor Dragon), and was a splendid specimen of a Dyak +war-boat. Our crew, amongst whom were the élite of the chiefs staying +with us in Kapit Fort, numbered about forty. Salleh was steersman, and +stood at the stern with half his body appearing above the roof, his +head protected from the sun by a large conical straw hat. The rudders +of these boats are like those used by ancient Egyptians, according to +the pictures in the British Museum, for they are rigged on the side +of the vessel, instead of being fixed on the stern. A covering of +palm leaves was stretched from one end of the boat to the other, and +I could see from where I sat some twenty-five naked arms paddling as +though for dear life. Those seated nearest to us were Unggat, Merum +and Grasi, all renowned warriors. Our journey being a peaceful one, +the chiefs had discarded their beautiful war accoutrements, and their +appearance was homely, not to say dowdy. Hovering Hawk was wrapped in +an old tartan petticoat or sarong, The Cobra had a loincloth as his +only covering, and their companions followed suit. But the younger +warriors were very smart; they had stuck alamanda and hibiscus blossoms +in their head-handkerchiefs, and their waistcloths were bewilderingly +bright. We paddled on, hour after hour, and I thought it extraordinary +that these men could last so long without a break in their fatiguing +labour. They appeared as though they enjoyed themselves, and when the +rhythmic stroke of the paddles flagged, a shrill scream from the man +sitting in the bows, and who directed the speed of the boat, instilled +renewed vigour in the crew, especially when the leader plunged his +paddle into the water, flung a comet-like spray, reaching beyond the +boat’s stern, yelling and shouting, “Paddle, paddle,” “Do not get +slow,” “Don’t get soft.” “Ah-a-a,” he would scream again. Sometimes our +crew raced Bertram’s boat, and when his boat shot on ahead, Hovering +Hawk and Flying Snake gave vent to ejaculations of disgust, abusing +our crew roundly, and asking them whether they were asleep or awake. I +remember passing a little stream, where, near the bank, about twenty or +thirty yards away, a crocodile lay motionless flush with the water. +Hovering Hawk pointed it out to me, and the man in the bows stopped +the boat. My rifle lay loaded by my side--I cannot explain why it +was there; I suppose I thought it sporting to carry a gun about. Mr. +Bampfylde suggested I should try and shoot the crocodile, which I did, +whereupon the beast rose in a mighty cataract of water and flopped down +again into the stream. This feat of mine was much approved by the crew, +who with grunts and ejaculations congratulated me on my exploit! I do +not know whether I killed the beast. I do not think a bullet from my +rifle could really have ended its life, for crocodiles are difficult +to destroy; yet natives say that if a bullet penetrates their thick +hide, it leads to their death, on account of the open wound becoming +filled with maggots from the rivers, that kill them in time. Being +a lover of all animals, I must explain that I have never, before or +since, willingly killed any living creature, but a crocodile, with +its hideous habits of killing, wounding, and maiming people--many of +whom being people I have known--made me anxious to try and send one of +these monsters to another world. I am not sure I was right in doing so, +although I may have been the means of ridding the rivers of Sarawak +from a dangerous pest. + +At mid-day we stopped on a sandbank to lunch, and to give our crew an +hour or two’s rest. The Dyaks had erected a little palm-leaf house +to shelter us during the halt, whilst they themselves, under the +shade of scattered rocks, set their rice boiling in pots hanging +from tripods made from branches of trees cut down in neighbouring +forests. Very soon little fires began to spring up all over the sandy +expanse. As usual the noonday silence of the tropics reigned, broken +only by that bird whose sweet song rivals our nightingale. I think +this bird’s song most ravishing; its trills are velvety, soft, and yet +so loud that they can be heard for some reaches down the river. Our +famous Sarawak naturalist, Dr. Hose, who is an expert in the sounds +of birds, disagrees with me; he thinks its note shrill and sometimes +disagreeable. I beg respectfully to differ from such an authority, and +still maintain that the alligator bird (the name given to the bul-bul +by the natives of the country) is among the sweetest songsters of the +world. + +By three o’clock in the afternoon the crew were ready to proceed. +Presently the river became so shallow that poles had to be used instead +of paddles. Great trees, growing on rocks, overshadowed the water, +where it was difficult to understand how they could live. The river +became quite clear, rippling over a pebbly bed. I wish I knew what +those pebbles were, for I believe in these river-beds are to be found +amethysts, tourmalines, and even sapphires. Dr. Hose told me that on +one of his travels up these inland streams, his war-boats floated over +the dust of sapphires. An orchid branch drifted towards us, rosy, +white, and waxy, looking like a smile upon the water. One of our Dyaks +tried to get hold of it for me, but I prevented him. I preferred to +think of the flower dying in the fresh cool stream, rather than see it +fading in my hot hand. + +The great stairway of rock was before us, and the crunch of gravel +under our boat’s keel warned us that the water could float it no +longer. Some of the crew jumped overboard and made secure long lengths +of rattan, in order to drag the boats up the many barriers that lay +in our way. The men bounded over these impediments, and we bumped and +creaked as the rattan ropes dragged us up these enormous boulders, the +water pouring over them in all directions. Sometimes the torrent was so +impetuous, and the rocks of such a height, that our boat was poised on +the centre of a great boulder, its keel grating backwards and forwards, +whilst the muscles of our crew stood out like cords on their necks and +limbs, as they pulled at the rattans with all their might. Whenever +our boat was safely lodged on a rock, the crew rested for a while and +bathed in the deep pools of quiet water lying between the stones. They +might have been bronze tritons escaped from fountains, endowed with +life, and disporting themselves in these waters. The agility of an +old Bukitan, who must have been at least sixty-five years old, amused +me much. His crown of plaited straw lay over snow-white bristles, +and a fine crop of snow-white hair ornamented one side of his cheek, +whilst his other cheek was bare. He was proud of his one whisker, and +whenever he rested in his arduous work, he stroked it continually. A +towel round his waist was his only covering. The old man bounded from +rock to rock, agile as a tiger cat; he frequently held the rattan rope +in his teeth in helping to pull the boats up. After about an hour’s +such toil, we found ourselves above the first ledge of rocks in this +great cataract of Pelagus. We clambered up the rocky banks and stood +on the edge of a great forest. Rhododendrons, scarlet with blossom, +wild red hibiscus, and convolvuli of all colours, hung over the water, +whilst masses of tiny flowers, vaguely reminding us of violets, made a +mauve carpet for our feet as we stepped along, and in so doing, alas, +helped to spoil the picture. We looked up a great reach of the torrent +mounting straight and closing the horizon. At our feet the waters were +divided by a small, rocky island, on which grew, in scrappy bits of +soil, lofty trees with leafy branches. The water frothed and foamed +round this impediment, and Mr. Bampfylde informed me that at this spot +many boats are swamped and lives lost every year. Then, beyond the +horizon lay numberless rapids, not so dangerous as is that of Pelagus, +and before reaching Belaga, the water flows tranquilly along until the +upper reaches of the Rejang are reached. Belaga is a great centre for +rattans, camphor, and gutta-percha. + +As I stood looking at the whirlpool, Hovering Hawk, who was standing +near me, pointed with his thumb to the swirling water all flecked +with foam. “See there,” he said, “who knows how many eyes lie buried +beneath that foam!” + +Beyond this foam, on the opposite bank, were quantities of wild sago +palms, drooping their metallic green fronds over smaller-leaved forest +trees; then, lower down on the rocky banks, were entanglements of red +rhododendrons, of scarlet berries and leaves, sprinkled by the spray. +The mystery, the strangeness of the place, so like, and yet so unlike, +European waterfalls; the groups of Dyaks scattered about, grave and +silent, perhaps remembering comrades of theirs who had found their +deaths in the whirlpool; the perfumes of moss, damp earth and flowers, +and the sound of running water, made us thoughtful, until Face of Day, +with a pompous air, pulled his sword from out its wooden sheath, cut +a branch of leaves and berries from a shrub near by, and handed it to +me. “Its leaves are tongues, and its berries flaming hearts--manah +(beautiful),” he said. His gift somewhat impeded my progress as I +struggled down the slippery rocks to our boat, but I managed to carry +the branch in safety, and one of its leaves now rests between the pages +of St. Francis of Assisi’s _Floweret_ book I always keep by me. + +We then embarked for the return--I looking eagerly for a new +experience, that of shooting the rapids. It was very great fun. Salleh +stood in the bows with a long pole, and two or three of the crew also +took poles, whilst the remainder of the Dyaks sat in their places in +the boat, no doubt rejoicing in having nothing to do. We bounded +like corks over the crest of the waves; we were carried into pools, +from whence we emerged by clever strokes of Salleh’s pole against +intervening rocks, and rounded great stones which, a moment before, +appeared as though nothing could prevent our boats being dashed against +them. It was shady, cool, and peaceful; flowers, leaves, and mosses +smelt sweet; pale blue butterflies hovered over the banks, and a hawk +hung motionless in the air above our heads. When we had passed in +safety the most dangerous part of the cataract, our crew sang their +home-coming song, a sort of dirge sounding something like a Gregorian +chant. Mr. Bampfylde told me it was a thanksgiving song to the gods for +having floated us safely over the dangers of the great Pelagus rapid. + +As I write, it all comes back to me as though it only happened +yesterday, for the impression was so intense that at times I fancy +myself again in that spot, flying down the rapids like a bird. I think +if, at the end of my life, I had to give an account of the happiest +time I have ever spent, it would be of those too brief minutes when +Salleh and his picked crew steered our boat down those foaming waters. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVI + + +After a short journey, we encamped for the night on a gravel bank, +still within sound of the cataract’s roar. On our way, we paddled by +a jagged rock, about twenty feet high, standing in the middle of the +stream. Salleh pointed it out to me, and told me that Kling (a hero of +Dyak mythology) had with one blow from his biliong (axe) cut its top +in two. On the gravel bed a hut of fresh pale green palm fronds had +been run up for me to sleep and bathe in. It was very comfortable, with +a bamboo bench, some three feet wide, resting against its leaf walls +for me to sleep on. Salleh had hung ferns, flowers, and leafy branches +on its walls, and had strewn the floor with sweet-smelling leaves. A +large expanse of shingle lay all round the hut, and our two boats were +tethered to the shore just below. Camp-fires were soon lit here and +there for the crew to boil their evening meal of rice. It was nearly +full moon; the water rippled over its gravelly bed and moved the sedges +in the river with a musical sound. Some palms in the neighbourhood +rustled as though a shower of rain were falling, and the millions of +leaves of the forest trees, covering the hills and valleys, gave back +to the air in perfumed mists the heat that had beaten on them during +the day. + +After dinner, rugs were spread on the pebbles for us to sit on. Our +friends, the Dyak and Tanjong chiefs, were invited to join us and have +their coffee and cigarettes with us. The moon appeared above the trees; +mists began to rise, and in the forest near by we heard the little +black and white owl crying for the moon. The Sarawak people call it +Pung-Gok, and the sound of its two notes, musical and tender, made us +feel happy and yet sad. This was the moment for our Dyak and Tanjong +friends to tell us some of their legends. “How about the flood?” said +Mr. Bampfylde to Salleh. (I think Mr. Bampfylde knew what was to come.) +“Oh yes,” replied Salleh, “I know all about the flood. It is a true +story and I will tell it you. + +“When the world was very old and the people very wicked, the heart +of the great god Patara grew sick in heaven. He sent two dragons, +man and wife, to the earth, which were so large that they could hook +their tails in heaven and hang their heads to the earth. They ate +up the paddy all over the world, so that many of the people died of +starvation, and after doing all this evil, they hoisted themselves back +into heaven by their tails. At that time there were seven Rajahs in the +world,--Rajahs Sinddit, Niuka, Nugu, Amban, Kagjup, Lubah, and Umbar. +Rajah Sinddit, the eldest, said to his brothers, ‘We must kill these +two dragons, for never in all these years have I been so hungry.’ The +brothers inquired how he suggested killing these monsters. ‘With arrows +poisoned with upas,’ he said, and they commenced making preparations so +as to be in readiness for the dragons’ next visit. + +“In a short time they saw from their hiding-place the two dragons +letting themselves down from heaven, and beginning again their work of +devastation. So the brothers sent showers of poisoned arrows, hitting +the dragons every time. The dragons felt rather sick, and hoisted +themselves back to heaven: the poison soon began to take effect, and +the beasts shook all over and fell to earth. Then the seven Rajahs came +forward, followed by the population from their respective countries, +and cut the dragons to pieces. Some took pieces of flesh, others +portions from their breasts, whilst others filled gourds with blood, +each according to his fancy. Some of the Rajahs cooked their portions +in bamboos, others in earthenware saucepans. When the flesh began +to boil, the fat bubbled over and went into the rivers of the seven +countries. The waters immediately began to rise, and the people flew to +the hills. + +“As the waters of the rivers were not sufficient to flood the world, +Patara sent rain which lasted for three years, so that the waters +covered the mountains and high places of the earth, and all the people +in the world perished, with the exception of one woman, named Suki, who +survived in a boat. After a long time, the flood subsided, and Suki was +alone in the world, but there were a few animals that had also escaped +destruction, these being a dog, a deer, a fowl, a pig, and a cat. These +remained with Suki during her peril, but when the waters retreated, +they all ran away and she was left sorrowing, for she had not even the +animals to speak to. + +“Patara, seeing her loneliness, took pity on her, and sent the god +of the storms, Antu Ribut, who made her his wife. They had a son, +named Sinpang Tinpang, and a daughter. In time the brother and sister +married, so as to increase and replenish the world. After many +years the people began to get wicked again, and a Rajah of this new +population, whose name was Gading, collected an army and went to fight +to the edge of the sky. He led his army through forests and valleys, +up and down great mountains, until he arrived at a land of fields, +where the army slept for the night. The next morning the people saw +an enormous mushroom, called Kulat Liman; it was so big that it took +seven days to walk round it. The Rajah’s army, who had finished their +provisions during their march, waxed hungry at the sight and hacked at +the mushroom, cooking and eating the pieces they managed to obtain. +When they had eaten their fill, they became very drunk and began to +speak in different languages. The Hindoos rolled about in charcoal and +thus became black, the Kayans pierced their ears in all directions, the +Chinese shaved their heads, the Malays shaved off their every hair, and +the Bukitans and Ukits tattooed themselves. Then Kling, the god of +war, came down at Patara’s command to confuse them, and all the people +commenced to speak in strange languages, so that the army could not be +led further, and they all separated into different countries and the +world became what it is now.” + +Salleh finished his tale quite abruptly. We all thanked him, and his +friend Merum told us that he knew a good story about the Rejang, so we +lit fresh cigarettes and composed ourselves to listen. He cleared his +throat and began-- + +“The giant Goa is the root of the Rejang tribe. He lived up the river, +as far as the Pelagus Sukat rapid, and made the tribe by killing his +daughter and a lot of animals and pounding them all up together. When +he had finished making the tribe he moved down to the sea-coast to live +near the river Igan; as he walked down the Rejang river, he was such a +big man that the water only came up to his knees. + +“Goa had a son-in-law, named Bessiong, and as his rice farm was much +troubled with pigs, he gave Bessiong a valuable spear and told him to +kill the animals. Bessiong accordingly went up the river in a canoe +to the farming ground, and, seeing a white pig rooting up the paddy, +he flung the spear, which struck the pig and broke in two, the animal +running away with the spear-head still sticking in its neck. Bessiong +could not follow the pig up, and went home to tell his father-in-law. +Goa was exceedingly wroth and sent him back to find the spear-head. + +“Bessiong returned to the rice farm and managed to track the pig some +way by the spots of blood. When these came to an end he looked up +and found he had wandered into an unknown country. He roamed about, +and at last came to a great village inhabited by a strange people, +living in very large houses. Looking into one of the houses, he saw +that the people were holding incantations over one of the inmates. +When the people, from inside the house, saw the stranger, they called +out to him and asked him where he had come from. Bessiong told them, +and asked permission to enter the house. This they said he might do +if he could doctor, as the Rajah’s daughter was dying and none of +their medicine men could save her. Bessiong, agreeing to try and make +her well again, was taken to see the patient, who, he was told, was +suffering from a wound in the neck. On looking at the wound, he saw the +end of his father-in-law’s spear sticking into it. Bessiong said he +could cure her, but that he must first go outside to obtain remedies; +accordingly he went, and returned in a short time with a piece of +bamboo and a cloth. He covered the girl’s head and neck over with the +cloth, extracted the spear-head, and slipped it in the bamboo. He then +instructed the people to give her certain remedies, and in a short time +the wound healed and the girl recovered. + +“The Rajah, grateful to Bessiong, gave him his daughter in marriage. +They lived together for a year or two, and one day she took her husband +down to bathe. She showed him two wells, and confessed that she and +her people were a pig tribe. She told him that if they bathed in one +of these wells, they were turned into pigs, and were restored to their +human form by bathing in the other well. She asked him to dip his leg +into the pig well, and when Bessiong did so, it was changed into a +pig’s leg. He then dipped it into the other well, when his leg was +immediately restored to its original shape. After a time, Bessiong +became rather weary of the company of his pig wife, and wished to +return to his father-in-law’s village. His wife then warned him that if +ever he met a herd of pigs swimming across a river, he must be careful +not to kill the middle one, for it would be herself. At the same time, +she informed him that she intended to swallow all her jewels and turn +into a pig. She cautioned him that if he did happen to kill her, he +would die himself. + +“After these admonitions, he went back to Goa. One day, when he was on +a hunting expedition with his two dogs, he saw a herd of pigs swimming +across the river. The ci-devant husband at once recognized his wife, +and a longing for wealth took possession of him. He thereupon threw a +spear at the middle pig and killed her just as she reached the shore. +He ran to the place where she lay, ripped her pig body open, and found +all her jewels. But no sooner had he the wealth within his grasp than +he died himself as the proper punishment for his treachery. Thus it +happens that his tribe is scattered all over the country, and the +tribe which Goa manufactured fell to pieces, the remnant being made up +by Tanjongs, Kanowits, Bliens, Kejamans, Sekarrangs, etc., all reduced +in number.” + +This story of the pig lady was evidently a favourite one, for the +chiefs listened to every word of the legend as if they had never heard +it before, although they appeared to know it so well that, whenever the +reciter paused for a second, one or other of the warriors seated round +immediately prompted him. + +It grew cold. The mists were making themselves felt, they wreathed +themselves round the tree-tops and formed into walls over the waters of +the river, so that the distant hills became invisible. But the little +owl’s voice was still heard crying for the moon. He had flown farther +away in his search for higher branches of trees whence he could see +his lady love. By and by, the moon itself was lost in the mist, and +the little bird lover’s cry was silenced, when the ripple of the water +over the pebbles, and the roar of the distant cataract, were the only +sounds we heard. I said good-night to my friends and walked off to the +hut with Ima, whilst Bertram, Dr. Langmore, and Mr. Bampfylde went +to sleep in the boats moored by the river’s side. Salleh accompanied +us to the hut, and when I said good-night to him and hoped he would +sleep well, he said, “Oh no, Rajah Ranee, I shall not sleep to-night. +I shall just doze like a Kijang,[12] with one eye open, so as to be +on guard near your hut, ready for any emergency.” A quarter of an hour +had not elapsed before I heard Salleh’s snores behind the thin walls +of my leafy shelter! Then I fell asleep, and was awakened by wild and +very sweet sounds. They were like the silvery tones of a flute, pouring +forth triplets of notes, some long, some short, in the minor key. I +got up and opened the leafy door. The half-light of dawn lay over the +mists, enwrapping the trees and still hiding the river. As they lifted +and rent themselves away from the branches of a bush growing near, I +saw Salleh standing there, flute in hand. “Is that you, Salleh,” I +said, “making that sweet music?” “Yes,” he replied; “it is a tune I +play at dawn and sunset, because at these hours it sounds so sweet that +it brings tears to my eyes, so I thought you would like me to play it +to you.” Well! I thought, I am sorry for those people who imagine our +Sarawak natives to be no better than savages. + + [Illustration: SALLEH, A TANJONG CHIEF, PLAYING ON THE NOSE FLUTE, WITH + TWO TANJONG ATTENDANTS] + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [12] The roebuck. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVII + + +On our way down the Rejang we stayed one evening at Sibu. Arriving +there about sunset, we took a walk round the Chinese Bazaar to look +at the shops and say good-bye to some of our friends. The Chinese are +supposed to have been the first people to discover camphor, and Sibu +Bazaar is one of the principal dépôts for it in Sarawak. In early days +camphor was purchased for about $10 a cattie (1⅓ lb.), but the price +has now risen to three times that amount. Chinese merchants all over +Sarawak buy this commodity from the natives and send it to Singapore. +The camphor seekers in the forests of Sarawak go through a great many +superstitious rites in order to find good supplies. Sometimes they stay +in the forests for weeks together, having only salt and rice for their +sustenance. + +The Rejang river is rich in many articles of export: indiarubber, +gutta-percha, beeswax, mats, ebony, beads, and geliga or bezoar +stones, the latter being found in the stomach of three species of +monkeys--wah-wahs, jelu-merahs, and jelu-jangkits. The natives kill +these animals with the blow-pipe, and about seven out of every ten +are said to contain these valuable and rare stones, highly prized by +Chinamen, who buy them at extremely high prices. Bezoar stones are also +to be found in porcupines, but they are rarer, and are, in consequence, +even dearer than those found in monkeys. A small species of rhinoceros +also exists and roams about not far from Kapit Fort; these animals are +to be met with near a limestone mountain, called the Mountain of the +Moon. The creatures are hunted and killed by the natives for the sake +of their horns, which the Chinese scrape into powder, mix with water, +and give as a medicine for inflammation; they also boil the dung of +these animals and use it as a medicine. The animals are not savage, and +only turn upon human beings when wounded. + +One of our visits, on this evening at Sibu, was to an old Chinese +chemist, who had settled himself in the place when the Rejang was given +over to the first white Rajah. His shop was situated in the middle +of a row of houses, roofed with wooden shingles, in front of which +were wide verandahs with balustrades, floored with planks, where the +shopkeepers sat in the cool of the evening, and purchasers wandered +about them in comfort all day long, sheltered from sun and rain. The +Chinaman was very glad to see us, and Dr. Langmore was interested +to meet a colleague, for the old man was supposed to be one of the +most skilful doctors in the neighbourhood. He showed Dr. Langmore his +grated rhinoceros horn, the powdered bezoar stone, the broth made +from sharks’ fins, and on one of the counters was a steaming bowl +of tamarinds, in readiness for stomachic complaints. He was ending +his days in peace and prosperity. His dispensary was thronged from +morning to night with patients suffering from all kinds of diseases, +nervous and otherwise. The death-rate at Sibu, however, was low, so +one imagines the old man’s methods were beneficent. Nor was our old +friend quite without an eye to the future, for he owned a beautiful +coffin made of iron-wood, or bilian, which he kept polished like a +looking-glass. It was often put out in the warm, dry air, so that +it should be thoroughly well seasoned in case of emergency. The old +gentleman would sit on the edge of the coffin smoking his opium pipe +after his day’s labour--that one solace of hard-working Chinamen, +who take one pipe of opium in the evening, just as an abstemious man +enjoys his glass of whisky and water before going to bed. From my own +experience amongst the people of Sarawak, I can say with truth that +opium is not in any way such a curse to the country as are the spirits +and “fire water” sold in such large quantities all over the United +Kingdom and its colonies, with, apparently, so few restrictions. But +to return to our old friend: he would point to his coffin with pride, +for he did not dread the time when the lid would close over him and his +place in the world know him no more. + +Going back to our bungalow near the Fort, we walked round the other +shops in the Bazaar: these were full of beads of dark blue transparent +glass, some opaque, ornamented with dabs of black, red, white, and +yellow. These beads are made in Venice, and find ready purchasers +amongst the poorer Dyaks, Kayans, and Tanjongs, for they are a fair +imitation of ancient beads these people dig up, sometimes by accident, +sometimes as the result of dreams. It is curious how these ancient +beads are found, and an interesting account of them may be seen in Dr. +Hose’s recent book on Sarawak. The true old beads are regarded with +great veneration by the Dyak and Kayan people. One of my Dyak friends +told me that he dreamed if he went to a certain spot in a forest rather +distant from his home, and dug under a particular tree, he would find +amongst its roots a valuable bead called lukut. He accordingly went +to the spot, dug under the tree, and there found the bead, which he +carried round his waist in a little basket, together with bits of rock +crystal, stones worn into queer shapes by water, and a peculiar-looking +seed covered with red fluff, which was believed to be the hair of a +powerful and malignant spirit, named Antu Gergasi. + +We bade farewell to the Chinese apothecary and to the bead-finder, who +had escorted us to the door of our house, and the next morning we left +Sibu on our way to Simanggang. We entered the Batang Lupar River and +steamed by two green mounds, covered with trees, shaped like dumplings, +which stand at its entrance. One of these is an island, called the +Isle of Birds, where a landslip has uprooted the great trees on its +precipitous side, showing the red soil underneath. On this island is +a tomb erected to a Muhammadan lady, who lived a great many years ago +in one of the little villages near the coast, and was honoured for +her holy life and her incessant prayers to Allah. When she died, she +was buried in this little island as a special tribute to her memory. +Although a pilgrimage to her tomb requires a tedious journey across the +channel dividing the island from the neighbouring coast, the people +in this part of the country pay frequent visits to her resting-place, +taking with them on each occasion costly silks and satins to lay on her +tomb, and thus show the reverence in which she is still held by those +who appreciate her holy life. + +The passage from the mouth of the Rejang had been so smooth that it +was impossible even for me to be sea-sick. The sun was setting, and in +front of us the shores of the Batang Lupar were veiled with pink smoke, +for it was now in September, and the Dyaks were burning their farms. I +saw strange, fitful