Full text of "Borneo and the Indian Archipelago : with drawings of costume and scenery"

SDn

n
si

MBH

hbbhb

nnn

HH1

^,m,:

:/''i.v.v!

GIFT OF
HORACE W. CARPENTER

BORNEO

AND

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

London :

Spottiswoode and Shaw,

New-street- Square.

U*.N HANHART I.ITH. PS

CHINESE JOSS HOUSE

J, ONE ON, LONG MAN t C9 16*8

KA-RT L.TTH.i'Rirf T

BORNEO

AND

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

DRAWINGS OF COSTUME AND SCENERY.

FRANK S. MARRY AT,

LATE MIDSHIPMAN OF H.M.S. SAMARAKG,
SURVEYING VESSEL.

LONDON:
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS,

PATERNOSTER-ROW.

1848.

RESERVATION
OPY ADDED
RIGiNAL TO BE
ETAINED

MR 6 1995

J * %

INTRODUCTION.

I wish the readers of these pages to understand that it has been with
no desire to appear before the public as an author that I have published
this Narrative of the Proceedings of Her Majesty's ship Samarang
during her last Surveying Cruise.

During the time that I was in the ship, I made a large collection of
drawings, representing, I hope faithfully, the costumes of the natives
and the scenery of a country so new to Europeans. They were
considered, on my return, as worthy to be presented to the public, as
being more voluminous and more characteristic than drawings made
in haste usually are.

I may here observe, that it has been a great error on the part of
the Admiralty, considering the great expense incurred in fitting out
vessels for survey, that a little additional outlay is not made in
supplying every vessel with a professional draughtsman, as was
invariably the case in the first vessels sent out on discovery. The
duties of officers in surveying vessels are much too fatiguing and
severe to allow them the time to make anything but hasty sketches,
and they require that practice with the pencil without which natural
talent is of little avail; the consequence is, that the engravings,
which have appeared in too many of the Narratives of Journeys and

470409

VI INTRODUCTION.

Expeditions, give not only an imperfect, but even an erroneous, idea
of what they would describe.

A hasty pencil sketch, from an unpractised hand, is made over to
an artist to reduce to proportion ; from him it passes over to the hand
of an engraver, and an interesting plate is produced by their joint
labours. But, in this making up, the character and features of the
individual are lost, or the scenery is composed of foliage not indigenous
to the country, but introduced by the artist to make a good picture.

In describing people and countries hitherto unknown, no description
given by the pen will equal one correct drawing. How far I may
have succeeded must be decided by those who have, with me, visited
the same places and mixed with the people delineated. How I found
time to complete the drawings is explained by my not doing any duty
on board at one time, and at another by my having been discharged
into the hospital-ship at Hong Kong.

It was my intention to have published these drawings without
letter-press, but in this I have been overruled. I have therefore
been compelled to have recourse to my own private journal, which
certainly was never intended for publication. As I proceeded, I found
that, as I was not on board during the whole of the time, it would
be better, and make the work more perfect, if I published the whole
of the cruise, which I could easily do by referring to the journals of
my messmates.

I would gladly mention their names, and publicly acknowledge
their assistance; but, all things considered, I think it as well to with-
hold them, and I take this opportunity of thanking them for their
kindness.

FRANK S. MARRYAT.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

LITHOGRAPHIC PLATES.

Chinese Joss House

- Frontispiece

Bornese Vessel

Title-page

Loondoo Dyak

To face page 5

River Sarawak and

Town

of Kuchin 6

Keeney-Ballo

- 59

Serebis Dyak

- 79

Saghai Dyak -

- 80

War Dance of the Dyaks

- 85

Malay Chief (Sooloo)

- 101

Bruni -

- 106

Court of the Sultan

of Borneo - 109

West Point, Hong Kong To face page 142

View on the Island of Poo-too - 151

Chinese Joss House at Ningpo - 156

quelpartians - - - 18*2

Mandarin of Quelpart (Corea) - 183

Japanese - - - - 185

Natives of Luzon (Philippines) - 199

View in Samboangan - - - 201

Illanoan Pirate - 207

Dusum - - - - - 210

Port Louis - - - - 220

WOODCUTS.

Mr. Brooke's House
Dyak Head
Malays of Kuchin
Native of Batan
Native of Pa-tchu-san
Sooloo Village
Native Boat — Borneo
Dyak War Prahu

Page

- 7

- 13

- 23

- 27

- 31

- 42

- 63

- 64

Page
74

Dyak Women in Canoe
Teeth of Dyaks - - - 79

Costumes of Dyak Women - - 80

Sum-pi-tan — Blow-pipe, with poisoned

Arrows
Dyak Village -
Obtaining Fire
View of Sincapore

- 80

- 82

- 89

- 93

"a 4

Vlll

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Malay Woman -
Proboscis Monkey
Natives of Bruni
City of Manilla

Page

- 100

- 103

- 108

- 121

Procession of the Sultan of Gonong

Tabor - 133
Ears of Dyaks at Gonong Tabor - 135
Portrait of Mahomed Pullulu, Sul-
tan of Sooloo - - - 139
Tanka Boats — Hong Kong - - 141
Chinese Fishermen - 145
Cook's Shop - - - - 146

Pagoda — Ningpo

Page
- 154

Tanka Boat Women -

- 165

Man-of-War Junk

- 168

Trading Junks

- 169

Japanese Boat

- 184

Salt Smugglers

- 193

Spanish Galleon

- 196

Water Carriers — Manilla

- 199

Illanoan Pirates

- 208

Natives of N E. Coast of

3RNEO

- 210

Convict

- 215

Kling Woman

- 216

BORNEO

AND

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

On the 25th of January, 1843, H.M.S. Samarang, being completely
equipped, went out of Portsmouth harbour and anchored at Spithead.
The crew were paid advanced wages; and, five minutes after the
money had been put into their hats at the pay-table, it was all
most dexterously transferred to the pockets of their wives, whose
regard and affection for their husbands at this peculiar time was
most exemplary. On the following day, the crew of the Samarang
made sail with full hearts and empty pockets.

On the 25th February, sighted Fuerto Ventura: when off this
island, the man at the mast-head reported a wreck in sight, which,
as we neared it, appeared to be the wreck of a brig. Strange to say,
the captain recognised it as an old acquaintance, which he had seen
off Cape Finisterre on his return from China in the Sulphur. If
this was not a mistake, it would be evidence of a southerly current in
this quarter of the Atlantic. This may be, but I do not consider the
proof to be sufficient to warrant the fact ; although it may lead to

2 BORNEO AND

the supposition. If this was the wreck seen at such a long interval
by the captain, a succession of northerly winds and gales might have
driven it down so far to the southward without the assistance of any
current. It is well known that the great current of the Atlantic, the
gulf stream (which is occasioned by the waters, being forced by the
continuous trade winds into the Gulf of Mexico, finding a vent to the
northward by the coast of America, from thence towards Newfound-
land, and then in a more easterly direction), loses its force, and is
expended to the northward of the Western Islands ; and this is the
cause why so many rocks have been yearly reported to have been
fallen in with in this latitude. Wrecks, all over the Atlantic, which
have been water-logged but do not sink, are borne by the various
winds and currents until they get into the gulf stream, which sweeps
them along in its course until thev arrive to where its force is ex-
pended, and there they remain comparatively stationary. By this time,
probably, years have passed, and they are covered with sea-weeds and
barnacles, and, floating three or four feet out of the water, have
every appearance of rocks ; and, indeed, if run upon on a dark night,
prove nearly as fatal.

March 3rd. — Anchored off the town of Porto Praya, Island of St.
Jago, in nine fathoms. Porto Praya is a miserable town, built on a
most unhealthy spot, there being an extensive marsh behind it,
which, from its miasma, creates a great mortality among the inhabit-
ants. The consul is a native of Bona Vista : two English consuls
having fallen victims to the climate in quick succession, no one was
found very willing to succeed to such a certain provision from the
Foreign Office. The interior of the island is, however, very different
from what would be expected from the sight of Porto Praya. Some
of the officers paid a visit to the valley of St. Domingo, which they
described as a perfect paradise, luxuriant with every tropical fruit.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. $

Porto Praya is renowned for very large sharks. I was informed by a
captain in Her Majesty's service, that once, when he anchored at Porto
Praya, he had left the ship to go on shore in one of the twenty-two-
foot gigs, not unaptly nick-named coffins in the service. He had not
pulled more than a cable's length from the ship, when a shark, nearly
as long as the gig, came up swimming with great velocity after them ;
and as he passed, the animal shouldered the boat, so as nearly to upset
it : as it was, the boat took in the water over the gunwale. As the
animal appeared preparing for another attack, the captain thought it
advisable to pull alongside, and go on shore in the cutter instead of
his own boat ; and on this large boat the shark did not make a second
attempt.

April 25th. — Anchored in Simon's Bay, Cape of Good Hope. Sailed
again on the 7th of May, and fell in with a favourable wind ; and too
much of it. For six days we were scudding before it under a close-
reefed main-topsail and fore-staysail. On the 10th we lost one of the
best men in the ship, the sailmaker, Charles Downing, who fell over-
board; the ship was rounded to, the life-buoy let go, but we saw
nothing of him. June 7th saw Christmas Islands, and on the same
afternoon the land of Java. On the 11th we arrived off the town
of Anger, in company with a fleet of merchant vessels of all nations
and of all rigs. Having been so long without a fresh meal, we were
not sorry to find ourselves surrounded by boats loaded with fish,
fruit, and vegetables ; we ate enormously, and they made us pay in
proportion.

On the 19th we arrived at Sincapore, and found the roads very gay
with vessels of all descriptions, from the gallant free trader of 1000
tons to the Chinese junk. As Sincapore, as well as many other places,
was more than once visited, I shall defer my description for the
present. On June the 27th we weighed and made sail for the river of

B 2

4 BORNEO AND

Sarawak (Borneo), to pay a visit to Mr. Brooke, who resides at
Kuchin, a town situated on that river.

The public have already been introduced to Mr. Brooke in the
volumes published by Captain Henry Keppel. Mr. Brooke is a
gentleman of independent fortune, who was formerly in the service of
the Company. The usefulness and philanthropy of his public career
are well known : if the private history which induced him to quit the
service, and afterwards expatriate himself, could with propriety, and
also regard to Mr. Brooke's feelings, be made known, it would
redound still more to his honour and his high principle ; but these I
have no right to make public. Mr. Brooke, having made up his mind
to the high task of civilising a barbarous people, and by every means
in his power of putting an end to the wholesale annual murders com-
mitted by a nation of pirates, whose hands were, like Ishmael's, against
every man, sailed from England in his yacht, the Royalist schooner,
with a crew of picked and tried men, and proceeded to Sarawak, where
he found the rajah, Muda Hassein, the uncle to the reigning sultan of
Borneo, engaged in putting down the insurrection of various chiefs of
the neighbouring territory. Mr. Brooke, with his small force, gave
his assistance to the rajah ; and through his efforts, and those of his
well-armed band, the refractory chiefs were reduced to obedience.
Willing to retain such a powerful ally, and partial to the English, the
rajah made Mr. Brooke most splendid promises to induce him to
remain; but the rajah, like all Asiatics, did not fulfil the performance
of these promises until after much delay and vexation to Mr. Brooke,
who required all the courage and patience with which he is so
eminently gifted, before he could obtain his ends. At last he was
successful : Muda Hassein made over to him a large tract of land,
over which he was constituted rajah, and Mr. Brooke took up his
residence at Kuchin ; and this grant was ultimately confirmed by the

LOONDOO DYAK.

(N.W. COAST OP BORNEO)

LOHBOlTjLONGMAN A C° 18*1

M*N HANHART _LLTH PRINTERS

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 5

seal of the sultan of Borneo. Such, in few words, is the history of
Mr. Brooke : if the reader should wish for a more detailed account, I
must refer him to Capt. Henry Keppel's work, in which is published
a great portion of Mr. Brooke's own private memoranda.

On the morning of the 29th June we saw the high land of Borneo,
but for several days were unsuccessful in discovering the mouth of the
river. On the night of July the 4th we anchored off the entrance of
a river, which the captain supposed to be the ' Sarawak. The next
morning the two barges, well armed, were sent up the river to
obtain information. After pulling with the stream • six or eight
miles, they discovered a small canoe, which, on their approach,
retreated up the river with great speed. Mr. Heard, the officer in
charge of the boats, had taken the precaution, as he ascended the
river, of cutting a palm branch for each boat, and these were now
displayed at the bows as a sign of peaceable intentions.

These universal tokens of amity reassured the natives, who, seeing
them, now turned the bows of their canoes, and paddled towards the
boats. The canoe contained four men, almost in a state of nudity,
their only covering consisting of a narrow slip of cotton fastened round
the middle. They were copper-coloured, and extremely ugly : their
hair jet black, very long, and falling down the back ; eyes were also
black, and deeply sunk in the head, giving a vindictive appearance to
the countenance ; nose flattened ; mouth very large ; the lips of a
bright vermilion, from the chewing of the betel-nut ; and, to add to
their ugliness, their teeth black, and filed to sharp points. Such is
the personal appearance of a Loondoo Dyak.

They informed us that the river we were then in was the Loondoo,
and that the Sarawak was some distance to the eastward. They also
gave us the information that the boats of the Dido had been engaged
with pirates, and had been successful, having captured one prahu and

6 BORNEO AND

sunk another. After great persuasion, we induced one of them to
accompany us to the ship, and pilot her to the Sarawak.

The same evening we weighed anchor, and stood towards a remark-
able promontory (Tangong Sipang), to the eastward of which is the
principal entrance of the Sarawak river ; a second, but less safe,
entrance being within a mile of the promontory. Light and variable
winds prevented our arrival at the mouth of the river until the evening
of the following day. From thence, after two days' incessant kedging
and towing, we anchored off the town of Kuchin, on the morning of
the 8th instant. The town of Kuchin is built on the left-hand side of
the river Sarawak going up ; and, from the windings of the river, you
have to pull twenty-five miles up the river to arrive at it, whereas it
is only five miles from the coast as the crow flies. It consists of about
800 houses, built on piles driven into the ground, the sides and roofs
being enclosed with dried palm leaves. Strips of bamboo are laid
across, which serve as a floor. In fact, there is little difference be-
tween these houses and those built by the Burmahs and other tribes in
whose countries bamboo and ratan are plentiful. The houses of Mr.
Brooke and the rajah are much superior to any others, having the
advantage and comfort of wooden sides and floorings. We visited the
rajah several times, who invariably received us with urbanity, and
entertained us in a very hospitable manner. Muda Hassein is a man
about fifty years of age, — some think more, — of low stature, as are
most of the Malays, well made, and with a very prepossessing coun-
tenance for a Malay. His brother, Budruden, is a much finer man,
very agreeable, and very partial to the English. The Malays profess
Mahomedanism ; but Budruden in many points followed European
customs, both in dress and drinking wine.

The residence of Mr. Brooke is on the side of the river opposite to
the town, as, for the most part, are all the houses of the Europeans.

bL ait

4 If

o
<c
5:

fi;.l *K:Si=

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 7

In structure it somewhat resembles a Swiss cottage, and is erected
upon a green mound, which slopes down to the river's bank, where
there is a landing-place for boats. At the back of the house is a gar-
den, containing almost every tree peculiar to the climate ; and it was
a novelty to us to see collected together the cotton-tree, the areca,
sago, palm, &c, with every variety of the Camellia japonica in a state
of most luxurious wildness.

MR. BROOKE'S HOUSE.

The establishment consists of six Europeans, and the house contains
one large receiving-room, and several smaller ones, appropriated to
the residents as sleeping apartments, besides Mr. Brooke's own private

8 BORNEO AND

rooms. The large room is decorated with rifles, swords, and other
instruments of warfare, European and native ; and it is in this room
that the European rajah gives his audiences : and it is also in this
room that every day, at five o'clock, a capital dinner is served up, to
which we were made heartily welcome. During our stay, Mr. Brooke,
accompanied by several of our officers and some of the residents, made
an excursion up the river. We started early in the morning, with a
flowing tide ; and, rapidly sweeping past the suburbs of the town,
which extend some distance up the river, we found ourselves gliding
through most interesting scenery. On either side, the river was
bounded by gloomy forests, whose trees feathered down to the river's
bank, the water reflecting their shadows with peculiar distinctness.
Occasionally the scene was diversified by a cleared spot amidst this
wilderness, where, perchance, a half-ruined hut, apparently not inha-
bited for years, the remains of a canoe, together with fragments of
household utensils, were to be seen, proving that once it had been the
abode of those who had been cut off by some native attack, and pro-
bably the heads of its former occupants were now hanging up in some
skull-house belonging to another tribe. The trees were literally alive
with monkeys and squirrels, which quickly decamped as we approached
them. Several times we were startled by the sudden plunge of the
alligators into the water, close to the boats, and of whose propinquity
we were not aware until they made the plunge. All these rivers are
infested with alligators, and I believe they are very often mischievous;
at all events, one of our youngsters was continually in a small canoe,
paddling about, and the natives cautioned us that if he was not careful
he certainly would be taken by one of these animals.

Early in the afternoon we disembarked at a Chinese village twenty-
five miles from Kuchin. The inhabitants of this village work the
gold and antimony mines belonging to Mr. Brooke. We remained

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 9

there for the night, and the next morning proceeded further up the
river, and landed at another village, where we breakfasted, and then
proceeded on foot to visit the mines. Our path lay through dense
forests of gigantic trees, whose branches met and interlaced overhead,
shading us from the burning rays of the sun. At times we would
emerge from the wood, and find ourselves passing through cultivated
patches of ravines, enclosed on all sides by lofty mountains, covered
with foliage. In these spots we found a few natives with their families,
who seemed to be contented in their perfect isolation ; for in these
secluded spots generations may pass away, and know no world beyond
their own confines of forest jungle. At times our route was over
mountains, whose appearance was so formidable that our hearts almost
failed us at the prospect of having to scale them ; but we succeeded
beyond our expectations, and at length arrived at the antimony village,
not a little pleased at. our labours being ended. Our spirits, which
had been flagging, were revived by a pull at the bottle. From our
resting-place we had a good view of the mine, which is a source of
great profit to Mr. Brooke. The antimony is obtained from the side
of a hill, the whole of which is supposed to be formed of this valuable
mineral. The side at which the men are at work shines like silver
during the day, and may be seen several miles distant, strangely con-
trasting with the dark foliage of the adjoining jungles. The ore is
conveyed to Kuchin, and is there shipped on board of the Royalist,
(Mr. Brooke's schooner yacht,) and taken to Sincapore, where it is
eagerly purchased by the merchants, and shipped for England.

After partaking of a little refreshment we set off, through woods
and over mountains, as before, to visit the gold mine. On our arrival
at every village on the road, a certain number of guns were fired by
the natives, in honour of the European rajah ; and the same ceremony
was repeated when we left it. It was late in the afternoon before we

10 BORNEO AND

arrived at the village attached to the gold mine. It is prettily situated
in the depth of a valley, through which runs a small rivulet.

On every side mountains soar into the clouds, which must be passed
before you can reach the village. Dinner had been prepared for us by
\ the inhabitants of the village, who were a colony of Chinese ; and it
was served up in a large building dedicated to Joss, whose shrine was
brilliantly illuminated with candles and joss-sticks. Some of the
officers unthinkingly lighted their cigars at the altar. The Chinese,
observing it, requested very civilly that they would do so no more ;
a request which was, of course, complied with. After dinner we all
proceeded to the rivulet, in search of gold ; the natives had cleared
out the bed of the river ; the sand and stones were thrown into an
artificial sluice for washing it ; and a little gold was found by some of
the party. This gold mine, if it may be so called, is worth to Mr.
Brooke about 1000/. per annum, after all the expenses are paid. Its
real value is much greater ; but the Chinese conceal a great quantity,
and appropriate it to themselves. But if the particles of gold which
are brought down by a small rivulet are of such value, what may be
the value of the mines above, in the mountains as yet untrodden by
human feet ? This, it is to be hoped, enterprise will some day reveal.
We remained at the village that night, and at daylight commenced
our journey back to the village from which we had started the
day before. There we embarked, and proceeded down the river to
the first Chinese village, at which we arrived in the course of the
afternoon. A short distance inland is a mountain, called Sarambo,
which it was proposed to ascend, as, by our telescopes, we could per-
ceive houses near to its summit, and were told it was the residence of
some of the mountain Dyaks under Mr. Brooke's sway. From the
village this mountain wore the appearance of a huge sugar-loaf, and
its sides appeared inaccessible. Mr. Brooke, with his usual kindness,

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 11

gave his consent, and despatched a messenger to the Dyak village,
requesting the chief to send a party down by daylight the next morn-
ing, to convey our luggage up the mountain. At day-dawn we were
awakened by a confused noise outside of the house, and, looking out,
we perceived that more than a score of these mountain Dyaks had
arrived. Most of them had nothing on but the usual strip of cotton ;
some few had on red baize jackets. They all wore a peculiar kind of
kris, and many had spears, sampitans, and shields. They were fine-
limbed men, with muscles strongly developed. Their hair fell down
their backs, and nearly reached their middle : it was prevented from
falling over the face by a fillet of grass, which was ornamented with
mountain flowers.

After a hurried breakfast we set off for the foot of the mountain,
our party amounting to about eighty people. The guides led the way,
followed by the Europeans ; and the Dyaks, with the luggage, brought
up the rear. In this order we commenced the ascent. Each person
was provided with a bamboo, which was found indispensable; and
thus, like a party of pilgrims, we proceeded on our way ; and before
we had gone very far, we discovered that we were subjected to severe
penance. The mountain was nearly perpendicular. In some places
we had to ascend by a single piece of wood, with rough notches for
the feet, resting against a rock twenty or thirty feet above our heads ;
and on either side was a precipice, so that a false step must have been
certain death. In other places a single piece of bamboo was thrown
over a frightful chasm, by way of bridge. This, with a slight bamboo
rail for the hand, was all that we had to trust to. The careful manner
in which we passed these dangers was a source of great laughter and
amusement to the Dyaks who followed us. Accustomed from infancy
to tread these dangerous paths, although heavily laden, they scorned
to support themselves. Some of our party were nearly exhausted,

c 2

12 BORNEO AND

and a long way in the rear before we came to the village. We had to
wait for their coming up, and threw ourselves under the shade of some
huge trees, that we might contemplate the bird's-eye view beneath.
It was a sight which must be seen to be appreciated. Almost as far
as the eye could reach was one immense wooded plain, bounded by
lofty mountains in the far distance, whose tops pierced the clouds.
The rivers appeared like silver threads, running through the jungles ;
now breaking off, and then regained. At our feet lay the village we
had started from, the houses of which appeared like mere points.
Shakspeare Cliff was as nothing to it, and his beautiful lines would
have fallen very short of the mark ; and while we gazed, suddenly a
cloud below us would pass between us and the view, and all would be
hidden from the sight. Thus we were far above the clouds, and then
the clouds would break, and open, and pass and repass over each other,
until, like the dissolving views, all was clear again, although the land-
scape was not changed. It was towards noon before we saw the first
mountain village, which we did not immediately enter, as we waited
the arrival of the laggards : we stopped, therefore, at a spring of cold
water, and enjoyed a refreshing wash. Here we fell in with some
pretty Dyak girls, very scantily clothed, who were throwing water at
each other in sport. We soon came in for a plentiful share, which we
returned with interest ; and in this amusing combat we passed half an
hour, until all had joined the party. We then entered the village,
which was situated in a grove of trees. The houses were built upon
posts, as those down by the river side. They were immensely large,
with a bamboo platform running the whole length of the building,
and divided into many compartments, in each of which a Dyak family
resides. We were escorted, through a crowd of wondering Dyaks, to
a house in the centre of the village, which was very different in con-
struction from the others. It was perfectly round, and well ventilated

DYAK HEAD.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 13

by numerous port-holes in the roof, which was pointed. We ascended
to the room above by means of a rough ladder, and when we entered
we were rather taken aback at finding that we were in the Head House,
as it is termed, and that the beams were lined with human heads, all
hanging by a small line passed through the top of the
skull. They were painted in the most fantastic and
hideous manner ; pieces of wood, painted to imitate
the eyes, were inserted into the sockets, and added not
a little to their ghastly grinning appearance. The
strangest part of the story, and which added very much
to the effect of the scene, was, that these skulls were
perpetually moving to and fro, and knocking against,
each other. This, I presume, was occasioned by the
different currents of air blowing in at the port-holes
cut in the roof ; but what with their continual motion, their nodding
their chins when they hit each other, and their grinning teeth, they
really appeared to be endowed with new life, and were a very merry
set of fellows. However, whatever might be the first impression
occasioned by this very unusual sight, it very soon wore off, and we
amused ourselves with those motions which were " not life," as Byron
says ; and, in the course of the day, succeeded in making a very excel-
lent dinner in company with these gentlemen, although we were none
of us sufficiently Don Giovannis to invite our friends above to supper.
We visited three villages on the Sarambo mountain. Each of these
villages was governed by a chief of its own, but they were subor-
dinate to the great chief, residing in the first village.

In the evening the major portion of the population came to the Head
House, to exhibit to us their national dances. The music was com-
posed of two gongs and two large bamboo drums. The men stood up
first, in war costume, brandishing their spears and shields, and throw-

14 BORNEO AND

ing themselves into the most extraordinary attitudes, as they cut with
their knives at some imaginary enemy ; at the same time uttering the
most unearthly yells, in which the Dyak spectators joined, apparently
highly delighted with the exhibition. The women then came forward,
and went through a very unmeaning kind of dance, keeping time with
their hands and feet ; but still it was rather a relief after the noise
and yelling from which we had just suffered. The chief, Macuta, ex-
pressing a wish to see a specimen of our dancing, not to let them sup-
pose we were not as warlike as themselves, two of the gig's boat's crew
stood up, and went through the evolutions of the broad-sword exercise
in a very creditable manner. After this performance one of the sea-
men danced the sailor's hornpipe, which brought forth a torrent of
yells instead of bravos, but they certainly meant the same thing. By
this time, the heat from a large fire, with the smell of humanity in so
crowded a room, became so overpowering, that I was glad to leave the
Head House to get a little fresh air, and my ears relieved from the
dinning of the drums and gongs. It was a beautiful starry night,
and, strolling through the village, I soon made acquaintance with a
native Dyak, who requested me to enter his house. He introduced
me to his family, consisting of several fine girls and a young lad. The
former were naked from the shoulders to below the breasts, where a
pair of stays, composed of several circles of whalebone, with brass fas-
tenings, were secured round their waists ; and to the stays was attached
a cotton petticoat, reaching to below their knees. This was the whole
of their attire. They were much shorter than European women, but
well made ; very interesting in their appearance, and affable and
friendly in their manners. Their eyes were dark and piercing, and I
may say there was something wicked in their furtive glances ; their
noses were but slightly flattened ; the mouth rather large ; but when
I beheld the magnificent teeth which required all its size to display, I

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 15

thought this rather an advantage. Their hair was superlatively beau-
tiful, and would have been envied by many a courtly dame. It was
jet black, and of the finest texture, and hung in graceful masses down
the back, nearly reaching to the ground. A mountain Dyak girl, if
not a beauty, has many most beautiful points ; and, at all events, is
very interesting and, I may say, pretty. They have good eyes, good
teeth, and good hair ; — more than good : I may say splendid ; — and
they have good manners, and know how to make use of their eyes.
I shall, therefore, leave my readers to form their own estimates by my
description. Expecting to meet some natives in my ramble, I had
filled my pockets with ship's biscuit, and which I now distributed
among the ladies, who appeared very grateful, as they rewarded me,
while they munched it, by darting wicked glances from their laughing
eyes.

Observing that the lad wore a necklace of human teeth round his
neck, his father explained to me, in pantomime, that they were the
teeth of an enemy whom he slew in battle, and whose head was now
in the Head House.

As it was getting late I bade my new friends farewell, by shaking
hands all round. The girls laughed immoderately at this way of
bidding good-bye, which, of course, was to them quite novel. I
regretted afterwards that I had not attempted the more agreeable way
of bidding ladies farewell, which, I presume, they would have under-
stood better ; as I believe kissing is an universal language, perfectly
understood from the equator to the pole.

At daylight the next morning we descended the mountain, and,
embarking in the boats, arrived at the ship late in the afternoon.

While at Sarawak we witnessed a very strange ceremony. Hearing
a great noise in a house, we entered, and found ourselves in a large
room crowded to excess by a numerous assemblage, singing in any

16 BORNEO AND

thing but harmony. They proved to be natives of Java, assembled
for the purpose of celebrating one of their festivals. On our entrance
into the house, we were literally covered by the inmates with perfumes
of the most delightful fragrance. Some of these odours were in a
liquid state, and were poured down our backs, or upon our heads ;
others were in a state of powder, with which we were plentifully
besprinkled. We were then escorted into the centre of the room,
where we found a circle of elderly men, who were reading portions of
their sacred books, and their voices were accompanied by music from
instruments of native manufacture. We were treated with great
attention, being permitted to enter the circle of the elders, who or-
dered the attendants to hand us refreshments, which consisted of cakes
made of rice and cocoa-nut oil, and Sam-schoo. Some of our party,
having become slightly elevated, volunteered a song, which proposi-
tion was opposed by the more reasonable. The Javanese were appealed
to by the former, and they gave their votes in favour of the song.
It was accordingly sung by our whole party, much to the delight of
our kind entertainers, who, no doubt, considered that we felt and
appreciated their rites. At length we took our leave, well pleased with
our novel entertainment. So well did we succeed in making ourselves
agreeable, that we received an invitation for the following night.

July 10th. — In the evening a display of fireworks took place, notice
of which had been given to the rajah, and, indeed, to the whole popu-
lation of Kuchin, who had all assembled near to the ship, to witness
what they considered a most wonderful sight. Seamen were stationed
at all the yard-arms, flying jib, and driver booms, with blue-lights,
which were fired simultaneously with the discharge of a dozen rockets,
and the great gun of a royal salute. The echoes reverberated for
at least a minute after the last gun of the salute had been fired ; and,
judging by the yells of the natives, the display must have created a

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 17

strong sensation. Immediately after the salute, the anchor was weighed,
and we commenced dropping down the river with the ebb tide ; but
we soon grounded on the mud, and we remained all night with the
bowsprit in the bushes which grow on the banks of the river.

The ship floated the next morning ; the anchor was weighed, and
with the assistance of the ebb tide, we dropped down the river at the
rate of five miles per hour. As we were nearing a cluster of danger-
ous rocks, about a mile below Kuchin, we found that the ship was at
the mercy of the rapid tide ; and, notwithstanding all our endeavours,
the ship struck on the rocks. Anchors were immediately laid out, but
to no effect : the water rapidly shallowed, and we gave up all thoughts
of getting off until the next flood tide. As the water left the ship,
she fell over to starboard, and, an hour after she had grounded, she
listed to starboard 25 degrees. Our position was now becoming criti-
cal : the main deck ports had been shipped some time previous, but this
precaution did not prevent the water from gaining entrance on the
main and lower decks. As she still continued to heel over to star-
board, a hawser was taken on shore, and, by purchases, set taut to the
mast head ; but before this could be accomplished she had filled so
much that it proved useless.

A boat was now despatched to Kuchin, to acquaint Mr. Brooke
with our disaster, and to request the assistance of the native boats.
During the absence of the boats, the top-gallant-masts had been sent
down, and topmasts lowered ; but the ship was now careening over 46
degrees, and full of water. All hopes of getting her off were there-
fore, for the present, abandoned ; and we commenced removing every
thing that could be taken out of her in the boats. The surveying
instruments and other valuables, were sent up to Kuchin in the gig ;
and afterwards every thing that could be obtained from the ship was
brought up in the native boats, as well as the whole crew of the

18 BORNEO AND

Samarang. Mr. Brooke insisted upon all the officers making a tem-
porary abode at his house, and prepared a shed for the crew. An
excellent dinner was laid before the officers, while a substantial mess
of fowls and rice was served out to the crew. In fact, the kindness of
Mr. Brooke was beyond all bounds. The gentlemen who resided with
him, as well as himself, provided us with clothes from their own ward-
robes, and during our protracted stay did all in their power to make
us comfortable ; indeed, I may safely say, that we were so happy and
comfortable, that there were but very few of the officers and crew of
the Samarang that ever wished to see her afloat again. But I must
return to my narrative.

The morning after our disaster we went down to the ship, and com-
menced recovering provisions and stores, sending down masts and
yards, and every other article deemed necessary ; and this was con-
tinued for several days : during which the midshipmen, petty officers,
and seamen were removed to the opposite shore, where two houses
had been, by Mr. Brooke, prepared for their reception. Our house,
(the midshipmen's) we christened Cockpit Hall ; it was very roman-
tically situate in the middle of a plantation of cocoa nut, palm, banana,
and plantain trees. It was separated from the house in which the
seamen were barracked by a small kind of jungle, not more than 300
yards in extent, but so intricate that we constantly lost our way in it,
and had to shout and receive an answer, or go back and take a fresh
departure. Our garden, in which there was a delightful spring of cold
water, extended on a gentle slope about a hundred yards in front of
the house, where its base was watered by a branch of the Sarawak ; in
which we refreshed ourselves by bathing morning and evening, in spite
of the numerous alligators and water snakes with which the river
abounds. But our incautious gambols received a check. Two of our
party agreed to proceed to the mouth of the branch I have mentioned,

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 19

to determine which could return with the greatest speed. They had
commenced their swimming race, when we, who stood ashore as um-
pires, observed an enormous water snake, with head erect, making for
the two swimmers. We cried out to them to hasten on shore, which
they did ; while we kept up a rapid discharge of stones at the head of
the brute, who was at last driven off in another direction. This
incident induced us to be more cautious, and to keep within safe
boundary for the future.

Our repose at Cockpit Hall was, however, much disturbed by the
nightly visits of wild hogs, porcupines, wild cats, guanos, and various
other animals, some of which made dreadful noises. When they paid
us their visits, we all turned out, and, armed with muskets, commenced
an assault upon them, which soon caused them to evacuate our
domain; but similar success did not attend our endeavours to dis-
lodge the swarms of musquitos, scorpions, lizards, and centipedes from
our habitations. They secreted themselves in the thatch, and the
sides of the house during the day, and failed not to disturb with their
onslaughts during the whole of the night.

July 22d. — Mr. Hooper, the purser, was despatched in the Royalist
to Sincapore, to purchase provisions and obtain assistance from any
of the men-of-war who might be lying in the roads.

It is not necessary to enter into a minute detail of the service which
we were now employed upon. It certainly was not a service of love,
as we had to raise a ship which we hoped would remain where she
was. To enter into particulars, technical terms must be resorted to,
which would only puzzle the reader. The position of the Samarang
was simply this : she lay on a rock, and had filled by careening over ;
as long as she was on her side, the water rose and fell in her with the
flood and ebb of the tide ; but if once we could get her on an even keel,
as soon as the water left her with the ebb of the tide, all we had to do

i) 2

20 BOKNEO AND

was to pump her out, and then she would float again. To effect this,
we had to lighten her as much as possible, by taking out of her her
guns and stores of every description ; then to get purchases on her
from the shore, and assist the purchases with rafts under her bilge,
so as to raise her again upon an even keel. On the second day after
she filled, when the tide had run out, we removed all our chests from
the lower deck; most of them were broken, and a large proportion of the
contents missing. On the 27th May every thing had been prepared, and
the attempt to get the vessel on an even keel was made, and it proved
successful, as it well might with the variety of purchases, and the
force of men we had at our disposition. When we repaired to the
ship with 100 Malays to man the purchase-falls, the tide was ebbing
fast, and the pumps were immediately set to work ; so that at midnight,
when the tide commenced flowing, the ship was nearly free of water.
The purchases were then manned, and with the assistance of the rafts
the ship gradually righted. The following day, about half-past two
in the morning, the ship was free of water, and had risen to a careen
of 30° ; at 3 o'clock she floated into deep water, and was then
anchored. During the forenoon of the same day the ship was towed
to her former anchoring ground off Kuchin. The same night the
Harlequin and Royalist arrived in the river, and a day or two after-
wards a brig and schooner came over with the intention of bidding
for the remains of the ship, and of stocking the officers with clothes
and necessaries. This was a losing speculation, as may be imagined,
arising from a report having been circulated that it was impossible to
raise the ship, whereas, as the reader will perceive, there was very
little difficulty in so doing, nothing but sufficient strength being
required.

Our ship, as may be supposed, was in a most filthy state after the
late immersion. Plunging into a river does not clean a vessel,

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 21

although it does a man. The decks were literally coated with mud
and slime, which emitted the most foetid odour. Silver spoons,
watches, and valuables of every description, were everywhere strewed
about, few of which ever reached their rightful owners ; for the
Malays who were employed to clean the ship had an eye to business,
and secreted every thing which was portable. By dint of great exer-
tion, the ship was in a few days ready to receive her tanks, guns, and
stores, which were embarked by the Harlequin's boats and boats'
crews. She was soon in a forward state, and an expedition was
formed to survey a part of the coast during the completion of her
refitting. The gig and one of the barges were fitted out for this ser-
vice, and on August the 13th, at daylight, we left Kuchin, well armed,
and provisioned for ten days. At 10 a. m. we dropped anchor under
the Peak of Santabong, from which the branch of the Sarawak we
were then in derives its name. Here we remained a short time to
refresh the men, who had not ceased tugging at the oar from the time
that we started. The foot of the Santabong mountain is about a
quarter of a mile from the river. It then ascends almost perpendicu-
larly to a great height, towering far above the neighbouring moun-
tains. Afterwards it runs seaward for a mile or two, and terminates
in a remarkable peak, which forms the eastern horn of the extensive
bay between it and Tanjon Datu. Here we were about a week,
during which time we had extended our survey to the last-mentioned
cape, which is about forty miles to the westward of Santabong.
While in the vicinity of Datu, a strict watch was kept, that we might
have timely notice of the approach of any prahus. A short distance
from the cape is a delightful bay studded wth small islets, which is
known by the appellation of Pirate's Bay, so called from its being a
favourite resort of the Illanoan pirates. It was in this bay that the
Dido's boats were anchored when they were surprised by several

22 BORNEO AND

piratical prahus, the look-out men in the European boats, exhausted
by the heat and long pulling at the oar, having fallen asleep. They
had scarcely time to cut the cables and grasp their weapons ere
they were assailed on all sides by the pirates, who felt confident of
success, from having found them napping. But they little knew what
people they had to deal with, and if Jack was asleep when they made
the attack, they found him wide awake when they came to close
quarters. All their endeavours to board in the face of the rapid fire
of the boats' guns and small arms proved abortive, and they soon dis-
covered that it would be quite sufficient for their purpose if, instead
of capturing the boats, they could make their own escape. One of the
prahus, pierced by the well-directed shot, foundered, another was
abandoned, and the rest, favoured by darkness, made their escape.
For a more detailed account, I must refer the reader to Captain Kep-
pel's work on Borneo.

During the survey, we visited the islands of Talen Talen — the
Malay word for turtle. These islands are the property of Mr.
Brooke. A few Malays lived on the largest of them for the purpose
of getting turtle eggs, with which they supply the trading prahus,
who continually call here to lay in a stock of these eggs, which
are considered a great luxury by the Malays. We landed with Mr.
Williamson, the Malay interpreter at Sarawak, belonging to Mr.
Brooke's establishment. We were well received by the Malays, who
knew Mr. Williamson well, and he informed them that our object was
to procure a live turtle. They requested us to take our choice of the
numerous turtle then lying on the beach. We selected one of
about three cwt. ; but although the turtles are never turned on
this island, she appeared to be aware that such was our intention,
and scuttled off as fast as she could for the water ; however, we inter-
cepted her, and with some difficulty secured our prize. From one of

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

the numerous nests on the beach we took 600 turtle eggs. As many
thousands could have been as easily procured, but we had sufficient
for our wants. The Malays watch during the night, to ascertain
wheje the turtle deposits her eggs, for as soon as she has finished her
task, she covers them with her nippers with sand, and immediately
retires into the sea. A piece of wood is then set up as a mark for
the nest, which is rifled as occasion requires. It is a curious fact that
the male turtle never lands.

MALAYS OF KUCHIN.

After visiting several villages on the coast, we returned to Kuchin
on Saturday the 19th, when we found that death had deprived us of
our only musician on board the ship, a loss which was much felt by
the crew, as he contributed much to their amusement. One of the
supernumerary boys had also fallen a victim to the dysentery ; but,
although we deplored our loss, we had great reason to be thankful
that it had been no greater, as on the day we left Kuchin, we had
upwards of seventy men on the sick report. The same day, at noon,
the anchor was weighed, and we dropped down the river with the

24 BORNEO AND

ebb tide. Strange to say, in spite of all our precautions, we struck
on the same reef of rocks again ; fortunately, however, the ship turned
with the tide and grounded in the mud close to the bushes, from
whence there was no extricating her till the flood tide had made.
In the afternoon, when it was low water, a very large alligator was
discovered asleep upon the rocks, which had been properly christened
the Samarang Rocks, and which were now, at low ebb, several feet
above water. A party of officers and marines pulled towards him, and
fired a volley at him. The brute was evidently wounded, as he sprang
up several feet in the air, and then disappeared under the water.
Shortly after he again made his appearance, having landed on the
opposite side of the river ; his assailants again gave chase, and again
wounded him, but he shuffled into the river and escaped.

At three in the afternoon, we were much pleased at the arrival
of the Diana, one of the Company's steamers, sent from Sincapore
to our assistance. She proved extremely useful, for that night we
gained fifteen miles, when we again grounded and remained all night.
On the following day, at eleven a.m., a cloud of thick smoke was
observed rising above the jungle, which we immediately decided to
proceed from a steamer. Shortly afterwards two masts appeared
above the trees, and at one of them the Vixen's number was flying :
she soon hove in sight. We weighed, and with the Harlequin, were
towed down the river at a rapid pace. When we arrived at the
entrance we anchored, finding there the Wanderer, and being joined
soon afterwards by the Ariel, Royalist, and Diana, we formed a
squadron of six vessels.

On the 23d August, the Samarang, Harlequin, Ariel, and Royalist,
weighed anchor and steered along the coast for Borneo Proper, where
we arrived on Tuesday the 29th. On the Thursday following, Mr.
Brooke, accompanied by the captains of the three men-of-war and

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 25

some officers, started in one of the barges for the city of Bruni, which
was about eighteen miles from our anchorage. They had an audience
with the sultan, but upon what cause I do not exactly know. They
were treated with great civility, and returned to the ship about one
o'clock on the following morning. My description of Bruni I shall
reserve for a future visit. On the 5th of September we made sail
for Hong Kong, with the Vixen in company, leaving the Ariel and
Royalist to carry Mr. Brooke and the rajah's brother down to
Sarawak. The Harlequin sailed for Sincapore. The Vixen having
parted company to obtain fuel at Manilla, we continued our course
to Hong Kong, where we arrived on the 14th inst., and found there
Admirals Parker and Cochrane, in their respective ships the Cornwallis
and Agincourt, with others of the squadron. We sailed again on the
2d of November, and after working up the coast of China for a week,
we steered to the eastward, and on the 12 th sighted the Bashee
group. Here our surveying duties commenced in earnest, as we left
the ship at four a.m. and did not return till darkness put an end to
our labours. The governor of this group of islands sent a letter
to our captain requesting the pleasure of seeing the ship in San
Domingo Bay, where wood, water, and live stock could be obtained
on reasonable terms. This letter was accompanied with a present of
fruit and vegetables. A few days afterwards, we worked up to San
Domingo Bay (Batan Island), and we were much surprised on our
arrival to perceive that the town had a cathedral, of apparently
ancient architecture, besides several houses built on the European
style. The remainder of the town, which is of some extent, was
composed of houses built of bamboo, and thatched with palm leaves.

We anchored late in the afternoon, and were boarded by a Spanish
military officer, who, to judge by certain signs and peculiarities, had
been imbibing something stronger than water. The captain and

26 BORNEO AND

some of the officers went on shore, to call upon the governor. The
governor's house was distinguished by a flag-staff, with the Spanish
colours, or, rather, a remnant of the Spanish colours ; and around the
door stood a group of most indifferently clad Luzonian soldiers,
turned out, we presumed, as a guard of honour. The governor was
as much in dishabille as his troops, and shortly afterwards the party
was joined by two priests and the governor's wife, a very pretty
Creole, about twenty years of age. We were regaled with wine and
chocolate, and parted late in the evening, on very friendly terms.
The governor's house is a miserable abode : it has but one story, and
the basement is a barrack for the soldiers. The upper part, inhabited
by the governor, was very scantily furnished: a few old chairs, a
couple of tables, and the walls whitewashed and decorated with prints
of the Virgin Mary and his excellency's patron saint. The house of
the priests, which adjoined the cathedral, was in much better repair,
and more gaudy in the inside.

There are three missions in Batan, each settlement having its
cathedral and officiating priests. The natives, who are a distinct
race, are well-proportioned, of a copper colour, and medium stature.
They are very ugly : their hair is black, and cut short. Their usual
dress consists of a piece of cotton, passed round the loins, and a pecu-
liar-looking conical hat, surmounted with a tuft of goat's hair. In
rainy weather they wear a cloak of rushes, through which the water
cannot penetrate. The sole covering of the women is a piece of cot-
ton, fastened below the bosom, and reaching down to the knee.
Almost the whole of the Bashee group of islands are very mountainous.
At the back of San Domingo the land rises to a great height, forming
a remarkable peak, which can be seen many leagues distant. Bullocks,
goats, pigs, and vegetables, can be obtained at a very moderate price ;
but very little fruit is grown, the natives usually preferring to culti-

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

vate yams, cocoas, and sweet potatoes. The sugar-cane is cultivated,
and the tobacco grown here is considered, with great justice, far
superior to any grown at Luzon. After a week's stay at San Domingo
we ran down to Ivana, one of the missions, and made a rough survey
of the bay. The mission house at this place was fitted up with every
comfort, and we even found luxuries which we looked in vain for at
San Domingo.

NATIVE OF BATAN.

After completing the survey of this portion of the island, the
governor (who had accompanied us from San Domingo) and a party
of us set off to return to San Domingo by land. Our path lay over

E 2

28 BORNEO AND

mountains nearly 2000 feet in height, from the summit of which every
point and inlet could be discerned, over the whole of the group which
lay below, exactly as if they were laid down on a chart. Our walk
was very fatiguing, and we were all rejoiced when, from an eminence,
we descried the village of San Carlos, the residence of the warm-
hearted and hospitable Father Nicholas. We descended into the vale,
and were heartily welcomed by the jolly old priest, who regaled us
with all that his larder could supply us. It had been arranged
that the ship should leave Ivana for San Domingo on the following
morning. At the entreaty of the good padre we remained at San
Carlos all night, and the following morning returned to San Domingo,
the ship anchoring in the bay on the same afternoon. We had now
become quite domesticated with the friendly Spaniards. In the
evenings we were received by an assemblage of the natives at the
governor's house. They were dressed in their best, and went through
an unmeaning dance, which was kept up till a late hour.

On the 27th November we left Batan, and its kind inhabitants, who
exacted a promise that we would return at some future period, and
shaped a course for the Madjicosima islands, which are subject to the
kingdom of Loo Choo. On the afternoon of the 1st of December land
was discovered ahead, and a few hours afterwards we anchored in a
narrow passage, surrounded by reefs on every side. We were anchored
off the island of Pa-tchu-san, one of the group : it was very moun-
tainous. On the following morning the captain and some of the
officers went on shore. They were received by several hundred
natives, who saluted them as they passed on their way to a temporary
shed, where a levee was held by all the principal mandarins. Our
Chinese interpreter, who was a native of Canton, explained the cap-
tain's wishes, and the nature of the service that we were employed on.
They appeared uneasy at the proposal of our surveying the whole

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 29

group, and informed the captain that they would refer the question to
the viceroy, and give him a final answer on the morrow. This
answer was in the affirmative, and a few days afterwards we com-
menced our survey of the islands. We were attended by the natives,
who furnished us with horses, and anticipated our wishes in every
thing that could make us comfortable. On the first day, at sunset,
we arrived at a temple dedicated to Fo, romantically situated in a
grove of trees, which concealed the elevation until you were within
a few yards of it. Here it was proposed to take up our quarters for
the night, and a more delightful spot could not well be imagined than
our resting-place.

The temple was built at the foot of a hill, within a few hundred
yards of the sea. Lights were displayed as a signal to the stragglers,
groups of whom might be seen by the light of the moon, reposing
themselves on the ridge behind us. The glare of the torches brought
them all down to us, both men and horses anxious for rest after the
arduous toil of the day. Just as I was dropping off to sleep, one of
my messmates said to another, "I say, Jemmy, I wonder whether
your mother has any idea that you are sleeping in the temple of Fo,
on the island of Pa-tchu-san ? " A loud snore was the only reply,
proving that the party addressed was unconscious of the island Pa-
tchu-san, the temple of Fo, or of his mother, and the bells ringing
for church.

Pa-tchu-san, as I have before observed, is very mountainous and
exceedingly picturesque. A high ridge covered with trees extends
the whole length of the island, north and south. On either side of
this ridge are innumerable grassy knolls and mounds from which we
looked down upon the extensive plain on either side, which was
studded with knolls similar to those that we were standing on.
During our survey we passed through all the villages bordering the

30 BORNEO AND

sea, at the entrance of which we were invariably received by all the
principal inhabitants. All their villages or towns are surrounded by
the most luxurious groves, which have been apparently planted, for
in many parts not a shrub could be seen beyond the confines of the
town. The roads through the towns or streets generally meet at
right angles, lined on each side with gigantic trees. The houses are
built within enclosures raised with huge stones. These houses are
strongly built, the frame being composed of four uprights of large
timber, to which are attached cross pieces on the top of them, of the
same dimensions as their supporters. Openings are left on each side
of the house, which, when the owner pleases, can be closed by well-
fitted shutters on the sliding principle. The roofs are thatched with
paddy stalks. The floor frame is raised about two feet from the
ground, and on it are fixed strong slips of bamboo, which are covered
over with mats. These afford very comfortable sitting and sleeping
apartments. The only inconvenience was, that the fire was made in
the corner of the sitting-room, and as there was no vent for the smoke,
we were nearly stifled. This nuisance was, however, soon removed
by a word to the natives through the medium of the interpreter, and
afterwards the fire was lighted, and the victuals cooked, at an
adjoining shed.

The natives of the Madjicosima islands are rather below the
middle stature, but very strong and muscular. Their hair is worn in
a very peculiar manner ; the crown of the head is shaved, leaving a
circle of long hair, which is turned up on the top of the head and
tied into a knot of a peculiar shape. Through this knot of hair are
passed two brass ornaments by the common people, but the chiefs are
distinguished by silver ones. These are evidently intended to keep the
knot in its right position. They cultivate the moustache and the
beard, the latter being worn pointed. Their dress consists of a long

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

loose robe of blue or cross-barred cotton stuffs, which reaches down
nearly to the ancles. This robe is fastened to the waist by a
girdle of the same material, and in which they keep their fans,

r^ lt*+2r~ '

pipes, &c. The sleeves of the robe are very large, widening as they
approach the wrists, which are consequently bare. Their shoes or
sandals are very ingeniously made of wicker work, and confined to
the foot by means of a strap between the larger toes of each foot.

The inhabitants of these islands certainly deserve to be ranked
among the most gentle and amiable of nations: no boisterousness
attends their conversation, no violent gestures to give effect to the
words; on the contrary, their voices are modulated when they are
speaking, and their actions, although decided, are gentle. Their
mode of salutation is graceful in the extreme. It consists in a low
bending of the head, accompanied with a slight inclination of the
body, and the hands closed, being raised at the same time to the

BORNEO AND

forehead. What a change in a few degrees of latitude, in manners,
customs, and dispositions, between the savage pirates of Borneo and
these amiable islanders !

The plains between the mountains are cultivated as paddy fields :
the soil appears very good, and there is little doubt but that every
kind of fruit would grow if introduced into these islands ; and what a
fitting present it would be to them, if they were to be sent. They
grow radishes, onions, and sweet potatoes, but not more than are
sufficient for their own use. They supplied us with bullocks, pigs,
goats, and fowls, but they seldom kill them for their own use ; their
principal diet being composed of shell fish and vegetables made into
a sort of stew, which is eaten with rice, worked by the hand into
balls. Every man of consequence carries with him a kind of portable
larder, which is a box with a shelf in the middle, and a sliding door.
In this are put cups of Japan, containing the eatables. This Chow
Chow box is carried by a servant, who also takes with him a wicker
basket, containing rice and potatoes for his own consumption.

These islands have no intercourse with any part of the world except
Loo Choo, to which they pay tribute as dependencies, and from whence
they annually receive the necessaries they may require, by a junk.
They had no idea that the continents of Europe or America existed.
They had only heard of China, Loo Choo, and Japan, and they could
hardly credit our assertions when we stated that we had lately gained
a great victory over China. When we gave them a description of
steam vessels, and first-rate men-of-war carrying 120 guns, they
evidently disbelieved us. We were the first white men they had
ever seen ; and ludicrous was the repeated examination of our arms,
which they bared and contrasted with their own. After great per-
suasion a few of the chief mandarins and their suites visited the ship,
which was put in holiday attire upon the occasion. It would be

^HE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 33

impossible to attempt to describe their rapture at the neatness, order,
and regularity which reigned on board. The guns were shotted and
fired for their amusement : they threw up their hands in astonishment,
and gazed on us and on each other with looks of blank amazement.
During the whole of our peregrinations over these islands we never
saw a female, for on our approach to any village a courier was sent
ahead to warn the inhabitants of our arrival, when the women either
shut themselves up or retired to an adjacent village until we had
passed through. The men assisted us in our labours and attended to
our comforts by all the means in their power. Horses were provided
every day, houses for us at night, and good substantial repasts.
Wherever they enter, the natives invariably eat and drink, more, I
believe, from custom than from hunger. On these occasions tea is
the general beverage, the kettle being a large shell, which admirably
answers the purpose. It may be worthy of remark, that on entering
a house, the shoes or sandals are invariably left at the door. Two of
the chiefs were deservedly great favourites with our party ; they were
given the famous names of Chesterfield and Beaufort, the former
from his gentlemanly manners, the latter from the profound know-
ledge he displayed of all rocks, shoals, &c. On the 17th of December,
having completed our survey of Pa-tchu-san, we returned to the ship :
on the 22d we left our anchorage, which was christened Port Provi-
dence, and ran round to Kuchee Bay on the opposite side of the island.
This noble bay was called Port Haddington, in honour of the late first
lord of the Admiralty. On the 27th the first barge, cutter, and gig
left the ship to survey the island Ku-king-san, the nearest port of
which was about twenty miles from Kuchee Bay, alias Port Had-
dington, where we lay at anchor. The boats carried with them
provisions for three weeks, by which time it was supposed that the
survey would be completed. As the formation of this island is similar

34 BORNEO AND

to Pa-tclm-san, it would be but repetition to describe it minutely, but
it is worthy of remark that it is indented with numerous deep bays,
in each of which there is sufficient water for a ship of the line. Many
of these bays have natural breakwaters, created by shoals, with a deep
water passage on either side of them, and which may be easily distin-
guished from the shoals by the deep blue colour of the water.

On the 15th of January, 1844, the surveying party returned,
having been absent twenty days. We were again visited by the
mandarins, who came to bid us farewell : they quitted us with many
expressions of good will, and expressed a wish that we would return
again, and as individuals, I had no doubt of their sincerity.

On the 18th of January we sailed for Ty-ping-san, which is situated
about seventy miles north of Pa-tchu-san. On the following day we
sighted the land, and late in the evening anchored off the coast.
This island is low, compared with the other islands of the group.
The following morning the captain landed and presented a letter of
introduction given him by the mandarins of Pa-tchu-san. The letter
of introduction had the best effects, for we were immediately visited
by the principal mandarins, who informed us that we should be fur-
nished with horses and every thing else that we might require.

It was on a reef to the northward of this island that the Providence,
of twenty guns, was wrecked about fifty years back. Captain
Broughton and the crew arrived safely at Ty-ping-san, but the present
inhabitants, when it was mentioned, either did not or would not
recollect any thing of the circumstances. As a proof of the morality
of these people, and how much crime is held in abhorrence, I have the
following little history to narrate.

During our survey, we fixed a station upon the extremity of a
bleak and desolate point of land running more than a mile into the
sea. There, in a cave formed by a reef on a mass of rock, we dis-

THE INDIAN ARCHIL'ELAGO. 35

covered two skeletons. This would not have so much excited our
suspicion, had it not been from the remarkable locality, as in all the
graves we fell in with the corpses were invariably uncoffined. We
expressed a wish to know why such a spot should have been fixed
upon as a last resting-place, as it was many miles from the nearest
habitation. It was not until after much entreaty that they at length,
very reluctantly, consented to give us the desired explanation, which,
as nearly as I can recollect, was as follows : —

A young girl, who was considered as the belle and pride of the
nearest town, had formed an attachment to a youth who had been
brought up with her, as a playmate, from their earliest years ; and it
was acknowledged by the inhabitants of the town that a more fitting
match could not be made, as the young man was of most graceful mien,
and equally well favoured as his mistress ; but the father of the girl,
who had been all along blind to the natural consequences of their long
intimacy, had other views for his daughter, and had selected a husband
for her whose chief recommendation was his wealth. So far it is
the old story.

To oppose her father's commands was not to be thought of, for filial
obedience is, with this people, one of the most sacred of duties. The
bridal day approached; presents had been exchanged between the
parents of the parties ; and every thing was in a forward state for the
celebration of the nuptials, with all the magnificence befitting the
wealthy condition of the bridegroom. The lovers were in a state of
phrensy, but solaced themselves with stolen interviews. At length the
poor girl, urged by her lover, confessed every thing to her father,
and implored his mercy. He was thunderstruck at this intelligence,
for till that moment he had imagined that his daughter had not a
thought to which he was not privy. The most rigorous discipline
was resorted to — the girl was confined to her chamber, and spies

F 2

36 BORNEO AND

placed to watch every motion. Those to whom she thought she could
trust were suborned by her father, and to him were conveyed all the
letters which she believed to have been safely conveyed to her lover.
His notes being also intercepted, at last each considered the other as
faithless. The poor girl, imagining that her lover had forsaken her,
at last sent to her father, to acquaint him that she had returned to her
duty, and was ready to receive the man whom he had selected for her
husband. They were married: but she deceived herself; as soon as
the ceremony was over, the courage which had supported her gave
way, her former feelings returned stronger than ever, and she hated
herself for her fickleness. Her heart whispered that it was impossible
that one possessing every great and every amiable quality, as did her
lover, could ever have proved faithless, or would have abandoned one
who loved him so dearly. As she sat in the garden and wept, a
slight noise attracted her attention, and she found in her presence her
lover, disguised, who had come to take a last farewell. Explanations
immediately ensued — they found that they had been tricked — their
love and their despair overcame their reason, and they fled. The
father and bridegroom pursued the guilty pair, and after a most
rigorous search, they were discovered. They knew that their fate was
sealed, and they bore up bravely to the last. They were arraigned,
found guilty, and condemned to death ; after which their bodies were
to be removed far from any dwelling-place. The sentence was carried
into effect, and their remains were deposited in the cave in which we
discovered them. Many parents might draw a lesson from this
tragedy, and anybody who feels inclined may write a novel upon it ; it
must not, however, bear the same title as the Chinese one translated
by Governor Davis, which is styled the " Fortunate Union."

In ten days we completed the survey of the island, and sailed for
Batan, where we arrived on the 7th of February. There we remained

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 37

a few days, and then sailed for Hong Kong, having but three days'
provisions on board. We encountered a heavy gale ; but, fortunately,
it was in our favour. On the 9th a junk was reported in sight ; and
in the course of an hour we were sufficiently near to perceive that the
people on board of her were making signals of distress, and cutting
away her masts. We hove to as near to her as we could venture, for
the sea ran high, and lowered a boat, which reached the junk in safety.
They found her to be in a sinking state : a hawser was made fast to
her, with the intention of towing her into Hong Kong, then not fifty
miles distant. We again made sail, towing the junk at a rapid rate ;
but the strain caused her planks to sever, and consequently increased
the rush of water in her hold. The Chinese hailed the ship, and
entreated to be rescued from their perilous condition. She was imme-
diately hauled alongside, and twelve of her crew succeeded in getting
on board of us ; but the hawser gave way, and the junk drifted astern,
with five men still remaining on board. Sail was immediately made,
and in a short time we ran alongside of her, staving in her bulwarks,
for both vessels were rolling heavily. Fortunately her mainmast had
gone by the board ; had it been still standing, and had become locked
in our rigging, we should have been in great peril ourselves. The
remaining five men and a dog gained the ship, and the junk again
went astern, and in three minutes afterwards went to the bottom.
When they saw her sink, the Chinese raised up a cry at their miracu-
lous escape. One poor fellow had his hand shockingly mutilated, it
having been crushed between the sides of the two vessels.

The wind had now much subsided, and we made sail for Hong Kong,
where we arrived on the following day. There we found the Agin-
court, Sir Thomas Cochrane, who was now commander-in-chief, Sir
William Parker having sailed for England. The cutter and two of the
Company's steamers were also here ; and the Minden hospital ship,

38 BORNEO AND

as usual, crowded with the sick and dying. Our first lieutenant,
Mr. "Wade, took this opportunity of leaving the ship, and Mr. Heard
succeeded him.

On the 6th we sailed for Macao, which is too well known to require
any description here. On the 10th we sailed for Manilla, an account
of which I shall reserve for our future visit. On the 1st of April we
again sailed, on a surveying cruise, to the southward. After fixing
the positions of several small islands in the Mendoro Sea, we steered
for Samboangan, a Spanish penal colony, situated at the southern
extremity of Mindanao. On the 8th we arrived there, and took up
our anchorage close to the town.

Samboangan is built on an extensive plain ; most of the houses are
supported on poles ten or twelve feet from the ground. The roofs are
thatched, and the sides covered with palm leaves, ingeniously secured
by strips of bamboo. The fort is well built ; and although a century
old, is in very good preservation. It has a numerous garrison, and is
defended by guns of large calibre. There is also an establishment
of gun-boats, which scour the coast in search of pirates. On each
side, and at the back of the town, are groves of cocoa-nuts, bamboos,
plantains, and other fruit trees, through which narrow paths are cut,
forming delightful shady walks to a stranger, who gazes with astonish-
ment and pleasure upon the variety of delicious fruits, of whose
existence he had no idea. The plain on which the town is built
extends about eight miles inland, when it is bounded by a chain of
mountains, which divides the Spanish territory from that of the war-
like tribes who inhabit the interior.

The plain I have spoken of is covered with small villages, pleasantly
situated among thick groves of trees ; and it is watered by numerous
streams. The whole country around Samboangan abounds in scenery
of the most picturesque description ; and the groups of gaily-dressed

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 39

and joyous natives in no small degree add to the beauty of the
landscape. Horses can be obtained at very moderate charges; but
unfortunately no one has ever thought of establishing an hotel, and
the want of one was much felt. We were, therefore, thrown upon the
hospitality and kindness of the natives, who made us welcome by every
demonstration in their power. Fruit, chocolate, and sweet biscuits,
were the ordinary refreshments, for which the charges made scarcely
repaid the trouble of preparing them.

The church, priests' and governor's houses, are the only respectable
buildings in the colony ; the other houses in the town are very
inferior, being inhabited by liberated exiles from Manilla. We re-
mained here five days, and early on the morning of the 13th ran down
to a watering-place about fifteen miles from the town, and completed
our water.

The same night we sailed for Sooloo; and the next day, when
performing divine service, it being Sunday, the officer of the watch
reported five prahus in sight, full of men, and each armed with a long
gun, pulling towards the ship. It was quite calm at the time, and
our main deck ports were open. No doubt they perceived the daylight
through the ports, and satisfied themselves that we were a man-of-war,
for they soon afterwards altered their course, and made for the shore.
We presumed that they were pirates from the island of Baselan, who,
fancying we were a merchant vessel, had come out with the intention
of attacking us.

At noon on the 16th of April we made the town of Sooloo, the
capital of the island of the same name. It being calm, and the ship
at some distance from the anchorage, the gig was sent a-head to board
one of the three schooners lying in the bay, and hoist a light, as a
guide to the ship ; and a rocket was put into the boat to fire in case
of being attacked by superior numbers. There were but five men in
the gig !

40 BORNEO AND

After two hours' hard pulling, they arrived alongside the largest of
the three vessels. She proved to be the Velocipede, an English
vessel, trading to Sooloo for pearl oysters. The owner of the schooner
soon came from the shore, having been sent off by the sultan of
Sooloo to know the object of our visit. He was accompanied by
several Datus or chiefs, who went back to the town perfectly satisfied
with the explanation given. But the arrival of a man-of-war appeared
to excite the fears of the natives, for gongs were sounding throughout
the night, and lights were flitting to and fro, by the aid of which it
was perceived that there was a strong assemblage of the natives.

The ship anchored on the afternoon of the following day, and the
captain, attended by several of his officers, visited the sultan. We
were received by the prime minister, who informed us that the sultan
was somewhat indisposed, and begged to postpone the interview until
the following day. Leaving the palace, we strolled through the town,
which is partly built in the water; bridges, formed of interlaced
bamboo, were the means of communication between the houses. As
these bridges were some hundred yards in length, the walking was
somewhat dangerous; a slip would have been the cause of a good
ducking and a swim to any unlucky wight, which, I have no doubt,
would have given great satisfaction to the townspeople, who, armed with
spears, krisses, and shields, were watching our motions ; but no such
mishap occurred, and we returned on board before sunset. Next day
the captain and the same party went again on shore, and were received
by the sultan in person. He was dressed in the extreme of Malay
fashion. He was an excessively plain young man, and seemed to be
ill at ease during the whole of the conference. He appeared to be a
mere puppet in the hands of his ferocious chiefs, who had all the con-
versation, without referring to their royal master at any time.

The sultan's dress consisted of a purple satin jacket and green

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 41

velvet trousers, both trimmed with gold and silver lace ; a red sash
confined his trousers at the waist; and in the sash he wore a kris
of the most costly description. He wore diamond buttons on his
jacket, which, being open, exposed his naked chest. But the party
who mostly excited our interest was the heir apparent, a child of four
years old, who was dressed as an adult, even to his miniature kris.
He bids fair to be a handsome man. His laughing face and engaging
manner caused him to be caressed by the whole party, a circumstance
which evidently gave much pleasure to the sultan. We were regaled
with chocolate, sweet cakes, and fruit ; and every attention paid to us
by the chiefs. At our departure the sultan and ministers shook hands
warmly with every one of our party, and we returned on board,
accompanied by Mr. Wyndham, of the Velocipede schooner, who, being
a perfect master of the tongue, had acted as an interpreter on this
occasion.

The Samarang was the first English man-of-war that had called at
Sooloo since the visit of Dalrymple in 1761, when he reinstated on the
throne the sultan (grandfather to the present one), who had been
deposed by his rebellious subjects.

Great Sooloo is about fifty miles in length, and twenty-five in
breadth, being the largest of a group of islands known as the Sooloo
Archipelago. This group of islands is inhabited by a fierce and warlike
race, bearing in their personal appearance a strong resemblance to the
Malays, although the two languages differ materially from each other.
Great Sooloo, the residence of the sultan, is very mountainous. Many
of the mountains are wooded to the summit, while others are covered
with patches of cultivation. These islands are thickly populated ; and
if the islanders do not practise piracy as a profession, they are always
ready to aid, assist, and protect those who do. The town of Sooloo is
well known to be the principal rendezvous of pirates, who, whenever

BORNEO AND

they have made a capture, resort there to dispose of their lawless
booty. The ministers, and even the sultan himself, are not able to
resist the temptation of being able to purchase European goods, and
articles of value, for less than half their real value. If not the stealers,
they are the receivers, and thus they patronise piracy of every descrip-
tion. Governed by their own prince, and independent of any other

SOOLOO VILLAGE

power, the people of Sooloo have most extravagant notions of their own
prowess, and of the strength of their fortifications ; and they ridicule
the idea of any one venturing to interfere with or attack them.

On the 18th of April we sailed from Sooloo, and visited several

THE INDIAN ARCniPELAGO. 43

islands in the Archipelago, on one of which we grounded, but escaped
without sustaining any damage. On the 23rd we anchored off Unsang,
the eastern province of Borneo, where we remained four days survey-
ing the coast. A shooting and fishing party visited the shore daily :
the former killed several wild hogs, and the latter brought every
evening a plentiful supply of fish.

On the 27th of April sailed from Unsang. This day we first served
out our ship-brewed porter, in addition to the usual allowance of
spirits. It continued to be served out nightly, but opinions were very
different about its merits.

For several days after leaving Unsang, we had but little or no wind,
and we were borne away by a strong easterly current, till we were
carried in sight of Celebes, which is high and mountainous, and
covered with dense forests of gigantic trees. On Sunday, the 4th of
May, we arrived off Cape Rivers (Celebes), the position of which was
determined by astronomical observations. It was the intention of the
captain to have passed through the Straits of Macassar, but light
wind, and a strong current from the southward, would not permit us
to gain a mile per day. After experiencing very disagreeable weather
while off the coast, we bore up and made sail for Monado, a Dutch
settlement on one of the north-western promontories of this remark-
ably shaped island. Our passage was any thing but agreeable ;
scarcely a night passed that we were not visited by strong squalls,
accompanied by thunder, lightning, and heavy rain. On Sunday, the
18th, we anchored in forty-eight fathoms off the town of Monado,
within two cables' length of the shore, which shelves very suddenly
into deep water. A kedge was laid out in-shore of the ship, and
kept well taut ; a requisite precaution, as otherwise, if the land breeze
blew off strong, the ship would have dragged her anchor down the
steep beach, and drifted out.

G 2

44 BOKNEO AND

The town of Monado is built on a plain surrounded by mountains,
the highest of which, Klabat, is 6000 feet above the level of the sea.
The houses are well built, and neatly thatched ; they are all detached,
and enclosed in a yard or garden. The roads are excellent, and
reflect great credit upon a Prussian engineer, who undertook the task.
The fort, which is at the water's edge, is small, but strongly built,
and well adapted to resist the attack of any native force, although I
should imagine it could not hold out any time against the well-directed
fire of a frigate's broadside. A party of us enjoyed a pleasant ramble
through the town and suburbs, which are dotted with neat cottages,
where their owners invited us to enter and partake of refreshments.
We went into several, and found them scrupulously neat and
clean, as Dutch houses usually are. The people who entertained us
refused all compensation, and it was with difficulty that we prevailed
upon the black-eyed damsels to accept our silk handkerchiefs by way
of reminiscences. Very few Europeans reside here, although their
half-bred offspring may be seen in every tenth person, and they boast
of the European blood which flows in their veins. Monado abounds
with poultry, fruit, vegetables, and all the necessaries of life. Cocoa
and sugar are cultivated. Stock is easily obtained, and very mode-
rate ; and water is procured from a small river which divides the town.
Boats should enter the river at last quarter flood, and return first
quarter ebb, as the tide falls rapidly ; and at low water the bar at the
entrance is dry. During our stay we surveyed the major portion of
the bay, finding nothing under 150 fathoms of water at one-third of a
mile from the shore.