lights in the western sky, fragments of pale blue +framed in golden fluff with ragged edges of copper. A colour, like a +fragment of a rainbow, was seen for an instant close by the sea, then +disappeared, whilst entanglements of gold and turquoise blue, intricate +and delicate, covered the sky. The sun dropping behind the clouds +stood out blood-red, like a glorified host; until in a few moments it +was hidden behind the sea. A gleam of gold trembled on the water; it +vanished, darkness came, and the day was done. + +Our arrival at Simanggang was a pleasant one. Our dear friend, Mr. +Bailey, who for several years had ruled the district with marked +success, and Mr. Kirkpatrick, then Assistant-Resident in the Batang +Lupar, were at the wharf to meet us. Bertram and I walked up that +sweet-smelling avenue of angsana trees leading to the Fort and to the +bungalow where we were to stay, and where we spent a happy time. + +A great sadness comes over me now as I write about this river, for +since Bertram’s and my visit to the Batang Lupar two of the Rajah’s +most distinguished officers have passed away. In mentioning Simanggang, +it would be a great and very ungrateful omission were I not especially +to mention these two men--Mr. Frank Maxwell and Mr. Bailey. + + [Illustration: HUT CONTAINING EATABLES TO REFRESH THE GOD OF SICKNESS, + BATANG LUPAR RIVER] + +Mr. Frank Maxwell lived at Simanggang, in charge of the Fort, for a +great many years, and it is almost unnecessary to remind anyone who +takes an interest in the Malayan Archipelago how famous the name of +Maxwell must for ever be in that part of the world. His father, Sir +Benson Maxwell, and his brothers, Sir William and Mr. Robert Maxwell, +are also well known for the part they have played in civilizing those +far-off Eastern lands. But it is of Mr. Frank Maxwell that I now write, +for I am able to speak with authority as to the affection in which +all the people of the Batang Lupar hold his name. He joined the Rajah’s +service as a young man of twenty-two years of age. He first of all +learned the methods of Sarawak policy under Mr. Skelton, another of the +Rajah’s loyal officers, who, alas, was destined to die young. At Mr. +Skelton’s death, Mr. Maxwell was given charge of this district, and +for years he toiled there for the benefit of the people. Head-hunters +were busy in those days in the inland country of the Batang Lupar, +and many were the expeditions led by him in order to restore peace +and trade in the vicinity. A chief, called Lang Endang, gave immense +trouble, and at one time menaced in a somewhat serious manner the +inhabitants residing in the lower waters of the Batang Lupar River. +Now that Mr. Maxwell has passed away, I do not fear his displeasure +at pointing out the manner in which he drove these enemies of the +Rajah back, thus establishing security and peace in the district. One +of these expeditions comes back forcibly to my mind as I write. Mr. +Maxwell’s health was never very good on account of constant malaria and +rheumatism, and once when an expedition was absolutely necessary he was +lying crippled with an attack of acute rheumatism in Simanggang Fort. +He was carried down to his boat and placed on a mattress, from which +he directed the operations necessary against the rebel force. During +the arduous river journey he lay almost unable to move hand or foot. +Notwithstanding these drawbacks, he led his Dyaks to victory, and when +he got back to the Fort and had leisure to be ill in comfort--although +still in great pain--he must have felt repaid for his exertions by the +grateful affection of the Malays and Dyaks, who, as I have said before, +admire above all other things courage and endurance. It was not from +Mr. Maxwell that I learned the details of this expedition, but from the +Simanggang people themselves. + +The same devotion to the country distinguished Mr. Bailey, who was +content to live in the Fort situated up that green cliff overlooking +the Batang Lupar River for years and years, bereft of European society, +with the exception of the English officer under him, straining every +nerve to bring the people into civilization, to teach them the benefits +of good agriculture, and to keep them as much as possible from the +pernicious habit of head-hunting, which seems ingrained in their very +bones. + +These two names which occur to me as I write are of those who have gone +beyond the influence of either praise or blame. Fortunately many of +the Rajah’s other officers are still alive, and it is only because I +have the pleasure of being their friend, and know how much they would +dislike being dragged into print, that I refrain from saying all I +should like to say about such men as Mr. Bampfylde, Mr. Harry Deshon, +and others, who have so nobly followed the example set before them by +their chief. + +I know I shall be forgiven if I seize the present opportunity of +mentioning the names of some of my Englishwomen friends who have +also taken an affectionate interest in the lives of the women of our +country. The wife of the Bishop of Sarawak, Mrs. Hose, Mrs. Deshon, +Mrs. F. Maxwell, Mrs. Buck, and many others were most successful in +their sympathetic endeavours to know them well and to become their +friends. I wish these ladies could realize how much all who care for +Sarawak appreciate their work out there. Mrs. Hose, alas, died some +years ago, but her memory still lives in the hearts of the women of +Sarawak. Their other Englishwomen friends are often spoken of in +Kuching and other places in Sarawak, and the one wish of the women of +the country is that they may see them again. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVIII + + +Whilst we were staying at the bungalow at Simanggang, Mr. Bailey +sent me a message one morning to the effect that a number of Dyak +women, living a little distance in a village up the Batang Lupar, had +requested permission to send a deputation to welcome us to the country. +I was only too delighted to receive the women, so that Bertram and +I stood on the verandah in expectation of their arrival. A little +distance up the path, bordered by betel-nut palms, sweet-smelling +limes, and other tropical growth we saw a long file of women making +their way in our direction, bearing aloft great round trays piled up +with fruits and cakes. High silver combs, from which dangled fringes +of silver, falling each side of their faces below the ears, decorated +their huge coils of hair. Their bodies were cased in innumerable coils +of brass rings, and they wore short petticoats of cotton cloth, brown, +blue, and white. They wore quantities of anklets and bangles, and their +throats were encircled with rows upon rows of beads and gold ornaments. +There were about thirty or forty of these women, walking slowly, +holding themselves very straight, their eyes cast down, and I noticed +the same curious, mysterious, archaic expression on their faces as on +those of the Tanjong dancers. They came to the bungalow, passed Bertram +and me, and laid their gifts of fruits and cakes on the verandah at the +back of our house, then followed us into our sitting-room to have a +little talk. + +This charming welcome was their way of showing pleasure at our arrival, +and when they had taken their places, squatting on the floor, their +feet tucked underneath them, and the few moments of silence required +on such important occasions had passed, we began our talk, and I +asked them about their families and all the news of their village. +They told me that not many weeks before, sickness had attacked some +members of their community, and that their long house, surrounded by +an orchard of bananas, durians, jack fruit, etc., was situated a few +yards from the banks of the river. In order to appease the anger of the +god of sickness, they had erected a little hut on the river-bank. I +felt curious to see this hut, and asked them whether I might pay it a +visit. They were pleased with the idea, and these forty women suggested +paddling me thither in one of their boats. Accordingly, that afternoon, +Bertram and I were conveyed a few reaches up the Batang Lupar by this +picturesque crew. It did not take us long to reach the spot, where we +saw an open shed, propped on bamboo poles, roofed in with palm leaves. +Large plates, some chipped and broken, hung from the roof, and on a +platform below were placed cooked rice, pieces of salt fish, and +other edibles, together with a gourd of water, to tempt the spirit of +the plague to eat his meals there, instead of going further inland +to procure his food off human flesh. This custom is, I believe, a +universal one amongst some of the tribes in Sarawak. The women assured +me that the sickness was stayed by these methods, but the hut had been +left there, in case the unwelcome visitor should return at any time for +more victims. We were paddled back to the bungalow in the same way as +we had come, and the women expressed themselves delighted with the time +we had spent together. + +That evening we held a large reception in the Fort, at which all +my old friends, Malays and Dyaks, were present, Mr. Bailey and Mr. +Kirkpatrick being the masters of ceremony on the occasion. One of +the Malays present, a Seripa, whom I knew well in her younger days, +amused me much, so careful did she seem to be of Bertram’s morals. A +pretty girl, whose name was Lada (meaning pepper), a Dyak of Sekarrang +and the daughter of a fortman, happened to be amongst our guests. +Her magnificent hair, her great dark eyes fringed with eyelashes of +wonderful length, her little flat nose and well-shaped mouth, her +pale yellow complexion, her slim figure, and her graceful movements +made her a striking personality at the party. I must own Bertram +thought the girl pretty and talked a good deal to her, but in quite a +fatherly manner. This conduct, however, on his part, did not please +the Seripa, who sat next to me. She objected to his showing attention +to a person she considered an “orang kechil” (a little person of no +consequence). She told me she was my friend, and therefore competent +to teach “Anak Rajah” (a Rajah’s child) in the ways he should go. +She continued her ejaculations on the subject during the Evening. I +tried to pacify her, and could only manage to do so by telling her +that perhaps she might get an opportunity the following morning of +seeing Bertram, and remonstrating with him on his conduct. Meanwhile, +poor Bertram was quite unconscious of the displeasure of the Seripa. +She was a curious-looking woman, of Arabian descent, and her features +were more European than were those of Malays generally. She had been +good-looking, and was even then a picturesque figure in her draperies +of dark blue and her dark purple scarf, made of gauzy material, flung +over her locks, still untouched with grey, but curling in profusion all +over her head. + +The next morning Ima told me that the Seripa and one or two of her +female retinue were prowling round the garden of the bungalow, in +order to waylay Bertram as he went out for his morning walk. What +happened at the interview, I never quite made out, but, being warned +by Ima that the couple had met, I stood on the verandah and watched +the proceedings. The angry dame was pouring forth a torrent of words +to Bertram, who could only understand about a quarter of all she said. +Ima told me, however, that the gist of it was that she (the Seripa) was +my friend, and that if Bertram chose to pay attention to any of her +relations it would be quite the right thing for a Rajah’s son to do, +as they were Seripas, but she forbade him to waste his compliments and +attentions on people below his rank. I am sorry to say that Bertram did +not at all appreciate the friendly interference of the angry Seripa, +although when a few days had elapsed, my loyal friend could judge for +herself that the matter was not of such serious import after all. By +the time we left Simanggang, Bertram and the Seripa had become good +friends. + +It must be remembered that the greatest pleasure to Malays who have +passed their first youth is in teaching others. Their one idea on +approaching young people is to “ajar” them. “Baik sahya ajar” (it is +well I should teach him) were the words I was perpetually hearing from +many Malays during my journeys with Bertram through Sarawak. It shows +friendship and interest on their part, and I remember with tenderness +and affection the admonitions the dear people used to give me when I +first went amongst them in the days of my youth. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIX + + +During our stay at Simanggang I saw, as usual, a great many natives, +and being interested in the legends of the place, I persuaded my +visitors to relate some of these to me. It should be remembered that +none of these legends have been written down by themselves, since the +Dyaks possess no literature, with the result that they vary in the +telling. I cannot say positively that the following legends have not +already appeared in print; to my mind, however, their interest lies +in their slight difference; every variation goes to show how strongly +these legends are embedded in the minds and lives of the people, and +should, in their way, help to unfold the secret of their origin. + +I found that the strange idea of people becoming petrified by storms +and tempests, through laughing or ill-treating animals, was universal +amongst the inhabitants of this district. The following are two stories +regarding this belief, told me by my friends. + +Many years ago there was a little village called Marup, far up the +Batang Lupar River. It stood on the banks near its source, and below +the village the water rippled over pebbles under the shade of great +trees. There were deep pools here and there between the rocks, where +fish could be seen swimming about, and these the village boys caught +in their hands. It was a happy little place, too poor to be attacked +by robbers, and out of the reach of the terrible head-hunters living +nearer the coast. The orchards round the village were full of fruit, +and the rice-crops were never known to fail. The women passed their +time weaving cloths made from the cotton growing on the trees round +their dwellings, or working in the rice-fields, whilst the men fished, +hunted, or went long journeys in their canoes in search of certain +palms, which they brought home to their women, who worked them into +mats or plaited them into baskets. One day a young girl went down to +the river with her net. She filled her basket with fish called by the +people “Ikan Pasit.” The girl took them home, and as she was preparing +them for supper, the smallest fish jumped out of the cooking pot and +touched her breast. “What are you doing?” she said to the fish. “Do +you imagine that you are my husband?” and at this joke she laughed +heartily. The people who were watching her prepare the meal joined in +the laugh, and the peals of laughter were so loud that the villagers, +hearing the noise, rushed to see what was the matter, and they too +began to laugh. Suddenly, a great black pall was seen to rise over the +western hills, and spread over the sky. A mighty wind blew accompanied +by flashes of lightning and detonations sounding like the fall of great +hills. Then