We found here a Mr. Hart, who had been left at this place in con-
sequence of his precarious state, from a gun-shot wound he had
received on the Coti River (Borneo). Mr. Hart was a volunteer in
the ill-fated expedition undertaken by Mr. Murray, who attempted to

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 45

establish a colony in the Coti River, and who lost his life in an en-
counter with the natives. The vessels employed — a brig and a
schooner — were fitting out at Hong Kong while we were there. We
fell in with the schooner (the Young Queen) the day after we left
Manilla. The captain of her came on board to give us the intelligence
of the failure of the expedition, with the death of its leader. Mis-
fortune appeared to cling to them, for, soon after the schooner left
Coti, the crew of her mutinied, and the mutiny was not put down but
by the death of the ringleader, who was shot by the commander. He
was bound to Hong Kong to deliver himself up for trial for taking the
life of the man, and I hardly need observe that he was fully acquitted.
This gentleman was a brother of Mr. Hart.

On the 26th of May, our observations being completed, we sailed
from Monado ; Mr. Hart, with the captain's permission, taking advan-
tage of this opportunity of reaching Sincapore. The following day
we ran through the Straits of Banca, and steered for Ternate, off
which island we arrived on the following Saturday. On Sunday
morning, before daylight, we struck heavily on a coral reef, but by
dint of great exertion we got off, and floated at six. A boat was
despatched to the Dutch governor of the town to state that it was not
our intention to anchor. The island of Ternate is, I believe, governed
by a sultan, who has sway over several other islands. The Dutch
have a settlement here, and have long been on good terms with the
ruling powers. It is the most important of the Molucca group, as it
produces a vast quantity of cloves, beside every variety of tropical
fruits. It was taken by us in 1810, and restored in 1815. This island,
as far as I could judge, is perfectly round, and about twenty-five miles
in circuit, the land gradually rising to a huge peak in the centre. It
is of volcanic formation. It is well wooded, and abounds with game ;
and on this island the boa constrictor grows to the largest size, being

46 BORNEO AND

often found upwards of thirty feet in length. The Dutch town is
built on the south-east side of the island. The houses appear to be
better constructed than those of Monado, and the whole town better
arranged. There are several forts, two churches, and apparently
about 400 houses. The one occupied by the governor is distinguished
from the others by its size, and superiority of architecture and deco-
rations. We obtained quantities of every description of fruit from
the boats which crowded round the ship : in addition to shaddocks,
pineapples, oranges, bananas, and many other common varieties, we
had the delightful treat of the mangosteins, which grow only in these
latitudes. It is impossible to describe the peculiarly grateful taste of
this cool and refreshing fruit. It is a mixture of the sweet and acid,
blended in the most luscious manner. It is in size somewhat smaller
than an apple, and the skin, which is very thick and bitter, of a dark
plum colour. This when dried is used as a remedy for the dysentery.
The inside, which is nearly white, is divided into four parts, resem-
bling in substance a firm jelly ; and, in my opinion, gives one more
the idea of what nectar was, or ought to be, than any thing else which
enters into the mouth of man. We decided that the Peak of Ternate
was the true Mount Olympus, and that it was there that the gods
were assembled and, in ancient days, ate mangosteins, called nectar by
the Greeks.

The boat which had been sent on shore to the governor at length
returned, and we made sail to the southward, to survey a portion of the
coast of Gilolo (another of the Spice Islands), which was supposed to
be laid down incorrectly in the charts.

On the morning of Monday, the 3rd of June, the ship being off the
coast of Gilolo, the gig with the captain, and the barge with several
officers, left the ship with four days' provisions to survey a portion of
the coast. At 11 a. m. they landed on a reef, running out about a

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 47

cable's length from a small island. About two in the afternoon a
body of natives, armed with spears and krisses, issued with loud yells
from the jungle, and advanced towards them. At the same time a
prahu pulled round a point, and made towards the barge, which was
at anchor about fifty yards from the shore. The captain was at the
time on shore taking observations, but as the natives approached he
retired to the gig and got the arms in readiness. The natives came
within 100 yards of us, and then halted. The captain signed them
to go away: they approached nearer; we gave them a volley, and
they hastily retreated into the jungle.

The barge was now prepared for the expected attack of the prahu,
which by this time had approached within point blank range of the
barge's gun, which was a brass six-pounder. Observing, it is to be
presumed, that the boat was so well-armed, and the men were loading
the gun, the prahu ceased pulling, and hoisted Dutch colours. They
were ordered to pull for the Gilolo shore, which they did ; a rocket
fired at them quickening their speed considerably. At 3 p. m. the ob-
servations being completed, the astronomical instruments were re-em
barked on the barge, and the captain quitted the gig and went into the
barge. Both boats were pulled towards the main land. On the in-
shore side of the small island I have mentioned, we discovered a village
consisting of fifteen or twenty houses. The gig was despatched with
two officers to burn the village, which was done ; the natives who were
in the huts escaping into the jungle. In the mean time, the barge
proceeded towards a large village in search of the prahu. On their
way they fell in with a large canoe, at anchor in one of the creeks.

Taking the canoe in tow, we again took to the oars, and in a short
time perceived the natives hauling the prahu into a creek. A round
of grape quickly decided the matter ; the natives fled, and the prahu
was quietly taken possession of by our crew. Having effected our

48 BORNEO AND

object, we proceeded along the coast with our two prizes in tow. At
sunset, after rifling the boats of arms, flags, and. gongs, we set them on
fire, and made sail to the southward ; the gig, which had rejoined us,
being in company. About midnight we anchored in a small and
lonely bay, — I should say, twenty miles from where the above
occurrences took place. We took our meals, but did not attempt to
repose till after two in the morning, although we were quite tired
after the events of the day before. We then lay down, and composed
ourselves to sleep.

We had not, however, been recumbent long, ere the sounds of gongs
were heard at a distance ; and shortly afterwards the man on the
look-out reported that three prahus were coming into the bay. A
short time sufficed to have every thing in readiness for the expected
conflict.

The foremost of the prahus approached within ten yards of the
barge, lowered her sail, and rounded to. A native, one of the chiefs
we presumed, inquired in broken English if we belonged to a ship.
The captain would not satisfy him on that point, but desired him to
go away.

The other two prahus, having been joined by a third (making four
in all), had now closed within half pistol shot, and lowered their sails.

Seeing that we were completely enclosed, a musket-ball was fired
over the largest prahu. The men in the prahus gave their accustomed
yell, and the whole force advanced towards us.

The six-pounder, loaded with round and grape, was now fired into
the largest prahu ; the cries and confusion were great ; the crew
of the prahu leapt into the water, but few arrived on shore, — they
sunk under the fire of our muskets. The three other prahus then
commenced a spirited fire from their guns and small arms, assisted by
a flight of arrows and spears.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 49

Pulling within twenty yards of them, we plied them alternately
with grape and canister from our six-pounder. The engagement
continued with great vigour for some time, when their fire slackened ;
and shortly afterwards two more of the prahus were deserted by their
crews, who made for the shore; the fourth made off. The three
prahus were taken possession of, towed into deep water, and anchored.
Leaving the gig in charge of them, we went in pursuit of the fourth
prahu, and soon came up with her ; but her crew escaped by running
the boat on shore.

Another prahu now hove in sight, pulling, or rather paddling,
towards us. Leaving our prize, we faced our new antagonist, saluting
her with grape and musquetry, and causing so much havoc, that,
shrieking and yelling, they made for the nearest shore without
returning a single shot. We followed her, firing into her as fast as
possible. On coming up with her we found her aground, with six
dead and one mortally wounded ; the remainder of the crew had saved
themselves by wading to the shore. After getting this prahu afloat,
we brought the other prahu, which we had just before captured
(No. 4.), alongside. This boat was crowded with dead and dying.
Among the latter was a female child, apparently about eight months
old, in a state of nudity. The poor little creature's left arm was
nearly severed from its body by a grape shot. She was removed into
the boat, where the rest of the wounded were placed, with as much
care as possible. A low moaning sound escaped from her lips, her
eyes were glazed, and she evidently was fast dying : it would have
been a mercy to have put an end to her sufferings. The dead were
then thrown overboard, and the prahu set on fire; the last prahu,
containing the wounded, was left to her fate.

It was now daylight, and on looking around we perceived five
more prahus off a point between the gig and ourselves in the barge

50 BOKNEO AND

and several others pulling in from seaward. We gave way for the
five prahus, which were drawn up in a line ready to receive us.
Notwithstanding their fire, assisted by their spears and other missiles,
we pulled within fifteen yards of the outermost prahu of the five, and
discharged our gun, accompanied by a volley of musquetry. The other
prahus now closed and poured in a heavy fire ; but, although the barge
was struck, not one of our men was injured. The repeated fire from
the boats soon caused the people in the prahus to make for the shore
through the water, when many of them fell from our musquetry. It
was now about six o'clock in the morning, our last charge of canister
shot was in the gun, the last rocket in the tube, and nearly all the
percussion caps expended. The barge was pulled closer to the nearest
prahu to give more effect to the discharge, and the captain was in the
stern of the barge with the rocket tube in hand, when one of the
prahus on shore fired her swivel; the ball struck the captain, and
knocked him overboard. He was hauled in, and we found that he
had received a severe wound in the groin, wihich was dressed by the
surgeon.

Lieutenant Baugh now took the command, and the gun was dis-
charged with good effect, and all the people on board of the prahus,
who were able to escape, made for the shore. One of our marines
was wounded in the neck with an arrow, and, with the exception of
the captain, no other casualty took place.

The fight would have been continued with the round shot still left
in the barge, but the assistant surgeon was anxious that the captain
should return to the ship and have the ball extracted. The barge
therefore pulled for the ship, whose royals were just visible above the
horizon. The pirates, finding that we were retreating, returned to
their prahus and fired their guns at us, but without effect.

We arrived on board about 9 a.m., and the ship's head was put

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 51

towards the scene of action, while the barge and two cutters were de-
spatched in search of the gig, of whose safety we had great doubts.
About 11*30, a.m., the second cutter, being in advance, discovered a
sail in shore, and which, by the aid of our telescopes, we made out to
be the gig. When we closed with her, and found that all was right
we were greatly relieved. We heard from Mr. Hooper, the purser,
who was in her, that after waiting in vain for the barge's return, he
set fire to the prahus. In one of them he found a woman and child
alive, whom he landed at the nearest point. He then pulled in the
direction we had gone, being guided by the sound of our guns. On
his arrival in the bay we were not in sight, and perceiving several
prahus with flags flying and gongs beating, he naturally concluded
that we had been overpowered, and he was making the best of his way
towards the ship. The boats continued pulling towards the shore,
leaving the gig to return to the ship and ease the minds of the ship's
company respecting her safety.

On our arrival in the bay with the barge and cutters, we found that
the prahus had hauled into a creek, on the banks of which was a
masked battery, which opened a spirited fire upon us as soon as we
came within range. After an hour's cannonading on both sides we
were joined by the gig, with orders for us not to land, but to return to
the ship at sunset. This order was not received with pleasure, as we
hoped to have a chance of punishing the fellows a little more. We
pulled a short distance along the coast, and entered another bay,
in which we destroyed two prahus; after which we returned to the
ship. Calms, and a strong current setting to the northward, detained
the ship near the scene of action for several days. We at length
passed through the straits of Patientia, but did not get the breeze until
we sighted the Isle of Bouro. Passing through the Bonta passage,

H 2

52 BORNEO ANO

straits of Salayer, and Java sea, we arrived at Sincapore on the 28th
of June.

Here we found the Harlequin, which had had a brush with the
pirates on the coast of Sumatra. The Harlequin, Wanderer, and
Diana were sent to the villages of Micedo and Batta, to demand the
murderers of an English captain. On the rajah refusing to deliver
them up, the vessels opened their fire and burnt the villages. The
Harlequin lost two men killed and five wounded ; among the latter
was Lieutenant Chads, whose arm was nearly severed by a Malay kris.
While here the Superb arrived from Hong Kong on her way to
England ; the Driver, with Sir Henry Pottinger on board ; and the
Cambrian, Commodore Chads. Also the Iris from England, and the
Dido from Hong Kong, which latter vessel sailed for Sarawak.

I may as well here remark, that the Dutch made a formal com-
plaint against our captain for having attacked their prahus, which
they asserted were not pirates, but employed by them against the
pirates. It is but fair to give the arguments that were used against us,
particularly as the authorities at Sincapore appeared to think that we
were to blame. They said, you were in boats, and you touched at
Gillolo ; the natives, accustomed to be taken off by the Illanoan pirates,
were naturally jealous and suspicious, seeing no vessel. They came
alone, armed, to ascertain who you were. At 100 yards they stopped;
you signalled them to go away, and they advanced nearer to you,
but they committed no act of hostility. You fired a volley at them,
and they retreated. Here the aggression was on your side.

At the same time, you say, a war prahu pulled round the point,
and approached to within range ; when the prahu was close to you
she ceased paddling, and hoisted Dutch colours. You desired it to
pull for the Gillolo shore, which it did. There was no aggression
in this instance, and nothing piratical in the conduct of the prahu.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 53

After she had obeyed your order to pull to the Gillolo shore, you
wantonly fired a Congreve rocket at her ; your conduct in this
instance being much more like that of a pirate than hers. In the
afternoon you pull along the Gillolo shore, and you discover a village ;
you send your boat ashore and set fire to it. Why so ? You state that
you were attacked by Illanoan pirates, who reside at Tampassook, some
hundred miles from Gillolo, and you then burn the village of the
people of Gillolo, and that without the least aggression on their part.
Is it surprising that you should be supposed to be pirates after
such wanton outrage ? To proceed : you state that you then go in
search of the prahu which you ordered away, and that on your way
you captured a large canoe, which you take in tow, and afterwards
perceive the pirates hauling their vessel into a creek. You attack
them, and they run away, leaving the prahu in your possession, and,
as usual, after rifling the prahu and canoe, you set them on fire. Up
to this point there has been nothing but aggression on your part ; and
it is not, therefore, surprising that you were supposed to be pirates,
and that the communication was made along the coast, and the vessels
employed against the pirates were summoned for its protection. Again,
the prahus came out and surrounded you ; they did not fire at you,
but hailed you in English, requesting to know if you belonged to a
ship. Now, if any thing could prove that they were not pirate vessels,
it was their doing this ; and had you replied, they would have explained
to you what their employment was : but you think proper to give no
answer to this simple question, order them to go away, and then
fire a loaded musket into them, which brings on the conflict
which you so much desired. That these observations were true, it
must be admitted, and the complaint of the Dutch, with the hoisting of
the Dutch flag, gave great weight to them : however, pirates or no
pirates, the Admiralty Court, on our arrival in England, considered

BORNEO AND

them to have been such ; and, as will be seen by the extract from the
" Times" below, awarded head money to the amount of about 10,000/.
to the captain and crew of the Samarang, and for his wound received,
our captain obtained a pension of (I believe) £250 a year.*

"ADMIRALTY COURT.

(Before Dr. Lushington.')
" ILLANOAN PIRATES. BOUNTY.

" In this case a petition was presented by Sir Edward Belcher, the captain, and the
rest of the officers and crew of Her Majesty's ship-of-war Samarang, setting forth that
on the 3d of June, 1844, the Samarang being then engaged in surveying duties, and
near the island of Gillolo, on her passage towards the Straits of Patientia, Sir E. Belcher,
with two officers and four men, quitted her in the gig, accompanied by the second barge,
armed with a brass six-pounder gun and small arms, and manned with twenty officers
and men. "While engaged on the extreme side of a reef, extending from a small islet,
in taking astronomical observations, they were disturbed by an extraordinary yell pro-
ceeding from about forty men of colour, who were advancing from the islet along both

* The account of this transaction is taken from the private log of one of the officers
who was present in the barge during the whole time. I was not there myself. In his
narrative it will be observed that he makes no mention of the natives who came down
upon them having thrown spears at them, although in the extract from the " Times "
it is so stated. It would appear also that there was some mistake as to the number of
men on board of the prahus and the number killed. A war prahu generally contains
from fifty to eighty men. Some are smaller, and occasionally they are larger, but not
often. Capt. Keppell states fifty men to be the usual number in his work ; and, in his con-
flict with the pirates, estimates the force accordingly. Now the first day there was one
war prahu, which ran up a creek ; and, on being fired at, the crew deserted her. On the
second day there were five prahus, all captured. On the third day the five prahus
engaged were not captured, the boat returning to the ship after the captain was
wounded ; so that in all it appears that there were nine prahus ; and, allowing eighty
men to each, the force would only amount to 720 men, or about one half of the number
stated, viz. 1330. How the killed, amounting to 350, or about half the number, were
arrived at and estimated, it is impossible to say ; but in the narrative of the officer,
which I have given, the major portion of the crews deserted the prahus and got on
shore.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 55

sides of the reef, with the evident intention of surrounding Sir E. Belcher and his party,
on nearing whom they commenced hurling spears and arrows, though without effect.
They were soon repulsed and put to flight hy musketry. In the course of the day
several large prahus made their appearance, manned by large crews of Malay pirates,
and severe conflicts took place between the respective parties, in one of which a ball
from the leading prahu struck Sir E. Belcher on the thigh, and knocked him overboard,
severely and dangerously wounding him ; but, having been lifted out of the water, and
dragged into the barge, he shortly after resumed the command, and ultimately succeeded
in destroying all the prahus.

" Dr. Addams applied to the Court to award the bounties specified in the 6th of
George IV. c. 49. for the capture and destruction of piratical ships and vessels. He
submitted that the affidavits produced clearly showed the character of the persons on
board the prahus, and that not less than 1,330 persons were alive on board the several
prahus at the beginning of the attack, 350 of whom were killed.

" The Queen's Advocate, on behalf of the Crown, admitted that a very meritorious
service had been performed, and made no opposition to the application.

" The Court pronounced for the usual bounties on the number of pirates stated."

Our captain having now nearly recovered from the wound which he
had received, we found that our destination was Borneo ; but previous
to the ship getting under weigh, the boats were ordered to be manned
and armed, to proceed on an excursion to Romania Point, distant
about thirty miles from Sincapore. It was expected that we might
there fall in with some of the piratical vessels which so completely
infest the Indian Archipelago ; and if so, we trusted to give them a
lesson which might for a time put a check to their nefarious and cruel
system of plunder and rapine. I found that my name was down in
the list of the party selected for the expedition. Bidding, therefore, a
temporary adieu to Sincapore, on the 2d of August we set off on the
expedition, with a force consisting of two barges, one cutter, and a
gun-boat belonging to the merchants of Sincapore, which had been
expressly built to resist any attacks of these bold assailants.

Although the real object of the expedition was, as I have above
stated, to fall in with the pirates, our ostensible one was to survev the

56 BORNEO AND

islands off the Point Romania, which is the most unfrequented part of
the Malay peninsula. We arrived there late at night, as ignorant
whether the pirates were there, as the pirates would have been of our
arrival. We had, therefore, nothing to do but to anchor close under
the land, and keep a sharp look-out, in case of being the attacked
instead of the attacking party. As we were not indifferently provided
with the creature comforts which Sincapore afforded, we amused our-
selves pretty well ; but if we occasionally opened our mouths, we took
good care not to shut our eyes, and were constantly on the alert.
There is a far from pleasant feeling attached to lying in an open boat,
in a night as dark as pitch, expecting a momentary attack from an
insidious enemy, and wholly in a state of uncertainty as to from what
quarter it may be made, or as to what odds you may be exposed.
Under these circumstances, we remained in watching and silence
during a night which appeared interminably long ; and daylight was
gladly welcomed by the whole party ; and when it arrived we found
ourselves anchored among a crowd of small islands, which were
covered from the beach to their summits with the most luxuriant
foliage. Within shore of us was a beautiful little sandy bay ; while
the whole coast, as far as the eye could reach, was one extended
jungle, by all accounts extending many hundred miles inland, and
infested with tigers and other beasts of prey. As for pirates, we saw
nothing of them, or any signs of their having been in that quarter ;
either they were away on some distant marauding party, or, having
received intelligence of our approach and force, had considered us too
strong to be opposed, and had kept out of the way. Our warlike
expedition, therefore, was soon changed into a sort of pic-nic party —
we amused ourselves with bathing, turning of turtle, shooting, and
eating the wild pine-apples which grew on all the islands. We
remained there for three days, during which nothing occurred worth

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 57

narrating, unless it is an instance of the thoughtless and reckless
conduct of midshipmen. We were pulling leisurely along the coast in
one of the boats, when we perceived a very large Bengal tiger taking
an evening stroll, and who, by the motion of his tail, was evidently in
a state of much self-satisfaction. We winded the boat's head towards
him, and were preparing to give him a round of grape from the gun,
but before we could get the gun well pointed, he retreated majestically
into the jungle, which was in the bight of a small bay, and cut off from
the main jungle by some large rocks. Three of our party immediately
declared that they would have a tiger-hunt, and bring back his skin
as a trophy. They landed, two of them having each a ship's musket,
a very uncertain weapon, as they are at present provided, for, whether
from damp or careless manufacture, the percussion caps will not often
go off; and the third armed with nothing but a knife. On their land-
ing, they took their position on the rocks, and were delighted to find
that the tiger could not retreat to the main jungle without passing
them. They had not long taken up their position before they heard the
crackling of the wood in the jungle, announcing the tiger's approach
towards them. They fixed their bayonets and cocked their locks ; the
young gentleman with the knife was also prepared ; but the noise in
the jungle ceased. Whether it was that the tiger was afraid to attack
three at the same time, or was making a circuit for a more convenient
spring upon them, certain it is that our three young gentlemen either
became tired of waiting for him, or had thought better of their mad
attempt. One proposed returning to the boat, the others assented ;
and after denouncing the tiger as a coward, and wholly unworthy of
the name of a royal tiger, they commenced their retreat as the dark
set in ; gradually their pace quickened, in two minutes they were in a
hard trot ; at last the panic took them all, and by the time they arrived
at the boats they could not speak from want of breath, so hurried had

58 BORNEO AND

been their retreat. We sincerely congratulated them upon their
arrival safe and sound, and having escaped without loss of life and
limb from a very mad adventure. I subsequently related this incident
to an old Indian sportsman, who told me that my messmates had had
a most fortunate escape, as they would have had little or no chance
had the tiger made his spring, which he certainly would have done
had they remained much longer, and that one of them at least must
have been sacrificed. On the morning of the fourth day, the ship,
having made sail from Sincapore, hove in sight, and picked us up.
The boats were hoisted in, and we steered for Borneo, to complete
some surveys on the north-east coast.

The island of Borneo, throughout the whole of the N.E. coast, is,
with few exceptions, a low land, covered with jungle; but so beauti-
fully verdant does it appear when viewed from some distance, that you
would be led to suppose that it was widely cultivated. This idea is,
however, soon dispelled on a near approach, when you discover the
rich groups of acacias, palms, pandani, and numerous trees as yet
unknown, so luxuriant in themselves, but forming one entangled mass,
alike impenetrable to European or native. What, in the distant view,
we fancied a verdant meadow, where we might relax from our long
confinement, and amuse ourselves with recreation, now proved to be
ranges of long damp grass, interspersed with swamps, and infested
with venomous snakes. In short, I never yet was on a coast which,
on arriving on it, promised so much, and, on landing, caused such a
series of disappointments to those who love to ramble about, than the
coast of Borneo. To the naturalist, however, confined as he is to the
shelving beach, there is ample food for employment and research : the
island abounds in novel objects of natural history, both in the animal
and vegetable kingdom.

Nothing certain is as yet ascertained relative to the interior of this

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 59

immense island, if island it can with propriety be called. From the
accounts of the natives (which, however, must be received with due
caution), it consists of a large plain, devoid of jungle, and inhabited
by cannibals. Two adventurous Dutchmen have latterly set off from
Pontiana, the Dutch settlement, on an excursion into the interior ;
but it is doubtful if they succeed, where so many others have already
failed.

Borneo has but small elevation for so large an island; in the
immediate vicinity of Keeney Ballu the country is hilly, but by far the
greatest portion of Borneo is but a few feet above the level of the sea.
Keeney Ballu is the highest mountain in the island, — its height is
estimated at 14,000 feet or more, — and it can be seen at 150 miles
distant on a very clear day. It is very singular that there should be
a mountain of so great a height rising from an island of otherwise low
land. Near Sarawak there is mountainous country, where live the
Dyaks, previously described, and a mountain of the name of Santa-
bong, which has already been made mention of. On the S. E. coast of
the island we saw no elevation of land of any consequence. I have
given a drawing of the mountain of Keeney Ballu, distant forty miles.
At this distance, with the aid of the glass, you may perceive the
numerous cascades which fall from its summit in every direction. The
Dyaks of Borneo imagine that a lake exists at the top of this mountain,
and that it is to be their receptacle after death.

As the island is in most parts a flat and marshy jungle, extending
about 200 miles inland, and the rivers are not rapid, although
numerous, it would be presumed, especially as the dews of the night
are very heavy, that the island would be fatal to Europeans. Such,
however, proved not to be the case. During our repeated visits to
the island (a period of nearly two years), we only lost one man, by a

i 2

60 BORNEO AND

most imprudent exposure to the night air, sleeping in an open boat,
without the awning being spread, and exposed to a very heavy dew.

Borneo abounds with rivers, some of them very fine, running inland
for one or two hundred miles. Most of these rivers have been taken
possession of and colonised by the various tribes indigenous to the
neighbouring isles and continent, to wit, Arabs, Malays, Illanoans,
Bughis, the natives of Celebes, Chinese, &c. The reason for this
emigration to Borneo is the protection afforded by these rivers ; for as
all these tribes live entirely by piracy, they here find a safe retreat for
themselves and their vessels. How long ago their settlements may
have been first made, or what opposition they may have received from
the Dyak aborigines, it is impossible to say ; but as most of the head
men in Borneo claim to be of Arab descent, it may be presumed that
many years must have elapsed since the aboriginal tribes of Dyaks and
Dusums were dispossessed of the rivers, and driven into the interior.
Of these people I shall speak hereafter ; there is no doubt but that
they were the original inhabitants of the whole island, and that the
various tribes I have mentioned are but colonists for piratical purposes.

These piratical hordes generally infest the high lands upon the
shores of these rivers, which are difficult of navigation ; and, moreover,
from their numerous branches, their resorts are not very easily dis-
covered. These towns are fortified with stockades, guns of various
calibre, and the passage up the river defended by booms or piles of
timber, which admit of but one narrow passage for their prahus.

It must be understood that these piratical hordes are not only
independent of each other, but often at war, in consequence of their
spoliations. Some of their chiefs have taken upon them the titles of
princes ; and one has assumed, as is well known, that of Sultan of
Borneo, another of Sooloo, — how far entitled to such a rank it would
be difficult to say ; but this is certain, that there must be a beginning

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 61

to every dynasty ; and if we trace back far into history, we shall find,
both at home and abroad, that most dynasties have had their origin
in freebooting on a grand scale, — even the House of Hapsburg itself
is derived from no better an origin ; and the Sultan of Borneo,
whoever he may be, and if a Sultan does exist, some 800 years hence
will, by the antiquity of his title, prove his high descent, as the German
emperor now does his own.

On the 20th of August we came to an anchor at the mouth of the
Sarawak river, where we remained three weeks completing some very
important surveys. When our work was done, the captain, accom-
panied by several officers, went up the river.

On our arrival at Kuchin, we found the Dido corvette, commanded
by Captain Keppell, lying abreast of the town. We also found that
Kuchin was at present nearly deserted, as the Dido's boats, with the
Phlegethon steamer, and all the native war prahus which could be
mustered, had proceeded with Mr. Brooke to the Sakarron, a neigh-
bouring river, to punish some of the mixed tribes who had lately been
detected in an act of flagrant piracy. On the change of the tide we
started for the Sakarron, with the hope of gaining the Dido's boats,
and rendering them some assistance. Our men exerted themselves to
the utmost ; but it requires time to pull eighty miles ; and I will
therefore, en voyage, explain more fully the cause and the object of the
expedition.

The river Sakarron, with its tributaries, the Linga and Serebis,
have been for a long while in the possession of a proverbial piratical
tribe of Malays, governed by chiefs, who are of Arab descent, and
much better acquainted with the art of war than those lawless com-
munions are in general. Their towers and fastnesses on the banks of
their rivers they have contrived to fortify in a very superior manner.
Living wholly by the proceeds of their piratical excursions, and,

62 BORNEO AND

aware of the efforts made by the European rajah, Mr. Brooke, to put
it down, they resolved to take the first opportunity which might offer
to show their hostility and contempt to their new-raised enemy. The
occasion soon presented itself. Seven of the Kuchin Malays, having
ventured in a canoe up the Sakarron river, were all murdered, and
their heads cut off, and kept, as usual, as trophies ; and the intelli-
gence of this outrage communicated by them to Mr. Brooke, with
defiance.

Captain Keppell, of the Dido, had just arrived at Sarawak when
this news was brought to Mr. Brooke. Captain Keppell had been
sent by Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane to the island on purpose to
look out for pirates, and to destroy them and their nests wherever he
could find them. He therefore gladly offered his assistance to Mr.
Brooke to punish these murderous wretches ; and the Phlegethon
steamer coming in while they were preparing for the expedition, was,
of course, added to the force employed. This fortunate accession of
strength, assisted by all the Malay war boats which Mr. Brooke could
muster, enabled them to give an effectual check to a band of pirates,
sd*numerous and so warlike as to have become most formidable. To
proceed : —

That night we anchored with the last of the flood at the entrance of
the Sakarron. We had great fear, from the intelligence we had
received from time to time, from boats we fell in with on our passage,
that we should arrive too late to be partakers of the affray ; and so it
proved, for the next morning, while proceeding higher up the river,
we perceived a large force of native boats coming down with the ebb,
and all of them filled to the gunwale with plunder.

The Malay and Dyak canoes are made out of a hollowed tree, or, as
they are termed in many ports of India, " dug-outs." They are long
and narrow, and are capable of being propelled with great swiftness.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

Although very easy to capsize, they are constantly loaded till so deep
that at the least inclination the water pours over the gunwale, and one

NATIVE BOAT — BORNEO.

man is usually employed baling with a scoop made out of a banana
leaf. Custom, however, makes them so used to keep the equilibrium,
that you often see the Dyaks, whose canoes are similar to the Malays',
standing upright and propelling them with their spears.

The Malay war-boat, or prahu, is built of timber at the lower part,
the upper is of bamboo, rattan, and kedgang (the dried leaf of the
Nepa palm). Outside the bends, about a foot from the water line,
runs a strong gallery, in which the rowers sit cross-legged. At the
after-part of the boat is a cabin for the chief who commands, and the
whole of the vessel is surmounted by a strong flat roof, upon which
they fight, their principal weapons being the kris and spear, both of
which, to be used with effect, require elbow-room.

The Dyak war-boat is a long built canoe, more substantially con-
structed than the prahu of the Malays, and sufficiently capacious to

BORNEO AND

hold from seventy to eighty men. This also has a roof to fight from.
They are generally painted, and the stern ornamented with feathers.

Both descriptions of war-boats are remarkably swift, notwithstanding
such apparent top- weight. To proceed : —

^^W3JI7^WM^W^^.

DYAK WAR PRAHO

We hove to, to speak to those on board of the canoes, and were
informed by them that the pirates had sustained a severe defeat, and
that the European force was about to descend the river on their return
to Kuchin. As a proof of the victory having been gained, they pro-
duced several heads which had been taken in the fight.

We proceeded about six miles further up the river, when we dis-
covered the European boats and crews lying at anchor abreast of the
smoking ruins of what had been a Malay town. Here we learnt that
the pirates had been completely routed, after a desperate resistance,
that four large towns had been burnt, and seventy-five brass guns of
the country, called leilas, had been captured. The victory, however,
had not been gained without loss on our side, and had the pirates been
better prepared, we must have suffered much more. Several of the

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 65

people of Kuchin had been killed, and of Europeans we had to lament
the loss of Mr. Wade, first lieutenant of the Dido, and formerly of the
Samarang, and Mr. Stewart, one of the residents at Kuchin ; the latter
gentleman lost his life by an excess of zeal which quite overcame all
prudence. Mr. Wade had landed with his men after an attack and
capture of a fort, and when in advance received a bullet in the heart.
He fell instantly dead ; his body was recovered by his shipmates, and
borne to the boat, and during a temporary cessation of hostilities was
conveyed to the river. His loss was much deplored by his shipmates
in both vessels, by whom he was respected as an officer, and beloved
as a friend.

Mr. Stewart, pulling in advance in a small canoe, with some of the
natives belonging to Kuchin, was suddenly pounced upon by three or
four of the enemy's prahus full of men. They ran down the canoe,
and thus were Mr. Stewart and his companions at their mercy. Mercy !
— a wrong term to use when speaking of those who never show any.
They were all krissed, to the number of seventeen, in sight of their
companions in the other boats, who were too far behind to arrive in
time to render them any assistance, although it hardly need be said
that every effort was made. The last that was seen of poor Stewart
was his body being carried by one of the Dyaks into the jungle by
the side of the river, and the fellow was so anxious to obtain the much-
valued trophy of a white man's head, that, as he bore it along, he
kept his knife sawing at the head to sever it from the body. Indeed,
so much do these people value a white man's head, that they will
build a separate room on purpose to contain it.

Whilst lying at this place, riding to a strong flood tide, a canoe
floated past us, in which we could discern two dead bodies ; they were
both dressed as Malays, and the garments were good. Over the bows
of the canoe there hung a handsomely ornamented kris. We tried to

66 BORNEO AND

hook the canoe with the boat-hook, but the strength of the tide was so
great that we could not succeed in securing it, and it floated away
with the stream. "We presumed that they were the bodies of some of
the Malays killed in the recent conflict, who probably inhabited a
higher portion of the river, and that they had been put into the canoe
by their friends to be carried home, and had been swept away by the
tide from not having been securely fastened, for nothing would have
induced the enemy thus to make us a present of two heads.

"We weighed, in company with the steamer and boats, on the same
evening, and returned to Kuchin, where we arrived on the following
day. The men-of-war boats having been towed by the steamer, we
arrived some time before the native prahus belonging to the river,
which had accompanied us. On the following day they arrived, and
the scene was novel and interesting. They all rounded the point
together, dressed out with flags of all descriptions, beating their gongs
and tom-toms, and firing blank cartridges from their " Leilas."
Highly elated with their victory, and with the plunder which had
accompanied it, they celebrated it by all getting excessively drunk
that night upon shamsoo.

We remained at Kuchin for three days, enjoying Mr. Brooke's
hospitality ; and during that time it was proposed and arranged that
we should pay a visit to the river Loondoo, the residence of a very
remarkable tribe of Dyaks under Mr. Brooke's authority; but not
being able to fix the exact period for the visit, on that night we
returned to the ship.

We had not been much more than twenty-four hours on board,
when the captain, who had been away, returned at midnight ; and, at
this unusual hour, ordered all the boats, manned and armed, to be
piped away immediately. We were informed that the river Sakarron
was again our destination; and at four o'clock in the morning we

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 67

started, with fourteen days' provisions, and armed to the teeth, to join
the Dido's boats at the mouth of the river Morotabis, from thence to
be towed with them by the steamer to our destination. The cause of
this new expedition was the intelligence that the Arab chief, Serib
Saib, who had escaped during the late conflict, had returned to the
Sakarron to collect together and re-organize his piratical subjects.
We soon arrived at the same spot which we had before visited
when the town had been burnt down ; but the expedition proved
to be one of little interest. Notwithstanding his threats, Serib
Saib's confidence gave way at the approach of our force, and he
made a precipitate retreat up the river, accompanied by four or five
hundred of his warriors. Nevertheless, we continued to force our
way up the river, with the expectation that, when fairly at bay, he
would make a stand. Our advance was made known to the enemy by
fires lighted on the different hills abreast of the boats. This speedy
mode of communication is adopted by all the natives in this part of
the world. Determined not to abandon the pursuit while a chance
remained, we followed the redoubtable Serib Saib for eighty miles up
the river, which in some parts was too narrow for our boats' crews to
make use of their oars ; but all obstacles were overcome in the ardour
of the chase.

To impede our progress, large trees had been felled so as to fall
across the river where it was narrow ; but these were removed, and
we forced our way on. At last the river, as we approached the
source, became little wider than a ditch, the barges grounded, and
could proceed no farther ; the gigs only could float, and we continued,
till, after forty-eight hours of severe labour, we found ourselves at the
head of the river ; and we also discovered that Serib Saib had escaped,
having with his whole force landed, and made his way through the
jungle into the interior, leaving at our disposal the forty war canoes

K 2

68 BORNEO AND

which had carried him and his men. To follow him was impossible ;
so we were obliged to content ourselves with the capture of the war
canoes, which were all that we had to show for our exertions. Dis-
appointed, and hungry withal, we were not sorry to find ourselves
once more with our heads down the river.

I must not omit, however, to narrate a little trick played upon our
gallant captain. I have stated that the river was so narrow near its
source that we could not use the oars, and the gigs, which continued
the pursuit, had to be hauled through the bushes by the boat-hooks.
Returning to where the larger boats had been left aground, our bow-
man, who was employed shooting the gig along by such aid as the
branches of the trees, or the tendrils which hung to them, afforded
him, stuck his boat-hook into what appeared to be a suspended ball
of moss ; but he> soon discovered that it was something more, as it
was a nest of hornets, which sallied out in great numbers, and resented
the insult to their domicile by attacking the bowman first, as the
principal aggressor, and us afterwards, as parties concerned. Now the
sting of a hornet is no joke ; we covered our faces with our handker-
chiefs, or any thing we could find, and made a hasty retreat from the
spot, pushing the gig down the stream, till we were clear of their
attacks. In the hurry of our escape we left the boat-hook hanging
in the hornet's nest, and not feeling at all inclined to go back for it,
we hailed the captain's gig, which was following us, and requested
very humbly that they would be pleased to recover our boat-hook for
us, as we could not well re-ascend the stream from the want of it.
As we did not mention that it was so peculiarly situated, the captain
saw no objection, and as they came to where it hung, his bow-man
caught hold of the staff, and wrested it from its position ; but this
time such force was used that the tendril gave way, and the nest itself
fell down into the boat, and the irritated insects poured out their

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 69

whole force to revenge this second aggression. The insects after all
appeared to have a knowledge of the service, for they served out their
stings in the same proportion as the prize-money is divided: the
captain came in for his full share.

Returning rather in a bad humour at having had so long a pull for
nothing, we anchored off a fortified Malay town, which went by the
name of Bintang, and which had been brought to terms by Captain
Keppell on a previous expedition up the river. The people had con-
sequently remained neutral, although it was well known that they
were not to be trusted, and that, had we been defeated above and
beaten back, they would, in all probability, have attacked us in the
rear. As the evening closed in, by way of astonishing the natives, and
giving them some idea of our perfect equipment, the boats were directed
to give a feu-de-joie. Some fifteen guns, with rockets, port-fires, blue
lights, supported by a well-sustained roulade of musketry, had a very
warlike effect ; and, no doubt, gave the natives an impression of our
superiority in the use of fire-arms. At the conclusion, Captain Keppell,
who was always ready for fun, gave out the order that all hands were
to join in " God save the Queen," taking the time from him. A dead
silence was immediately produced, waiting for him to lead off, which
he did ; but, to our great amusement, he, by mistake, commenced with
" Rule Britannia ; " and this, being more to the seamen's taste, cer-
tainly, as far as lungs were concerned, was done most ample justice to.

The saying is, " No song no supper ; " of course it must be presumed
that a song deserves a supper. It proved so in this instance ; for just
as the chorus was hushed, the Sultan of Bintang, as he styles himself,
sent off to the head boat (the one I happened to be in) a superb
supper for seven people, consisting of seven bronze trays, each tray
containing about a dozen small plates, in which were many varieties
of flesh and fowl cooked in a very superior manner. To each tray was

70 BOKNEO AND

a spoon, made of the yellow leaf of some tree unknown ; but, as speci-
mens of primitive elegance and utility combined, they were matchless.
We had some doubts, from our knowledge of the treachery of the
Malays, whether we should fall to upon these appetising viands, as
there was no saying but that they might be poisoned. Mr. Brooke,
however, who, although not the commandant, was the mentor of the
party, explained that he invariably observed one rule when treating
and dealing with these people, — which was, never to exhibit any un-
worthy suspicion of them, as, by so doing, they became convinced of
our own integrity and honour. That this confidence might have, in
many instances, proved dangerous, unless adopted with great caution,
must be admitted ; but in our relations with the people on the rivers
of Borneo it was of great service. The Malays are so very suspicious
themselves, that nothing but confidence on your part will remove the
feeling ; and, in treating with Malays, this is the first object to be
obtained. The remarks of Mr. Brooke, which were not a little as-
sisted by the tempting nature of the viands, and no small degree of
hunger, had the effect, and the trays were all cleared out in
consequence.

While I was in this river I was capsized by a bore. This, I must
explain to my non-nautical readers, is a huge rolling wave, which is as
upright as a wall, and travels almost as fast as a locomotive. It is
occasioned by the flood tide pouring in and overcoming the feeders
to the river, forcing them back to their source. On this occasion I
was pulling down the river in a small gig, following the other boats,
which had turned up another branch of it, when I perceived it
rapidly advancing, and making a noise not unlike the animal of the
same name, only a great deal louder. Had I been steering a straight
course down the river I should have faced it, and probably have got
off with the boat half full of water ; but I calculated upon reaching the

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 71

point and entering the branch of the river before its arrival. But I
had not calculated upon its speed, and a strong eddy current at the
point was wicked enough to draw our boat broadside to the middle of
the stream.

The wall of water rushed on us, turned us over and over ; but for-
tunately by its force it also threw us all, with the gig, upon the point.
It did not, however, throw us our oars, which were performing a
pas de quatre in a whirlpool close to us. This was a narrow escape,
as, had we remained in the agitated waters, the alligators would soon
have dragged us under. For two minutes the river was in a state of
ebullition, but gradually subsided. We then launched the boat,
regained our oars, and proceeded to join our comrades. Thankful as
we were for our lives having been preserved, still as we were wet
through and had lost all our provisions and necessaries, we were com-
pelled to admit that it was a very great bore.

Shortly after our leaving this river a fatal accident happened to one
of our best men. The wind was blowing a heavy gale from the west-
ward, accompanied by thunder and lightning, such as is only to be
seen and heard on the coast of Borneo. The carpenters were on shore
felling trees for masts and yards, and as we were anchored some dis-
tance from the shore a tent was pitched for their accommodation. They
had not been in the tent long when a large iron-wood tree was struck
by lightning, and fell, burying one of the carpenters, Miller by name, in
the sand underneath it. He was extricated with great difficulty ; but
before any surgical assistance could be rendered him he was a corpse.
On examination most of his bones were found to be crushed.

Soon after our return from the Sakarron the expedition to
Loondoo was arranged, and we started in the barge and gig, accom-
panied by Captain Keppell in his own boat, and Mr. Brooke and
Hentig in one of the native boats, called a Tam-bang. The distance

72 BORNEO AND

was about forty miles, and we should have arrived at four o'clock in the
afternoon, but, owing to the narrowness of the channel, and a want of
knowledge of the river, we grounded on the flats, where we lay high
and dry for the space of four hours. Floating with the following tide,
we discovered the proper channel, and found our way up the river,
although the night was dark as pitch : when near the town, we
anchored for daylight.

I may as well here give a slight description of the scenery on the
Borneo rivers, all of which, that we have visited, with the exception of
the Bruni, bear a close resemblance to each other. They are far from
picturesque or beautiful, for the banks are generally low, and the
jungle invariably extends to the water's edge. For the first fifteen or
twenty miles the banks are lined with the nepa-palms, which then
gradually disappear, leaving the mangrove alone to clothe the sides of
the stream. When you enter these rivers, it is rare to see any thing
like a human habitation for many miles ; reach after reach, the same
double line of rich foliage is presented, varying only in the description
of trees and bushes as the water becomes more fresh ; now and then
a small canoe may be seen rounding a point, or you may pass the
stakes which denote that formerly there had been a fishing station.
At last a hut appears on the bank, probably flanked with one or two
Banana trees. You turn into the next reach and suddenly find
yourself close to one or more populous and fortified towns. As you
ascend higher the scenery becomes much more interesting and varied
from the mangroves disappearing. Few of the rivers of Borneo are
more than eighty miles in extent. The two rivers of Bruni and
Coran are supposed to meet in the centre of the island, although for
many miles near their source they are not much wider than a common
ditch.

Before day -light of the following morning our slumbers were dis-

THE INDIAN AKCHIPELAGO. 73

turbed by the crowing of a whole army of cocks, which assured us
of the proximity of the town we were in search of. We got under
weigh, and, rounding the point, Loondoo hove in sight, a fine town,
built in a grove of cocoa-nut trees, and by no means despicably
fortified. We found our progress arrested by a boom composed of
huge trees fastened together by coir cables, and extending the whole
width of the river. Had our intentions been hostile, it would have
taken some time to have cut the fastenings of this boom, and we should,
during the operation, have been exposed to a double line of fire
from two forts raised on each side of the river. The Chief of Loondoo
had, however, been duly advised of our intended visit, and as soon
as our boats were seen from the town, a head-man was sent out in
a canoe to usher us in. After a little delay we got the barge within
the boom. When within, we found that we had further reason to
congratulate ourselves that we came as friends, as the raking fire
from the forts would have been most effectual, for we discovered that
we had to pass an inner boom equally well secured as the first. The
town was surrounded by a strong stockade made of the trunks of the
knee-bone palm, a wood superior in durability to any known. This
stockade had but one opening of any dimensions. A few strokes of
the oars brought us abreast of it, and we let go our anchors. The
eldest son of the Chief came to us immediately in a canoe. He was
a splendidly formed young man, about twenty-five years old. He wore
his hair long and flowing, his countenance was open and ingenuous,
his eyes black and knowing. His dress was a light blue velvet jacket
without sleeves, and a many-coloured sash wound round his waist.
His arms and legs, which were symmetrical to admiration, were
naked, but encircled with a profusion of heavy brass rings. He
brought a present of fowls, cocoa-nuts, and bananas to Mr. Brooke

BORNEO AND

from his father, and an invitation for us to pay him a visit at his
house whenever we should feel inclined.

DYAK WOMEN IN CANOE.

Preparatory to landing, we began performing our ablutions in the
boat, much to the amusement and delight of the naked groups of
Dyaks who were assembled at the landing place, and who eyed us
in mute astonishment. The application of a hair brush was the
signal for a general burst of laughter, but cleaning the teeth with a
tooth brush caused a scream of wonder, a perfect yell, I presume at
our barbarous customs. There were many women among the groups ;
they appeared to be well made, and more than tolerably good looking.
I need not enter into a very minute description of their attire, for,
truth to say, they had advanced very little beyond the costume of our
common mother Eve. We were soon in closer contact with them,

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 75

for one of our party throwing out of the boat a common black bottle,
half a dozen of the women plunged into the stream to gain possession
of it. They swam to the side of our boat without any reserve, and
then a struggle ensued as to who should be the fortunate owner of
the prize. It was gained by a fine young girl of about seventeen
years of age, and who had a splendid pair of black eyes. She swam
like a frog, and with her long hair streaming in the water behind her,
came pretty well up to our ideas of a mermaid.

As we had contrived to empty a considerable number of these
bottles during our expedition, they were now thrown overboard in
every direction. This occasioned a great increase of the floating
party, it being joined by all the other women on the beach, and
for more than half an hour we amused ourselves with the exertions
and contentions of our charming naiads, to obtain what they appeared
to prize so much ; at last all our empty bottles were gone, and the
women swam on shore with them, as much delighted with their spoil
as we had been amused with their eagerness and activity.

About 10 o'clock we landed, and proceeded to pay our visit to the
Chief. We were ushered into a spacious house, built of wood and
thatched with leaves, capable of containing at least 400 people. The
Chief was sitting on a mat with his three sons by his side, and
attended by all his warriors. The remainder of the space within
was occupied by as many of the natives as could find room ; those
who could not, remained in the court-yard outside. The Chief, who
was a fine looking grey -bearded man of about sixty years of age, was
dressed in velvet, and wore on his head a turban of embroidered silk.
The three sons were dressed in the way I have already described the
one to have been who came to us in the canoe. Without exception,
those three young men were the most symmetrical in form I have
ever seen. The unrestrained state of nature in which these Dyaks

x. 2

76 BORNEO AND

live, gives to them a natural grace and an easiness of posture, which
is their chief characteristic. After the usual greetings and saluta-
tions had been passed through, we all sat down on mats and cushions
which had been arranged for us; a short conversation with Mr.
Brooke, who speaks the language fluently, then took place between
him and the Chief, after which refreshments were set before us.
These consisted of various eatables and sweetmeats made of rice,
honey, sugar, flour, and oil; and although very simple as a con-
fectionery, they were very palatable. We remained with the Chief
about an hour, and before we went away he requested our company
in the evening, promising to treat us with a Dyak war dance. We
took our leave for the present, and amused ourselves with strolling
about the town. I will take this opportunity of making known
some information I have at this and at different times obtained relative
to this people.

The villages of the Dyaks are always built high up, near the source
of the rivers, or, should the river below be occupied by the piratical
tribes, on the hills adjoining to the source. Their houses are very
large, capable of containing two hundred people, and are built of palm
leaves. A village or town may consist of fifteen or twenty houses.
Several families reside in one house, divided from each other by only a
slight partition of mats. Here they take their meals, and employ them-
selves, without interfering with each other. Their furniture and pro-
perty are very simple, consisting of a few cooking utensils, the paddles
of their canoes, their arms, and a few mats.

In all the Dyak villages every precaution is taken to guard against
surprise. I have already described the strength and fortifications of
Loondoo, and a similar principle is every where adopted. The town
being built on the banks of the river, the boom I have described is
invariably laid across the stream to prevent the ascent of boats.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 77

Commanding the barriers, one or more forts are built on an eminence,
mounting within them five or six of the native guns, called leilas.
The forts are surrounded by a strong stockade, which is surmounted
by a cheveaux-de-frise of split bamboos. These stockaded forts are,
with the houses and cocoa nuts adjoining, again surrounded by a
strong stockade, which effectually secures them from any night attack.

Great respect is paid to the laws and to the mandates of their
Chiefs, although it but too often happens that, stimulated by revenge,
or other passions, they take the law into their own hands ; but if
crimes are committed, they are not committed without punishment
following them, and some of their punishments are very barbarous
and cruel : I have seen a woman with both her hands half-severed at
the wrists, and a man with both his ears cut off.

The religious ideas of the Dyaks resemble those of the North
American Indians : they acknowledge a Supreme Being, or " Great
Spirit;" they have also some conception of an hereafter. Many of
the tribes imagine that the great mountain Keney Balloo is a place of
punishment for guilty departed souls. They are very scrupulous
regarding their cemeteries, paying the greatest respect to the graves
of their ancestors. When a tribe quits one place to reside at
another, they exhume the bones of their relations, and take them with
them.

I could not discover if they had any marriage ceremony, but they
are very jealous of their wives, and visit with great severity any
indiscretion on their parts.

The Dyaks live principally upon rice, fish, and fruit, and they are
very moderate in their living. They extract shamshoo from the
palm, but seldom drink it Their principal luxury consists in the
chewing the betel-nut and chunam ; a habit in which, like all the
other inhabitants of these regions, from Arracan down to the island of

78 BORNEO AND

New Guinea, they indulge to excess. This habit is any thing but
becoming, as it renders the teeth quite black, and the lips of a high
vermilion, neither of which alterations is any improvement to a
copper-coloured face.

They both chew and smoke tobacco, but they do not use pipes for
smoking ; they roll up the tobacco in a strip of dried leaf, take three or
four whiffs, emitting the smoke through their nostrils, and then they
extinguish it. They are fond of placing a small roll of tobacco be-
tween the upper lip and gums, and allow it to remain there for hours.
Opium is never used by them, and I doubt if they are acquainted with
its properties.

They seldom cultivate more land than is requisite for the rice,
yams, and sago for their own consumption, their time being chiefly
employed in hunting and fishing. They appear to me to be far from an
industrious race of people, and I have often observed hundreds of fine-
looking fellows lolling and sauntering about, seeming to have no cares
beyond the present. Some tribes that I visited preferred obtaining
their rice in exchange from others, to the labour of planting it them-
selves. They are, in fact, not agriculturally inclined, but always
ready for barter.

They are middle-sized, averaging five feet five inches, but very
strong-built and well-conditioned, and with limbs beautifully propor-
tioned. In features they differ very much from the piratical inhabit-
ants of these rivers. The head is finely formed, the hair, slightly
shaven in front, is all thrown to the back of the head ; their cheek-
bones are high, eyes small, black and piercing, nose not exactly flat —
indeed in some cases I have seen it rather aquiline; the mouth is
large, and lips rather thick, and there is a total absence of hair on the
face and eyebrows. Now the above description is not very much
unlike that of an African ; and yet they are very unlike, arising, I

■

M.*N HANHART LTTH PRINTERS

SEREBIS DYAK

(n.w. coast of borneo)

LONDON LONGMAN. * C° 18te

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

believe, from the very pleasing and frank expression of their counte-
nances, which is their only beauty. This description, however, must
not be considered as applicable to the whole of these tribes, — those on
the S. E. coast of the island being by no means so well-favoured.

TEETH OF DYAKS.

The different tribes are more distinguishable by their costumes
than by their manners. The Dyaks of Loondoo are quite naked, and
cover the arms and legs with brass rings. Those of Serebis and
Linga are remarkable for wearing as many as ten to fifteen large rings
in their ears. The Dusurns, a tribe of Dyaks on the north coast,
wear immense rings of solid tin or copper round their hips and
shoulders, while the Saghai Dyaks of the S. E. are dressed in tigers'
skins and rich cloth, with splendid head-dresses, made out of monkeys'
skins and the feathers of the Argus pheasant.

The invariable custom of filing the teeth sharp, combined with
the use of the betel-nut turning them quite black, gives their profile a
very strange appearance. Sometimes they render their teeth concave
by filing.

BORNEO AND

COSTUMES OF DYAK WOMEN.

Their arms consist of the blow-pipe (sura-pi-tan), from which they
eject small arrows, poisoned with the juice of the upas ; a long sharp

."■■I'Mjf.tfirSS

SUM-PI-TAN — BLOW-PIPE WITH POISONED ARROWS.

knife, termed pa-rang ; a spear, and a shield. They are seldom without
their arms, for the spear is used in hunting, the knife for cutting
leaves, and the sum-pi-tan for shooting small birds. Their warfare is
carried on more by treachery and stratagem than open fighting — they

VL* K. RANHART, LTTR. PRINTERS .

SACHAI DYAK.

(S.E. COAST OF BORNEO)

LONDOTTiLON-OJIAIT * C 18*7.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 81

are all warriors, and seldom at peace. The powerful tribes which
reside on the banks of the river generally possess several war prahus,
capable of holding from twenty to thirty men, and mounting a brass
gun (leila) on her bows, carrying a ball of one to two pounds weight.
These prahus, when an expedition is to be made against a neighbour-
ing tribe, are manned by the warriors, one or two of the most
consequential men being stationed in each prahu. Before they start
upon an expedition, bike the North American Indians, they perform
their war dance.

Should their enemies have gained intelligence of the meditated
attack, they take the precaution of sending away their women, chil-
dren, and furniture, into the jungle, and place men in ambush on the
banks of the river, who attack the assailants as they advance. The
Dyaks are all very brave, and fight desperately, yelling during the
combat like the American Indians. The great object in their combats
is to obtain as many of the heads of the party opposed as possible ;
and if they succeed in their surprise of the town or village, the heads
of the women and children are equally carried off as trophies. But
there is great difficulty in obtaining a head, for the moment that a
man falls every effort is made by his own party to carry off the body,
and prevent the enemy from obtaining such a trophy. If the attacking
party are completely victorious, they finish their work of destruction
by setting fire to all the houses, and cutting down all the cocoa-nut
trees ; after which they return home in triumph with their spoil. As
soon as they arrive another war dance is performed ; and after making
very merry, they deposit the heads which they have obtained in the
head-house. Now, putting scalps for heads, the reader will perceive
that their customs are nearly those of the American Indians.

Every Dyak village has its head-house : it is generally the hall of
audience as well. The interior is decorated with heads piled up in

BOKNEO AND

pyramids to the roof: of course the greater the number of heads the
more celebrated they are as warriors.

«»«iro»j"

DYAK VILLAGE.

The women of the north-east coast are by no means bad-looking, but
very inferior to the mountain Dyaks before described. I have seen
one or two faces which might be considered as pretty. With the
exception of a cloth, which is secured above the hips with a hoop of
rattan, and descends down to the knees, they expose every other
portion of their bodies. Their hair, which is fine and black, generally

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 83

falls down behind. Their feet are bare. Like the American squaws,
they do all the drudgery, carry the water, and paddle the canoes.
They generally fled at our approach, if we came unexpectedly.
The best looking I ever saw was one we captured on the river
Sakarron. She was in a dreadful fright, expecting every moment
to be killed, probably taking it for granted that we had our head-
houses to decorate as well as their husbands. While lying off the
town of Baloongan, expecting hostilities to ensue, we observed that
the women who came down to fill their bamboos with water were all
armed.

And now to resume the narrative of our proceedings : —
I stated that after our interview with the old chief, and promising
to return in the evening to witness a war dance, we proceeded on a
stroll, accompanied by the chiefs eldest son, who acted as our guide,
and followed by a large party of the natives. We first examined the
forts: these were in a tolerable state of efficiency, but their gun-
powder was coarse and bad. We next went over the naval arsenal,
for being then at peace with every body, their prahus were hauled up
under cover of sheds. One of them was a fine boat, about forty feet
long, mounting a gun, and capable of containing forty or fifty men.
She was very gaily decorated with paint and feathers, and had done
good service on the Sakarron river in a late war. These war prahus
have a flat strong roof, from which they fight, although they are
wholly exposed to the spears and arrows of the enemy.

We then invaded their domestic privacy, by entering the houses, and
proceeded to an inspection of the blacksmith's shop, where we found
the chiefs youngest son, with his velvet jacket thrown aside, working
away at a piece of iron, which he was fashioning into a pa-rang, or Dyak
knife. The Dyak pa-rang has been confounded with the Malay kris, but
they differ materially. The Dyaks, I believe, seldom use the kris, and the

M 2

84 BORNEO AND

Malays never use the knife ; and I observed, when we visited the south
coast of Borneo, that the knife and other arms of the tribes inhabiting
this portion, were precisely similar to those of the Dyaks on the
northern coast. Customs so universal and so strictly adhered to
proves not only individuality, but antiquity. Having examined every
thing and every body, we were pretty well tired, and were not sorry
that the hour had now arrived at which we were again to repair to the
house of the rajah.

On our arrival we found the rajah where we left him, and all the
chief men and warriors assembled. Refreshments had been prepared
for us, and we again swallowed various mysterious confections, which,
as I before observed, would have been very good if we had been
hungry. As soon as the eatables had been despatched, we lighted
our cheroots, and having, by a dexterous and unperceived application
out of a brandy bottle, succeeded in changing the rajah's lemonade
into excellent punch, we smoked and drank until the rajah requested
to know if we were ready to witness the promised war dance.
Having expressed our wishes in the affirmative, the music struck up ;
it consisted of gongs and tom-toms. The Malay gong, which the
Dyaks also make use of, is like the Javanese, thick with a broad rim,
and very different from the gong of the Chinese. Instead of the
clanging noise of the latter, it gives out a muffled sound of a deep tone.
The gong and tom-tom are used by the Dyaks and Malays in war,
and for signals at night, and the Dyaks procure them from the Malays.
I said that the music struck up, for, rude as the instruments were,
they modulate the sound, and keep time so admirably, that it was
any thing but inharmonious.

A space was now cleared in the centre of the house, and two of the
oldest warriors stepped into it. They were dressed in turbans, long
loose jackets, sashes round their waists descending to their feet,

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 85

and small bells were attached to their ankles. They commenced by
first shaking hands with the rajah, and then with all the Europeans
present, thereby giving us to understand, as was explained to us, that
the dance was to be considered only as a spectacle, and not to be
taken in its literal sense, as preparatory to an attack upon us, a view
of the case in which we fully coincided with them.

This ceremony being over, they rushed into the centre and gave a
most unearthly scream, then poising themselves on one foot they
described a circle with the other, at the same time extending their
arms like the wings of a bird, and then meeting their hands, clapping
them and keeping time with the music. After a little while the music
became louder, and suddenly our ears were pierced with the whole of
the natives present joining in the hideous war cry. Then the motions
and the screams of the dancers became more violent, and every thing
was working up to a state of excitement by which even we were
influenced. Suddenly a very unpleasant odour pervaded the room,
already too warm from the numbers it contained. Involuntarily we
held our noses, wondering what might be the cause, when we perceived
that one of the warriors had stepped into the centre and suspended
round the shoulders of each dancer a human head in a wide meshed
basket of rattan. These heads had been taken in the late Sakarron
business, and were therefore but a fortnight old. They were encased
in a wide net work of rattan, and were ornamented with beads.
Their stench was intolerable, although, as we discovered upon after
examination, when they were suspended against the wall, they had
been partially baked and were quite black. The teeth and hair were
quite perfect, the features somewhat shrunk, and they were altogether
very fair specimens of pickled heads ; but our worthy friends required
a lesson from the New Zealanders in the art of preserving. The
appearance of the heads was the signal for the music to play louder,

86 BORNEO AND

for the war cry of the natives to be more energetic, and for the
screams of the dancers to be more piercing. Their motions now
became more rapid, and the excitement in proportion. Their eyes
glistened with unwonted brightness. The perspiration dropped down
their faces, and thus did yelling, dancing, gongs, and tom-toms
become more rapid and more violent every minute, till the dancing
warriors were ready to drop. A farewell yell, with emphasis, was
given by the surrounding warriors; immediately the music ceased,
the dancers disappeared, and the tumultuous excitement and noise
was succeeded by a dead silence. Such was the excitement com-
municated, that when it was all over we ourselves remained for some
time panting to recover our breath. Again we lighted our cheroots
and smoked for a while the pipe of peace.

A quarter of an hour elapsed and the preparations were made for
another martial dance. This was performed by two of the rajah's
sons, the same young men I have previously made mention of. They
came forward each having on his arm one of the large Dyak shields,
and in the centre of the cleared space were two long swords lying on
the floor. The ceremony of shaking hands, as described preparatory
to the former dance, was first gone through ; the music then struck
up and they entered the arena. At first they confined themselves to
evolutions of defence, springing from one side to the other with
wonderful quickness, keeping their shields in front of them, falling on
one knee and performing various feats of agility. After a short time,
they each seized a sword, and then the display was very remarkable,
and proved what ugly customers they must be in single conflict.
Blows in every direction, feints of every description, were made by
both, but invariably received upon the shields. Cumbrous as these
shields were, no opening was ever left, retreating, pursuing, dodging,
and striking, the body was never exposed. Occasionally, during this

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 87

performance, the war cry was given by the surrounding warriors, but
the combatants held their peace; in fact they could not afford to
open their mouths, lest an opening should be made. It was a most
masterly performance, and we were delighted with it.

As the evening advanced into night, we had a sort of extemporary
drama, reminding us of one of the dances, as they are called, of the
American Indians, in which the warriors tell their deeds of prowess.
This was performed by two of the principal and oldest warriors, who
appeared in long white robes, with long staves in their hands. They
paraded up and down the centre, alternately haranguing each other ;
the subject was the praise of their own rulers, a relation of their own
exploits, and an exhortation to the young warriors to emulate their
deeds. This performance was most tedious ; it lasted for about three
hours, and, as we could not understand a word that was said, it was
not peculiarly interesting. It, however, had one good effect : it sent
us all asleep. I fell asleep before the others, I am told ; very possible.
I certainly woke up the first, and on waking, found that all the lights
were out, and that the rajah and the whole company had disappeared,
with the exception of my European friends, who were all lying
around me. My cheroot was still in my mouth, so I re-lighted it and
smoked it, and then again lay down by the side of my companions.
Such was the wind-up of our visit to the rajah, who first excited us
by his melodramas, and then sent us to sleep with his recitations.

The next morning, at daylight, we repaired to our boats, and when
all was ready took leave of the old rajah. The rajah's eldest son had
promised to accompany us to the mouth of the river, and show us
how the natives hunted the wild pigs, which are very numerous in all
the jungles of Borneo.

We got under weigh and proceeded down the river accompanied by
a large canoe, which was occupied by the rajah's son, six or seven

00 BORNEO AND

hunters, and a pack of the dogs used in hunting the wild boar on this
island. These dogs were small, but very wiry, with muzzles like foxes,
and curling tails. Their hair was short, and of a tan colour. Small
as they are, they are very bold, and one of them will keep a wild pig
at bay till the hunters come up to him.

We arrived at the hunting ground at the mouth of the river in good
time, before the scent was off, and landed in the Tam-bang. Our
captain having a survey to make of an island at the mouth of the
river, to our great delight took away the barge and gig, leaving Mr.
Brooke, Hentig, Captain Keppell, Adams, and myself, to accompany
the rajah's son. Having arranged that the native boat should pull
along the coast in the direction that we were to walk, and having put
on board the little that we had collected for our dinners, we shouldered
our guns and followed the hunters and dogs. The natives who accom-
panied us were naked, and armed only with a spear. They entered
the jungle with the dogs, rather too fatiguing an exercise for us, and
we contented ourselves with walking along the beach abreast of them,
waiting very patiently for the game to be started. In a very few
minutes the dogs gave tongue, and as the noise continued we presumed
that a boar was on foot ; nor were we wrong in our conjecture ; the
barking of the dogs ceased, and one of the hunters came out of the
jungle to us with a fine pig on his back, which he had transfixed with
his spear. Nor were we long without our share of the sport, for we
suddenly came upon a whole herd which had been driven out of the
jungle, and our bullets did execution. We afterwards had more shots,
and with what we killed on the beach, and the natives secured in the
jungle, as the evening advanced we found ourselves in possession of
eight fine grown animals. These the rajah's son and his hunters very
politely requested our acceptance of. We now had quite sufficient
materials for our dinner, and as we were literally as hungry as hunters,

THE INDIAN AKCHIPELAGO. 89

we were most anxious to fall to, and looked upon our pigs with very
cannibal eyes. The first thing necessary was to light a fire, and for
the first time I had an opportunity of seeing the Dyak way of obtaining
it. It differs slightly from the usual manner, and is best explained by
a sketch. Captain Keppell, who was always the life and soul of every

OBTAINING FIRE.

thing, whether it was a fight or a pic nic, was unanimously elected
caterer, and in that capacity he was most brilliant. I must digress a
little to bestow upon that officer the meed of universal opinion ; for his
kindness, mirth, and goodness of heart, have rendered him a favourite
wherever he has been known, not only a favourite with the officers,
but even more so, if possible, with the men. In the expeditions in
which Keppell has been commanding officer, where the men were worn
out with continued exertion at the oar, and with the many obstacles
to be overcome, Keppell's voice would be heard, and when heard, the
men were encouraged and renewed their endeavours. Keppell's stock,

90 BORNEO AND

when provisions were running short, and with small hopes of a fresh
supply, was freely shared among those about him, while our gallant
captain, with a boat half filled with his own hampers, would see,
and appeared pleased to see, those in his company longing for a
mouthful which never would be offered. If any of the youngsters
belonging to other ships were, from carelessness or ignorance, in
trouble with the commanding officers, it was to Keppell that they
applied, and it was Keppell who was the intercessor. In fact, every
occasion in which kindness, generosity, or consideration for others
could be shown, such an opportunity was never lost by Keppell, who,
to sum up, was a beloved friend, a delightful companion, and a
respected commander. As soon as .our fire was lighted, we set to,
under Keppell's directions, and, as may be supposed, as we had little
or nothing else, pork was our principal dish. In fact, we had pig at
the top, pig at the bottom, pig in the centre, and pig at the sides. A
Jew would have made but a sorry repast, but we, emancipated Chris-
tians, made a most ravenous one, defying Moses and all his Deutero-
nomy. We had plenty of wine and segars, and soon found ourselves
very comfortably seated on the sand, still warm from the rays of the
burning mid-day sun. Towards the end of a long repast we felt a
little chilly, and we therefore rose and indulged in the games of leap-
frog, fiy-the-garter, and other venturous amusements. We certainly
had in our party one or two who were as well fitted to grace the
senate as to play at leap-frog, but I have always observed that the
cleverest men are the most like children when an opportunity is
offered for relaxation. I don't know what the natives thought of the
European Rajah Brooke playing at leap-frog, but it is certain that the
rajah did not care what they thought. I have said little of Mr. Brooke,
but I will now say that a more mild, amiable, and celebrated person I
never knew. Every one loved him, and he deserved it.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 91

After we had warmed ourselves with play, we lighted an enormous
fire to keep off the mosquitoes, and made a bowl of grog to keep off the
effects of the night air, which is occasionally very pernicious. We smoked
and quaffed, and had many a merry song and many a witty remark,
and many a laugh about nothing on that night. As it is highly
imprudent to sleep in the open air in Borneo, at ten o'clock we broke
up and went to repose in the boats under the spread awnings. Just
as we were selecting the softest plank we could find for a bed, we had
an alarm which might have been attended with fatal consequences. I
omitted to mention that when we rose to part and go into the boats,
one of the party threw a lighted brand out of the fire at the legs of
another ; this compliment was returned, and as it was thought very
amusing, the object being to leap up and let the brand pass between
your legs, by degrees all the party were engaged in it, even the rajah
and the natives joined in the sport, and were highly amused with it,
although with bare legs they stood a worse chance of being hit than
we did. At last the brands were all expended and the fire extinct,
and then, as I said, we went away to sleep under the boats' awnings.
We were in the act of depositing our loaded rifles by our sides in a
place of security, when the unearthly war cry rose in the jungle, and
in the stillness of the night these discordant screams sounded like the
yelling of a legion of devils. Immediately afterwards a body of natives
rushed from the jungle in the direction of the boats, in which we
supposed that our European party were all assembled. Always on
our guard against treachery, and not knowing but that these people
might belong to a hostile band, in an instant our rifles were in our
hands and pointed at the naked body of natives, who were now within
twenty yards of us. Mr. Hentig was on the point of firing, when loud
shouts of laughter from the Dyaks arrested his hand, and we then
perceived that Mr. Brooke and others were with the natives, who

N 2

92 BOKNEO AND

enjoyed the attempt to intimidate us. It was fortunate that it ended
as it did ; for had Mr. Hentig been more hasty, blood must have been
shea* in consequence of this native practical joke. We joined the
laugh, however, laid down our rifles, then laid ourselves down, and
went fast asleep, having no further disturbance than the still small
voice of the mosquito, which, like that of conscience, is one that
" murders sleep."