a stone-rain (hail-storm) began, and soon a terrible +tempest was in progress. The torrents of rain and hail were so dense +that day turned to night. After a time the rain ceased, but great +hailstones beat pitilessly down on the village until every man, woman, +and child, and every animal, even the houses themselves, were turned +to stone and fell into the river with a loud crash. When the storm +subsided, a deep silence lay over the valley, and the only traces of +that once happy settlement were great boulders of rock lying in the bed +of the stream. + +The girl who had been the first to mock at the fish was only partly +petrified, for her head and neck remained human and unchanged. She, +also, had fallen into the river, and was embedded like a rock in the +middle of the stream. Thus she lived for many years, with a living +head and neck, and a body of stone. Whenever a canoe paddled by she +implored its inmates to take their swords and kill her, but they could +make no impression whatever on her stone body or on her living head. +They could not move the rock, for it was too big, and although they +hacked at her head with axes, swords, and various other implements, she +bore a charmed life, and was doomed to remain alive. One evening a man +paddled by, carrying his wife’s spindle in the bottom of his canoe. He +heard the girl’s cries, and tried all means possible with his axe and +his sword to put her out of her misery; at length in a fit of impotent +despair he seized hold of the spindle and struck her over the head +with it. Suddenly her cries ceased, and her head and neck slowly turned +to stone. This legend is known to a great many of the Dyaks living up +the Batang Lupar River, and the group of rocks was pointed out to me +when we passed by them, if I remember rightly, not far from Lobok Antu. + +The other legend is known as the Cat story, and is supposed to have +happened to a tribe who lived not far from the lady turned to stone +by a spindle. This village was also built on the banks of one of the +little streams flowing into the Batang Lupar River. The chief was a +proud, haughty man, whose tribe numbered one thousand men, women, and +children. He was given the title of “Torrent of Blood,” whilst his +more famous warriors were also distinguished by similarly splendid +names. His house was so large that it had seventy-eight doors (meaning +seventy-eight families lived under the same long roof). He was indeed +a great man: when he consulted the birds, they were favourable to his +wishes, and when he led his warriors to battle, he always returned +victorious, with his boats laden with heads, jars, sacks of paddy, and +plunder of various kinds. No tribe in Borneo could equal the noise +made by his warriors when they gave vent to the terrible head yells, +by which they made known to the countryside that they were returning +from some successful expedition. Practice had made them perfect, and +the mountains, rocks, and valleys resounded with their shouts. When +an expedition returned, the women and children stood on the banks +to watch the arrival of the boats. The most distinguished warriors’ +helmets were decorated with hornbill’s plumes, and their war-jackets +were a mass of feathers. None but renowned head-hunters were allowed to +wear the hornbill’s plumes, for they were a token of the wearer having +captured heads of enemies in battle. + +But there was one poor individual who could take no part in either +these warlike expeditions, or in the “Begawai Antu” (head feast) given +in honour of heads of enemies taken in their wars. Some years before, +the poor man’s parents had accidentally set fire to one of the houses +in the village, and, according to the custom of these Dyaks, such a +misfortune entailed the whole of the culprit’s family being enslaved. +One by one the relations of the poor man had died, until he remained +the only slave of the tribe. Indignities were heaped upon him, he +was looked upon with great contempt, and made to live in the last +room of the village where the refuse was thrown. One day, feeling +more desolate than usual, he made friends with a cat belonging to the +tribe. He enticed the animal into his miserable room and dressed it +up in a scarlet waistband, a war-jacket made of panther’s skin, and a +cap decorated with hornbill’s plumes: in short, in the costume of a +distinguished Dyak warrior. He carried the animal to the open verandah +in sight of the chiefs and elders who were discussing plans for a +fresh expedition, and of the women and young girls husking the paddy. +There, before them all, the friendless creature hugged the cat and held +it to his heart. He was nearly weeping and tears stood in his eyes, +but hard-hearted and scornful, the people pointed at him in derision +for owning such a friend, and laughed loudly. The warriors forgot +about their war plans and the women about their paddy, in their keen +enjoyment of the poor man’s misery. Suddenly, he let the cat jump out +of his arms, and as it touched the ground it ran like a mad thing in +and out of the crowd, dropping here and there the cap, the jacket, and +the scarlet waistband. Freed from these trappings, the cat leapt out of +the house and disappeared. Then a great storm arose and the stone-rain +fell upon the people. The chief of the village, together with all his +tribe, were hurled by Antu Ribut into the stream, and they and their +houses were turned into those great rocks which anyone can see for +himself if he will take the trouble involved in a journey up those many +reaches of the Batang Lupar River. The poor despised man found rest and +shelter in the general confusion, for he crept inside a bamboo growing +near the house, and there he has remained ever since, embedded in its +heart. + +Dr. Hose has told me that Bukitans and Ukits also believe in the danger +of laughing at animals, for he once had a baby maias[13] which learnt +to put its arms into the sleeves of a small coat, until it quite got +to like the coat. When visiting Dr. Hose at the Fort these people +sometimes saw the creature slowly putting on his coat, when they hid +their faces and turned away their heads, for fear the animal should see +them laughing at it. When Dr. Hose asked them why they were afraid to +be seen laughing, they replied, “It is ‘mali’ (forbidden) to laugh at +an animal, and might cause a tempest.” + +Here is another legend about people being turned to stone on account +of ingratitude and disrespect to their parents. Not far from the mouth +of the Batang Lupar River, some miles up the coast, are rocks standing +on the shore and which, according to my friends, were remains of an +ancient village, in which a man, his wife, and their son once lived. +The parents were exceedingly fond of the boy and brought him up with +especial care. The father taught him how to make schooners, how to +fashion canoes, and to make nets in order to obtain a large haul of +fish: indeed, he taught the boy all he knew. When the lad grew up, he +started from his village on a trading expedition in a schooner built +by his father and himself. The parents parted regretfully with their +child, but in their unselfishness they were only too glad he should +go forth in the world outside their little settlement and make a name +for himself. After many years the son managed to amass a considerable +fortune from his trading expeditions, and returned to the place of +his birth to visit his father and mother who had never for a moment +forgotten the boy so dear to them. But, so the story goes, when he +realized the poverty of their surroundings and their position in the +world, his heart grew hard towards them, and he felt ashamed of their +low estate. He spoke unkind words to the old couple, who had almost +given their life’s blood to build up his fortune. One day, after +insulting them more than usual, a great storm arose, and father, +mother, and son, together with the whole of the inhabitants of the +village and their houses, were tossed into the sea and turned into +stone. + +The Batang Lupar district is rich in legends, and I will tell yet +another as related to me by a fortman’s wife in Simanggang. Every one +living in Simanggang knows the great mass of sandstone and forest, +called Lingga Mountain, and all those who have travelled at all (so +said the fortman’s wife) have seen this Lingga Mountain and know how +high and difficult it is to climb, and how a great stretch of country +can be seen from its flat and narrow top with the wide expanse of sea +stretching from the shores of the Batang Lupar across the great bay +of Sarawak to the mountains beyond the town of Kuching. A young Dyak, +named Laja, once resided in a village at the foot of this mountain. +A beautiful lady, the Spirit of the mountain, one night appeared to +him in his dreams, and told him he must rise early the next morning, +before the trees on the banks of the river had emerged from the mists +of night, and climb Lingga Mountain, where he would find the safflower +(that blossom which has since become so great a blessing to the Dyak +race) at the top. The vision went on to explain that this plant would +benefit Laja’s tribe, for it could cure most illnesses, more especially +sprains and internal inflammation. Laja obeyed the orders of this +beautiful lady and started off the next morning before dawn had broken +over the land. He had climbed half-way up the mountain when he saw, +just above the fog, the fragment of a rainbow, like a gigantic orchid +painted in the sky, its rose colour gleaming through the mist and +melting away in the most wonderful moss-green hue. Seeing the coloured +fragment, Laja knew at once that the Spirit of the mountain, a king’s +daughter, was about to descend by the rainbow to bathe in the mountain +stream. When the colours had faded from the sky, Laja went his way, +until he reached the top, where he had some difficulty in finding the +safflower on account of its diminutive size. After searching for some +time, he found the root and carried it back to his village. He then +pounded it up and gave it to people who were sick. But the plant was +capricious, for, whilst it cured some, others derived no benefit from +it and died. Its successes, however, proved more numerous than its +failures, and every member of the tribe became anxious to procure a +root for himself, although no one ventured to undertake the journey at +the time as the farming season was in full swing, necessitating the +villagers working hard at their paddy; moreover, the place where the +plant grew was a long way off and the climb up the mountain was a +somewhat perilous one. + +Notwithstanding, a young man, named Simpurei, started off one day in +search of the safflower, without telling anyone of his intentions. When +he reached half-way up the mountain he saw the rainbow glittering in +the sky, but instead of its being a fragment, its arch was perfect, +both ends resting on the sides of a hill opposite the mountain. +Simpurei realized that the king’s daughter must be bathing in the +neighbourhood; nevertheless, he still went on. He heard the sound of +water and rustling leaves close by, and, pushing aside a great branch +of foliage, peered through, when he saw a woman most divinely beautiful +bathing in a pool. She was unclothed, her hair falling down her back +until it touched her feet. She threw the water over her head from a +bucket of pure gold, and as Simpurei stood staring at this beautiful +vision, one of the twigs in his hand broke off. At the sound the girl +looked up, and seeing the youth, fled to a great bed of safflowers near +which her clothes were lying. As she sped away, one of her hairs became +entangled in the bushes and was left hanging there. Simpurei saw it all +wet and glistening, like a cobweb left on a branch after a dewy night, +and rolling the fragile thread up carefully, put it with the beads, +pebbles, pieces of wood, seeds, etc., which he carried about with him +as charms, in his sirih bag. + +He hastened home, having forgotten the safflower in the excitement +of this unexpected meeting, but he had scarcely reached his house +when he was seized with violent illness. He lingered for some hours, +for he had time before he died to relate his adventures to the whole +of the village who had immediately come to his house on hearing of +his illness. Medicine men were called in, but their remedies were of +no avail, and the elders of the tribe showed their wisdom when they +decided that his death was a just punishment sent him by the Rajah, +the Spirit of the Sun:--for had not Simpurei stood and gazed at his +daughter when she was unclothed? + +Another legend, which I had from the fortman’s wife, telling how the +paddy was first brought to Borneo, is a general one all over the +country, and is related by many of our people with certain variations. +Some generations ago a man dwelt alone by the side of a river in a +small hut. One day, after a succession of thunder-storms and heavy +rains, he was watching snags and driftwood hurrying down the stream +after heavy freshets, owing to which the upper districts of the river +had been submerged and a number of people drowned in the flood. A snag, +on which perched a milk-white paddy bird, was hurrying to the sea, +followed, more leisurely, by a great tree torn up by its roots. This +tree got caught in a sandbank and swung to and fro in the current with +a portion of its roots above water. The man noticed a strange-looking +plant entangled in its roots, and unfastening his canoe from the +landing-place near by, he paddled to the spot and took the plant home. +It was a delicate-looking thing with leaves of the tenderest green, +but thinking it of no use, he threw it in a corner of his hut and soon +forgot all about it. When evening came on he unfolded his mat, put up +his mosquito-net, and was soon fast asleep. In his dreams, a beautiful +being appeared to him and spoke about the plant. This phantom, who +seemed more like a spirit than a man, revealed to him that the plant +was necessary to the human race, but that it must be watched and +cherished, and planted when seven stars were shining together in the +sky just before dawn. The man then woke up and, pulling his curtains +aside, saw the plant lying in the corner of the hut shrivelled and +brown. There he left it, and went to visit a friend living in the +neighbourhood, to whom he related what had happened, and went on to say +that the spirit of his dreams must be very stupid in telling him to +look for seven stars when there were always so many shining in the sky. +But his friend was a wise man and able to explain the meaning of his +dream. He told him that Patara himself had appeared to him, and that +the seven stars were quite different from other stars, as they did not +twinkle, but remained still in the heavens, and as they chose their own +season for appearing in the sky no one could tell for certain, without +their help, when the new plant was to be put in the ground. The friend, +being also versed in the law of antus, or spirits, said that the plant +found in the roots of the tree was paddy (rice), and that Patara had +taken the trouble to say so himself. + +After this explanation the man went home, picked up the plant and put +it away carefully until another dream should reveal when he was to look +out for the seven stars. In due time, under Patara’s guidance, the man +noticed the “necklace of Pleiades” appearing in the sky. The little +plant was then put in the ground, where it grew and multiplied. The +people in neighbouring villages also procured roots to plant in their +farms, so that the paddy now flourishes all over the country and the +people of Sarawak have always enough to eat. + +Sarawak people have very beautiful ideas about paddy, and their +mythical tales about the food-giving plant remind one of the many +legends all over the world relating to Demeter and other earth-mother +goddesses. Amongst some tribes, indeed, I fancy, nearly all over +Sarawak, the people plant the roots of a lily called Indu Padi (or wife +of the Paddy, by Sea Dyaks) in their paddy fields. They treat this +flower as though it were the most powerful goddess, and every paddy +field belonging to the Dyaks of the Rejang, of the Batang Lupar, of +the Sadong, and also of the Land Dyaks near Kuching, possesses a root +of this flower.