The following morning we bade adieu to our friendly hunting party,
and I must not here omit to mention a trait of honesty on the part
of the Dyaks. I had dropped my pocket handkerchief in the walk
of the day before, and in the evening it was brought to me by one
of the natives, who had followed a considerable distance to bring it to
me. It must be known, that a coloured silk handkerchief is to one
of these poor Dyaks, who are very fond of finery, an article of con-
siderable value. He might have retained it without any fear; and
his bringing it to me was not certainly with any hope of reward,
as I could have given him nothing which he would have prized so
much as the handkerchief itself. He was made a present of it for
his honesty.

We bade farewell to our friends at Kuchin, and continued our
survey on the coast. The boats were now continually employed away
from the ship, which moved slowly to the westward. At this time
exposure and hard work brought the fever into the ship. The
barge returned in consequence of four of her men being taken with
it, and our sick list increased daily. A few days afterwards the
coxswain of the barge died, and was buried along side the same
morning. This death, after so short an illness, damped the spirits
of the officers and men, particularly of those who were ill. After
this burial we sailed for Sincapore. At this time our sick report con-
tained the names of more than thirty men, with every probability of

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

the number being increased ; but, thanks to God, from change of air,
fresh provisions, and a little relaxation from the constant fatigue, the
majority were in a short time convalescent. On the 25th of Sep-
tember we arrived at Sincapore.

VIEW OF SINCAPORE

From the anchorage the town of Sincapore has a very pleasing
appearance. Most of the public buildings, as well as some of the
principal merchants' houses, face the sea. The church is also close to
the beach, I presume to allow the congregation the benefit of the

94 BORNEO AND

sea breezes. It has no architectural beauty to recommend it, being
a plain building with a spiral steeple, surmounted by a cross. The
interior is fitted up with more regard to neatness than elegance. It
has an organ, and is supplied with a host of young choristers from the
academy.

Between the beach and Government Hill is a delightful upland,
which is generally attended by all the beauty and fashion of Sin-
capore in the cool of the evening. A canal or small river divides
the town into two parts. On the western side of it, stand all the
stone houses of the merchants, and it is here that all commercial
business is transacted. It is densely populated with Armenian Jews,
Chinese, and people from every part of India, each nation residing
in its own quarter, in the houses peculiar to and characteristic of
their country. Indeed, one of the first things that strikes the stranger
in Sincapore is the variety of costume ; Chinamen, Malays and
Indians, Armenians and Jews, all mingle together in every variety of
picturesque costume, giving you an idea of a carnival. The pa-
lanquins resemble an omnibus on a small scale, they are drawn on
four wheels, have a door on either side, and seats for four people.
They are very high, and drawn by one horse. The conductors,
however, are not perched up on high, but run by the side of the
horse, as do all the syces in India.

There are two hotels, the proprietors of which are of course rivals.
One is kept by an Englishman, the other by a Frenchman ; both are
equally attentive, but the Frenchman's house has the preference, in
consequence of its superior locality, facing the esplanade, and looking
upon the sea. The governor's house is situated on the summit of a
hill, about a quarter of a mile from the beach. From it you have a
bird's eye view of the whole town, and also of the country in the
interior for some distance. From this eminence the town has a very

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 95

picturesque appearance ; the houses on the east side of the river (the
May fair of Sincapore), are built apart and surrounded by pretty
gardens and lawns ; beyond this you have the roads and the sea
studded with every variety of vessels ; and the island of Binting rises
from sea in the distance. The interior is not without beauty: the
eye ranges over a vast expanse of grove and forest, interspersed with
plantations of nutmegs, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar canes, and from
which a most delightful perfume is brought by the breeze, while here
and there white houses may be perceived, looking like mere specks in
the dark foliage by which they are surrounded. It is surprising, when
we reflect how short a space of time has passed since this settlement
was first made, how such a mass of building and such a concourse of
people can have been collected.

It certainly does appear strange, but it is no less true, that no
nation can colonise like the English, and I have often made that
remark in my wanderings and visitings of the various parts of the
globe. England fills the world and civilises the world with her
redundant population, and all her colonies flourish, and remind you
of a swarm of bees which have just left the old hive and are busy in
providing for themselves. The Dutch colonies are not what you
can call thriving ; they have not the bustle, the enterprise, and activity
which our colonies possess. The Dutch have never conciliated the
natives, and obtained their goodwill ; they have invariably resorted
to violence, and to a disregard of justice. One would have thought
that the French, from their bonhomie, would have been one of the
very best nations to civilise, and certain to have succeeded ; but such
is not the case. What can be the cause of this, if it be not that,
instead of raising the character of the native population by good
example and strict justice, they demoralise by introducing vices
hitherto unknown to them, and alienate them by injustice ? There

96 BORNEO AND

was an outcry raised at the French taking possession of Taheite, as
if any attempt on their part to colonise was an infringement on our
right as Englishmen of universal colonisation. I think if we were
wise, we should raise no objection to their colonising as much as
they please. The whole expence of founding the colony, raising the
fortifications, and building the towns, and, if I may use the phrase,
of settling every thing, may safely be left to them. If a war breaks
out, they will have done a great deal of expensive work for our
benefit, as we are certain then to take possession. Algiers has cost an
enormous sum to France, and will cost still more, and yet it can
hardly be considered as a colony. It is a military possession, an
African barrack, no more ; and what will be the result in case of the
breaking out of hostilities ? Their possession of Algiers will be most
advantageous to England, for defend it they will with all their power.
We, with Gibraltar as a rendezvous, shall of course have a most
favourable position for assailing it, and the consequence will be, that
the whole focus of the war will be drawn away from our own
coasts, and the Mediterranean will be the arena of all the fighting.
The struggle must be before the Pillars of Hercules. The more we
increase our fleets, the larger must her force be, and she will have
no squadron to spare to send out to annoy our trade and colonial
possessions. But as this is a digression, and has nothing to do with
my narrative, I beg pardon and go on.

We found that the Dido had anchored there before us, and had
received her orders to proceed to England. Oh ! how we envied her
good fortune ; and surely if envy is a base passion, in this instance it
becomes ennobled by the feelings of home and country which excite it.
The Dido left on the 10th, and we regretted the loss of Captain
Keppell most deeply. Many merchant vessels had been lately
wrecked on the north coast of Borneo, and their crews made prisoners

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 97

by the pirate hordes. Some of the vessels had had females on board,
who had not been heard of since. A letter from a master of a mer-
chant vessel was received by the authorities at Sincapore, wherein it
was stated on oath, that, having lately put into the port of Ambong,
in Borneo, an European woman had been seen near one of the huts
of the village ; but that on their approach, she disappeared. This
account was corroborated by the evidence of some Lascar seamen,
who formed a portion of the crew of the vessel. The contents of this
letter being forwarded by the authorities to our gallant captain, he
determined upon proceeding to Ambong, accompanied by our old ally,
the Phlegethon steamer. Fortunately the town lay in our track, as
we were about to proceed to Labuan, and from thence to Manilla.
We again weighed anchor for Sarawak, whither the steamer had
already proceeded. On our arrival at the mouth of the river we
anchored, and the captain went up in his gig. The following day, to
our great surprise, we received an intimation that we might make a
party of pleasure (a party quite unknown in the Samarang), and go
up to Kuchin. We hurried away before the captain had time to
repent his indulgence, and set off, some seven or eight of us, in the
cutter, and pulled away as fast as we could, till we were first out of
hail, and then out of sight, when we considered that we were safe.

I have already stated that the native houses are built on the left
side of the Sarawak river, and those of the Europeans on the right.
These latter are pretty commodious little bungalows, built of cedar
and pine wood. At present there are but three, belonging to Mr.
Brooke, Mr. Williamson the interpreter, and Hentig, a merchant who
has lately settled there. Ruppell, Mr. Brooke's superintendent, and
Treecher, the surgeon, live in a large house on the native side of the
river. Each of these European houses has its chatty bath adjoining
to it, and this luxury is indulged in at all hours of the day. At nine

98 BORNEO AND

o'clock a gong summons all the Europeans to the breakfast table of
Mr. Brooke. When breakfast is over, they all separate, either to
follow business or pleasure, and seldom meet again till six in the
evening, when dinner is served, and the time is passed away till all
retire to bed.

Let me describe the view from the front of Mr. Brooke's house : —
The schooner lying half way across the river is the Julia, belonging
to Mr. Brooke : she sails every month for Sincapore, laden with
antimony ore ; and thus, at the same time, she forms a mail-packet
between Sincapore and Kuchin. The large open building, with a
wharf, leading down to the river, is the store in which the antimony
is sifted, smelted, and weighed. On the point near the bend of the
river is the fort. It is a strong building of large timbers, and mounts
eight 24-lb. iron guns, in very excellent condition. This is a very
necessary defence, as the European rajah has many enemies. The
building whose top just appears above the trees is the Chinese joss-
house, or temple ; for there are many Chinese settlers at Kuchin, who
are very useful in their capacities of carpenters, blacksmiths, and
agriculturists. Sweeping with the eye a range of dwelling houses
built on stakes, you stop at one of tolerable proportions, which has a
platform in front of it, on which are mounted about twenty small
guns, and there is a flag-staff, on which is hoisted a red and yellow
flag : that is the palace of Rajah Muda Hassan. Take a canoe, and
cross over to it. You will find Muda sitting cross-legged in the
centre of it : he shakes hands with you, and offers you cigars and tea.
You will also meet his brother, Bud-ruddeen. You take your leave of
the rajah, and amuse yourself with a walk round the town, during
which you examine the natives and their wives, their customs, their
houses, and their gardens.

With the exception of the more civilised tribes in the vicinity of

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 99

the Sarawak, the Malays who inhabit the coast of Borneo are a cruel,
treacherous, and disgusting race of men, with scarcely one good
quality to recommend them. The numerous tribes of these people
are separately governed, either by a rajah or petty sultan. Their
laws are much more respected than would be supposed in a country
where every man is armed, and is a robber by profession. The dress
of the Malay is very uniform, consisting of a loose jacket, a sash, and
trousers : in some parts a cloth is worn round the head ; in others, a
hat, made of leaves or rattan. Their arms are the kris and spear;
occasionally they carry the sum-pi-tan, and poisoned arrows. Their
houses are built upon stakes, probably for the sake of cleanliness ; as
the flooring consists of a kind of grating made of rattan, all dirt
falls through. The houses are small, and contain but one family,
and, like those of the Dyaks, are built of the lightest materials. The
Malays pretend to Mahomedanism, and there is generally a large empty
building in every town which is dignified with the name of a mosque :
on the outside are hung drums or tom-toms, of huge dimensions,
which are used as gentle reminders of the hours of prayer.

I have already stated that these Malay tribes live almost wholly by
piracy, to carry on which each town possesses several large prahus,
which they man, and send out to intercept any unfortunate junk or
other vessel incapable of much resistance, which fate or the currents
may have driven too near their coast. When the vessels are captured
the cargoes are deposited in their warehouses, the vessels are broken
up, and the crews are retained as slaves, to dig yams or pound paddy.
Unless they are irritated by a desperate resistance, or they attack an
inimical tribe, they do not shed blood, as has generally been supposed ;
restrained, however, by no other feeling than that of avarice, for the
slaves are too valuable to be destroyed. In their physiognomy these
Malays are inferior to the Dyaks : they have a strong resemblance to

o 2

100 BORNEO AND

the monkey in face, with an air of low cunning and rascality most
unprepossessing. In stature they are very low, and generally bandy-
legged. Their hair and eyes are invariably black, but the face is, in
most cases, devoid of hair ; when it does grow, it is only at the extreme
point of the chin. The Borneo Malay women are as plain as the men,
although at Sincapore, Mauritius, and the Sooloos, they are well
favoured ; and they wind their serang, or robe, so tight round their
bodies, that they walk in a very constrained and ungainly fashion.
Many of these tribes are intermixed with the natives of the Celebes,
such as the inhabitants of Sooloo.

MALAY WOMAN.

The Malays deal with criminals in a very summary manner, the
knowledge of which prevents many crimes among this semi-barbarous
people. Robbers, for the first offence, lose their right hand ; for the
second they undergo the penalty of death. When we were at Kuchin

T id XSEl-

MALAY CHIEF

(SOOLOO)

-LONDON* LONGMAK * C° 18*8

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. i , iOl

a Chinaman was convicted of selling sam-schoo without permission :
his goods were confiscated for a time, to be redeemed only by his good
behaviour. I am not acquainted with their punishments for minor
offences, except in the above instance ; but I believe it is generally
by fine. Every rajah holds despotic sway over the inhabitants of his
province, and punishes as he thinks proper, without reference to any
tribunal, even in cases where the sentence is death. The method of
executing criminals with the kris is as follows : — He is made to sit
down in a chair, with his arms extended horizontally, and held in that
position by two men. The executioner, who stands behind him,
inserts his kris above the collar-bone, in a perpendicular manner,
which causes instant death, as the weapon enters the heart.

The following anecdote, related to me by some of the Roche people,
may amuse the reader : — A celebrated Malay pirate, whose sanguinary
deeds had filled the Archipelago with terror, became violently ena-
moured with one of the slaves of a rajah living on the river Sarawak.
After vainly endeavouring to obtain her from her master by offers of
money and entreaties, he lay in wait for her, and ran away with her
into the jungle.

He had hardly passed his honeymoon before the rajah discovered
his retreat, and he sent to the Malay to inform him, that, if he would
make his appearance at the audience upon a certain day, he should
have justice done him.

The Malay chief, who was a man of undaunted courage, and who
felt confident that the reputation he had acquired by his piratical
exploits was alone sufficient to awe his enemies, consented to appear,
hoping that arrangements might be made which would permit him to
leave the jungle, and allow him to enjoy his new bride in quiet.

On the day appointed he appeared before the council, armed, and
accompanied by his brother, both resting their hands upon the handles

iai<\i)*\ fcU ,; j- ■'•'•'

BORNEO AND

of their krisses, a movement which among the Malays proclaims no
feelings of amity. In this attitude of preparation they walked into
the audience room, which was crowded with a host of enemies. The
council decided, that if on a certain day he would produce a specified
sum of money the girl should be his, and he should return unmolested.
The sum named was exorbitant, but the Malay chief agreed to the
payment, and was permitted to depart.

When the day of payment arrived, the council sat as before, and
the Malay chief again made his appearance ; but this time he came
alone, his brother being absent on a piratical expedition. He had, in
consequence of his violent affection for the girl, made every attempt
to raise the stipulated sum, but could not succeed. He brought all that
he could collect, but it fell far short of the sum which had been agreed
upon, and he requested time to procure the remainder. The council
consulted a while, and then stipulated, that the chief, not having
brought the sum agreed upon, should leave his kris as a pledge till
the rest should be forthcoming. The kris that the chief wore was
itself of great value, very handsomely ornamented with precious
stones. It had belonged to his ancestors, and was, as they always
are, highly prized, and they knew that it would, if possible, be re-
claimed. The chief was most reluctant to part with it, but his love
for his mistress overcame his scruples, and also his prudence, for it
left him unarmed amidst his implacable enemies. He pulled out his
kris, and laid it on the table upon the money, and was busy disen-
gaging the sheath to add to it, when, by a signal from the rajah, he
was seized from behind. He started up, but it was too late; his
trusty weapon, Which had so often stood by him in his need, was no
longer within his reach, and he was in a moment transfixed with a
dozen blades, falling a victim to his love of the girl and the treachery
of his foes.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

103

After passing two very pleasant days at Kuchin, we prepared to
descend the river. I have omitted to say that Mr. Treecher, the
surgeon, was fond of natural history, and possessed a very tolerable
collection of birds, and other animals indigenous to the country. I
was shown several skeletons of the orang outang, some of which were
of great size. There is no want of these animals in the jungle, but a
living specimen is not easy to procure ; I saw but one, an adult
female, belonging to Mr. Brooke. It was very gentle in its manners,
and, Avhen standing upright, might have measured three feet six inches.

PROBOSCIS MONKEY.

On board of the Phlegethon there were two specimens of the wa-wa, or
long-armed ape, which had been presented to Mr. Brooke by one of

104 BORNEO AND

the neighbouring rajahs, and they are by the natives considered very
valuable. Their affection when domesticated is remarkable ; their first
act when they meet one they know is to leap upon your breast and
embrace you with their arms, just like a child will its mother, and
they will remain, if permitted, in this position for hours, and complain
if removed. Their cry is very plaintive, and, heard at night in the
jungle, sounds like that of a female in distress. I was given to under-
stand that in the presents made by chiefs, a scarce variety of monkey
is often the principal gift, and most esteemed.

The scarcest monkey in Borneo is the proboscis, or long-nosed. I
saw but two specimens of this animal, one a female, with the nose
very long, and pendulous at the extremity ; the other a male,, very
young, and with the nose more or less prominent, and giving its face
a more actual resemblance to that of a man's than I had ever before
seen. This monkey has never, I believe, been brought to England
alive. The British Museum has a stuffed specimen. It is not so
mischievous in its habits as the tribe in general.

As Kajah Muda Hassan has been so frequently mentioned, it may
be as well to give a succinct outline of his history. At the death of
the late sultan, Muda Hassan was the heir-apparent to the throne, but
he resigned in favour of his nephew, retaining the office of prime
minister, which office he had held during the former reign, not only
to the satisfaction of the sultan, but also of the people, with whom he
was deservedly a great favourite. His influence, being even greater
than that of the sultan, occasioned a jealous feeling, and a contention
of party, which induced Muda Hassan to retire to Sarawak with his
wives and personal attendants. He was succeeded in his office of
prime minister by an Arab, Pangeran Usop, a man of unbounded
ambition, who by his harsh and tyrannical conduct soon became hated
by the Brunese, who longed for the return of Muda Hassan, under

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 105

whose sway they had been quiet and happy. Pangeran Usop, aware
of the popular feeling, now considered Muda Hassan as his enemy,
and took every opportunity of vilifying and creating suspicion of
Muda Hassan on the mind of the sultan, who was little better than
an idiot. He asserted that Muda Hassan and his brother Bud-ruddeen
were leagued with the English, and were their only supporters in
their pretensions to the isle of Labuan, and that they would assist the
English in taking possession of Borneo.

These reports, although at first treated with disdain, continually
repeated had their effect, not only upon the sultan, but upon the
people ; and Muda Hassan, who was informed of what had been going
on, and had not deigned to notice it, now considered that it was
advisable to repair to Borneo, and refute the charges brought against
him.

When Mr. Brooke purchased the rajahship and mines of Sarawak,
he agreed to compensate Muda with a life annuity of two or three
hundred per annum, and give him a passage to his native city, Bruni,
whenever he should feel disposed to leave Kuchin. Some time had
now elapsed since the signing of the contract, during which Muda had
remained at his palace at Kuchin, enjoying his income, and living on
the very best terms with the Europeans. He now, however, expressed
a wish to return to Bruni, and as it was Mr. Brooke's intention to
proceed to that port in the Samarang, it was proposed that the Phle-
gethon steamer should embark Muda and his suite, and that on our
arrival at Bruni we snould see this rajah and his brother Bud-ruddeen
installed in their positions which by their birth they were entitled to.
Another object was in view, and expected to be gained by this step.
Up to the present, no efforts had been made by the Bornean govern-
ment to discountenance piracy ; on the contrary, the plunder of the
pirates was brought in and openly disposed of at Bruni, which is the

106 BORNKO AND

royal residence. Muda and his brother Bud-ruddeen were stanch
friends to the English, and it was anticipated that by their being ap-
pointed to offices of power, and forcing the sultan to a treaty to put
down piracy, and pay respect to the English flag, a very important
advance would be made towards the extermination of these marauders,
and commerce, once rendered secure, and property respected, Borneo
would soon be brought to a state of comparative civilisation.

As soon as the two rajahs, with all their wives and suite, &c, could
be got on board of the Phlegethon, Mr. Brooke, and Mr. Williamson
the interpreter, came on board the Samarang, and we sailed. On our
arrival at the island of Labuan, we anchored the ship, and despatched
the steamer, with her cargo, up to Bruni. The captain of the
Samarang and one or two officers proceeded up to Bruni in the barge
on the following day ; and I was the midshipman in charge of the
boat. We did not arrive at the city till 8 o'clock in the evening ;
and it was too dark to distinguish the houses. With some difficulty,
we discovered the steamer, which was anchored on the main street.
We pulled alongside, and landing the captain and Kuchinians, Adams,
the surgeon of the party, and I, found ourselves in undisturbed posses-
sion of the barge.

Bruni is called by Crawfurd the Venice of the East ; and he is so
far correct, that it is built in the same peculiar way, and is a most
extraordinary town. It is built almost entirely on the water. It is of
great size, containing from thirty to forty thousand inhabitants, most of
whom are Malays, but who, from having so long intermixed with the
tribes on the coast, now style themselves Brunese, after the town.
This town, which is situated where the river forms a wide and shallow
estuary, is built with little regard to regularity. There are, however,
two large main streets, intersecting each other in the form of an
irregular cross. These divide the town into four parts, one of which

K 3

o *

K 2

w *

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 107

is partly built upon terra firraa, while the other three portions are
composed of massive wooden houses, built on piles, and just sufficiently
separated here and there to admit of the passage of a canoe. On the
portion which is on dry land is built the sultan's palace, a church or
mosque, and most of the more prominent buildings. It was in the
main street (if such a term may be used), and as near as possible in
the centre of the town, that the steamer was anchored.

When we awoke and roused up it was broad daylight, and the scene
was most novel : surrounding the steamer and the barge, and extend-
ing many yards from them, lay hundreds of canoes, filled with natives
of every tribe to be found on the coast, and dressed in every variety of
costume. From the wild Dusum to the civilised Arab and Malay
rajah, natives in every posture, and decked in every colour, impelled
by curiosity, were crowded around us. Here was a chief, dressed in
an embroidered jacket, sitting cross-legged, and shading himself with
a yellow silk umbrella. There were some wild-looking Dyaks, with
scarcely as much covering as decency demanded, standing up on their
narrow canoes, one hand resting on the handle of their knives, the other
on their hips, eying us from under their long matted hair with glances
that told of no good feeling towards us. In another quarter were
women, in a covered boat, whose jealous lattices only permitted
us a glimpse of sparkling eyes, and of the yellow array which pro-
claimed them as some of the royal favourites. As far as you could
see on all sides there was a confused mass, composed of embroidered
chiefs, black-eyed women, grey -bearded Arabs, spears, shields, paddles
and umbrellas. Taking out my sketch-book, I amused myself with
drawing the various costumes — no very easy task, as the canoes were
continually on the move ; and before I could well catch the head and
shoulders of a native, when I raised my eyes from the paper he had

p 2

108

BORNEO AND

often disappeared in the crowd, and I found another party and another
costume in his place.

NATIVES OF BBUNI.

Rajah Muda Hassan had already landed, and 10 o'clock had been
fixed upon as the hour for a full-dress visit to the sultan, As the
time approached, Mr. Brooke, with our captain and the officers com-
posing the party, came into the barge, and were pulled up to the
sultan's audience chamber. This was a large three-sided building,
facing the water, with a platform in front, on which were mounted
five or six leilas, or native guns. The roof was slightly carved, and
the gables ornamented with large wooden rams' horns. The red and
yellow flag of Borneo waved above it.

We were received at the platform by a numerous party of chiefs,
handsomely dressed in silks, satins, and gold embroidery. They
ushered us into the audience chamber, the walls of which were lined
with a sort of cloth, and ornamented with shields. The floor was
matted. The chamber was filled with natives, all well dressed and
armed. They sat cross-legged, preserving a respectful silence. A
vacant aisle was preserved between them leading to the throne, which

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 109

was at the upper end of the chamber. The throne was a frame of
painted wood, gilt and carved, and bearing a very suspicious resem-
blance to a Chinese bedstead. On this, sitting cross-legged, was the
sultan of Borneo, to whom we were all separately presented as English
warriors, &c. &c. Chairs were then placed in a half circle in front of
the sultan, and we seated ourselves. The sultan, a man of about sixty
years of age, is said to be very imbecile, and under the control of his
ministers, who do with him as they please. He was dressed in a loose
jacket and trousers of purple satin, richly embroidered with gold, a
close-fitting vest of gold cloth, and a light cloth turban on his head.
In his sash he wore a gold-headed kris of exquisite workmanship.
His head was bald, and his features wore a continual air of suspicion,
mixed with simplicity. The first is not to be wondered at, as he
lives in the happy expectation of being poisoned every day. He has
two thumbs on the right hand, and makes the supernumerary one
useful by employing it in charging his mouth with the beetle-nut and
chunan, in which luxury he indulges to excess. Immediately below
him were his two body attendants, who have charge of his beetle-nut
box and his weapons. In front of the throne, and inside the half
aisle formed by the Europeans, Seraib Yussef, the prime minister,
Muda Hassan, and Bud-ruddeen, were seated on their hams. On each
side and below the throne were hundreds of attendants or guards ;
those in the front row sitting cross-legged, with drawn krisses ; those
behind them standing with long spears, tipped with bunches of red
horsehair, in their hands. The remainder of the chamber was occu-
pied by chiefs, all of them armed.

The communications and demands we had to make were carried on
through Mr. Williamson, the interpreter. The speakers were Mr.
Brooke, our captain, the sultan's prime minister, Muda and Bud-
ruddeen, the sultan occasionally nodding his head in approval of replies

110 BORNEO AND

made by his prime minister. The whole of the conversation was
carried on in so low a tone as not to be heard except by those sitting
nearest to the throne. The subject of it was, however, no secret ; and
it was as follows : —

Near to the mouth of the river, is an island called Pulo Cheremon,
on which the sultan has built some forts. On our entering the river,
one of our boats had been fired at from one of these forts, although the
English flag was hoisted at the time. The demands made in this
conference were, that the proper respect should be paid to the English
flag, that the forts upon Pulo Cheremon should be dismantled, and
that the sultan should reinstate Muda and Bud-ruddeen in offices
becoming their rank. Now, that the first demand was reasonable must
be admitted; but what right we had to insist upon the forts being
destroyed, and the sultan's uncles put into office, I really cannot
pretend to say.

Seraib Yussef, who was inimical to the English, expressed his dis-
approbation of their demands in very strong terms : as for the sultan,
he had very little to say. As it appeared that there was no chance of
our demands being complied with without coercion, the conference
was broken up by our principals pointing to the steamer, which lay
within pistol-shot of the palace, and reminding the sultan and the
ministers that a few broadsides would destroy the town. Having
made this observation, we all rose to take our departure, stating that
we would wait for an answer to our demands upon the following day.
Our situation was rather critical, only eight Europeans among
hundreds of armed natives taking their sultan in this manner by the
beard, when, at a signal from him, we might have all been despatched
in a moment. More than one chief had his hand upon his kris as we
stalked through a passage left for us out of the audience chamber ; but
whatever may have been their wishes, they did not venture further

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. Ill

without authority. On reaching the platform outside, a very strange
sight presented itself. With the exception of a lane left for our
passage to the boat, the whole space was covered with naked savages.
These were the Maruts, a tribe of Dyaks who live in the mountains.
The word marut signifies brave. These naked gentlemen, who are
very partial to the sultan, had come down from the mountains to
render assistance in case of hostility on our part. They were
splendidly framed men, but very plain in person, with the long matted
hair falling over their shoulders. They were armed with long knives
and shields, which they brandished in a very warlike manner, occa-
sionally giving a loud yell. They certainly appeared very anxious to
begin work ; and I fully expected we should have had to draw and
defend ourselves. I was not sorry, therefore, when I found myself
once more in the stern sheets of the barge, with our brass six-pounder
loaded with grape, pointed towards them. The poor fellows little
knew the effect of a shower of grape-shot, or they would not have
been so anxious for a " turn-up."

The sultan had offered a house for the accommodation of the
Europeans during our stay at Bruni. It was a small wooden building
over the water and resting upon piles. It communicated by a plat-
form with the Mahomedan mosque, which was built of brick and of
tolerable dimensions. The interior of this mosque had no other
furniture in it except a sort of pulpit painted, which stood in the
centre. Outside on a raised platform was a very large tom-tom or
drum, upon which a native played from morning to night, much
to our annoyance, as it was so close to us. Religious worship appears
at a very low ebb at Bruni, for during the whole time that we remained
there I did not see one person enter the mosque.

At the back of the mosque there was a piece of green sward, which
separated us from the royal buildings. Passing through the mosque

112 BOKNEO AND

we strolled over this piece of pasture, when, close to the water's edge,
we discovered several fine old brass 32-pounders, dismounted and
half-buried in the swamp. On inspection we found them to be
Spanish, bearing the inscription of Carolus Tertius, Rex Hispaniorum,
with the arms of Castile above. How they came into the sultan's pos-
session we could not find out. He was said to value them exceedingly ;
if so, he did not show it by the neglect paid to them.

Bruni on a calm day presents a novel and pretty appearance. The
masses of houses appear to float on the water, and the uniformity is
broken by gay flags and banners, which indicate the rank and the office
of them who hoist them. The large square sails of the prahus, the
variety of boats and canoes, the floating bazaar, and the numerous
costumes continually in moving panorama before you, all combine to
form a very admirable picture. Add to this the chiming and beating
of gongs and tom-toms in every cadence, and from every quarter, and
you are somewhat reminded of an Asiatic Bartholomew fair.

The right-hand side of the river, which is opposite to the town, con-
sists of a series of small hills, which are partially cleared, but present
little appearance of cultivation. Here we were shown a specimen of
the upas tree : it was growing close to a small stone fountain in the
vicinity of some straggling huts. It was a solitary tree, tall and
red-stemmed, with the foliage branching out in a canopy at the top.

So much has been said for and against this tree, usually supposed
to be fabulous, that we looked upon it with great curiosity; and
although aware that its noxious qualities have been much exaggerated,
we were anxious to test its powers, if we could. We procured a
ladder, which we raised against the tree, and one of our party as-
cended to the uppermost branches without experiencing the fainting
sensation ascribed to be produced by close contact with its foliage.
We then tapped the tree at the bottom, and there issued from it a

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 113

white viscous fluid, which the natives asserted to be a virulent poison,
and used by them for dipping the points of their arrows. We carried
off a bottle of this poison, and having drunk from the fountain beneath
the tree, without fear and without injury, we went away. This was
the only specimen of the upas tree that I saw in Borneo. The lower
orders at Bruni, in addition to a jacket and trousers, wear an immense
straw hat of a conical shape, with a brim as wide as an umbrella. This
hat, unless thrown back on the shoulders, entirely conceals the face.
At times, when the river is crowded with canoes, nothing is to be seen
but a mass of these straw hats, which present a very strange appearance.
But the greatest novelty at Bruni is the floating bazaar. There are
no shops in the city, and the market is held every day in canoes.
These come in at sunrise every morning from every part of the river,
laden with fresh fruit, tobacco, pepper, and every other article which
is produced in the vicinity ; a few European productions, such as
handkerchiefs, check-cotton prints, &c, also make their appearance.
Congregated in the main street the canoes are tacked together, forming
lanes through which the purchasers, in their own canoes, paddle, select-
ing and bargaining for their goods with as much convenience as if the
whole was transacted on terra firma. Iron is here so valuable that it
is used as money. One hundred flat pieces an inch square are valued
at a dollar, and among the lower classes these iron pieces form the sole
coin. They are unstamped, so that every person appears to be at
liberty to cut his own iron into money ; but whether such is really
the case I cannot vouch.

We remained at Bruni for a week, during which time a great deal
of diplomatic duty was got through by the seniors of the party, leaving
the juniors to amuse themselves with discovering fresh objects of
interest, and illustrating every thing worthy of notice.

Our whole party met every evening at the small house which had

114 BORNEO AND

been appropriated for our use by the sultan. It staggered fearfully
upon its wooden legs under our accumulated weight, and we constantly
expected that we should be let down into the water. Here we dined
and passed the evening in conversation, with our arms all ready at
hand, guns and pistols loaded, and the boats anchored close along side
of us, in case of any treachery. Every day an interview was had with
the sultan, but no definite answer had been obtained to our demands.
On the 6th, however, it was resolved by our diplomatists that no more
time should be wasted in useless discussion, but that the sultan must
be at once brought to terms ; indeed, our own safety demanded it, for
the popular feeling was so much excited, and the people were so
indignant at our attempt to coerce their sultan, that we were in
hourly expectation of an attack.

At seven in the evening the party repaired to the audience chamber,
leaving their arms behind them, for they felt that any effort from five
Europeans to defend themselves against so many hundreds, would be
unavailing, and that more would be gained by a show of indifference.
They landed at the platform, and the barge, in which were Lieutenant
Baugh (since dead) and myself, was ordered to lie on her oars
abreast of the audience chamber, and to keep her 6 -pounder, in which
there was a fearful dose of grape and canister, pointed at the sultan
himself during the whole of the interview.

It was an anxious time: the audience chamber was filled with
hundreds of armed men, in the midst of whom were five Europeans
dictating to their sultan. The platform outside was crowded with the
wild and fearless Maruts : not a native in the city but was armed to
the teeth, and anxious for the fray.

We, on our parts, were well prepared for fearful vengeance ; the
barge was so placed that the assassination of Mr. Brooke and the
Europeans would have been revenged on the first discharge of our

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 115

gun by the slaughter of hundreds ; and in the main street lay the
steamer, with a spring on her cable, her half ports up, and guns
loaded to the muzzle, awaiting, as by instruction, for the discharge of
the gun from the barge, to follow up the work of death. The platform
admitted one of the steamer's guns to look into the audience chamber,
the muzzle was pointed direct at the sultan, a man held the lighted
tow in his hand. Every European on board had his musket ready
loaded, and matters assumed a serious appearance.

From where I was on the barge, all appeared hushed in the
audience room. I could see the prime minister, Muda, and Bud-
ruddeen, as they rose in turns to speak. I could perceive by the
motion of their lips that they were talking, but not a sound came to
our ears. This state of things lasted about half an hour, and then
there was a slight stir, and Mr. Brooke and his party marched towards
us through the crowd of warriors.

By dint of threats he had gained his point. The sultan had signed
a treaty by which he bound himself to respect the British flag, to
make over to us the island of Labuan, to destroy the forts on Pulo-
Cheremon, to discountenance piracy, and to instal Muda and Bud-
ruddeen into offices becoming their birth and high rank.

I have since heard Mr. Brooke remark, that considering the na-
tives were well aware that our guns were directed against them,
the self-possession and coolness shared by every one of them were
worthy of admiration. They never showed the slightest emotion,
their speeches were free from gesticulation, and even their threats
were conveyed in a quiet subdued tone ; and every thing was carried
on with all the calmness and deliberation that might be expected at a
cabinet council at St. James's.

Whilst at Bruni, we picked up several specimens of coal, and asking
one of the chiefs if much could be procured, he showed us a few

q 2

116 BOKNEO AND

sacks. Ignorant of its value, he was still cunning enough to perceive
how much interest Ave felt in the discovery, and immediately asked a
most tremendous price for his stock. One would really have thought
that we were bargaining for precious stones ; at all events he must
have had an intuitive idea that we considered them as " black
diamonds." On the other hand, an old Arab at Bruni, who had
supplied us with one or two live bullocks, when he saw the Samarang
at anchor at the mouth of the river, had the modesty to offer our
captain 400 dollars for her, less than 100Z. sterling. Sell dear and
buy cheap is the way to get rich, and proves how fit for commerce
are all the people of the archipelago.