[14] They build little protecting huts over it, and +treat its delicate and short life with the utmost care and reverence. +I have often tried to get a glimpse of this flower, but have never +succeeded. However, a good many of the Rajah’s officers, who have +lived some time in native houses, and who have witnessed the people’s +harvest festivals, have given me a description of it. I have always +thought it such a beautiful superstition of theirs that of caring for +and nurturing the delicate petals of a flower as though its fragile +existence were a protection to the well-being of their race. They +greatly fear anything happening to the plant, for should it die or +shrivel up before the paddy is husked and garnered, it is thought to +bode disaster to their tribe. + +[Illustration: PANAU--A SEA DYAK CHIEF] + +A chief named Panau, who had a considerable following, often paid +me visits in our bungalow at Simanggang. I had known him for years, +and, like all Dyaks, he was fond of talking, and a shrewd observer +of men and things. He was a reader of character, and when he trusted +anyone became their loyal friend. His dark, restless eyes, his smiling +face, his swagger, his conceit, his humility, and his kindness always +interested me. He had a sense of humour, too, and cracked many jokes +of which I did not always catch the sense; this was perhaps fortunate, +as Dyak jokes are sometimes Rabelaisian in character. He was greatly +interested in my camera, and thought the manner in which I fired at the +landscape and caught it in the box nothing short of miraculous. One +day I took his portrait, attired in his war-dress. He kept me waiting +for some minutes adjusting a warlike pose before I pulled off the cap. +“Let those who look upon my picture tremble with fear,” he said, as +he grasped his spear in one hand and his shield in the other. I took +him into the dark room arranged for me in our bungalow to see me +develop the picture. He looked over my shoulder as I moved the acid +over the plate, and when he saw his likeness appear, he gave a yell, +screamed out “Antu!” tore open the door, and rushed out, slamming the +door behind him. On that account his picture is somewhat fogged. It +took some time before he recovered from his fright, but he eventually +accepted one of the prints. A great reason I had for enjoying Panau’s +company was his devotion to my eldest son, Vyner, who had visited +Sarawak the previous year. At the time of Bertram’s and my stay in +Sarawak, Vyner was finishing his education at Cambridge. Panau confided +to me that he longed for the time to come when his Rajah Muda would be +amongst his people again. It appeared that Vyner had made many peaceful +expeditions up the Batang Lupar River with Panau and his tribe. On one +occasion Panau informed me he had saved Vyner from being engulfed by +the Bore. When, on my return to England, I asked Vyner for details, +he told me he did not remember the incident, and thought it must have +existed only in Panau’s imagination. I daresay Panau, having so often +related this imaginary adventure, had come to look upon it as true. +At any rate, the Chief was devoted to him, and, knowing how deeply my +eldest son appreciates the natives, it was pleasant to realize how much +he was esteemed by them in return. + +I do not think it would be amiss to relate in this connection a +subsequent adventure that befell Vyner some years after my stay at the +Batang Lupar River, up one of its tributaries. The Rajah found himself +obliged to send an expedition against a tribe who had committed many +murders in these inland rivers. The expedition started from Simanggang, +with Mr. Harry Deshon in charge of a force of Dyaks and Malays +numbering about eight thousand, whilst Mr. Bailey and Vyner accompanied +them. For some unexplained reason, cholera broke out amongst the force +just before it had reached the enemy’s country. It was impossible +to turn back on account of the bad impression such a course would +have made on the enemy, so that, in spite of losing men daily, the +expedition had to push on. When the force reached the enemy’s country, +a land party was dispatched to the scene of action. A chosen body of +men, led by Malay chiefs, started on foot for the interior, leaving +the Englishmen and the body of the force to await their return. During +those days of waiting, the epidemic became most virulent. The three +white men had encamped on a gravel bed, and the Dyak force remained +in their boats close by. As the days wore on, the air was filled with +the screams and groans of the stricken and dying. Out of six or seven +thousand men who remained encamped by the shores of the river, about +two thousand died of the plague, and to Vyner’s great grief and mine +our old friend Panau was attacked with the disease, and died in a few +hours. + +Mr. Deshon and Mr. Bailey have since told me that Vyner’s presence +helped to keep discipline and hope amongst the force during the awful +time. He was always cheerful, they said. It appears that Vyner and his +two friends used to sit on the gravel bed and with a grim humour point +out to one another where they would like to be buried, in case at any +moment they might be carried off by the plague. + +When, after having conquered the head-hunters, the attacking party +returned to camp, they found the gravel bed strewn with the bodies of +the dead and dying. The return journey to Simanggang was terrible, for +all along those many miles of water, corpses had to be flung from the +boats in such numbers that there was nothing to be done but to leave +them floating in the stream. The enemy, subsequently hearing about the +catastrophe, hurried to the place where the Rajah’s force had been +encamped, and finding there so many dead bodies, proceeded to cut off +their heads and to carry them home. These people, however, fell victims +to their detestable habit, for they caught the cholera and spread it +amongst their tribe, with the result that it was almost annihilated. A +great stretch of country became infected, and the little paths around +Simanggang were littered with the corpses of Chinese, Dyaks, and +Malays. Nothing apparently could be done to stop the disease, which +disappeared as suddenly as it had come, but this calamitous epidemic +destroyed nearly one-quarter of the population. + +Happening to be in Italy at the time, I read in an Italian paper that +the Rajah’s son had died of cholera in Sarawak, as he was leading an +expedition into the interior. I hurried to England with my younger +son, Harry, who was staying with me at the time, and when we arrived +at Dover, placards at the station confirmed the report. Telegrams, +however, soon put us out of suspense, but I had spent a terrible day. + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [13] Orang-outang, a species of monkey. + + [14] I believe it to be a species of _Crinum_. + + + + + CHAPTER XXX + + +On our return to Kuching, Bertram and I were anxious to pay a flying +visit to a place called Paku, where one of the Rajah’s magistrates +resides. The people in the neighbourhood are mostly Chinese, and near +by are antimony and quicksilver mines worked by the Borneo Company +Limited. + +We left Kuching in one of the Government launches about eleven o’clock +in the morning, and after a few hours’ steaming came to a Chinese +settlement, called Sigobang, where the land on the banks becomes a +broad alluvial plain and where Chinese settlers grow plantations of +sugar, that beautiful cane with its emerald green leaves and golden +stems. Fresh sugar-cane is a pleasant thing to munch at in a desultory +way. You cut through a piece of the stem, slice it into tubes, peel +off its thick rind, and when it looks like a stick of white wood you +bite into it, suck its juice, and dispose of its filaments in the most +convenient way. The paths in the vicinity of towns or villages are +always strewn with the vestiges of sugar-cane eaters, who suck in the +juice and spit out the filaments as they go. As we steamed up river +we saw pepper vines, yams, pineapples, etc., also growing near the +banks, and Chinamen clad in short cotton drawers, holding umbrellas +over their heads, and using their other hand as they worked in their +gardens. Yellow dogs, about the size of fox terriers, rushed out from +Chinese houses and yelped at us from doorways; these were evidently +Dyak dogs, who are never known to bark. Bamboo wheels stood under open +sheds--primitive machines for extracting the sugar juice from the cane. +These Chinese houses appeared more substantial than were those of the +poorer Malays. They were built level with the ground, and their wooden +doors were ornamented with scarlet bands of paper over which were large +black Chinese characters. Ducks and geese were swimming about in the +river near these settlements. + +These small villages being left behind us, the forests once more +encroached on the land. The river now became narrower, and rocky banks +replaced the mud. The banks were covered with ferns and bamboo grass, +the latter weed looking like green lace and shaking at the slightest +current of air. Black butterflies fluttered over the grass, and an +alligator bird, or bul-bul, was singing on the banks in the sunshine. +Clumps of bamboos grew here and there, and great trees hung over the +water, clinging to the banks, their branches entangled with parasites +and stag’s-horn ferns, whilst the reflection of lagerstremias covered +with purple spiked flowers, stained the running water. + + [Illustration: AN ENCAMPMENT UP THE BATANG LUPAR RIVER + THE TUAN MUDA, MR. BAILEY AND THE AUTHOR WITH MALAY AND + DYAK CHIEFS] + +We reached Busu, the landing-place for Paku, at six in the evening. +At this point the stream is about twenty yards wide. Malay houses, +devoid of orchards or gardens, stood on poles amongst the weeds on the +banks. On platforms of crazy planks, where Malays husk their paddy, +jutting out from these houses, dilapidated coxcombs planted in old +kerosene tins struggled to live in their uncongenial surroundings. A +path made of single bamboos, dovetailing into each other, led from +the cottages to the river. A man on the bank, shouldering a bamboo, +came out of one of these houses to fetch water from the river. He was +met with a storm of scornful remarks from our crew, as Malay men are +supposed to leave water-carrying to the women of their household. A +little farther on was the Borneo Company Ltd.’s wharf, whence the +antimony and quicksilver is shipped to Kuching and thence to Singapore +and Europe. A tramway starts from the landing-place, leading to the +mines some miles inland. + +We found Mr. Awdry, one of the Rajah’s officers and a great friend +of ours, awaiting us at the Wharf. We then got into a horse-truck +kindly put at our disposal by the Manager of the Mines, furnished with +mattresses and pillows, and comfortably travelled over the four miles +separating us from the bungalow. Mrs. Awdry met us at the bottom of +the hill leading to her house. As we clambered down from the truck, +which was pretty high, a concourse of Chinamen, who had come to meet +us, started beating their gongs, blowing into instruments sounding +like bagpipes, and waving banners, whilst others set fire to piles +of crackers, hanging from iron tripods, all along the road. The +hill was steep and, as we headed the procession, the orchestra and +banner-bearers, in the exuberance of their welcome, followed closely at +our heels, so that we were pushed forward by our noisy welcomers, until +I found myself racing up the incline like a panting hare, with a crowd +of pursuers immediately behind me. The din was fearful, but the people +meant well, and, although short of breath from my exertions, I managed +to thank them for their kind reception as soon as I reached the top. + +From the verandah of the house a great stretch of country could be +seen. There were curious-shaped hills of limestone sticking up singly +here and there, although, viewed from Kuching, they appear like a +chain of mountains. One of them, called Sebigi, stood out from the +plain like a great green thumb. Although forest fires are unusual in +Sarawak, for droughts are rare, the whole of one of these hills, called +Jambusan, was a mass of burnt trees with the limestone showing through +the charred stumps. No one knew how the fire had occurred, but it was +conjectured that the rubbing together of the bamboos in the wind during +the dry weather had caused them to ignite. With the exception of this +charred hillock, the house we were in seemed to be the centre of a sea +of green waves. Along the valleys were small Chinese gardens, these +people, as is well known, being excellent agriculturists. Here were +pumpkins, water melons, scarlet runners, sweet potatoes, maize, and a +kind of native spinach growing magnificently. There were small ponds +on which floated those beautiful pink and white lotuses, the Chinese +cultivating the flowers as food for their pigs. A hot spring bubbled up +somewhere in the flat ground near by, its temperature being about 100° +Fahrenheit. The Chinese and Dyaks of the district bathed in its waters +as a cure for rheumatism. English cattle were grazing here and there, +and the place looked prosperous and peaceful. + +The day after our arrival at Paku an individual named Pa Baniak +(meaning Father of plenty) came to see me, accompanied by two members +of his tribe. He was a Land Dyak and his village was situated on +the steep slope of limestone mountains in the neighbourhood. He was +short and stout, and a few white bristles sprouted over his chin. He +wore Chinese drawers, a dirty white cotton jacket, and a dark blue +handkerchief was twisted round his head. He had wooden discs screwed +into the rims of his ears, which, he said, were necessary to his +comfort for two reasons: firstly, they made his hearing more acute, and +secondly, they pleased the crocodiles. He told us that although he and +his tribe were constantly fishing in the main river, he felt sure that +none of these monsters would attempt to eat any of them. In response +to my inquiry, he related the following story--not, however, before he +had risen, coughed, spat out of the verandah, taken hold of the tips of +my fingers, passed the back of his hand across his nostrils, and then +returned to his place on the floor:-- + +“Malays are not good people,” he said, “and before the first white +Rajah came to our country, they did many wicked things. In the time +of long ago, a Malay caught a crocodile; this was treacherous of him, +because he tied a dog to a wooden hook attached to a long piece of +rattan which he made fast to a tree, leaving its loose end floating on +the river. The dog howled and attracted a hungry crocodile, who swam +joyfully to the spot, and, in spite of the warnings of his friend, the +alligator bird, he snapped at the bait. He swallowed the dog and hook +at one gulp, when the hook fixed itself in his throat, as the Malay had +intended, and the beast could neither swallow the hook nor spit it up, +and therefore his jaw was prised open. The Malay, seeing the loose end +of the rattan floating down the river, paddled after it, but the beast +was too quick for him, and got away from the country near the sea to +the country of the Land Dyaks, more inland. A member of Pa Baniak’s +tribe, passing by in a canoe, noticed the crocodile’s open jaw and felt +sorry for him. The crocodile begged the man to put his arm down his +throat and wrench the hook away. Thinking it might be dangerous, the +Dyak did not much like the task, and inquired what the crocodile would +do for him in return. ‘I promise never to attack or eat any member of +your tribe,’ said the crocodile. The man thought this a fair offer, +and the compact was made, after which the man removed the hook. The +operation over, the crocodile thanked his deliverer, and told him to +warn all his people to thrust wooden discs in the cartilage of their +ears, so that crocodiles should not mistake them for members of some +other tribe.” + +To prove the truth of this tale, Pa Baniak informed me that, only a +few days before our arrival at Paku, a young man of his tribe had been +seized by a crocodile as he was taking fruit from his orchard down +the river to the Kuching market. With a switch of its tail the animal +sent the canoe up in the air, and as its occupant, paddle in hand, +was falling into its formidable jaws, the beast noticed the wooden +discs, and finding that the man’s flesh did not taste nice, he threw +him on shore and went away snorting with disgust. Bertram and I made +ejaculations of approval at the end of this tale, and Pa Baniak was +mightily pleased at the effect he had produced. + +Although four or five miles away, the trees on the top of Singghi +mountain stood out distinctly that afternoon in the lurid light of an +approaching thunderstorm. His thumbs pointing in the direction of the +mountain, Pa Baniak said, “Antus live up there, and my tribe has made +wooden images of men and women to keep them amused. If ever the trees +on the top of Singghi are cut down, leaving the antus without either +playground or shelter, they would roam amongst the trees in the plain +and tease the people living there.” We listened to Pa Baniak’s talk for +some little time, and he told us many things, as for instance, about +the terrible consequences of men eating the flesh of deer, which made +them cowards; of the importance of being burned instead of buried in +the earth, in order that one’s relations could tell by the direction +of the smoke whether or no the dead had started for Paradise. But at +length we became tired and allowed him to depart. He rose slowly, +grunted, scratched himself under his armpits, took a little brass bell +off the sirih basket hanging at his waist, and gave it to me. “It will +preserve you from lightning, snake bites, and antus,” he said. Then, +followed by his attendants, he made his way downstairs. Thunder was +growling in the distance, and drops of rain were falling as the trio +went out of the house, each opening Chinese umbrellas to keep the rain +off their naked bodies, for most Sarawak natives imagine that rain +falling on their skin brings on malaria. We watched them as they went +along the plain in single file; then the rain came down in torrents, +blotting them out from view. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXI + + +One morning Bertram and I, accompanied by Mr. Frank Maxwell, Mr. +Awdry, and Dr. Langmore, started from Kuching in a steam launch on +an expedition to Munggo Babi, a Land Dyak settlement. Up the Sadong +River we passed Malay villages with palm-leaf houses erected on poles +and standing in the mud. A few ragged flags of red, white, blue, and +yellow, on long thin sticks, fluttered along the banks near Chinese +houses, where women and children set fire to bunches of crackers, for +they had somehow got wind of our journey. On the banks grew great, +sweet-smelling, white lilies, called by the natives “bungga bakong,” +but by European scientists _Crinum Northianum_, because they were first +made known to European botanists by Miss North’s pictures. They looked +like crowns of great white stars resting on green and glossy lance-like +leaves. + +We slept in a Malay house at a village called Gading. The house was +made of palm leaves, and the poles supporting it stood on the mud: the +whole construction was lashed together by rattans, as no nail or peg +is ever used by the poorer Malays in building such humble dwellings. +Clean mats were laid upon the floor, and I noticed that one portion +of the roof was used as a storeroom, whilst scattered about the floor +were large water-jars and cooking-pans. At night, as I lay on a +mattress stretched on the floor, I heard the incoming tide gurgling, +as it were, under my pillow. Frogs, insects, nightbirds, and all sorts +of creatures, grotesque or beautiful, hooted, whistled, and coughed, +sounding like the shrill and rough jabbering of drunken men; and there +were hummings, moanings, murmurings--the cogitations, so to speak, of +spirits of the darkness and evil, all heard as distinctly by me as if +I were resting outside in the mud right amongst them. I thought of +crocodiles moving through the slime, until I felt terrified, and almost +welcomed the homely sensation of being bitten by a flea. Then morning +dawned, the sun came out, and with its joyous advent I felt that sense +of security we none of us can account for at the dawn of day. + +But to return to our journey. We embarked on the launch early. The +river soon narrowed, and the banks were full of that beautiful shrub +with its enormous deeply-indented leaves, pale yellow flowers as large +as soup-plates, its clustered, bullet-shaped, carmine-coloured buds, +and its open pods revealing seeds of a ravishing coral colour. I am not +quite certain, but I think the plant must be a species of Wormia. Then +there were screw pines growing near the mud, from which strong fibre +can be obtained, their beautiful red fruits nestling in their roots, +reminding one of gigantic strawberries. I saw dark green small-leaved +shrubs starred over with waxy sweet-smelling blossoms, rather like +stephanotis, and mauve, yellow, and pink convolvuli throttled great +trees in the entanglement of their embrace. A large grey bird flew from +out the lilies, alighted on a piece of driftwood, and was borne down +the stream. We passed a place called Tana Mera (red earth) where at a +little distance from the bank is the grave of an exceedingly righteous +Malay gentleman whom the people called Datu Sumbang Kring. He lived +many years ago, but the influence of his holy life still endures, and +the people in the neighbourhood are never tired of relating how he +taught every one to be kind and good, and how he spread abroad the +precepts of that holy book, the Koran. I could not make out how long +ago this righteous life was lived, but, according to the people, it was +many years before the first Rajah Brooke came to Sarawak. + +After passing Tana Mera, snags stuck up in all directions in the +bed of the river. Some Land Dyaks from Munggo Babi came to meet us, +bringing with them canoes in which we were to accomplish the last +stages of our journey. I noticed how different these Land Dyaks were +to Kayans, Malays, or Sea Dyaks. They were tall and slender with +well-shaped noses, arched eyebrows, more pronounced chins, and their +faces were oval and longer than were the faces of the other inhabitants +of Sarawak. Their colour, however, was the same, but instead of the +bright, laughing, bustling habits of the other people, they wore an +expression of profound melancholy. + +A Malay Haji had come with them to meet us and to direct proceedings. +Our canoes had to be pushed through labyrinths of snags and other +impediments barring our progress. At one part of the journey the men +in our canoe had to cut down a snag before we could proceed further. +When this was accomplished, they began to yell at their success, but +the Haji remonstrated with them, and pointing to a tall Tapang tree +towering over the jungle near the banks told them that the swarm of +bees clinging to its branches would be angry at the noise, so that if +the crew did not stop yelling, he feared the insects might attack us. +He added, however, that the day being showery, we did not run the same +risks as though the day were fine. + + [Illustration: BACHELOR HOUSE AT MUNGGO BABI TUAN MUDA’S + RESIDENCE DURING OUR VISIT] + +Tapang trees rise to a height of over one hundred feet without a +branch. Their trunks are smooth and round, and swarms of bees often +hang in their branches. Dyaks climb them at night to obtain the wax. +The ascent is made by means of bamboo pegs driven into the trunk above +the climber’s head, so that the ascent is slow, and takes several hours +to accomplish. The bees are scared from their nests with a lighted +torch, after which the wax is taken with impunity. The wax is sold at +Kuching and forms one of the exports of the country. A great hindrance +to the Dyaks who go in search of this commodity is the little honey +bear that roams about the forests of Sarawak, for it is very fond of +stealing and eating the honey from these hives. Two or three specimens +of this animal are to be seen in the London Zoological Gardens. + +Munggo Babi lies at the foot of a mountain two thousand feet high. +In order to reach the village we had to leave our canoes at the +landing-place and proceed up a path for three miles or so. We found +a crowd of young Dyaks drawn up on the banks to meet us, the elders +having arranged to receive us at the entrance of their village. These +young men wore waist-cloths of bright colours. The women and girls were +dressed in short petticoats with rows of silver dollars and silver +chains for waistbelts, and round their necks were rows of black, +yellow, and red beads. These women do not know how to weave their +petticoat stuffs, as do the Sea Dyak women, but buy them from wandering +Chinese traders, or obtain them on their visits to the capital. Most of +the young girls wore wire rings round the upper part of their arms and +also round their legs. These rings all being, apparently, of the same +size, impede the circulation and sometimes cause acute suffering, owing +to the way the wire sinks into the growing limb. Four Dyaks carried me +in a cane chair slung on poles nearly all the way, excepting where the +path grew steep, or the way became difficult, when I preferred to trust +to my own feet. I might have been a thing of feathers so easily did my +four carriers skip along, although my weight was a respectable one. +The road led through glades carpeted with various kinds of ferns, some +having a bright blue bloom on them as they grew in the shade. We passed +three or four round houses neatly thatched with pointed roofs, standing +on high ironwood posts round which were placed circular slabs of wood, +very large in diameter, as a protection against the rats, these being +the barns in which the paddy of the tribe was stored. These granaries +were surrounded by groves of bread-fruit, lancat, durians, mangosteens, +mangoes, and various other fruit trees. We crossed a stream by walking +over large sandstone boulders scattered in its bed, round which the +water rushed and foamed. + +The elders met us at this spot. One of them was dressed in an old +military coat, which had belonged to the South Lancashire regiment. +His legs and thighs were bare, and a large piece of turkey twill was +twisted round his waist and fell in folds front and back. He held a +long slender twig from which floated a diminutive Sarawak flag looking +like the petals of a drooping flower. His black beard was well tended +and he seemed very proud of it. His hair, long enough to reach below +his waist, was tucked up in a chignon under a fillet made of calico +bound round his forehead like a crown. The other old men wore long +flowing robes of brightly coloured red or blue chintz, patterned over +with flowers and birds. One of them wore a large turban, although he +was not a Malay; another wore a red-and-yellow head-handkerchief, and +two very old, almost toothless, men wore jaunty smoking-caps stuck +at the side of their bald heads. These old men stood in a row behind +the leader in the military jacket, each holding long thin sticks with +a flag at the end, which they agitated gently when we appeared. The +oldest chief took hold of my hand and led me over a series of notched +poles and narrow trunks of trees, and across a deep muddy ditch leading +to the village. The village lay in a green basin, scooped out of the +side of a hill. Down a ravine on one side of the village, a little +torrent, fed by daily rain, made a refreshing and gurgling sound day +and night. Bamboo shoots led up the mountain-side to the uppermost +houses on the hill, whence the people obtained water for household +purposes, and where they also bathed many times a day. + +When we arrived at the houses prepared for us, we climbed up slippery +poles with no rails to steady our ascent and where the notches were +extremely insignificant. These poles were some twenty feet high, +leading to verandahs of planks. My residence turned out to be the +head-house of the village and the building of ceremony. It consisted of +one large, round room, in which I had to bathe, dress, eat, and sleep, +whilst one part was portioned off for our Chinese cook to prepare our +food. Another house was prepared for the men of our party; this house +was called the “Bachelor House” because none but men were supposed to +use it. But to return to my quarters. Seen from outside, the house +looked like a large pigeon-cot, propped on high poles, and lashed +together with the fibre of the Gemuti palm.