While we were lying at Bruni in the barge, one day, when Adams
the assistant- surgeon and myself were sole occupants, we were sur-
prised at the appearance of a handsomely dressed Malay youth, who
stepped into the boat, greeting us, although strangers, sans ceremonie.
Always wishing to study native character, we amused him as well as
we could, and on his departure gave him to understand that he might
come whenever he pleased. About dark we were surprised by a
canoe coming under our stern, and the occupant throwing into the
barge several fine fowls and a large basket of fruit. We could not
imagine to whom we were indebted for this civility, but suspected our
Malay friend, and when he came again we taxed him with it, and he
acknowledged it. On this visit he sat in the boat for some time,
appearing to take a great interest in every thing connected with us,
and observed that we were bargaining with the natives in the canoes
alongside of us for the various arms of the country, which they are
content to sell provided they obtain a most exorbitant price. Our
Malay friend went off in his canoe, and in the course of an hour
returned with a large collection of shields, spears, krisses, and mats,
which he begged our acceptance of. Every day did he bring us

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 117

presents of some description or another, refusing to take any thing in
return, except perhaps an English pocket handkerchief or something
of very trifling value. Suddenly his visits were discontinued, and we
saw no more of him. One day, dining at the house lent us by the
sultan, Mr. Brooke was talking with some of our party of a young
Malay chief, who, being mad, had attempted to kill his wife, and had
in consequence been placed in durance, but had since been liberated.
Mr. Brooke wishing to speak to him, sent for him, and on his appear-
ance this madman proved to be our generous unknown.

The day after the signing of the treaty we left Bruni, the steamer
taking the barge in tow, and the same afternoon we joined the
Samarang at our newly-acquired possession, the isle of Labuan. This
island is about thirty miles in circumference, flat, and covered with
thick jungle. It has no inhabitants. Its anchorage is good, being
protected by the main and two smaller islands. The embouchure of
a rivulet forms a small bay, which we dignified with the title of
Victoria. We found water plentiful, and several specimens of coal.

From Labuan we proceeded to Ambong, a place where it was
supposed that an European female had been detained as a slave.
Ambong is a pretty little bay, with a Malay village built in the bight
of it, and there is a fine view of Keeney Balloo, the great mountain of
Borneo, in the back-ground. This mountain, estimated to be 14,000
feet high, is about forty miles from Ambong, and with the aid of a
glass we could discern cataracts and ravines innumerable. It is
certainly a most splendid affair, on one side rising almost perpen-
dicularly, and in appearance nearly flat at the top. At sunset, from
the bay, its appearance was splendid. We found nothing at Ambong
to lead us to suppose that European females had at any time been
made prisoners by the inhabitants: they were apparently a quiet,
peaceable people, living entirely by agriculture. Their close neigh-

118

BORNEO AND

bours, however, the Moros of Tampassook, are a notorious tribe of the
Illanoan pirates, who are the terror of the Asiatic seas. It was not
improbable that these people might have many European prisoners as
their slaves, but from what we knew of their character, we felt assured
that if they possessed white female prisoners, they would never consent
to their being ransomed.

After making a survey of Ambong, we only waited to take in a
supply of fresh beef, and then started the Phlegethon on her return to
Sarawak with Mr. Brooke and Mr. Williamson, while we shaped our
course in an opposite direction on our way to Manilla.

I may here remark that the bullocks at Ambong were remarkably
fine and the price of them ridiculously cheap. Two of the largest
were to be purchased for about twenty -five shillings worth of calico or
any other European manufacture. Wherever we went on this island,
and I may say over the Indian archipelago generally, the spirit of
trade and barter appeared to be universal ; and if the inhabitants of
Borneo were inclined to look into the riches of their island, and with
them procure English manufactures, which when piracy is abolished
they will do, the commercial opening to this country will be great
indeed. The scenery in the bay of Ambong varies from that of the
Borneo coast in general. The bay is backed by a series of small hills,
cleared away and partially cultivated, instead of the low jungle which
is elsewhere so universal.

On our way to Manilla we touched at the entrance of a river up
which is situated the town of Tampassook. Bodies of armed men
came down in haste to oppose our landing, which we did with a view
of taking sights to verify the chronometers. We came to a parley
before we came to blows, and the captain drew a line close to the
beach, telling the Illanoans that his men would remain inside of it, on
condition that they would remain outside. This arrangement was

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 119

agreed to, and the observations were taken between four or five
hundred armed warriors on one side, and four boats with the guns
ready to fire on the other.

The pirates were all very well dressed in stuffs and cloths : they
carried shields so large as to cover the whole body, and long heavy
swords with the handles ornamented with balls and human hair.
Many were on horseback, and formed a very respectable irregular
cavalry, wearing a light loose dress, and armed with long spears and
short round shields. One costume was quite novel, being a coat of
armour made of buffalo leather scaled with oyster shells. Both parties
adhered to the agreement, and all therefore passed off quietly ; the
observations were completed, and we returned to the ship.

Tampassook, it is asserted, would be a grand place for booty if it
was stormed, as the inhabitants possess a great deal of money and
diamonds. They are, however, a very brave people, and would not
part with their riches without a terrible resistance.

While off this river we had notice given us that there was a fleet of
100 piratical prahus lying off the island of Balabac. We shaped our
course thither, hoping to surprise them, but we were disappointed : the
birds had flown, and the bay of Balabac was untenanted. We cruised
for a week among the islands in search of them, but could not discover
their retreat ; so we shaped our course for Manilla, taking the passage
to the eastward of Palawan, which was considered the best at this
season of the year.

While off the north-east coast of Palawan, our boats left to survey
discovered an Illanoan prahu at anchor off one of the small islands
that surround the coast. The boats gave chase, and the pirates used
every exertion to get away. The gig soon headed the other boats,
but gained very slowly on the pirate, and her muskets caused no
apparent execution, but one of the cutters with the grape from her

120 BOENEO AND

gun killed several of their fighting men, who stood on the roof
brandishing their krisses, and fearlessly exposing themselves to the fire.
On turning a point the prahu kept before the wind, and walked away
from us so fast that we gave up the chase.

In about a fortnight afterwards, the Corregidor, a small island at
the mouth of Manilla Bay, hove in sight. On our arriving abreast of
it, a gun-boat came out to board us, and inquire after our bill of
health ; but as we had a spanking breeze, and men-of-war do not
heave-to to be boarded, the gun -boat returned to the island as wise as
she came out. Manilla Bay is of immense size, being thirty miles
deep, and twenty wide. Near the mouth of the Bay the land is high,
but at the head, where the city of Manilla is built, it is remarkably
low and flat. As we had the wind in our teeth, and Manilla was
twenty-five miles distant, we did not arrive there till sunset. After
shaving the sterns of several merchant ships, who would have been
better pleased if we had given them a wider berth, we at last dropped
anchor about two miles from the town.

Manilla, from the anchorage, has not an inviting appearance. I
have said that the land upon which it is built is very low, and as the
town is strongly fortified, nothing is to be seen from the shipping but
a long line of sea wall, with the roofs of the largest buildings, and a
mass of brick, which we were told was the cathedral, overtopping it.
At one end of this sea wall is the canal, or river, flanked on one side
by a mole, and on the other by a light-house.

Manilla is, however, a very delightful place ; and to us, who had
been so many months among savages, it appeared a Paradise. The
canal I have alluded to divides the fortified city from the suburban
towns of San Fernando, San Gabriel, and others, in which are situated
all the commercial houses, stores, godowns, dock-yards, and saw
mills. All the Chinese and lower orders also reside in these suburbs,

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

121

and I may add that all the amusements, feasts, &c., are carried on in
this quarter. The city of Manilla within the fortifications is a very
quiet, clean, and well-regulated town, inhabited entirely by the higher
orders : the streets are well laid out, the houses regular, and built of
white freestone. In the centre of the city is the Plaza, on one side

CITY OF MANILLA.

of which is the cathedral, and opposite it the governor's palace ; both
very insignificant buildings. The cathedral, which is very ancient,
is devoid of all attempt at architecture, and resembles a huge barn ;
while the governor's palace, in appearance, reminds you of a stable.

122 BORNEO AND

During the day the streets of Manilla are perfectly quiet and
deserted. At dusk the people begin to move, and show signs of life.
The sallyport gates are closed at eleven o'clock at night, after which
hour there is neither ingress or egress, and on this point they are
most absurdly particular.

The natives of Luzon are much below the middle size. The men
are slightly made, weak, and inoffensive ; the women, on the contrary,
are remarkable for their pretty faces, feet, and figures, set off by a
dress of the most picturesque description : a short petticoat, of gaily-
coloured silk or cotton, and a boddice of similar material, of sufficient
height to cover the bosom, is their usual costume. Their long jet
black hair is allowed to fall in tresses down their backs. Many have
a kerchief tastefully thrown over their heads ; and they wear little
velvet slippers, embroidered with gold and silver thread. Their
appearance is extremely captivating to foreigners, who do not in a
hurry forget their graceful mien and the arch glances from their
brilliant eyes. Manilla supports a considerable body of infantry and
cavalry, the whole composed of natives of the island. Their horses
are small, as well as the men, and are not well trained ; but the object
of the Spaniards is to make a show to intimidate the Indians, who,
having no discipline whatever, are, of course, inferior even to these
very moderate troops. Not long ago, one of the strongest forts was
taken possession of by a party of rebels, assisted by some soldiers who
had revolted : the fort was recaptured, and, as an example, a dreadful
slaughter ensued. The parade ground, outside the citadel, was the
scene of carnage. A large pit was dug, at the brink of which the
victims were placed ; they were then shot, and thrown into this grave.
Eighty-two were thus butchered, and buried in the pit, over which a
mound has been raised, to commemorate their execution.

Outside the town, and half encircling it, there is a splendid espla-

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 123

nade, between an avenue of trees. This leads to the water, when the
road runs parallel with it for nearly a mile, terminating at one of the
piers of the canal. This is known by the, I presume, correct name
of Scandal Point. A number of carriages, filled with all the elite of
Manilla, turn out on this drive a little before sunset, and the scene is
very gay and exciting. I leave the reader to conceive upwards of
200 carriages passing and repassing, besides equestrians and pedes-
trians. The reader may say that it must be like the ring at Hyde
Park ; but it is more brilliant, although not in such good taste ; and
then it is the beauty of the climate — the contrast between the foliage
and the blue ocean — which gives the effect. No buttoning up to an
east wind, nor running away from a shower ; but ever gay, and fresh,
and exhilarating. Here you meet the old Don, enjoying his quiet
stroll and cigar, all alone. Soldier officers, in plain dress and long
mustachoes, doffing their hats to every senora. The English mer-
chant, in his unassuming undress of a white jacket ; the British naval
officers, with their gay uniforms and careless manners, prying, with a
sailor's curiosity, into every pretty face ; and now and then a saucy
mid, mounted on a hack, dashing between the line of carriages at a
full gallop, disturbing their propriety, and checking the cavaleade, to
the great consternation, real or assumed, of the ladies. All was
gaiety and gladness ; on every side was to be heard the merry laugh
and hail of recognition. To add to the excitement, the bands of the
several regiments played the most popular airs on a parade adjoining
to the esplanade.

While the carriages were driving up and down, the vesper bell
tolled from the cathedral. In an instant every carriage stopped —
every head was uncovered, and bent in an attitude of devotion.
Horses, women, men — all as if transfixed : every tongue silent —
nothing heard but the bell of the cathedral, and the light breeze

R 2

124 BORNEO AND

which bore away its vibrations. The bell at last ceased, and in a
moment every thing was in full activity as before.

Twice a week a military band plays at the public almeda from
nine till ten in the evening ; and on one of these nights we started in
a carriage to the spot. The almeda is situated close to the gates of
the city, and joins to the esplanade. It is an open square, bordered
with a row of trees, to which are suspended lamps; while in the
spaces between the trees there are seats for the accommodation of the
public. In the middle of the almeda is a stand erected for the musi-
cians. On our arrival there we found it well lighted up ; the place
was surrounded by carriages, which were empty, their occupants
having joined the parade. Following the example, we mixed with the
throng, which was numerous. The women were mostly collected
in groups, and the men were smoking their cheroots and beating time
to the music, which was excellent. Lighting our cigars, we strolled
lazily along, and, by dint of lamp-light and impudence, managed to
form a very tolerable idea of the beauty of the senoras. At ten
o'clock, the band struck up a lively polka, which was the signal for a
general dispersion. This is considered one of the principal and most
favourite recreations at Manilla.

The inhabitants of Manilla are composed of the pure Spaniard, and
the Mustichas, or mixed breed. The former are very proud and
inhospitable ; the latter are, on the contrary, very friendly, and, for
any little civility, request that you will make their house your home.
The women of the latter are by far the most preferable : the former
are said to be very deficient in good-breeding and education ; like the
Indians, they sleep half the day, and are scarcely alive till sun-down,
when they dress for the almeda or esplanade.

There are very good subscription rooms in the city. Every month
they give a ball, concert, or amateur performance. Strangers are

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 125

presented with tickets for these amusements — no thanks to the
Spaniards — but from the kindness of the English merchants, who are
nearly all members. I went to one of these balls : there were plenty
of women — more than could get partners ; the music was good, the
women well dressed, and they waltzed exquisitely. Adjoining the
ball-room was a billiard-room, in which those who preferred smoking
cigars in a cool room to dancing, with the thermometer at 90°, had
retreated. Nothing can be done at Manilla without the cigar : they
smoke for an appetite, they smoke for digestion, they smoke when
they are too hot, they smoke when it is chilly. As the hands of the
time-piece approached the hour of eleven, every one who lived outside
the city was obliged to be off. We, among others, took our depar-
ture ; but when we sought for our carriage, it had disappeared. We
set off at a hard trot, to reach the gates before eleven, but in our
haste we missed the road, and came to a cul-de-sac. We retraced our
steps, but when we reached the gates they were closed. A request
to the officer of the guard we knew to be useless, so we turned back,
and prepared to pass the night in the streets, in our uniforms and
swords. After wandering half an hour up and down without seeing
a light or meeting a soul, I heard a violent hammering at a door at a
little distance. I found it was one of our party, who hammered
away, and called out for " Soda water" between each hammering.
"All's right!" said he; "look here!" And sure enough there was
a board outside, with " Soda Water" painted in large letters in
English. This repeated hammering and demand for soda water at
last produced the desired effect. A person in a dressing-gown and
slippers came out into the balcony, and demanded our business. We
explained our extreme thirst and benighted condition ; and as the
gentleman hesitated, we again applied to the door, intimating that if
we had no admission, at all events he should have no repose. At last

126 BOENEO AND

he sent down to have the door opened. We found that he was a
German chemist, who fabricated soda water, among other articles,
and, knowing the partiality of the English for the beverage, had
advertised it in our language over the door. We passed the night with
him very comfortably at his house, breakfasted with him the next
morning, and, promising to bring the whole of our shipmates to drink
soda water for his benefit till we were blown out like balloons, we
wished him good-bye, and returned to the ship.

Gambling is carried to a great extent in Manilla : the game played
is Monte. We visited one of their gambling houses. Winding our
way down a dark and narrow street, we arrived at a porte-cochere.
The requisite signal was given, the door opened cautiously, and after
some scrutiny we were ushered up a flight of stairs, and entered a
room, in the centre of which was a table, round which were a group,
composed of every class. An Indian squaw was sitting by the side
of a military officer, the one staking her annas, the other his doubloons.
I stood by the side of an old Chinaman, who staked his doubloon
and lost every time. The strictest silence was observed, and nothing
was heard but the chinking of the dollars, and the occasional a quien
of the banker, who inquired the owner of the stakes. Every thing
was conducted with the greatest order ; when one man had lost all
his money he would retire, and make room for another. The autho-
rities of Manilla have made every effort to put a check to this demor-
alising practice, but without much success. It is universal, from the
highest to the lowest, from the civilised to the most barbarous, over
the whole of the Indian Archipelago.

The Indians of the Phillippines are among the best favoured of the
Asiatic islanders, but they are not reckoned so brave as the Malays.
They are a quiet inoffensive race, clean and well shaped, and are
all converted to the Catholic faith. Their principal amusement is

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 127

cock-fighting, which, indeed, is carried to a great extent in all the
islands. Every man in the streets has his fighting cock under his
arm, and groups may be seen at all hours of the day, pitting their
cocks and betting on the issue. The country about Manilla is very
pretty, well cultivated, and studded with thriving villages. The
Spanish possessions in this part of Luzon are confined to about
twenty miles in every direction ; the interior of the island being
peopled with a race of savages who occasionally make incursions into
the country, carrying away cattle or any thing else that they can
lay their hands upon. I could obtain no particulars of these
aborigines, except that they go nearly if not altogether naked.

On the 1st of December, our old acquaintance, the Velocipede
schooner, arrived from Sooloo, having on board six Lascars, who had
been ransomed from the sultan of Sooloo by Mr. Wyndham. They
had formed a portion of the crew of the Premier, an English merchant
vessel, which had been wrecked on a reef off the eastern coast of
Borneo. The crew, consisting of Europeans and Lascars, had been
divided between the sultans of Sooloo, Gonong Tabor, and Balungan.
One of the Lascars was the bearer of a letter from the captain of the
Premier, stating that he and his crew were still captives, and trusting
that a vessel would be sent to rescue them, as they were strictly
guarded by the natives, and had no hopes of escape. The Samarang
being the only man-of-war at Manilla, the English consul requested
our captain to proceed again to Borneo to obtain these people,
calling at Sooloo in order to obtain information and a pilot.

On the 10th of December we sailed for Sooloo, where we arrived
on the 15th. We found the natives preparing for an attack, which
they anticipated from the French, and suspicious that our intentions
were also hostile. Having already described Sooloo, I shall confine
myself to events. The captain, with his officers, went on shore, and

128 BORNEO AND

had an audience with the sultan ; and having brought an interpreter
with us from Manilla, the conversation was carried on without dif-
ficulty. Refreshments, as lemonade, &c. were handed round as before,
and, as before, the room of audience was crowded to suffocation.

The prime minister, who was a little corpulent man with an
aquiline nose, wore such an expression of low cunning, and eyed us
with such ill-concealed hatred, that we christened him Daniel Quilp,
and he was ever afterwards spoken of by that soubriquet. Our object
being made known, and the sultan's assistance demanded to obtain
the remainder of the prisoners, every obstacle that Quilp could throw
in our way was resorted to ; and thus the audience became very
tiresome, and I paid little or no attention to what was said, amusing
myself by using my eyes, instead of tormenting my ears. A heavy
red curtain was hung up, dividing the room into two compartments.
Observing that this moved once or twice, I endeavoured to find out
the cause, when several pairs of black eyes, half hidden in the folds
and rents, explained the mystery ; and whilst they were loudly dis-
puting, I was winking and making faces at the sultan's wives, who,
stimulated by curiosity to behold the white men, were thus trans-
gressing the rules of the harem. But old Quilp looked very hard at
me, and for the ladies' sakes I was obliged to desist.

Behind the sultan stood a young man very handsomely dressed in
crimson silk, who held in his hands an English finger-glass. We were
very much at a loss to know what his office might be, and also what
might be the office of the finger-glass; but our curiosity was soon
gratified; the sultan beckoned the youth to approach, and as the
latter presented the finger-glass, his highness blew his nose in it.

Indeed, the misappropriation of English utensils in this part of the
world is very absurd, although it is not surprising that an article
coming into their hands, the use of which they have no idea of, should

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 129

be appropriated to that use which they consider it best adapted to.
On the occasion of a dinner given to us by the sultan of Bruni, the
whole party were seized with a fit of very indecorous and immoderate
laughter, by finding the centre dish, which was a curry, served up
in a capacious vessel, which in Europe is only to be found under a
bed. The curry, nevertheless, was excellent ; and what matter did
it make ? " What's in a name ? A rose by any other name would smell
as sweet." — But to return.

We remained eight days at Sooloo, during which time there was
much altercation and excitement. At last the sultan of Sooloo agreed
to send a prahu with us to pilot us up the river, to the town where
the crew of the Premier were in durance.

During the time that we were at Sooloo, we had evidence sufficient
of the vindictive feeling held by the rabble against Europeans, and at
the same time the various ways they resorted to, to give us an idea
of their superiority. They drew our attention to some old cannon
mounted on rotten gun-carriages; they pointed out the strength of
their fort, the sharpness of their krisses and spears; and we could
not but smile at the false estimate of their and our capabilities. They
expressed curiosity to see our swords, which are always made of
finely tempered steel, although not sharp edged, as they are required
more for thrusting and parrying. Of our mode of self-defence they
are ignorant, as they invariably cut with their krisses; their first
attention was, therefore, drawn to the edge of the sword; passing
the thumb along it, and finding it blunt, they expressed the greatest
contempt for the weapon. It was useless to show them the thrust
and parry movements, or to prove the well-tempered steel by bending
the blade till the hilt and point were almost meeting. A sharp iron
hoop in their ideas was preferable to all the best English work-
manship. The Sooloo knives are larger than they usually are in the

130 BORNEO AND

Archipelago, and of superior manufacture. By rubbing them with
limes and exposing them to the sun, they stain them in a manner
quite peculiar to the place.

Partly to the machinations of our friend Quilp and the irritable
and proud disposition of the people, who considered that the sultan
was humiliated by listening to reason and remonstrance, we were more
than once very near coming to blows. At last every thing was
arranged amicably ; and just before starting, the prime minister, Quilp,
and a large party of chiefs, condescended to pay a visit to the ship.

To guard against treachery, for Quilp was equal to any thing, the
marines were kept under arms, and supplied with ball cartridges. The
ship was soon crowded with chiefs, armed to the teeth, and accompa-
nied by men with muskets, spears, and shields. It certainly did not
look like a very amicable visit on their part, or a very friendly reception
on ours ; but the ship wore a very gay appearance. The guns, net-
tings, and booms were covered with the chiefs and attendants dressed
in very gay colours. Groups of them sat down on the decks, and
made their remarks upon what they beheld ; while numbers prowled
about up and down, examining, peeping, and wondering. We amused
them with firing congreve rockets, guns, &c, which gave them some
idea of our value, and we therefore combined instruction with amuse-
ment. They departed highly pleased and astonished, and it was
evident that we were some degrees higher in the estimation of Quilp
himself.

The prahu ordered to pilot us having come alongside, we hoisted
her up abaft, and took the people on board, and then made sail for the
hitherto unknown territory of Panti river. We anchored off the main
land on the 25th December, that we might discover the mouth of the
river, which was unknown to us. Our Christmas-day was not a
very happy one ; we did nothing but drink to the hopes of a better

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 131

one the ensuing year. On the following day we weighed, and moved
some distance up the river, and then anchored, waiting the return of
the prahu, which had been despatched up to the town the night before.
We had, by the means of warping and towing, gained about fifteen
miles up the river, when we found that it divided into two branches,
and, not knowing which branch to take, we had anchored, waiting the
return of the prahu. As she, however, did not make her appearance,
although she had had quite sufficient time allowed her, the boats
were therefore manned and armed, and we started in search of the
town Gonong Tabor. As bad luck would have it, we chose the left
branch of the river, and, after two days' unsuccessful search, came
back just as we went, but not quite so fresh as when we started. The
prahu had not yet returned, so, taking a new departure, we proceeded
up the right branch. This proved a fine broad river ; one portion of it,
studded with small islands, was very picturesque. We soon hove in
sight of what appeared to be a town, although there were no signs of
life visible. It was built on the left side of the river on two small
hills, but we heard no gongs or tomtoms sounding, the usual alarm of
all the Malay settlements on the approach of strangers. When we
arrived off it, we found that the town was deserted. It had evidently
but a short time back been a populous and flourishing place, but it
had been destroyed by the enemy, as, although the houses were
standing, the cocoa-nut and other trees had been all cut down.
On the brow of the hill were many graves ; one, which was stockaded
and thatched, and the remnants of several flags fluttering in the wind,
denoted the resting-place of a rajah. He little thought when he was
alive that his head would be transported to a head house some 20,000
miles distant, but such was his fate : science required it, and he was
packed up to add to the craniological specimens in the College of

s 2

132 BORNEO AND

Surgeons, the gentlemen presiding over which are as fond of heads as
the Dyaks themselves.

We moved up the river till nightfall, and then anchored. We were
satisfied from appearances that we were not far from a town, and,
loading our arms, we kept a very strict look-out.

At daylight the next morning we weighed anchor, and, having
passed two reaches of the river, we came in sight of the towns of
Gonong Tabor and Gonong Satang. We pulled towards them, with
a flag of truce, and were immediately boarded by a canoe, which con-
tained the prime minister, who made every profession of good-will on
the part of his master, the sultan of Gonong Tabor. We observed
with surprise that he hoisted a Dutch flag, which he requested that
we would salute. The captain replied, that they must first salute the
English flag, and, if they did so, he promised to return the salute.
This was complied with ; the English flag was saluted with twenty-
one guns, and an equal number returned. The boats were then
anchored off the town.

Immediately after we had returned the salute, we heard an attempt
at music, and this was soon explained by the appearance of a proces-
sion filing through the gates of the town towards the boats. It was
headed by a Malay, bearing the standard of Gonong Tabor, — red, with
a white border ; he was followed by another carrying a large canopy
of silk, highly ornamented, and fringed with lace. After this person-
age came the prime minister ; then two musicians, one playing the
drum, and the other a flageolet of rude construction. These mu-
sicians were dressed in red bordered with yellow, with cowls over
their heads. The rear was composed of a body-guard of Malays, well
armed. The whole advanced towards the landing-place, having been
sent by the sultan to escort the captain to the palace. The captain
and officers landed, and, escorted by the natives, proceeded to the

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

133

palace, the red silk canopy being carried over the head of the captain
as a mark of honour. The sultan, a corpulent but fine-looking man,

PROCESSION OF THS SOLTAN OF GONONG TABOB.

received us very courteously. He informed the captain that all the
white people belonging to the Premier had been ransomed by the Dutch,
whose trading vessels were in the habit of visiting Gonong Tabor.
The captain of the Premier had refused to acknowledge the Lascars
as British subjects, and, in consequence, the poor fellows had been
retained as slaves. They were not, however, at Gonong Tabor, but at
Baloongan, a town of some importance up a neighbouring river. He
added, that four of the Lascars had fallen victims to the climate, and
that there were twelve still remaining at the above-mentioned town.

134 BORNEO AND

It appeared that, from some misunderstanding between the sultans of
Gonong Tabor and Gonong Satang relative to the disposal of the
English prisoners, they had come to blows, and were at this time at
open warfare, the two towns being within gunshot of each other.
Gonong Satang was built on a hill on the opposite side of the river,
and was strongly stockaded as well as Gonong Tabor.

The sultan expressed his desire to enter into an amicable treaty
with the English, and offered our captain his assistance in procuring
the release of the Lascars at Baloongan. This offer was accepted, and,
when we left, a prahu accompanied us to that town.

In the course of the evening the sultan's prime minister and suite
visited the barge, which was moored within a few yards of the land-
ing-place. We surprised them very much with our quick firing, but
their astonishment was unbounded at the firing of a congreve rocket,
which they perceived carried destruction to every thing in its flight.
The grand vizier was in ecstasies, and begged very hard that the cap-
tain would go up to Gonong Satang, and just fire one or two at their
adversaries in that town. This, of course, was refused.

We here fell in with a most remarkable tribe of Dyaks : they wore
immense rings in their ears, made of tin or copper, the weight of
which elongated the ear to a most extraordinary extent. On their
heads they wore a mass of feathers of the Argus pheasant. They
wore on their shoulders skins of the leopard and wild cat, and neck-
laces of beads and teeth. They were armed with the usual parang,
blowpipe, and shield. They were a much larger race of men than the
Dyaks of the north coast, but not so well favoured. We remained
here five days, and on the 1st of January, 1845, went down the river
to the ship, accompanied by the prahu which was to be our guide to
Baloongan. The following day we sailed for Baloongan, and on the
3rd we anchored off the bank where the Premier was cast away. Her

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

135

EABS OF DYAK.S AT GONONG TABOR.

ribs and timbers were left, but the natives had carried away every
thing of value, except a small anchor, which they had not ingenuity
enough to recover. Leaving the ship at anchor here, we again
manned the boats, and, accompanied by the pilot prahu, proceeded up
the Saghai river : the next day we arrived in sight of Baloongan.
Heaving to, to load our guns, and get our fire-arms in readiness (for
we expected a hostile reception), we then hoisted a flag of truce and
pulled up to the town. What first occupied our attention was a
green plot in front of the town, on which were mounted from fifteen
to twenty guns, which were continually pointed so as to bear upon us
as we pulled up, and which were backed by some thousands, I should

136 BORNEO AND

think, of Malays and savages, all well armed with spears and knives.
This looked like business, but we pulled on, with the white flag still
flying. A canoe came off, containing, as at Gonong Tabor, the prime
minister. He waved with his hand, ordering us to anchor, and point-
ing to the guns, which the natives still continued to train after us.
The captain refused to anchor, and pulled on ; we were then almost
abreast and within thirty yards of the battery. As we passed it
within ten yards, the natives kept the muzzles pointed at our boats,
and we expected them every moment to fire. Had they done so, we
might have received considerable damage ; but what would their loss
have been when we had opened with round, grape, and canister, and
congreve rockets, upon such an exposed and densely crowded multi-
tude ? They contented themselves, however, with yelling, which does
not kill, and, passing the battery, we dropped our anchor close to the
gate of the stockade by which the town was surrounded.

In passing the battery, and refusing to anchor, the captain adopted
the most prudent and safe course ; for we had long before discovered
that decision is absolutely necessary with these people. The least
hesitation on our part would have fortified their courage to attack ;
but they are so much awed by our superior arms, and I may safely
add the superior courage of our men, that they never will, however
much they may threaten, be the first to come to blows, provided
there is no vacillation or unsteadiness on our parts. This the cap-
tain knew, and acted accordingly.

After returning their salute of twenty-one guns, the captain, with
some of the officers and a party of small-armed men passed through
a line of Dyaks to the hall of audience, which, as usual, was crowded
to excess with armed Malays. The sultan, who was a stout athletic
man, received us very cordially, but his confused manners and restless
eyes showed that he was not at his ease. His dress consisted of a

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 137

yellow satin jacket, over which he wore another of purple silk, worked
and hemmed with lace. His trousers and turban were made of
similar materials. Shoes and stockings he had none, and wearing
both jackets open, his chest was exposed. The sultan acknowledged
that the Lascars were still in his territory, but, as two of them were
at some distance in the interior, it would require a few days to bring
them in. He appeared very glad that the business was settling so
easily, for he no doubt expected an inquiry and a demand for all the
ship's stores, the major portion of which had found their way to
Baloongan. The chain cables must have been invaluable to the
natives, and I detected several links which had been partly converted
into spear-heads.

There was nothing worthy of remark in the town of Baloongan.
We were very much interested in the Dyak tribes, who were the same
as those described at Gonong Tabor, and in greater numbers. They
were equally tall, and appeared to be the very perfection of savage
warriors. They invited us several times to pay them a visit on the
hills, where they resided. These Dyaks appeared very friendly to us,
and one of them, an intelligent fellow, of the name of Meta, volun-
teered to take a letter overland to Mr. Brooke : his mode of travelling
was by pulling up the Saghai river to its source in his canoe, till he
came close to the source of the Coran, and by his account the two
rivers nearly meet. He took the letter, binding it round his head
with a piece of linen ; but I do not know if ever it was delivered.
One observation I made relative to these Saghai Dyaks, which was,
that much as they must have been astonished at our arms and equip-
ments, like the North American Indians, they never allowed the least
sign of it to be perceived.

At the end of a week the prisoners returned in a very miserable
condition. They had been at work, pounding paddy and digging

138 BORNEO AND

yams ; and they stated that they had not sufficient allowed to eat to
support existence, besides being beat about the legs with bamboos.
Two of the twelve died evidently from ill treatment and exhaustion.
Their gratitude at being delivered from their slavery was beyond
bounds ; and it certainly is not very creditable to the master of the
Premier to have abandoned them in the way he did, when a word
from him would have procured their liberty.

We returned to the ship, and the next day ran down to the Premier
Reef; the captain then went again to the Panti river, in the boats, to
conclude the treaty with the sultan of Gonong Tabor. This was soon
accomplished ; and giving him an union jack to hoist, at which he was
much pleased, we bade him farewell.

We finished the survey of the Premier Shoal, as it is now named,
and then steered for the island of Maratua, which the sultan of
Gonong Tabor had by his treaty made over to the English, represent-
ing it as having an excellent harbour and good water ; but on our
arrival we were much disappointed to find an island surrounded by
reefs, with only one intricate passage through them and sufficiently
wide only for boats. Probably the sultan knew no better. As we
were very short of water, we now made sail for Sooloo, and fell in with
the Sooloo prahu, which had been sent to us as a pilot, and which
we had never seen since she went up the river Panti before us. She
had been waiting for us outside, and the people were very much
pleased at finding us, as they feared being taken by the pirates of
Tawee-Tawee. After having been nearly wrecked on a reef, and
having grounded on another, we anchored off the Lugutan islands,
and despatched the two cutters in search of water. One of them
attacked and burnt a prahu, because she looked suspicious ; the other
did better, she discovered a stream of water, off which we anchored
the same evening. Having completed wood and water, we sailed for

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

139

Sooloo, where we arrived on the Sunday. We were surprised to find
a French squadron anchored in the bay. It consisted of the Cleopatra,
50-gun frigate, Rear Admiral Cecile, with an ambassador on board,

PORTRAIT OF MAHOMED POLLULU, SULTAN OF SOOLOO.

the Victorieuse, 22, and the Alchimede war steamer. They were
treating with the sultan of Sooloo for the island of Basilan, the
natives of which had beat off their boats, with the loss of a lieutenant

T 2

140 BORNEO AND

and four men killed and many wounded. The island of Basilan is
subject to Sooloo, although the natives have refused to pay tribute
for many years. The French, aware of this, and wishing to establish
a colony in the East, offered the sultan 20,000 dollars if he would
make over the island to them ; but this was not acceded to, the chiefs
being divided on the question. The people of Sooloo have a great
dislike to all Europeans, but particularly to the French. Treacherous
as we and the French knew them to be, we little thought to have it
proved in so fearful a manner. About a mile to the right of the
town is a spring, where all the ships watered. One day some peculiar
looking berries were found in the pool, which, on examination, proved
to be deadly poison, the natives having thrown them in with the
intention of poisoning us en masse. The water was of course started
overboard, and intelligence sent to Admiral Cecile, who was highly
incensed.

It was singular by what means this discovery was made. One of
the seamen of the Samarang complained of a stinging sensation in his
feet from having wetted them in the pool. Our assistant surgeon
happening to be on shore at the time, caused the watering to be
stopped, and the pool to be examined. Buried in the sand, at the
bottom of the pool, and secured in wicker baskets, were found those
poisonous berries, which the natives had concealed there. As soon
as Admiral Cecile received the information, all the water was thrown
overboard, and the boats of the whole squadron, manned and armed,
landed the French admiral, the ambassador, and our captain. They
repaired to the palace of the sultan, who not only expressed his
abhorrence of the attempt, but promised to put to death the parties if
they could be discovered. The attempt did not, however, stop here.
In addition to fruit, the boats at Sooloo brought off rice cakes, which
were eagerly bought by the seamen. Some of the chiefs issued an

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

141

order for a large number of poisoned cakes, which they intended for
our consumption ; but fortunately the order was so extensive that it
got wind, and we were warned of what was intended by a native of
Manilla, who had been captured by pirates and sold at Sooloo. In
reward for this intelligence, we gave him, and others of the same
place, a passage to Manilla, taking care, however, that they should be
smuggled on board. Sailed for Manilla, staid there a few days, and
then went to Batan, from thence to Hong Kong, where we arrived on
the 1st of April, and found the Iris and Castor in the harbour.