[15] It rocked and creaked +at the slightest provocation like a ship in a heavy sea. The walls were +made of planks, and small apertures served for windows. Screens of +dried palm leaves were placed in different parts of the room; one of +these recesses was my bedroom and another my bathroom, where a large +tub of water always stood ready for my use. The place screened off +for my reception-room had a wooden divan of thin planks all round it, +finished off with a wooden valance. Our hosts had spared no trouble to +make the place habitable, and had even stretched gold brocade across +the top of the room, thus forming an improvised ceiling, whilst the +posts were wreathed round with smilax and the fronds of betel-nut +palms. Just over my bed hung the trophies of the tribe. These were +nothing more or less than a large bundle of dried skulls. The Dyaks +imagined that the brocade had hidden these trophies from my searching +gaze, but I am sorry to say I could see through an aperture some of +the skulls which the tribe had taken in their battles of long ago, +when they rose up against the tyranny of the Brunei princes, or on the +occasion of the Chinese insurrection, which took place in the late +Rajah Brooke’s reign, when a good many Chinese heads were captured. I +noticed that one of the round objects was larger than the rest, and I +asked questions about it. “Oh,” said the chief contemptuously, “that +one is only the head of a Chinaman, for they always have larger heads +than we people of the country!” + +At the commencement of our stay one or two little hitches were +experienced, but these were soon put right. Our Chinese cook gave +himself airs, and informed Mr. Awdry that he could not possibly cook +decent food in such a wilderness of discomfort. After a good deal of +talk between our kind hosts and the cook, a small outhouse was rigged +up for him and his saucepans. + +From the window of my head-house I could see all the way down the +village. I noticed the houses were built in blocks, placed here and +there, some ten or twelve in a row, in the inequalities of the soil +by the side of the stream. The houses were, of course, propped up by +poles of different heights, and there were platforms made of split +bamboos lashed together by rattans running down the fronts of these +houses, behind which were covered verandahs. I was told that there was +a fireplace in each house, with shelves above it, where water, oil, +salt fish, jars, potted durians, etc., were stored. A raised platform +was invariably erected at the end of each room, used as a place to +sit on when receiving one’s friends, also as a sleeping-place when +strangers came to the village. The women looked picturesque with their +white shell armlets, brass rings, and silver girdles shining against +the dark background of the houses. I noticed that most of them parted +their hair, and that the children’s heads were not shaved. At sunset in +the wooden verandahs the girls of the village prepared food for their +pigs, made of paddy husks mixed with water. A special brew was poured +into smaller basins and kept for little pigs, which the girls caught +from under the houses and threw here and there on to the verandahs. +The girls then pushed the little pigs’ snouts into the food, whilst +with long poles they beat off the cocks and hens anxious to join in the +feast. In the evening the elders of the tribe rested under the shade of +a banyan tree conversing with one another, whilst pigs grunted under +the houses, cocks and hens strutted about the roofs, and dogs ran in +and out of doorways--a tiny speck of human and animal life surrounded +by gigantic backgrounds of mysterious and unexplored forests and +mountains. + +These Land Dyaks are very hospitable, and, barring the time of my +afternoon siestas or when I retired for the night, my room in the +head-house was filled at all times of the day with the élite of the +Dyak tribe. Whenever the elders were seated on the wooden divan in +front of me, I was struck anew with the unlikeness of these people +to the rest of our Sarawak tribes. I could not help thinking they +resembled the Cingalese, for they had the same dreamy, soft, and +effeminate look. + +The chief of the tribe, Mito, was anxious that I should bless his +house during my visit, so he gave a feast, to which he invited all +the inhabitants of Munggo Babi, as well as those of a neighbouring +village. The women came to fetch me from my airy abode, helping me down +the notched logs with the greatest care. Their movements were greatly +restricted by the tightness of the wire rings round their legs, which +prevented them from bending their knees comfortably. As we entered +the house, I saw the bones of pigs’ jaws hanging in festoons over the +doors leading into the inner room as trophies of the chase. The long +gallery was decorated with yellow and red cloths, and all the people +of the village were squatting in rows down each side. A seat covered +with yellow cloth was prepared for me, and the rest of our English +party were given raised chairs to sit on. Just in front of me, on the +floor, were round brass dishes filled with uncooked rice, and two eggs +were laid on the top of each dish. Between the dishes, about twenty in +number, were bamboos filled with cooked rice, tasting something like +the rice puddings of our childhood. The chief came to me with a small +basin, filled with water, into which he asked me to place one of my +gold rings, so that its goodness might enter into the water; he then +gave me a bead necklace to dip into the basin, after which I had to +go up and down the whole length of the gallery, holding the necklace +on high, and say, “I wish this house cold and plenty. I wish that the +paddy may be fruitful; that the wives of this village may have many +sons; that sickness may never enter it, and that its people may live +in peace and prosperity.” A basin of yellow rice was then handed to +me, when I had to go through the same ceremony and repeat the same +blessing. The contents of the brass dishes were then emptied into +baskets and given to me, together with a large box of eggs, which had +been left in front of my seat during the proceedings. The party now +began in earnest. We ate the rice out of the bamboos, partook of the +many cakes and fruits provided for us, and drank tumblers of cocoa-nut +milk. + +Then came the dances, the gongs and instruments being hung in readiness +against the wall. The musicians, their arms over the top of the wooden +frames, held the gongs, and drummed at them with their fingers with +a will. Two women, with their arms completely hidden under masses of +brass rings and white shell armlets, crept forward and touched the +tips of my fingers. Then drooping their heads and extending their arms +they began to move about slowly. They put their feet close together +and shuffled and slid from one side of the room to the other, keeping +time to the gongs whilst the little bells tied to their ankles tinkled. +We were told that this was called the Hornbill’s dance. The women +were very small, slim, and well-made, with pretty expressive eyes, +and rather thinner lips than those of the other women of Sarawak, but +theirs were so stained with betel-nut juice that in the dim light their +mouths looked like large red wounds across their faces. + +After the women had danced, two men wound in and out of the people +squatting on the floor, and stood before us. Under the folds of their +sarongs they wore a circle of plaited rattans, making them stand out +like crinolines. Their long hair was twisted up Cingalese fashion, +and stood out from the handkerchiefs wound round their heads. They +commenced the performance by flapping their arms and gliding about +without lifting their feet from the floor. They then advanced and +nearly touched one another, when they swiftly retreated, wheeled round +one another, their arms describing circles in the air. The sarongs over +their crinolines billowed and swayed with their every movement, and the +dance gave one the impression of sweeping lines and of space. It was +supposed to represent the flight of great hawks through the air, and +I thought it beautiful. The dancers were handsome men, with sleek and +gentle faces, and very arched eyebrows. All their movements were much +more languid than those of the Sea Dyaks. + +When the dances were over we sat talking to the people, and I asked +a chief what he thought of our language. He said that English people +talking was like the song of birds, but the Chinese language was like +the hooting of antus. He then told us of a superstition about bamboos. +When people die, he said, their flesh goes into the bamboo and their +souls enter the bodies of unborn children, when they are born again +into the world. + +The next morning we were all ready to start on our way back at 7.30, +but the people who were to carry our luggage down to the landing-place +wanted a good deal of rousing after their dissipation of the night +before. However, after severe reprimands from their chief and from +the village authorities, they came to assist us with our luggage. An +enormous crowd was required for the purpose, one man taking a saucepan, +another two plates, a third two bottles of beer, a fourth a handbag, +which he carried with both hands, until our luggage was divided among +one hundred people or so, walking in Indian file, and forming a +procession about half a mile long. A chair had been provided for me, +but as the road was slippery (it had been raining the night before) I +preferred walking the whole way back to the landing-place. + +Before reaching the place where our canoes were awaiting us, one of the +chiefs, who had been an entertaining talker and had told us about the +bamboo superstition, suddenly darted into the forest on the edge of +the path, whence he reappeared with a branch of bamboo he had cut with +his parang. He showed me the red sap within the cane. “See there,” he +said; “this is the burying-place of some human being.” + +I said good-bye to the chiefs and all the carriers, after which we got +into the boat. I carried the bit of bamboo home, and still preserve it +amongst my treasures from Sarawak. + +We reached Kuching after twenty-four hours’ journey, and two days after +we embarked on the _Rajah Brooke_ for England. + +It was a sad day for Bertram and I when we said good-bye to our Malay +friends at Kuching. Datu Isa and all her family, accompanied by nearly +all the Malay women of the town, came to the Astana to say good-bye. +As I stood watching them from the deck of the steamer, congregated as +they were near our landing-place, I felt a tightening at my heart, and +wondered how many years would elapse before I should see them again. +Bertram was really as much touched as I was at leaving them. The _Rajah +Brooke_ moved away, and slowly rounded the reach which hid the dear +people from sight. Many years have gone by since that day, and yet I +may say with truth that absence from my people has only increased my +love and affection for them, and should my hopes be realized of one +day returning to Sarawak, I am sure of finding there the very kindest +welcome from the best friends I have in the world. + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [15] This Borassus Gemuti palm plays a great part in the + rural economy of the people in Sarawak. It flourishes + in the high upland of the interior, and is very rough + and wild-looking. It has a sap obtained from the petals + of its flowers, used as sugar by the natives, and out + of the liquid, which quickly ferments, is made an + intoxicating beverage. Between the trunk and the fronds is + a horsehair-like substance, used for cordage in shipping + throughout the Malayan Archipelago. Tinder can be obtained + from a fine cotton-like substance which the plant also + yields. Its strong, stiff spines are made into pens, used + by the people who write on paper; and a great many of the + primitive tribes of the interior make their arrows from + these prickly points. I believe that the pith of the trunk + furnishes a kind of sago. The seeds are enveloped by a + poisonous juice to which the Dutch people give the name of + “hell water.” + + + + + CHAPTER XXXII + + +Before closing these notes, it might be as well to give an idea of the +position Sarawak occupies with regard to its external relations. + +In 1888 a treaty placing Sarawak under British protection, whilst +the internal affairs of the country remained immune from British +intervention, was drawn up between the British Government and the +Rajah. Some years later I had the honour of being received at Windsor +by Queen Victoria, and of being presented to Her Majesty as Ranee +of Sarawak. The Queen received me in one of the small apartments at +Windsor Castle. At first, I naturally felt nervous, but when the +Queen inquired kindly about our Sarawak people my feeling of shyness +vanished, and I could think of nothing but the Queen’s gracious words, +and notice that beautiful smile of hers that seemed to illuminate every +corner of the room. The Rajah was, at the time, absent in Sarawak, +and this prevented his being included in Her Majesty’s invitation to +Windsor. However, knowing how much the Rajah would appreciate Her +Majesty’s interest in Sarawak, which after all was a compliment to +himself, I telegraphed the news out to our country, where all concerned +were much gratified at such a token of the Queen’s sympathy. + +When King Edward came to the throne, the affairs of Sarawak and status +of its ruler apparently interested him. His Majesty, aware of the +manner Sarawak was governed, and after having made inquiries as to the +prosperity and well-being of its inhabitants, decreed that the Rajahs +of Sarawak should be given precedence at the English Court immediately +after that of the ruling Princes of India. But even then difficulties +arose regarding the position of the Rajah’s sons. Our eldest son, +although heir-apparent, and our younger sons who are heirs-presumptive, +were not allowed to be presented at Court under their Sarawak titles. +Our present King, however, a little while ago saw fit to confirm our +eldest son’s title of Rajah Muda in England, but his brothers, who +have also a certain right in the succession, have not been allowed the +same privilege at the English Court. We all know that in hereditary +properties the younger sons of the actual possessor are recognized as +having a legal interest in the possible succession of their father. +When one realizes that we are dealing with an hereditary State, the +question at stake becomes a doubly important one. + +We have had recent and ample opportunities to judge of the dangers +which half-civilized nations run at the hands of exploiting +commercialism. That Sarawak should hitherto have escaped such dangers +is infinitely to the honour of the Borneo Company Ltd., who have +never sought to enrich themselves to the detriment of Sarawak people. +Nor must we forget that immunity from companies of a less scrupulous +character is due to the vigilance and firmness of the Rajahs of +Sarawak, determined as they were that the people who placed themselves +under their rule should have the benefit of European contact without +any of its often terrible drawbacks. We must therefore hope that the +future Rajah and his brothers will consolidate a regime which has +so admirably safeguarded the natives under their two first White +Rajahs. It is therefore consonant with the wisdom of the present +Sovereign that he should have sought to strengthen the position of his +successor, whenever a change in the succession occurs, by arranging +for the assistance of a Consultative Council who would sit in London, +and consisting of his two younger sons, of two highly distinguished +officials in the Sarawak service, and, if possible, of an independent +Englishman experienced in colonial government and in matters dealing +with primitive people and their interests. The Rajah is fully aware +that whatever steps he may see fit to take for the future safety of his +people, the more publicly such precautions are made known, the better +it will be for the success of his schemes. Public opinion is a mighty +lever when used to champion any honest or righteous cause, and it is +with the help of public opinion that the Rajah may gain the necessary +help in order to realize the fulfilment of his dearest wish--that being +to keep Sarawak for the benefit of its own people, and, in so doing, +from the devastating grasp of money-grabbing syndicates. + + + + + INDEX + + + Abang Aing, 115-6 + Kasim, 162, 163 note + Nipa, 140 + wife of, 143 + + _Aline_, H.H.S., 179, 188, 197 + + Alligator bird (Bul-bul), 241, 288 + + Animal life-- + alligator bird, 241, 288 + bears, honey, 299 + bees, honey, 299 + buffaloes, 88-9 + bul-bul. _See_ Alligator bird + centipedes, 81 + chik-chak. _See_ Lizards + cockroaches, 3 + crocodiles, 6, 82-6 + dogs, 288 + egrets, 118, 120 + fire-flies, 130, 207 + lizards, 81 + mice, 274 + monkeys, 6, 17, 87-8 + mosquitoes, 71, 74, 76, 80, 82, 117 + owl, little, 253 + paddy birds. _See_ Egrets + peahen, 167-8 + pheasants, Argus, 200 + ponies, wild, 64-5 + porcupines, 256 + rats, 3, 71, 77-9, 80, 117-8 + rhinoceros, 256, 261 + roebuck (Kijang), 254 and note + sand-flies, 109 + scorpions, 81-2 + sea-serpent, 209-12 + shrimps, 74 + snakes, 82 + + Antimony, 287, 289 + + Apai Minggat, 39-41 + + Apai Nipa, 140-1 + wife of, 143 + + Archipelago, Malayan, 97 + + Argus pheasants, 200 + + Astana, 8, 10 + + Awdrey, Mr., 289, 295 + + + Bailey, Mr., 260, 262, 264, 266, 284-5 + + Bakar, Inchi, 164-5 + + Bald-Headed Hawk, 224, 231 + + Bamboo burying cane, 308 + + Bampfylde, Mr. C. A., xxv, 185, 209, 211, 215-8, 221, 229-31, 238, + 240, 243, 245, 253, 262 + + Banting, 56, 60 + + Baram River, 15, 136, 139 + + Batang Lupar River, 15, 54-5, 106, 111, 119, 123, 258, 262 + + Batu Gading, 139-40 + Kudi, 190 + + Bauhinea, 198 note + + Beads, 258 + + Bears, honey, 299 + + Bees, swarm of, 298 + + Beeswax, 255, 298 + + Belaga, 216, 243 + + Betel-nut, 32 + + Bezoar, 255-6 + + Bintulu River, 15, 136 + women, 146 + + Birds. _See under_ Animal life + + Blessing house, 305 + + Blow-pipe, 53, 255 + + Blunderbuss, 114 + + Bodyguard, Rajah’s, 103 + + Bore, the, 119-20 + + Borneo, xvii, 16 + + Borneo Co. Ltd., 8, 137, 139, 287, 289, 312 + + British Consul appointed to Sarawak, 97 + Crown, 97 + Government, assistance by, 95; + scant recognition by, 99 + public, 96 + + British North Borneo Co., xvii + + Brocades, 29 + + Brooke, Bertram (Tuan Muda), 156-7, 184, 188-9, 201, 209, 215-6, 223, + 238, 265, 309 + Charles Johnson, Sir, xi, xxiii, 1, 9-11, 19, 34, 37-8, 41, 43, + 49-51, 54, 57-8, 65-8, 70, 78, 84, 88-93, 97-9, 103, 106-7, + 113-6, 128-9, 133, 135-7, 140-5, 173, 179, 182, 310, 312-3 + Harry (Tuan Bungsu), 184 + James, Sir, x-xi, xiii, xvii-xxiii, 95, 97, 101, 170, 215 + Vyner (Rajah Muda), 99, 135, 283-6, 311 + + Brunei, xvii + Sultan of, xviii-xix, 136, 140, 145, 170 + + Buffaloes, 88-9 + + Bukitans, 53, 242, 274 + + Bul-bul (Alligator bird), 241, 288 + + Busu, 288 + + + Camphor, 243, 255 + + Canals, 16 + + Cape Datu, 136 + + Capital punishment, 103 + + Casuarina trees, 4, 192 + + Cataracts, 217, 221, 243, 245 + + Chambers, Bishop, 56 + + Characteristics-- + cleanliness, 18 + dignity, 66 + friendliness, 61, 90, 165 + garrulity, 282 + humour, 282 + lending, love of, 21 note + oratory, love of, 113 + politeness, 188 + reserve, 183 + swimming, love of, 18 + tact, 234 + + Chik-chak (lizards), 81 + + Chinese, 15-6, 43, 62, 65, 103, 164-5, 255 + chemist, 256-7 + coffin, 257 + cook, 51, 301, 303 + gardens, 290-1 + houses, 288 + junks, 63 + plays, 164-5 + secret societies, 107 + superstitions, 177, 180 + temples, 63 + + Cholera, 177-83, 284-6 + + Churches-- + Protestant, 63 + Roman Catholic, 63 + + Clerodendrons, 46 + + Cobra, the, 224, 231, 239 + + Cockroaches, 3 + + “Cocoa de mer,” 174 + + Consul, English, appointment of, to Sarawak, 97 + + Council of war, 113 + + Court of Justice, 66-7 + + Crespigny, Mr. Claude Champion de, 137, 139-41, 143-5, 147 + + Crocodiles, 6, 82-6 + legend concerning, 292-3 + + Crookshank, Mrs., 92 + + Crops, 44-5 + + Customs-- + head-hunting, 34, 38, 46, 55, 68, 102, 155 + Milanoe, 138 + polygamy, 102 + Sir James Brooke’s respect for, xxiii, xxiv + war-yell, 39, 40 + wounds, treatment of, 48 + + + Daiang Kho, 183 + Kota, 116 + Sahada, 29, 156, 162, 165 + + Dalima, 117-8, 120 + + Dancing, at Kapit, 224-8, 231-4 + Lundu, 203-6 + Munggo Babi, 306-7 + Dyak, 69 + Kayan, 148 + + Datu Bandar, xx-xxi, 10, 20, 24, 87 + Bay, 13 + Cape, 136 + Hakim, xxi + Imaum, xxi, 20, 161-2 + Isa, xxi, 23-5, 27-32, 87, 91-2, 101, 110, 135, 158-9, 162, 165, + 170-3, 180-1, 309 + Mohammed, xxi, 182-3 + Patinggi Ali, xx + Siti, 23 + + Datu Tumanggong, xxi, 20 + + Death sentence, 103 + + Deshon, Mr. Harry, 262, 284-5 + + Dictionary, Marsden’s, 23, 25 + + Doctor, English, 72, 83, 91, 178 + + Dogs, Chinese, 288 + + Douglas, Mr Bloomfield, 198-9, 201, 206-8 + + Dragons, legend of, 175 + + Dress, 23, 26-30, 147, 202, 205, 223, 299 + + Dyaks, vii, 16, 34, 65, 68, 103, 115, 154 + Land, 15, 297, 299, 304 + Sea, 15, 39, 46, 48, 53, 113, 138, 218, 220-1, 223, 231 + boy wrestlers, 206 + chiefs, 9, 198 + crew, 57 + customs, 273 + dances, 204-6, 231-4, 306-7 + dogs, 288 + feast, 305-6 + house, 56, 58, 60, 201, 265-6, 303-4 + humour, 282 + language, 113 + titles, 224 + village, 57 + war boat, 56, 115, 238 + women, 199, 205, 223, 264, 266, 299, 304, 306 + + + Edward, H.M. King, 311 + + Egrets, 118, 120 + + Execution, mode of, 104, 106 + + Exports (Rejang river), 255-6 + + + Face of Day, 224, 245 + + Feast, Munggo Babi, 305 + + Fire-flies, 130, 207 + + Fishing shed, 185 + + Flags-- + Rajah’s, 97 + Sarawak, 85 + + Flowers, native, 17, 43, 46, 166, 199-200, 243-4, 288 + + Fruits, native, 22, 47-8, 105, 203, 287, 291, 300 + + + Gading, 295 + + Garlic, 212 + + Gemuti palm, 302 and note + + George, H.M. King, 311-2 + + God of Sickness, 265 + + Gould, Baring, xxv + + Grass, lalang, 46, 139 + + Grave, Muhammadan, 163-4, 259, 297 + + Gutta-percha, 243, 255 + + + Hadji Ahmad, 185, 190-1 + + Haji Matahim, 209-11 + + Hajis, 65 + + Hamadryads, 82 + + Hands, ceremony of touching, 223 + + _Heartsease_, H.H.S., 3, 9, 42-3, 54, 60, 84, 93, 139 + Malay crew, 5 + + Hindoos, 62, 189 + + Honey bears, 299 + + Hose, Dr. Charles, xxv, 145-6, 241, 258, 274-5 + + Hose, Mrs., 263 + + Hovering Hawk, 220, 239-40, 243 + + + Ima, 73, 75, 110, 117-8, 120, 132-3, 182, 238, 267 + + Imaum, Datu, 20, 161-2 + + Inchi Bakar, 164-5 + + Inchi Sawal, 159-64 + + Indiarubber, 255 + + Industries-- + basket-making, 237 + coal-mining, 88 + embroidery, 31-3, 186 + farming, 45, 53 note + fishing, 48, 74 + furniture-making, 45 + weaving, 29, 54, 59 + + Insects. _See under_ Animal life + + Ireland, Mr. Alleyne, xii, xiv + + Isle of birds, 259 + + + Jambusan, 290 + + Jarum, Rajah (founder of Sarawak), xx + + Jury, 103 + + + Kalaka river, 15, 54 + + Kanowit, schools at, 213 + + Kanowits, 48, 213 + + Kapit, 214, 216-8, 221, 238 + + Kayans, 15, 53, 123-8, 136, 139-47, 154, 215, 217, 222, 224 + dances, 224, 231-4 + + Kayans, dancing-man, 148-9 + Queen, 145 + + Keluri, 231 + + Kemp, Mrs., 92 + + Kenyars, 53 + + Keppel, Sir Henry, xxii + + Kijang (roebuck), 254 and note + + Kirkpatrick, Mr., 260-6 + + Knotted string, 112 + + Kong Kong, 152 + + Koran, the, 161-2, 297 + + Kris, 103-4 + + Kromang gong, 203 + + Kuching, 8, 62-4, 157, 215 + + + Labuan, Island of, 136 + + Lalang grass, 46, 139 + + Lang Endang, 261 + + Langmore, Dr., 185, 188, 201, 215, 238, 253, 256, 295 + + Lawas River, 136 + + Legends, 269 + Cat story, 272-4 + Crocodile story, 292-3 + Daughter of the Moon, 193-6 + Daughter of the Sun, 276-9 + Dragons and cocoa-nuts, 175 + Flood, 247-50 + Gift of Petara, 279-81 + Half-Petrified Girl, 269-72 + Pig Lady, 250-3 + Pontianak Ghost, 170-1 + Ungrateful Son, 275-6 + + Lilies-- + _Crinum Northianum_, 295 + Paddy lily, 281 + + Limbang river, 136 + + Lingga, 55, 60, 111, 129 + mountain, 276 + + Lintong, 35-8 + + Lizards (chik-chak), 81 + + Lobok Antu Fort, 129 + + Lotus flowers, 291 + + Low, Mr., 36, 50, 54 + + _Lucille_, steam launch, 212 + + Lundu, 197-8 + dances, 203-6 + River, 15 + + + MacDougall, Bishop, 100 + + Madu, 202 + + Magistrates, 185, 287 + + Malaria, 4, 71-5, 78, 101 + + Malayan Archipelago, 97 + + Malays, vii-ix, 15, 65, 103 + chiefs, 66, 90 + houses, 289, 295 + language, 158-62 + women, 11, 20, 26-7, 31, 92, 101, 125, 157, 289 + + Mangroves, 6, 14, 130, 139, 188 + + Marsden’s Dictionary, 23, 25 + + Matang, mountain of, 11-2, 151, 154, 166 + + Matu river, 15 + + Maxwell, Sir Benson, 2, 260 + Mr. Frank, 109, 111, 113-6, 129, 260-2, 295 + + MᶜDougall. _See_ Hose, Dr. Charles + + Mecca, 5, 27 + + Mice, 274 + + Milanoes, 15, 137-8, (Bintulu) 147 + + Military service, exemption from, 112 + + “Mingo.” _See_ Rosario, F. Domingo de + + Missions, Protestant, 56, 215 + Roman Catholic, 213 + schools, 163, 213 + + Monkeys, 6, (wah-wahs) 17, 87-8, 255 + + Monsoon, South-west, 13 + North-east, 84 + + Mosquitoes, 71, 74, 76, 80, 82, 117 + + Mountain of the Moon, 256 + + Mountains. _See under_ respective titles, viz., Lingga, Matang, + Mountain of the Moon, Poe, Santubong, Sebigi, Singghi + + Muda Hassim, Rajah, 170 + + Muhammadans, 15, 90 + graves of, 163, 164, 259, 297 + + Muka, fort, 137-8 + + Muka river, 15 + + Munggo Babi, 295, 299 + bachelor house, 301 + chief of, 305 + dances at, 306 + granaries at, 300 + head-house, 301-3 + + + Ngmah, 49, 216 + + Nipa palms, 6, 14, 139, 188, 197 + + North, Miss Marianne, 150-5 + + + Octopuses, 187 + + Officers, Rajah’s English, 108 + + Opium, 257 + + Orang Kaya Stia, Rajah, 198 + + Ord, Sir Harry, 2 + + Owl, little, 253 + + Oya river, 15 + + + Pa Baniak, 291-4 + + Paddy, 279, 281 + + Paddy birds (Egrets), 118, 120 + + Paku, 287-8 + + Palmerston, Lord, 97 + + “Pamale,” 140 + + Panau, 282-3 + + Pangiran Matali, 115-6 + + Pau Jinggeh, 175 + + Peahen, 167-8 + + Pelagus Rapid, 221, 243 + + _Peniamuns_, 122 + + Penus, 234-7 + + Pepper vines, 200, 287 + + Pheasants, Argus, 200 + + Piano, effect of, on natives, 69 + + Pigafetta, xvii + + Pitcher plants, 151-3 + + Pleiades, 281 + + Poe Mountain, 197 + + Police, 107-8 + + Pontianak ghost, 170-1 + + Porcupines, 256 + + Punans, 53, 214 + + + Quicksilver, 287, 289 + + + Rainbow, superstition concerning, 172 + + _Rajah Brooke_, S.S., 309 + + Rajah Muda (Vyner). _See under_ Brooke, Vyner + + Rajah’s Council, 67, 91, 185 + + Rajahs, The White, 95-100, 312 + + Rapids, shooting, 244-5 + + Rats, 3, 71, 77-9, 80, 117-8 + + Rattans, 54, 214, 243 + + Rawieng, 217, 229-31 + + Reciters, 157-8 + + Rejang, river, 15, 35, 37, 42, 44, 51-4, 136, 184, 192, 209, 216-7, + 243 + + Rengas, 45 + + Rentap, 55 + + Rhinoceros, 256, 261 + + Rice, 92 + + River plants, 296 + + Rivers. _See under_ respective titles, viz., Baram, Batang Lupar, + Bintulu, Kalaka, Lawas, Limbang, Lundu, Matu, Muka, Oya, + Rejang, Sadong, Samaraham, Sarawak, Saribas + + Roads, scarcity of, 16, 65 + + Rosario, F. Domingo de, 215-6, 224-5, 228-9, 231, 236 + + Russell, Lord John, 97 + + + Sadong river, 15, 133, 136, 295 + + Safflower, 276-8 + + Saffron, 92 + + Sago, 15, 137; + factory, 137; + palms, 44, 152 + + Salaries, official, 108 + + Salleh, 218-9, 221, 234, 238, 244-7, 253-4 + + Samaraham river, 133 + + Sand-flies, 109 + + Santubong, mountain, 4, 42, 167, 197; + legend of, 193-6; + stone figure, 188; + village, 185 + + Sapphires, 241 + + Sarawak-- + apathy concerning, 108 + British protection extended to, 310 + extent of, 136 + flag of, 85 + founder of, xx + heat of, 110 + police, 107 + Rangers, 105, 112 + recognition of, by England, 97 + situation of, 1, 13 + tribes, 16 + + Sarawak, bay of, 15 + + Sarawak river, 8, 15, 109-10, 133 + + Saribas river, 15, 54 + + Schools, institution of, 163-4 + + Scorpions, 81-2 + + Screw pines, 296 + + Sea-serpent, 209-12 + + Seaweed bangle, 173 + + Sebigi, mountain, 290 + + Sensitive plant, 152 + + Sentries, 103, 168 + + Seripa Madjena, 30-2, 65 + + Serips, 30; + Bagus, 129-130; + Hussim, 31 + + Sherip Masahor, 47 + + Sibu, 35-8, 42-5, 49-51, 54, 209, 255 + + Sibuyow, 129 + + Sigobang, 287 + + Sikhs, 36, 43, 50 + + Simanggang, 114-5, 119, 126-7, 132, 261 + + Singapore, 2-3, 6, 13, 88 + + Singghi, mountain, 293 + + Sirih, 31-2 + + Sirik, 14 + + Skelton, Mr. Harry, 35-7, 40-1, 43-4, 49-52, 54, 261 + + Snakes, 82 + + Societies, Chinese secret, 107 + + Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 56 + + Song, 213 + + Spring, hot, 291 + + Subu (Umbrella Bearer and State Executioner), 10, 66, 85, 101-4 + + Sugar-cane, 117, 287 + + Sunok, 116-7, 124, 125 + + Superstitions-- + animals, 190, 274-5, 294 + babies, 172 + bamboos, 308 + Bintulu, 147 + black seaweed, 173 + children, 172 + Chinese, 177-80 + cholera, cure of, 183 + cocoa-nuts, 174-5 + comparison with European, 175-6 + garlic, 211-2 + medicine, 58 + milk, 24 note + paddy, 281 + “pamale,” 140 + _Peniamuns_, 122 + rain, 294 + rainbows, 172 + red hair, 202 + thunderstorms, 174 + women, 172 + + Supreme Council, xxiv + + Sword chair, 178 + + Syces, 64-5 + + + Talip, 19-24, 40, 86, 101, 182-3 + + Tama Paran, 123, 127 + + Tana Mera, 297 + + Tanjong Datu, 13 + Sirik, 13 + + Tanjongs, 214-8, 220, 237; + dance, 226-8; + girls, 224-5; + women, 223 + + Taxes, 112 + + Thunderstorms, 174 + + Titles, Sea Dyak, 224 + + Tombs, Kayan, 217 + + Torrent of Blood, 224, 231 + + Trial, murder, 103 + + Trusan river, 136 + + Tuan Bungsu. _See under_ Brooke, Harry + Muda. _See under_ Brooke, Bertram + + Tuba root, 48 + + Tubam, 218-9, 221-2 + + Tunku Ismael, 116, 120-4, 126 + + + Umbrella, State, 10, 66; + Chinese, 294 + + Ukits, 53; + woman, 234-6, 274 + + + Victoria, H.M. Queen, 97-9, 310-1 + + + Wah-wahs, 17, 87-8 + + War-boats, 56, 115, 122 + yells, 39-40, 128 + + Water, abundance of, 16-8 + + Windt, Mr. Harry de, 93 + + Women, Dyak, 190, 205, 223, 264, 266, 299, 304, 306 + education of, 162, 165 + Malay, 11, 20, 26-7, 31, 92, 101, 125, 157, 289 + Tanjong, 223 + + Wormia (river plants), 296 + + + _Printed by_ MORRISON & GIBB LIMITED, _Edinburgh_ + + + + + A SELECTION OF BOOKS + PUBLISHED BY METHUEN + AND CO. 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Cutcliffe Hyne. + + *PRINCESS VIRGINIA, THE. C. N. & A. M. Williamson. + + PROFIT AND LOSS. John Oxenham. + + RED HOUSE, THE. E. Nesbit. + + SIGN OF THE SPIDER, THE. Bertram Mitford. + + SON OF THE STATE, A. W. Pett Ridge. + + + _Printed by_ MORRISON & GIBB LIMITED, _Edinburgh_ + + + + +Transcriber’s Note: + +Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like +this_. Those in bold are surrounded by equal signs, =like this=. Words +may have multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation +in the text. These have been left unchanged, as were obsolete and +alternative spellings. + +Footnotes were renumbered sequentially and were moved to the end of the +chapter. Obvious printing errors, such as partially printed letters +and punctuation, were corrected. Final stops missing at the end of +sentences and abbreviations were added. + +The following were changed: + + ‘excitng’ to ‘exciting’ ... It was an exciting time.... + ‘Batchelor’ to ‘Bachelor’ in caption to illustration. + ‘frendliness’ to ‘friendliness’ in index + ‘Smalt’ to ‘Small’ in advertisement descriptor + ‘Esssays’ to ‘Essays’ in advertisement of Wilde’s works. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76658 *** |