TANKA BOATS — HONG KONG,

There never was, perhaps, so rapid a rise in any settlement made
by the English as that of Hong Kong, considering the very short time
that it has been in our possession. Where, two years back, there
existed but a few huts, you now behold a well-built and improving

142 BOKNEO AND

town, with churches, hotels, stores, wharves, and godowns. The
capacious harbour which, but a short time ago, was only visited by
some Chinese junks or English opium clippers, is now swarming with
men-of-war and merchant ships. The town extends along the base of
the mountain. Every day some improvement takes place in this fast-
growing colony, but, from the scarcity of building ground, house rent
is very dear, and every thing has risen in proportion. The town
which, from the irregularity of the ground, has but one street of
importance, lies under the highest part of a rock, which is called
Possession Peak. It is built on a kind of ledge, but this is so steep
that the basements of the back houses can be seen over the roofs
of those in the front, although the houses are no further apart than is
necessary for the streets. Above the town the rock rises almost per-
pendicularly ; but every spot which can be built upon is appropriated,
and scattered buildings may be seen half way up the rock, only
accessible by tortuous and narrow paths. The houses are built of
white freestone; many of them are handsome erections, and on a
fine day the town of Victoria has an imposing appearance.

The island is now intersected by roads, in some parts necessarily
precipitous, but equestrians can make the circuit of Hong Kong
without any other risk but from the marauding Chinese, who, in spite
of the police, still find means of exercising their vocation. To the
left of the town of Victoria is a very pretty valley, but in the middle
of it is a swamp, which renders the place so unhealthy that no one
can reside there : some who did, died there ; and there are one or two
neat little villas on it, now untenanted and falling into ruins. Strange
to say, it still bears the name of Happy Valley.

The harbour is completely land locked, and has two entrances.
One side of it is formed by Hong Kong, the other by Kow-loon, which
is part of the mainland.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 143

But all this has its reverse. The unhealthiness of the climate is
very great, and this is impressed upon the stranger while at anchor
in the roads ; for the first object that meets his eye is the Minden
hospital ship, with her flag continually half mast high, announcing that
another poor sailor had gone to his long home. When you land you
will certainly meet a funeral ; and watching the countenances of the
passers by, their sallow complexions, and their debilitated frames,
with the total unconcern with which they view the mournful pro-
cessions, you may assure yourself that they must be of daily and hourly
occurrence. And such is the fact.

I was sorry to find that murders and robberies were most frequent
at Hong Kong, although the police force has been augmented from
London, and is under the charge of an experienced officer. While
on shore, I observed the body of a Chinaman rise to the surface,
disfigured in a horrible manner, and although notice was sent imme-
diately to the authorities, it was allowed to remain beating against
the wharf till late in the afternoon, when it was towed out and sunk
in the middle of the harbour.

I once witnessed the punishment of a Chinese robber at the market
gate ; he had been apprehended on the preceding night. His tail,
which was false, and filled with blades of knives, needles, &c, came
off in the officer's hands. However, he was secured, and received a
daily allowance of fifty lashes, which was continued as long as he was
capable of bearing the punishment, and then he was sent to work on
the roads.

I left H.M.S. Samarang at this port, and joined the Iris, com-
manded by Captain Mundy, whose high character as an officer and
a gentleman I well knew ; unfortunately I was only lent to the Iris,
and the consequence was, as will be seen, I had ultimately to return
to the Samarang. I found that the Iris was to sail for the north

f44 BOKNEO AND

coast of China, and I was delighted at the idea of visiting those parts,
which there was little chance of if I had remained in the Samarang.

One object of the Iris proceeding to the coast of China was to carry
General D'Aguilar and suite on a visit to the most interesting of
the hostage ports. We sailed on the 6th of April, and after a week's
beating arrived at Chapel Island, at the mouth of Amoy bay. This
bay is very spacious, being nearly thirty miles deep. To the left of
the entrance is a high peak, on the summit of which is built a splendid
pagoda, serving as a landmark to vessels coming from seaward. The
town of Amoy is built at the bottom of the bay. Close to it, and
forming an inner harbour, is the island of Ku-lang-so, near to which
we dropped our anchor. Ku-lang-so is a pretty island, about a mile
in diameter. Up to the evacuation of Amoy it had been occupied by
our troops ; and the remains of a race course and a theatre prove that
the gallant 18th had contrived to amuse themselves. At the present
time it is all but deserted, the only European residents being Mr.
Sullivan, the Yice Consul ; the Chinese, who had been driven from
it at the capture of the city, not having as yet returned. The
houses on it are prettily disposed, and some rich foliage and green
pasture give an English character to the scenery, and are very refresh-
ing, after continually looking at the everlasting paddy fields, which
constitute the principal features of the sea coast of China. It is to
this circumstance that I ascribe the exaggerated accounts we have
of the beauty of the island of Ku-lang-so. It forms, however, a
very pleasant promenade, and may be enjoyed without interruption
from the inhabitants. The city of Amoy is built on a low neck of
land. The houses are of a dusky tint, and from the anchorage are
indistinguishable through forests of junks' masts, which surround the
town. To the right of the town, and extending to some distance, is a
fortified wall, which gave some trouble at the capture. I landed

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

145

with a party to walk through the city. The streets are narrow and
dirty, the open shops on either side reminding you very much of
Constantinople. The population is immense, the streets are always

CHINESE FISHERMEN.

crowded. We soon found that we were objects of attention, and were
followed by a mob. It was with difficulty that we could force our
way ; and, moreover, the town having been lately evacuated by our
troops, the Chinese thought themselves secure in venting their ani-
mosity, by pushing, jostling, and throwing stones at us. In this,
however, they were mistaken, for being a tolerably strong party, and
knowing that they had a very wholesome fear of us, we were not slow
in resorting to blows when intreaties proved in vain ; and, before we
were in the middle of the town, more than one celestial head had come
in contact with the pavement. One had the impudence to bellow in
my face ; for which impertinence he received a facer, which gave him

146

BORNEO AND

something to bellow for. Those, however, who "were at a distance
had the means of annoying with impunity, and we were glad to take

COOK'S SHOP,

refuge in a pastry cook's shop, which happened most opportunely to
present itself.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 147

On our entering, we were each presented with a pair of chop sticks,
and a large tray was placed before us, filled with sweetmeats of every
description. There were nutmegs and other spices, ginger, sugar
cane, bamboo, and the knee-bone palm, preserved in the most exquisite
manner. Every thing was so novel, chop sticks not excepted, that it
was quite fearful the extent to which we indulged in the sweetmeats ;
however, as we had no maiden aunts ready with their doses, as in our
infancy, we ate and spared not. Cakes of the most recherche de-
scription, and pastry, the lightness of which would have shamed
Gunter, were each and all in their turn discussed ; and what was our
astonishment to find that, on calling for the bill, the charge amounted
to about sixpence.

We visited as much of the town as the mob would permit, but I
shall reserve my description of a genuine Chinese town until our
arrival to the northward. The joss-houses at Amoy are not remark-
able, and one description of these buildings will suffice for all.

We lay at Amoy for about a week, during which the Mandarins paid
us a full dress visit. They were extremely cautious, and remained on
board for a couple of hours. At their departure we gave them the
economical Chinese salute of three guns. During our stay here I
amused myself principally on the island of Ku-lang-so, and I was
not sorry when we weighed anchor, and, with a fair wind, made sail
for Chusan.

Chusan is the largest of a closely packed group of islands, near to
the main land of China, and about 500 miles to the northward of
Amoy. These islands, many of them very diminutive, are so close to
each other, that on threading them to approach the town of Chusan,
the channel wears the appearance of a small river branching out into
every direction. If the leading marks were removed it would be a
complete marine labyrinth, and a boat might pull and pull in and

u 2

148 BORNEO AND

out for the whole day, without arriving at its destination. Narrow,
however, as is the passage, with a due precaution, and the necessary
amount of backing and filling, there is sufficient water for ships of the
largest size. At sunset we anchored off the town of Chusan. Here
the islands form a beautiful little harbour, sufficiently capacious.
The island being covered with tea plants, the panorama is pretty and
refreshing. From the anchorage little can be seen of the town, as it
is built on a flat, and hidden by a parapet and bank of mud, which
runs along the bottom of the harbour. This temporary fortification
is called a bund, and was erected by the Chinese previous to the
capture of the place. Behind this bund is an esplanade, parallel with
which are houses, which serve as barracks for the troops, and the
residences of the civil and military functionaries. The country is
hilly, and several commanding forts are visible from the anchorage.

On landing, we directed our steps to the town by a causeway which
leads from the landing-place to the gates between the fields of paddy,
which are, as usual, swamped with water. The sides of this causeway
are lined with shops ; and the island being occupied by the English,
soon stared you in the face, in the shape of boards in front of each
shop, bearing such inscriptions as " Snip, from Pekin," " Stultz, from
Ningpo," and others equally ludicrous, in good English letters. There
were "Buckmasters " and " Hobys " innumerable ; Licensed Victuallers
and " Dealers in Grocery." Passing a tolerably well constructed gate,
guarded by an English sentry, we entered the town. The streets are
cleaner than those of Amoy, and not so narrow ; but what gave us
most satisfaction was, that our appearance excited no attention ; and
we enjoyed our walk, and made our observations uninterruptedly.

Our first visit was to a toy-shop: a great many articles were
exposed for sale, and many very beautiful carvings ; they were, how-
ever, far too delicate for a midshipman's chest, and the price did not

THE INDIAN AKCHIPELAGO. 149

exactly suit a midshipman's pocket. A silk warehouse next occupied
our attention : here we were shown some beautiful embroidery, some
of which was purchased. After walking over the whole town, we
proceeded to the principal joss-house : this was very handsome ; but
I was sorry that it had been selected as a barrack, and was occupied
by a company of sepoys. The altar was converted into a stand for
arms, and the god Fo was accoutred with a sheath and cross belt.
To complete the absurdity, a green demon before the altar was grin-
ning maliciously from under the weight of a frieze coat. At the
entrance of the joss-house is a covered porch, under which are two
figures sitting, and in this posture nearly twenty feet high. The
interior of the house is handsomely ornamented and gilt ; and behind
the altar there is a row of some fifteen figures, in a sitting posture,
all gilt from head to foot, and forming a very goodly assembly : they
represented old men wrapped in togas, with faces expressive of
instruction, revelation, and wisdom. There was nothing Chinese in
their features ; the heads were shaved, and it is to be presumed that
they represented the prophets and holy writers who flourished ante-
cedent to the great Fo. The expression on their countenances was
admirable ; and surprised us the more, from a knowledge how fond
the Chinese are of filling their temples with unnatural and unmeaning
devils.

"We then visited a smaller god-house: this the 8th regiment had
converted into a theatre. Very little traces of a holy temple were
discernible ; and the great Fo occupied a corner of the green-room.
The scenes were painted in fresco, and the whole affair was very
tolerably arranged. Most part of the scenery had been painted by my
brother during his stay at this port in the Cambrian. The Chinamen
consider this no sacrilege, as they always use the temples as theatres
themselves.

150 BORNEO AND

During the winter months Chusan is very cold, and the snow lies
on the ground. The country there abounds with game — deer,
swans, partridges, pheasants, and wild fowl of every description : the
prices are very moderate ; a fine buck may be purchased for a dollar,
and a brace of pheasants for a rupee. It was now the month of May,
and the swans and geese had departed, and game was becoming scarce
as the weather became fine ; still, however, there was a duck or so to
be picked up, so I joined a party bent on trying their luck, and we
prepared for a hard day's work.

No one who has not tried it can have an idea of the fatigue of
a day's shooting at Chusan. Having a Chinese covered boat, we
loaded her with quite sufficient to support nature for twenty-four
hours ; and pulling about four miles through the channels intersecting
the islands, we landed about daylight. Before us was a vast paddy
field, into which we plunged up to our knees in mud and water. As
we approached one of the dykes which convey the water for the irri-
gation, caution was observed, not a word was uttered by one of the
party, and our good behaviour was rewarded by a brace of fine birds,
which were deposited in the bag, carried by a celestial under-keeper.
Crossing the dyke, we continued to wade through the paddy fields,
shooting some plover and a red-legged partridge, until we arrived at
a Chinese village. We passed through it, and fell in with a herd of
water buffaloes, as they term them. One of them charged furiously,
but the contents of one of our barrels in his eyes made him start in
mid career ; and having had quite enough into his head, he turned to
us his tail. These animals show a great antipathy to Europeans, pro-
bably from not having been accustomed to their dress. Red, of course,
makes them furious, and, thanks to his jacket, a drummer of one of
the regiments was killed by these animals. Towards evening we felt
it quite impossible to wade any further; and although nightfall is

-J

—

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 151

considered the best time for shooting ducks, we thought it was the
best time to return to the boat, which we did not regain, fatigued,
hungry, and covered with mud, till ten o'clock at night.

One day, strolling in the country about four miles from Chusan, we
fell in with a very pretty little house surrounded with trees. The
courtesy usually shown to the English at Chusan induced us to enter
it, that we might inspect the premises. Its owner, a mandarin, was
absent, but his major-domo took us over the whole house. The round
doors and oyster-shell windows amused us greatly. The garden was
ornamented with artificial rocks, studded with flowering shrubs, with
great taste. There were two or three grottoes, in one of which was a
joss ; and an arbour of lilacs and laburnums, in full bloom, gave a
charming appearance to the whole. Thanking the Chinaman for his
civility, we went away, much pleased with the mandarin's country
retreat.

During our stay at Chusan we had made a party to go to the island
of Poo-too, but we were hurried away sooner than we expected, and
our design was frustrated. I will, however, give a description of the
island of Poo-too, as described to me. This island is about forty miles
from Chusan, and is inhabited solely by priests. These being con-
demned to a life of celibacy, no woman resides on the island, which is
covered with temples of all descriptions, many of them very handsome,
but one in particular, which was built by the emperor. The island is
not large, and is laid out like a vast garden, with squares and walks,
bridges, &c.

We left Chusan, and soon afterwards anchored off the mouth of the
Ningpo River, which is only thirty miles to northward and westward
of the Chusan isles. The first object of interest before us was the
famous joss-house fort, which gave us so much trouble at the cap-
ture. General D'Aguilar and Captain Mundy being about to visit

152 BORNEO AND

the city of Ningpo, a party of us obtained a week's leave of absence
for the same purpose. We landed in a ship's boat at Chinghae, a
small but tolerably fortified town, which, however, needs no descrip-
tion. There we obtained a covered Chinese boat, in which we put
our beds and blankets, intending to live on board her during our stay
at Ningpo. Starting with a fair wind and tide, by noon we were
within five miles of the city, which is built about forty miles up the
river. The banks of the river appeared to be highly cultivated, and
the river was crowded with boats of all descriptions, some going up
with the tide, others at anchor, waiting for the tide to change, to go
in an opposite direction. The first that we saw of Ningpo was a low
wall, from the middle of which rose a tall pagoda. This, with innu-
merable masts of the vessels lying off the town, was all that was visible :
nor could we discern much more on a nearer approach. Threading
the crowd of vessels which filled the river, on our left we could only
see the wall and battlements of the town, the before-mentioned pagoda
soaring above every thing. To the right, on the side of the river
opposite to the town, were several detached houses, surrounded with
low shrubberies ; behind these was the Chinese country, and then the
eye wandered over countless paddy fields, until it at last rested upon
some faint blue mountains in the distance.

Among the houses on the right was that of the vice-consul, Mr.
Thorn. Anchoring our boat as near to his landing-place as possible,
we made arrangements for the night, it being then too late to pay him
the accustomed visit. We had, however, scarcely spread our mat-
tresses, and put some supper on the fire, when we were hailed by a
Chinese boy, and requested to come on shore. Ignorant from whence
the invitation might come, but nothing loath, we hauled our boat to
the jetty, and, landing, followed young pigtail, who ushered us
through a court-yard into a house of tolerable dimensions, agreeably

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 153

arranged according to English ideas of comfort. In five minutes
more we were introduced to Mr. Mackenzie, an English merchant,
who, having been informed of our arrival, had sent for us to request
that, during our stay at Ningpo, we would make his house our home.
We would not tax his hospitality so far as to sleep at his house,
having already made our own arrangements ; but we willingly
accepted his kind offer of being his guests during the day, and
proved our sincerity by immediately sitting down to an excellent
dinner, and in the evening we retreated to our boat. The next
morning we breakfasted with our host, and then crossed the river, to
inspect the city. Having landed at one of the gates, we hired a sort
of sedan chairs, which were carried by two athletic Tartars, and pro-
ceeded to examine a very remarkable building called the Ruined
Pagoda. I shall give Dr. Milne's description of it, taken out of the
Chinese repository, as I think it will be better than my own : —

" We bent our steps to the Tien-fung, called by foreigners the
Ruined Pagoda. Foreigners make for it as soon as they enter the
east gate. After shaping their course in a south-east direction through
numberless streets, it abruptly bursts upon the view, rising 160 feet
above their heads, and towering high above the surrounding houses.
The pagoda is hexagonal, and counts seven stories and twenty-eight
windows. Above every window is a lantern, and when the pagoda is
illuminated, the effect is very brilliant. This building is in much
need of repair, and is daily becoming more dilapidated. It has
already deviated many feet from the perpendicular, and might not
unaptly be described as the Leaning Tower of Ningpo."
Dr. Milne thus describes the view from the summit : —
" The entire city and suburbs lay beneath us ; the valley of Ningpo,
with its hamlets and villages, hills and rivers, on every side; and
away in the distance, on the one hand chains of lofty mountains, the

154

BORNEO AND

THE INDIAN AKCHIPELAGO. 155

sea, with all its islands, on the other." Dr. Milne asserts that Ningpo
is 10,000 years old, and that the pagoda was raised antecedent to the
city being built. He concludes by explaining the object of the
Chinese in raising these monuments.

The view from the summit is remarkably fine, and the ruinous
condition of the pagoda almost warrants the supposition of its being
nearly as ancient as Dr. Milne asserts. I made a drawing of it, and
we then proceeded to the joss-house, which is considered as the
handsomest in the Celestial empire. No part of the building was
visible from the street, and we stopped at an unpretending door where
we dismounted from our vehicles. A Bhuddist priest, clothed in
grey and his head shaved, ushered us through a long gallery into the
court-yard of the temple. To describe this building accurately would
be impossible. It was gilt and carved from floor to ceiling. The
porch was supported by pillars of stone beautifully carved with
figures of griffins and snakes. In the court-yard were two lions
carved out of a purple marble, and in the middle of the yard was an
immense brazen ram highly ornamented with hieroglyphics and
allegorical designs. As for the temple itself, it was so vast, so
intricate, and so various in its designs and gildings, that I can only
say picture to yourself a building composed entirely of carving,
coloured porcelain, and gilding, and then you may have a faint idea
of it. I attempted to make a drawing of it, but before I had obtained
much more than the outline, it was time to recross the river. We
dined and passed the evening with Mr. Mackenzie as before. The
next morning I walked to the Chinese cemetery with my gun in my
hand, and shot a few snipe and wood pigeons, and after breakfast we
crossed the river to pay a visit to the shops of Ningpo. The streets
of the city are narrow, but superior to any that we had yet seen.
The principal streets are ornamented with stone arches, and the huge

x 2

156 BORNEO AND

painted boards used by the Chinese for advertisements give them a
very gay appearance. We first entered into a furniture warehouse,
some 300 yards in length, and filled with Chinese bedsteads carved and
gilt in a very splendid manner. These bedsteads consist of moveable
frames about twelve feet square, and within them are disposed
couches, chairs, tables, and the requisites for the toilet, besides a
writing desk, so that a bedstead in China contains all the furniture of
the room. Some of these were valued at five and six hundred dollars,
but were very highly ornamented and of exquisite workmanship.

A hat shop was the next visited. Its interior would have been
considered splendid even in Regent Street. A long highly polished
counter with a top of cane-work, was loaded with the hats and caps
of Mandarins of every class, and the display was very tempting to
those who wanted them. We then passed five minutes in a porcelain
warehouse ; from the warehouse we went to a toy-shop, and being by
this time pretty well encumbered with mandarins' hats and caps,
gongs, and a variety of other articles which we did not want, at the
same time making the discovery that our purses were not encumbered
with dollars as they were when we set forth, we thought it advisable
to leave off shopping for the day.

The next day we visited the Hall of Confucius, which was not
worth seeing, nor could we discover to what use it was dedicated, so
we turned from it and went off to see a Chinese play. As we proceeded
to the theatre we were surprised to hear a lad singing " Jim along
Josey," we turned round and found it was a real pig tail who was
singing, and we inquired where he learnt the air. We found that he
had served on board one of our vessels during the Chinese war, so we
hired the young traitor as a cicerone during our stay at Ningpo, and
ordered him to follow us to the theatre, which as usual was a temple
or joss-house.

n ».

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 157

We found it crowded with Chinese, and the actors were performing
on a raised platform. Our entrance caused a great sensation, and for
a short time the performance was unnoticed by the audience. Our
beaver hats quite puzzled them, for we were in plain clothes ; even the
actors indulged in a stare, and for a short time we were " better than
a play." The Chinese acting has been often described : all I can say
is, that so far it was like real life that all the actors were speaking at
one time, and it was impossible to hear what they said, even if the
gongs had not kept up a continual hammering, which effectually
drowned the voices. At all events they were well off in the property
line, being all very showily dressed. Fireworks were at intervals
exploded, and occasionally a tumbler would perform some feat, but I
felt little interest in the performance, and kept my eyes on the gallery
containing the ladies, among whom I saw one or two very pretty
faces.

The wall round Ningpo is built wide enough for a carriage drive.
It has embrasures, but no guns were mounted. By ascending some
steps near to the town gate we found ourselves on the top of the wall,
and walked half round the town on the parapet. It was very exten-
sive, and, as far as the eye could reach, the plain was studded with
country houses of a slate colour.

I forgot to mention that while here we visited a sect of Chinese
nuns or female devotees. They were assembled in a large room, at
one end of which was an image of the god Fo. Each nun was seated
at a small table on which was a reading stand and a book of prayers.
They were all reading, and at the same time beating a hollow painted
piece of wood : the latter duty was, we were informed, to keep up the
attention of the god. What with them all gabbling at once, and the
tapping noise made with the wood, god Fo appeared more likely to
have his attention distracted than otherwise. However, it was of no

158 BORNEO AND

consequence, as Fo was one of that description of gods mentioned in
the Bible, among whose attributes we find, " Ears have they, but they
hear not."

We remained here a week, and I was much interested with what I
saw ; but so much has already been written about the Chinese, that I
wish to confine myself to what may be considered unbroken ground.
As the time fixed for our departure approached, we determined to go
to Chinghae overland, in chairs. Taking a farewell of our kind and
hospitable host, Mr. Mackenzie, we each took a chair, and took our
departure. The road was interesting, being at one time through tea
plantations, and at another through paddy fields. Our bearers were
strong muscular fellows, and thought little of carrying us twenty-five
miles. We passed crowds of Chinamen irrigating the land, and
working in the paddy fields. In some instances they favoured us with
a salute of yells and stones; and as we approached Chinghae, the
unwashed vented their feelings in some very unpleasant ways. In the
town we were followed by a mob ; and by the time we had reached
the quay, and procured a boat to take us off to the ship, the whole
town had turned out. Tapping one or two of the most officious
with the bamboo oars, we managed to shove the boat off, and pulled
on board.

We sailed for Chusan the same evening, but this time I unfor-
tunately was attacked by one of the prevailing diseases of the country,
and was confined to my hammock. We revisited Amoy, and then
shaped our course for Hong Kong. On our arrival, we found no ship
there but the Castor, the admiral and fleet being employed on the
coast of Borneo, subduing the pirates in Maludu Bay. The ship being
again about to start for the northward, I was considered too unwell
to remain in her, and was sent on board the Minden hospital ship, to
live or to die, as it might please God.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 159

The Minden hospital ship is a fine 74 ; and as all the guns, masts,
and stores, had been landed at the time that she was selected for the
duty, there was great accommodation on board of her ; but great as it
was, unfortunately there was not sufficient to meet the demands upon
it in this unhealthy climate. A description of her internal arrange-
ment may not be uninteresting. The quarter-deck and poop was set
apart for the convalescents ; but the heat of the sun was so over-
powering, that it was not until late in the afternoon that they could
breathe the purer atmosphere. Long confinement below had left
them pale and wan, and their unsteady gait proved how much they
had suffered in their constitution, and how narrowly they had escaped
the grave. To some this escape had been beneficial, as their constant
perusal of the Bible established ; others, if they even had during their
illness alarms about their future state, had already dismissed them
from their thoughts, and were impatiently awaiting their return to
health to return to past folly and vice. The main deck was allotted
to the medical and other officers belonging to the ship, the seamen
who composed the ship's company, and also on this deck were located
the seamen who had been discharged cured, and who then waited for
the arrival of their ships, which were absent from Hong Kong. On
this deck, abaft all, was the inspector's cabin, and adjoining it the
mess-room of the assistant-surgeons, who, like all their class, rendered
callous by time and habit to their dangerous and painful duty,
thought only of driving away the memory of the daily mortality to
which they were witnesses by jovial living and mirth. Indeed
nothing could be a more harassing scene than that of the lower deck,
where the patients were located. Under any circumstances an hospital
is a depressing and afflicting sight, even with all the advantages of
clean well-regulated wards, attentive nurses, and pure ventilation.
Imagine then the feelings of a sick wretch, stretched on a canvass cot,

160 BOKNEO AND

who is first hoisted up the ship's side, and then lowered down a dark
hatchway (filled with anxiety and forebodings as to his ever leaving
the vessel alive) to the scene of misery which I am about to describe —
the lower deck of the Minden hospital ship.

This lower deck has on each side of it three rows of iron bedsteads,
for the most part filled with the dead and dying ; an intolerable stench,
arising from putrefaction, which it is impossible by any means to get
rid of, salutes his descent ; and to this is added the groans of lingering
sufferers. He may chance, God help him, to be lowered down at the
very hour of the inspecting surgeon's visits. The latter is seated by
a bed, having probably just performed, or in the act of performing, an
operation. The goodly array of instruments meets his eye, and he
wonders, as they are displayed, what these several instruments of
torture can be applied to ; the groans of the patient fall upon his ear,
and his nerves are so shattered and debilitated by disease, that the
blood curdles to his heart. The inspector writes the particulars of the
case on a printed form, while the dressers are passing bandages round
the fainting patient. As soon as he is out of the cot which lowered
him down, the new arrival is washed, and clothed in hospital linen,
ready to be put into a bed. Not unfrequently he has to wait till
room can be made for him, by removing the corpse of the last
occupant, just deceased. He is then placed on it, a coarse sheet is
thrown over him, and he is left to await the inspector's visit, which, as
that officer has all his former patients first to prescribe for, may
perhaps be not for an hour or two, or more. At last he is visited,
prescribed for, a can of rice-water is placed at the head of his bed, and
he is left to his own thoughts, if the groans of those around him, and
the horror that he feels at his situation, will permit him to reach them.
If he can do so, they must be any thing but agreeable ; and a clever
medical man told me that this admission into the hospital, and the

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 161

scene which the patient was introduced to, was quite sufficient, acting
upon a mind unnerved by disease, to produce fever. Excepting that the
hospital was too crowded, which indeed could not be prevented, there
was, however, every arrangement for the comfort of the patients which
could be made under such a climate. No one was to blame — the
hospital for the military was building, and until it was ready for the
reception of the patients, the men of both services were received on
board of the Minden. But if the day is so trying, who can describe the
horrors of the night ? The atmosphere becomes still more foul and
pestilential, from the partially closed port-holes, and from the indiffer-
ence of the nurses to the necessary cleanliness required. The whole
becomes alive with cockroaches and other vermin, creeping over the
patients ; and the mosquitoes prey upon the unfortunate sufferer, or
drive him mad with their unceasing humming preparatory to their
attacks. Add these new trials to the groans of the dying, which, during
my residence on board, never ceased, and at night were more awful
and painfully distinct. The nurses were all men, obtained from the
scum of the sea-ports, for no others would volunteer for the duty —
a set of brutes indifferent to the sufferings of others. As long as they
were, during the day, superintended and watched by the officers, they
did their duty, but at night the neglect was most shameful. In fact,
these wretches composed themselves to sleep instead of watching.
Patients may in vain call, in a feeble voice, for water — the only
answer is a snore. On one occasion, having listened to the call of a
poor fellow for more than an hour, and each time in a weaker voice,
for drink, I was obliged to get up myself to wake the nurse, that the
man might not die of thirst.*

* These rascally nurses have all been discharged. When enlisted as nurses in
England, they signed for three years' service. When their time was expired, they

162 BOENEO AND

My cabin, for all the officers were separated from the men, com-
manded the whole view of the lower deck, and I was compelled to be
witness of scenes of the most frightful description. An English sailor
had been hung for murder, in consequence of his accomplice, who was
by far the most criminal of the two, having turned queen's evidence.
This latter soon afterwards was brought on board the Minden, having
been attacked with the fever, and never was there such an evidence of
the racking of a bad conscience. In his ravings he shrieked for
mercy, and then would blaspheme in the most awful manner. At one
moment the spectre of his dead comrade would be invoked by him,
requesting it to depart, or desiring those around him to take it away.
At others, the murdered man was standing at his bed-side, and he
would attempt to run, that he might flee from the vision. Thus was
he haunted, and thus did he disturb all around him till his very last
hour, when he died in an extreme of agony, physical and mental.
What a relief it was when this poor wretch was at last silent !

Almost every day there was to be seen a Roman Catholic priest
administering the last unction to some disciple of his faith, some Irish
soldier or sailor, whose hour was come. On these occasions the am-
putation table was his altar, and a brass flat candlestick the only
ornament. He never failed to be at his post every day, and was a
good old man. At the same time that the old priest was officiating
by the side of one bed, the chaplain of the ship would be attending
the last moments of some other victim. On these occasions all would
be silent on the deck, even the groans were stifled and checked for

applied to Admiral Cochrane for their discharge. After some demur their request was
complied with ; but their conduct had been so disgraceful, that, as it was not in the
agreement, they were refused a passage home in a man-of-war. I met some of them
ashore at Hong Kong, looking in vain for employment, and at a distance of 20,000
.miles from their own country. The retribution was just.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 163

the time, and nothing would be heard but the muttered prayer
of the Catholic priest, or the last, and often futile, attempts of the
clergyman of our own creed to extract some sign of faith and hope
from the fast-sinking and almost senseless patient.

" He dies, and makes no sign ! O God, forgive him ! "

At times the uproar on the deck would be appalling. Some power-
ful man in the strength of delirium would rise from his bed, and,
bursting from some half-dozen of the nurses, would rush through the
tiers of beds roaring like a bull, and dealing blows right and left upon
the unfortunate sick men who fell in his way. Then there would be
general chase after him, until, overpowered by additional help, he
was brought back to his bed and confined by force. An hour or two
afterwards, the nurses who watched him would quit the side of the
pallet ; a sheet would be thrown over it ; no other communication
was necessary to tell me that the storm had been succeeded by a calm,
and that life's fitful fever was over.

At the forepart of the hospital deck is a bath room ; adjoining to
that is a small dark cabin, with no other furniture than a long white-
washed board, laid upon two tressels, with hooks fixed to the car-
lines of the deck. Above these the dead bodies are removed : imme-
diately after their decease a post mortem examination is made by the
assistant surgeon, a report of which is sent into the inspector. A port-
hole has a wooden shoot or slide fixed to it, by which the bodies are
ejected into the boat waiting to convey them for interment.

The church service is read every morning on the hospital deck, and
during the performance the strictest attention was paid by the
patients. When convalescent I enjoyed the privilege of walking on
the poop with the others who had been spared, and truly grateful was
I for my recovery. Such scenes as I have described could not but

y 2

164 BORNEO AND

have the effect upon me : I hope that I left the hospital a wiser and
a better man.

At last the time came when I was pronounced by the doctors to be
quite cured, and at liberty to leave the ship. I hardly need say that
I did so with alacrity. I had always before this considered Hong Kong
as a most disgusting place ; but now that I had been so long cooped
up with disease and death, it appeared to me as a paradise. I had
made one or two acquaintances during my former visits, and now
found their kind offers too welcome to refuse them. Having nothing
to do, and not being even obliged to present myself on board of the
Mind en, I enjoyed myself excessively in journeys and excursions to
the other side of the island. My acquaintances were the officers of
the 42d regiment, who were remarkably kind and intelligent men, and
during my stay I was a great deal in their society. We one day made
up a party to visit Pirate's Bay, a spot on the Chinese main, about
twelve miles from Hong Kong. Starting early, we took our guns and
the requisites for a pic-nic. When we arrived at the spot, we hired
the only respectable house in the place, left a native to make the
necessary arrangements for our dinner, and then started on a cruise to
view the country. We shot at any thing that came in our way, and
by noon our game-bag contained a curious medley of ducks, paroquets,
swallows, and water rats. By this time the sun became so overpowering
that we returned to the house which had been hired for our accommo-
dation. Here we dined, and returned to Hong Kong well pleased
with our trip. The roads at Hong Kong, though not particularly
good, have been made at great expence. Large rocks have been cut
through to afford communication, and the quantity of rivulets running
down from the mountains, have rendered it necessary to build innu-
merable bridges. There were but few good horses on the island ; but
I managed to procure a tolerable one, and in the evening would ride

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

165

out by " Happy Valley," and return by dark, the only exercise which
the heat of the climate would permit, and which was necessary to
restore me to health. Society is in a queer state here, as may be
imagined when I state, that the shipowner won't associate with the
small merchant, and the latter will not deign to acknowledge a man
who keeps a store. Under these circumstances, the army and navy
keep aloof, and associate with no class. There were very few ladies
at Hong Kong at this time, and of what class they were composed of

TANKA BOAT WOMEN.

may be imagined, when I state that a shopkeeper's sister was the
belle of the place, and received all the homage of the marriageable
men of Hong Kong. Hospitality to strangers is as yet unknown, and
a letter of introduction is only good for one tiffin, or more rarely one

166 BORNEO AND

dinner. I made several excursions in the country, but did not find
any thing worth narrating, or describing with the pencil.

It is here worthy of remark, that there is every prospect of all the
enormous expense which has been bestowed upon this island being
totally thrown away, and that those who have speculated will lose all
their money ; in fact, that in a few years Hong Kong will be totally
deserted, and all the money expended upon it will be lost. To
explain this I must mention a few facts, not probably known to my
readers.

When, many years ago, the trade with foreigners was first permitted
by the Chinese government, Canton was selected as the port from
which it should be carried on. The Chinese government had two
reasons for making this selection : their first was, their dislike and
jealousy of foreigners induced them to select a port at the very con-
fines of the empire where the communication with them should take
place, so that by no chance the foreigners should obtain any thing
like a footing in or knowledge of their country ; the second reason was,
that by so doing they obtained, at the expence of the foreigners, a
very considerable inland revenue from the tea trade. Canton is situ-
ated at least 500 miles from those provinces in which the tea is
grown, and the transit to Canton is over a very mountainous range,
at the passes of which tolls are levied by the government, which are
now said to amount annually to seven millions. The assertion, there-
fore, of the Chinese government that they do not care about the trade
is very false, for they have derived a great revenue from it.

The opening of the more northern ports, which was obtained by
the war with China, has already made a great difference, and every
year will make a greater. Shang-hai, one of the ports opened, and
the farthest to the northward, is situated on the confines of the great
tea country, and vessels going there to take in their cargoes avoid all

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 167

the duties of transit, and procure the tea in a much better condition.
The merchants of Canton, moreover, who traffic in tea, are all of them
for the most part people of the province of Shang-hai, who resort to
Canton to look after their interests, but now that the port of Shang-
hai is opened, their merchants are returning to their own country, the
English merchants are settling at Shang-hai, and the vessels are going
there to load with tea direct. Already a large portion of the traffic has
left Canton and gone to Shang-hai, and it is but natural to suppose,
that in a few years the tea trade will be carried on altogether from that
port, as the expence of transit over the mountains and the duties levied
will be avoided, as well as the advantage gained of having the tea in
a much better condition when shipped on board. How the Chinese
government will act when it finds that it loses the great revenue
arising from the trade being carried on at Canton remains to be seen,
but it will, probably, succumb to another war, if such is considered
necessary. It will be a curious subject of interest to watch the fall
of Hong Kong, of Macao, and also of Canton itself, with its turbulent
population, which must, when the trade is withdrawn, fall into insig-
nificance.

The great error of the last war was, our selection of such an un-
healthy and barren island as Hong Kong as our pied-a-terre in China,
when we might have had Chusan, or, indeed, any other place which
we might have insisted upon. We thought that Chusan was unhealthy
because we barracked our soldiers in the swamps, and consequently
lost many of the men, when, as it is a most healthy and delightful
climate, had the barracks been built on the hills, we probably
should not have lost a man. Even now it is not too late. The
Chinese dislike our propinquity to their coast at Hong Kong, and the
last expedition will have the effect of increasing this dislike. I think,
with very little difficulty, the Chinese government would now ex-

168

BOENEO AND

change Chusan for Hong Kong, if it were only to keep such unpleasant
barbarians, as the English have proved to be, at a more respectable
distance. If we had possession of Chusan, the trade would come to
our ports. The Chinese junks would come to us loaded with tea, and
take our goods in return. The trade would then be really thrown
open, which at present it is not.

MAN-OF-WAR JDNK.

Murders and robberies were of daily, or, rather, nightly occurrence
at Hong Kong, the offenders being Chinese, who are the most daring
robbers perhaps in the world.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

169

TRADING JUNKS

170 BORNEO AND

I must now detail the events of a cruise of the Samarang during
the time that I was in the Iris, and I avail myself of the private
journal of one of my friends.

May 9th, sailed from Hong Kong to Batan, to complete the survey
of the Bashee group. On the 20th we left Batan to run to Ibyat,
about twenty miles from the former island, and although a high table
land, it is low when compared with Batan. I never saw an island
less inviting in appearance than Ibyat. We landed at the foot of a
precipice, nearly perpendicular, and ascended to the summit by means
of rough ladders, placed upright against large masses of rock; on
either side of which were gaping chasms, the very sight of which were
sufficient to unnerve us. This plan was not only the best for landing
on this strange island, but, as the natives informed us, was almost the
only one where a landing could be effected without great danger. It
was near sunset when we landed ; the boats returned to the ship,
leaving us to partake of the hospitality of the padres from Batan, who
had taken a passage in the ship, as they had some spiritual business to
transact on this island. About 8 p.m., we arrived at the village of
San Raphael, where we slept in a house set apart for the use of the
padres. This village is situated in the centre of the island, built in
a valley and on eminences which surround it. The most commanding
position is occupied by the church and mission house, both of which
are much larger, although built of the same materials, and on the
same plan, as the houses of the natives. There was but one room in
the mission house, which was scantily furnished with some heavy
wooden chairs, and some cane settees for bed places ; however, thanks
to the kindness of the padres, we contrived to make ourselves very
comfortable. There are four villages in the island, San Raphael,
Santa Maria, Santa Lucia, and Santa Rosa ; each consisting of about
forty houses, containing about 300 people ; so that the population

THE INDIAN AKCHIPELAGO. 171

may be taken, at a rough guess, at about 1200. The natives profess
the Roman Catholic religion, and appear to be very sincere in their
devotion. Divine service is performed morning and evening, at which
time the boys and girls of the village walk to the church in two lines,
chanting a hymn to the Virgin Mary. Each line is headed by the
youngest of either sex, bearing a cross. The boys wore nothing but
the middle cloth, and the girls were almost as scantily clothed ; the
only garment being a skirt or petticoat, not larger than a moderate
sized pocket-handkerchief. During two days our friends, the padres,
were fully occupied with the important ceremonies of marriage and
baptism. Many of the parties joined in matrimony were mere
children. They all had, on this important occasion, some addition to
their general costume. The bridegroom, for instance, wore a shirt ;
some of them had actually a pair of trousers. The bride had an ad-
ditional and large petticoat, and an embroidered handkerchief. They
were not at all bashful — there was no blushing — no tears, and, on
the contrary, marriage appeared to be considered as an excellent joke,
and the laughing and flirtation were carried on to the church door.
The padres appeared to be almost worshipped by the poor natives,
who, on their arrival and departure, respectfully saluted their hands.
But their great affection was shown in a more satisfactory and sub-
stantial manner, by the continual supply of goats, pigs, fowls, vege-
tables, and fruit, which were liberally supplied during our stay.
I forgot to say that the marriage certificates were of a very primitive
kind ; they consisted of a laurel leaf, in which were rudely inscribed
the names of the bride and bridegroom. At length, having finished
our survey, we bid farewell to our hospitable entertainers, and on the
27th made sail for St. Domingo.

We remained two days at St. Domingo, and then weighed and
steered to the northward. On the 3d of June we landed on the island

z 2

172 BORNEO AND

of Samazana, near the south point of Formosa. The inhabitants of
Saraazana are Chinese, although they pay no tribute to the emperor.
This island was first inhabited, about twenty years since, by a party of
Chinese sailors, who were thrown on shore in a tempest. They after-
wards returned to Amoy, where, having persuaded several families to
join them, they returned to Samazana, and colonised it. The fertility
of this island has richly repaid them for their labour. The village
contains about 100 people, who are located in about ten or fifteen
houses. Paddy, sugar-cane, and yams are grown in abundance, and
ground nuts cover nearly one third of the island. These Chinese
settlers keep up a trade with Amoy, from whence they obtain what
they require, in exchange for the productions of their island. We
found these people very civil and obliging, but excessively dirty in
their persons and apparel.

About seven o'clock in the evening, while we were dining on the
beach, an earthquake shook the island, the glasses jingled together,
and all our party were in involuntary see- saw motion, like the Chinese
figures. This lasted about ten seconds. Several of us, who had never
before experienced the sensation, were much relieved when the shock
was over, as it created a suffocating sensation. During the evening
there were several other shocks, but none of them equal to the first
in violence. We remained all night on the island, to ascertain the
latitude by the stars.

On the following morning we returned on board, when we were in-
formed that the ship had struck on a reef on the preceding evening,
at 7 p. m. The lead was thrown overboard, but no soundings were
obtained, proving, beyond doubt, that the concussion had been com-
municated to the vessel. She was about four miles off the land at the
time, and many would not then be convinced that it was an earth-
quake ; although I believe it has been satisfactorily proved that the

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 173

shock has been felt by a vessel which has been out of sight of any
land.

On the 6th of June sighted one of the Madjicosima islands. The
master in the second cutter left the ship, with a week's provisions, to
survey the island, while we made sail for our former anchorage at
Pa-tchu-san, to obtain water.

On the 8th of June we arrived at Pa-tchu-san, where we were
received by our friends, the chiefs, who appeared delighted to see us
again. We learnt through our interpreter that a French frigate
had left Loo-choo for Corea two months before — twenty-seven of
their countrymen, chiefly missionaries, having been murdered by the
Coreans. It would appear that the French missionaries, exceeding
their vocation, had wished to make some alterations in the Corean
form of government, but their attempts not meeting the approbation
of those in power, they fell a sacrifice to their good intentions.

On the 9th we sailed for Sabangyat to pick up the two cutters.
We arrived there the next day, and were joined by the master. We
received every attention from the hospitable and inoffensive natives,
who supplied us with pigs, fowls, and vegetables, refusing to accept
any thing in return. We returned to Pa-tchu-san to rate our chro-
nometers, and sailed on the same day. The next morning we landed
on Hoa-pen, an island, but the cloudy weather prevented us from
obtaining the latitude. We landed during the day, and remained on
shore the whole night to obtain our objects, and, I may add, were
most cruelly bitten by the mosquitoes as a reward for our zeal.

When we were returning to the ship on the following morning, a
large albatross alighted on the water close to the boat. As we passed
it, it made several futile attempts to rise again on the wing. It is well
known that this bird cannot fly while under the influence of fear,
and so it appeared in this instance, for, while we were passing it, a

174 BORNEO AND

shark thrust its head out of the water and took the unfortunate bird
down with him.

On the 16th we landed at Tea-qua-san, where we captured great
numbers of albatrosses, ferns, and boobies. They actually refused to
move at our approach. This island is very small and uninhabited,
but it was evident that people had landed on it lately, for in a cave
we discovered several grass beds, remains of game, and remnants of
cooking. The weather prevented us from making any observations,
but it did not prevent us from collecting several hundreds of eggs,
which we took on board with us. The next day we saw a large rock,
marked doubtful on the charts. A heavy squall, which forced us to
run before it for several hours, prevented us from ascertaining its
position.

June 19. We found ourselves close to the southern extremity of
Loo-choo, the land of which is low. About noon we anchored in the
harbour of Napa-kiang, and were boarded by several mandarins, one
of whom the captain recognised as the interpreter of the Blossom,
whose interesting cruise has been published by Captain Beechey. The
natives of Loo-choo are so similar to those of the Madjicosima group
that it would be useless describing their manners and customs, the
more so as we have already the works of Captain Hall and Captain
Beechey, in which they are described most accurately. A great
many junks were anchored in the inner harbour, their enormous masts
towering far above the highest buildings.

The burial ground is a large tract of land to the left of the town ;
the tombs are large, and in shape resemble the last letter in the
Greek alphabet (&). Strange that it should be the last letter. Most
of them are painted white, and they have from the anchorage a very
picturesque appearance.

It was the captain's intention to have sailed on the day after our

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 175

arrival, but the weather proving unfavourable for astronomical observ-
ations, our departure was postponed for another day, when, having
obtained sights, some live stock, and vegetables, we sailed for Guil-
pat, a large island off the southern extremity of Corea. Previous
to our sailing, a French missionary called on the captain. He had
been left at Loo-choo by the Alcimene frigate, with a view of intro-
ducing Christianity into the island, but the chiefs did not appear to
relish his sojourn there, and were anxious to get rid of him. He
offered to accompany us to Corea and Japan ; at the latter place he
would have been of great service, as he was acquainted with the
Japanese language.

June 24. Sighted the Goth island, a portion of the Japanese
empire. The next morning the wind had increased to a heavy gale,
and we were compelled to reduce our canvass to a close-reefed main
topsail, staysail, and trysail. We rounded Cape Goth within a quarter
of a mile, and lay to under the lee of the island, where the sea was
comparatively smooth. Towards the evening the wind subsided, and
we again made sail. Saw the island of Guilpat, and the next morn-
ing anchored off the north-east side of it, in a channel between
Guilpat and a small island. We landed on the small island, where
we were received by about sixty natives, who did not appear well
pleased at our intrusion, but knew that resistance to us would be
useless.

In the course of the day several thousand natives had assembled
on the opposite shore. By the aid of good telescopes we could
discern forts and flags. The natives informed us that Guilpat had a
standing army, well supplied with matchlocks, swords, and bows and
arrows. They added that guns are not wanted to defend the island in
case of need. This assertion we afterwards found, making allowance
for a little exaggeration, to be quite correct.

176 BORNEO AND

The island of Guilpat is subject to the kingdom of Corea, and is the
largest in that archipelago, being about thirty miles in length and
fifteen in breadth. It is composed of innumerable hills in every
variety of form, such as cones, saddles, and tables. Most of these
hills have forts built on their summits. From these, lights were
displayed every evening, and it was astonishing the rapidity with
which these signals were answered. I have seen the whole coast
illuminated in less than five minutes, each hill appearing like a little
volcano, suddenly bursting out. As soon as the boats had surveyed
this part of the island, we shifted the ship to where the survey was
being carried on ; and this we continued to do during the whole time
that we were employed in the survey, the boats returning on board
every night. Good anchorage is to be obtained all round the island.
Innumerable forts and batteries are built along the coast; every
rising ground being surmounted with one, although the major portion
of them were not supplied with guns. We found as we coasted along
that all the forts were manned, the people being armed with match-
locks, spears, and arrows. On several occasions they fired their
matchlocks, and the salute was returned by the 6-pounders in
the barges, which never failed of putting them to flight. In the
centre of the island the land runs to an enormous height, and
terminates in a sharp peak, which, in consequence of its always having
been enveloped with clouds, we did not see till several days after our
arrival.

At last we arrived at the principal town, which is situated on the
western side of the island. The town was inclosed with thick walls,
higher than we had observed before as we coasted along. These walls
form a square, each side of which is about half a mile in length, and
has batteries, parapets, and embrasures. In some of the latter there
were guns, which were occasionally fired. The whole ground before

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 177

the town, for the distance of a mile and a half, was crowded with
people ; but if they waited for our landing they were disappointed, as
the captain would not land. They gave us two bullocks, which were
put into the barge, as the ship was then ten or twelve miles off.
The mandarins used every argument to persuade the captain to come
on shore and visit the chiefs of the island ; but, as we had but twenty
men in the boats, he refused to trust himself among eight or ten
thousand whose intentions were any thing but satisfactory. However,
he promised that he would come on shore on the following day, but
that at present he was obliged to visit a point of the bay to obtain
observations before sunset. We now prepared to move in the barge,
but found ourselves encompassed by twelve or fourteen large boats,
fastened to each other by strong ropes. We desired them to make a
passage, but they either did not, or would not, understand us. This
looked very much like treachery, and decided measures were become
requisite : the nearest boats were boarded, and the crews made to cut
their ropes. Some of them appeared inclined to resist, but a smart
stroke of the cutlass put their courage to flight. This affair took
place within twenty yards of the beach, and in sight of 10,000 people
on the shore. We now being clear, pulled for the point and secured
our station. A great crowd collected around us while we were
observing ; the chiefs expressed a wish, in a peremptory sort of way,
that the officers should partake of some refreshment at a short
distance from the beach. This the captain, who suspected treachery,
refused, and as we were going near to our boats, some of the natives
laid violent hands upon our men, but having received from them a
few specimens of our method of boxing, they soon quitted their hold.
The Chinese interpreter was now missing ; our men in consequence
procured their arms, and landing, a strict search was made for him.
He was found some little distance on land, having been enticed away

A A

178 BORNEO AND

by one of the chiefs, who was plying him with sam-schoo. On his
way to return they forcibly detained him, and were in the act of
conveying him away, when the appearance of the armed party from
the boat surprised them, and they hastened to convey their own
persons out of reach of our bayonets. It was not, however, our
intention, or our policy, to commence hostilities, only to show them
that we would not be trifled with.

We returned from the point to the beach before the town, when the
boat's guns were loaded with round and grape, and pointed at the
crowd assembled, in case of any further treachery. The captain then
landed with the small armed party, all ready for resistance.

Music was now heard in the distance, and soon afterwards one of
the principal chiefs arrived, walking beneath a silken canopy. He was
attended by two young lads and a band of spearmen, who prevented
the mob from approaching too close to his highness's person. The
multitude shouted, and bowed their heads to the ground as the chief
passed them ; the latter took no notice of their acclamations, but
advanced in a very stately dignified manner towards the captain,
apparently keeping time to the music, which was played by a band
of men, dressed in a very fantastic manner, on cymbals and instru-
ments resembling our clarionets.

The negotiations were now opened: the captain expressed his
surprise and disgust at the treatment he had experienced at the point,
where he had been taking observations. The chief inquired of the
captain, in reply, why he did not shoot the offenders ? and assured
him that, if the next time he was annoyed by the rabble he would
shoot a few of them, it would have a very salutary effect upon the
remainder. In the course of conversation, the captain informed the
mandarin that England possessed ships carrying 120 guns of larger
caliber than those on board of the vessel he commanded ; and that

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 179

altogether, including large and small, the Queen of England had 800
vessels. This account was evidently discredited, as it always was
when such an assertion was made in those seas, for looking round
him and explaining the nature of the communication to his followers,
they all laughed. Asang, the interpreter, then gave them a history
of the Chinese war, on which he dwelt upon our immense resources,
the size and number of our vessels, and the fire ships (steamers)
which we had employed ; but it was evident that the Quelpartians did
not believe one word of his assertions. Before the conference was over,
rice, cakes, and sam-schoo were handed round, and the captain pro-
mised that he would visit the chief mandarin on the following day.
By this time, the ship had come to an anchor in the bay, and we
returned on board.

The next morning we got the ship under weigh, and brought
her nearer to the town, so that her guns could be brought to bear
in case of need ; but when within 100 yards of the shore, and in the
act of going about, the ship struck with great violence against a rock.
Hawsers were laid out, and with our usual good fortune, we again
got into deep water, and in half an hour anchored off the town in
a favourable position for cannonading it. We then landed our force,
consisting of all the marines, with the drummer and fiddler, besides a
party of small-arm men from the blue jackets, all armed with muskets,
bayonets, and cutlasses. The officers, in addition to their swords,
carried pistols in their belts. A feu-de-joie was now fired, for the
double purpose of creating an awe among the crowd, and ascertaining
that all the muskets were in good order ; for the mandarin resided
some miles from the beach, and in case of attack we must have
fought hard to regain our boats and the protection of the ship's guns.
All being ready, the drummer and fiddler struck up a lively air, and
we commenced our march towards the mandarin's house, the officers

A A 2

180 BORNEO AND

being accommodated with horses. After passing over a morass, the
waters of which ran sluggishly through the arches of a bridge, con-
necting the suburbs with the city, we ascended a rocky eminence,
from the summit of which we had a bird's eye view of the city, and
some portion of the interior. We observed that the ramparts of the
city were lined with people. Our train was nearly a mile in length,
although the natives were walking ten or twelve abreast. Im-
mediately after our party came the band of the natives, dressed in
russet-coloured cloth, with shawls of the same material; after them
the mandarin, followed by above 200 soldiers, a dense mob bringing
up the rear, with flags and banners displayed.

On the inland side of us was an immense plain, bounded in the
distance by high mountains, whose tops were enveloped in clouds.
This plain was mostly cultivated ; that portion of it which was barren
had been appropriated to burial grounds, several of which we passed
through. At the head of the graves were stone figures intending to
represent human beings, but Chantry had not been employed. At
length, having walked round two-thirds of the walls, we entered a
defile, leading to one of the gates of the city, but to our surprise,
when we arrived at the gate, we found that it was locked, and when
the cause was demanded, we were informed that the mandarin refused
to allow the soldiers to enter, but that the officers would be admitted
alone. This communication greatly irritated the captain, and our
position caused us some uneasiness. We were inclosed within two
high walls in a narrow lane, our advance prevented by the locked
up gate, and our retreat must be through thousands who had formed
the cavalcade, and were now in our rear. Our only passage was
through this multitude, and I hardly need say that we were con-
vinced of the treachery of the people. However, there was no time
to be lost: the word was given, the marines formed a front line,

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 181

cocked their muskets, and then brought them to the charge bayonets ;
and in this way, the crowd retreating before us, we forced our way
back, until we were again clear of the high walls which had flanked
us ; but our position even then was not pleasant. We had to pass
the fort and several encampments before we could arrive at the beach,
which was at least four miles distant. However, we put a good face
on the matter, and forcibly detaining one of the mandarins upon the
pretence that he must show us the way back, with the threat, that
upon the slightest molestation on the part of his countrymen, we
would blow his brains out, we commenced our march back to the
beach, our two musicians playing with great energy, " Go to the
devil and shake yourselves," which tune, struck up upon their own
suggestion, was the occasion of great laughter among our party. At
last we reached the beach without opposition, and the mandarin, who
was terribly alarmed, was released.

When we arrived, the chiefs attempted to throw all the blame upon
the head mandarin, but the captain would no longer stand their
humbug. He replied to them, that if any of their principal men had
visited the ship they would have been treated with respect and kind-
ness, and that the number of their armed retainers would have made
no difference in their reception ; that he considered them as faithless
in all their protestations of good-will, and from thenceforth he should
place no reliance on any thing that they said ; that for the future he
would act as he thought proper without consulting them, and that he
would shoot any one who attempted to interfere with him. We then
got into the boats and returned on board, where we heard that the
cutter's crew had been compelled to kill or wound some of the natives,
who had come down in a body and attacked one of the men with fire-
brands. The cutter was at anchor a short distance from the shore ;
on the natives approaching they seized their muskets, but did not fire

182 BORNEO AND

until their shipmate was in danger of his life. Two of the natives
had fallen and had been carried off by their comrades.

The Quelpartians cultivate paddy (from which they distil their
sam-schoo), sweet potatoes, and radishes, which, with shell-fish, form the
principal articles of food with the lower classes. Pigs, bullocks, and
fowls appeared to be plentiful, although we obtained but few. All
their towns are enclosed with a stone wall ; the houses are also built
of stone, and mostly tiled with a species of red slate ; but we had few
opportunities of inspecting them, as the natives kept so strict a watch
upon us, and so outnumbered us. These Coreans presented a strong
contrast to the Loo Chooans, who are so polite in their manner and
kind in their demeanour. These Quelpartians, on the contrary, are
very unprepossessing in their appearance, rude and boisterous in their
manner, and of very gross habits. They insisted upon feeling and
inspecting every article of our clothing, even baring our breasts to
ascertain their colour, and in many other respects proving themselves
very annoying. This was submitted to at first, with the hope of
securing their good- will, but afterwards very decided measures were
taken to repulse these dirty wretches, whose clothes smelt most offen-
sively. They have the high cheek bone and elongated eye of the
Tartar, or northern Chinese, from whom I am inclined to think they
are descended. The crown of the head is closely shaved, leaving a
circle of long hair, which is tied in a knot on the top of the skull
(similar to the people of Loo Choo), but without any ornament.
Round the forehead is fastened a bandanna, about four inches in
width, resembling fine net-work in texture, but it is made with horse-
hair. This is used to keep the hair in its proper position. But the
most singular part of their costume is the hat, which is made of the
same materials as the fillets : the brim is about four feet in width, and
this gives to the wearer a very grotesque appearance. The crown in

ec
<

_J
U

,.....-.,,

MANDARIN OFQUELPART.

(COKE A)

XONDOH;LONOMAH * C° 18*7.

V.. » N. HAHHART TZ1 H. PRTNTF.RS .

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 183

shape resembles a sugar-loaf with the top cut off, and is very small
in diameter. It admits the top-knot of hair, and nothing more.

The lower orders generally wear a felt hat, but of the same
dimensions and shape. The hats of the mandarins are secured on their
heads by strings of amber beads and large ivory balls, and then passed
under the chin. Rank is denoted by the peacock's feather in the hat.
The army are distinguished by a tuft of red horsehair stuck in the
crown. The respectable part of the inhabitants have several garments ;
the outer ones are of various colours, but the cut of them extends to
all ranks. I can liken it to nothing but a long pinbefore, slit up in
front, behind, and at the two sides. Under this they wear other
garments, the texture and quality of which, as well as quantity,
depend upon the wealth of the wearer. The sleeves of their dresses
are wide and long. In spite of their thick mustachios and long
flowing beards, they have the appearance of a very effeminate
people.

One evening we saw a large turtle asleep as we pulled along the
coast. A Sandwich Islander, belonging to the gig's crew, went in the
water and turned him, holding him in this position till a rope was
made fast to him, and he was secured. At night we landed on a small
island, and we cooked our prize for our supper. I mention it as a
proof of the man's dexterity.

Completed our survey of the Quelpart, and stood to the N. E. The
next morning we found ourselves close to a labyrinth of islands, not
laid down on any chart. The captain named the group after the ship ;
and, having in three days completed the survey of them, we stood
further to the northward and eastward. It would be tedious to detail
our surveying operations. We saw the main land of Corea, but did
not go on shore ; and our provisions getting low, we bore all for the
southward. After calling again at Quelpart, where we remained a

184

BORNEO AND

few days, we made sail for Nangasaki, a seaport town in the empire
of Japan.

"We were some distance in the offing in sight of the town' of
Nangasaki, when several boats, gaily decorated with flags of various
shades and colours, came out to meet the ship and accompany us to
the anchorage. One of them brought a letter, written in mingled
Dutch and French, inquiring from whence and why we came. The
bearer, who was a great man in authority, desired the captain to
anchor immediately ; but this the captain refused, telling him that he
should anchor his ship when and where he pleased. We afterwards
discovered that these were all government boats, and that they were
always placed as a guard upon any ship which visited Nangasaki.

JAPANESE BOAT.

The crews were all dressed alike, in chequered blue and white cotton
dresses ; the boats are propelled with sculls used as oars, the men
keeping time to a monotonous song. Forts, or rather the ghosts of

x/ef'

J A P A NESE

Ui H/ HANHART. LITH. PRINTERS.

LONDON, LONGMAN A Cf 134-8

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 185

forts, appeared as if raised by magic ; they were easily distinguished to
be formed out of immense screens of coloured cotton, and they were
surrounded by flags and pennons. Although not effective, their effect
was good at a distance.

In the evening, a large assembly of the principal men visited the
ship ; they wore very loose jackets and trowsers. The jackets reached
no lower than the hips, where they were confined by a silk or silver
girdle, containing two swords, one somewhat larger than the other.
The handles and sheaths of their swords were beautifully inlaid with
copper, and japanned in a very peculiar manner. They were very
curious to know the name and use of every article which excited their
attention, and we were much surprised at their display of so much
theoretical knowledge. They particularly admired the touch-hole of
our guns, which are fired with the detonating tube. The properties
of the elevating screws were minutely examined ; and we were inclined
to believe that many of our visitors were artificers, sent on board to
examine and make notes of every thing new.

The Samarang was the first British man-of-war which had visited
Nagasaki since the Phaeton, in 1808. The day after our arrival the
chiefs sent off a present of pigs, fowls, and vegetables, but would
receive nothing in return.

I accompanied the master to a small island, to make observations.
Several of the great men desired us to return to the ship, but we
refused. They appeared greatly annoyed, and drew their hands across
their throats, intimating that their heads would be forfeited for their
breach of duty. However, seeing that we were determined to remain,
they made a virtue of necessity, and consoled themselves by examining
our instruments. A laughable occurrence took place while we were
on shore. The cutter was at anchor about ten yards from the beach.
Two of the crew having an argument, one of them drew his bayonet,

B B

186 BORNEO AND

and made a lunge at the other in jest. Observing the natives
looking on with amazement, and fancying that the men were
engaged in deadly fray, it drew our attention to the scene. They no
doubt came to the conclusion that we must be a desperate set of
fellows, and killed one another upon the slightest provocation. At all
events, this little incident appeared to have a very good effect, as the
natives, who had continually been interfering with our observations,
now left us, not wishing to be so near to people who were so prone to
mischief.

During the whole night we were surrounded by a squadron of boats,
which, with lanterns lighted, and drums beating, continually moved
round the ship, to intercept any boat leaving it. The captain, finding
that the suspicious character of the Japanese would prevent any thing
like correct surveying, which was the principal object of his visit to
Nagasaki, determined upon leaving this inhospitable shore of Japan as
soon as possible.

On Sunday the 6th, we weighed, and although the weather was
unfavourable, contrived to work out of soundings until 3 p. m., when
we made sail for Loo-Choo. At daylight we found ourselves abreast
of a burning volcano. Dense clouds of smoke were issuing from a
peaked island, about three miles distant. We soon afterwards landed
upon an adjacent island, which, to our surprise, also began to smoke.

The day was sultry, and without a breath of air, so that in a short
time, the atmosphere we were in became overpowering ; at last a fresh
breeze sprang up, and the disagreeable sensation wore off. The whole
of the islands between Loo-Choo and Japan appear to be volcanic, and
at certain seasons of the year they break out in a similar manner to
those which we saw. At noon the smoke from the large volcano
became lurid ; but whether this was the breaking out into flame, or from
the rays of the sun pouring down upon the smoke, it was impossible

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 187

to say, as we were then several miles off. During the whole of the
following night we were becalmed, and during that time impelled, by
a strong current, towards the volcanic island. Strange noises were
heard, and large columns of smoke ascended from the crater, which,
from there not being a breath of air, soon enveloped it from our sight.
On the following day we again landed upon an island, some little
distance to the southward of the volcano, which now vomited flames,
ashes, and smoke, during the whole day. The master landed on
another of these volcanic islands, but the showers of ashes and
suffocating atmosphere soon drove him away.

The captain had finished his observations on the first island where
we landed, and we prepared to return on board. Since the morning
the swell had got up considerably, causing the surf to break heavily
on the rocks. However, the instruments were safely embarked in the
boat ; but while the captain was waiting for an opportunity to get in,
a surf drove the boat on a shelving rock, and suddenly receding, her
stern was dropped so low, while her bow remained fast, that she cap-
sized. Although the officer and men in the boat had to swim for their
lives, and were much bruised by being dashed against the rocks by
the succeeding surf, fortunately no lives were lost ; but all the instru-
ments, to the value of about 150/., went to the bottom, and, no doubt,
have since the accident very much puzzled the sharks as to their use,
as they often had done the natives of those seas. A signal was
hoisted on the summit of the island for the ship to send boats to assist,
and, on their arrival, the gig was baled out, and by sunset we were
again on board.

August 18th. — Exchanged numbers with her Majesty's ship Roy-
alist, which was anchored in Napa Kiang harbour (Loo-Choo). At
3 p. m., we anchored alongside of her, impatiently expecting letters by
her, and we were not a little depressed at being disappointed. Still

B B 2

188 BORNEO AND

we had one comfort, which was that, instead of having brought us, as
we expected, three months' provisions, to enable us to continue our
survey, she had only fourteen days' provisions for us, which was
not more than sufficient to carry us back to Hong Kong. Many and
various were the surmises that this recall and alteration of our
planned employment gave us ; the most prevailing one was that our
orders from England were at Hong Kong. Others supposed that the
ship would be hove down, and subsequently condemned ; but the re-
joicing was universal at the idea that there would be some speedy end
to our hardships and vexations.

A day or two after our arrival the captain and senior officers
landed, to partake of a dinner given by one of the principal mandarins.
They were well plied with soup, fish, fowls, and sam-schoo, being
attended on by minor mandarins. After dinner they were escorted
through the town, accompanied by a large concourse of natives, who
were kept by the police at a respectful distance. One of the multitude
forced his way to join the captain's party, but' was forcibly ejected,
and preparations made to bamboo him, when, to the captain's surprise,
he discovered that the unfortunate culprit was our greatest friend and
ally during our visit to the Madjicosima islands. He had been chris-
tened Beaufort by our officers, in consequence of his accurate know-
ledge of all the shoals, bays, deeps, &c. A word from the captain
released him, and to the astonishment of the mob, the captain and
officers shook him cordially by the hand, and made him walk in their
company during the remainder of the day. We did not find out why
Beaufort left Pa-tchsu-san, where he appeared to be one of the principal
chiefs ; while at Loo-Choo he appeared to have no rank whatever.

August 21st. — Sailed for Loo-Choo, the Royalist in Company.
After looking in at Pa-tschu-san, we made all sail for Hong Kong ; but
arriving off the island of Botel Tobago, we were annoyed with light

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 189

airs and calms, varied with squalls and heavy rain. For several days
we were at the mercy of the current, until, at length, we sighted
Batan, and steered towards it. The wind still continuing light, the
captain went in the gig, which was my boat, on board of the Royalist ;
and we soon left the Samarang far behind. We landed about three
o'clock, and were received by the padre, the governor and his lady
being at San Carlos. The commander of the Royalist and two of his
officers landed with us, and were much pleased with the hospitality
of the old priest. In the course of the evening the governor and his
lady returned from San Carlos \ we adjourned to his house, where we
passed the evening. Several dances were performed by the native
women ; but we did not admire them — they shuffled with their feet,
and threw their bodies into anything but graceful postures. At mid-
night we sat down to an excellent supper, and then returned on board
of the Royalist. The following morning the ship was about three
miles from the anchorage. Bidding adieu to our hosts, we pulled on
board, and made sail for Hong Kong.

September 8th. — It being calm, the ship's company were permitted
to bathe. In a minute all those who could swim were in the water,
playing about in every direction round the ship, and enjoying the
luxury. While this continued, the man at the mast-head reported a
shark close at hand. The word to come in quickly was given by the
first lieutenant and all the officers. It required no second call — every
one knew why, and swam to the ropes, which were thrown out in
every direction. It was touch and go, as the saying is — one of the
marines, who was last, was actually touched by the shark, who made
at him ; but before he could turn to bite, the fellow had jerked him-
self up out of his reach. It was very fortunate that the man at the
mast-head kept so good a look-out, for generally they are more
occupied with the gambols of the bathers than looking out for sharks.

190 BORNEO AND

As it was, many of the swimmers were so unnerved that it was with
difficulty they could get out of the danger. After the men were on
board again, the great object was to have revenge upon the animal
who had thus put an end to the enjoyment. The shark -hook was
baited with a piece of bull's hide, and the animal, who was still work-
ing up and down alongside the ship, hoping that he would still pick
up a marine I presume, took the bait greedily, and was hauled on board.
The axe was immediately at work at his tail, which was dismembered,
and a score of knives plunged into his body, ripping him up in all
directions. His eyes were picked out with fish-hooks and knives, and
every indignity offered to him. He was then cut to pieces, and the
quivering flesh thrown into the frying-pans, and eaten with a savage
pleasure which we can imagine only to be felt by cannibals when
devouring the flesh of their enemies. Certainly, if the cannibal
nations have the same feeling towards their enemies which sailors
have against sharks, I do not wonder at their adhering to this custom,
for there was a savage delight in the eyes of every seaman in the ship
as they assisted to cut to pieces and then devour the brute who would
have devoured them. It was the madness of retaliation — an eye for
an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

September 14th. — Arrived at Hong Kong, where we found the
Castor, Vixen, and Espiegle. The next day the Agincourt, Dasdalus,
Vestal, and Wolverine, arrived from Borneo, having been engaged
with the pirates of Maludu Bay. The squadron had suffered a loss of
one officer and eighteen men killed, and about double the number
wounded. This heavy loss was occasioned by their having to cut
through a large boom which the pirates had thrown across the creek
within half pistol shot of their forts. But the official reports of Ad-
miral Sir Thomas Cochrane have already been published, and I need
not, therefore, enter into further particulars. One incident is,

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 191

perhaps, worthy of notice, as it shows the respect invariably paid by
the British officers and seamen to a brave enemy, although a pirate.
The colours from the pirates' fort had been twice shot away, when, to
the surprise of the boat squadron, a native was seen to ascend, without
regard to our fire, and nail the colours to the flagstaff. Instead of
taking aim at him, he was enthusiastically cheered by the seamen ; and,
as if with one consent, the muskets were all dropped, and the firing
discontinued until he had again got down under cover, and was safe.
The boom being at length severed, the fort in a few minutes was in
our possession. Our late first lieutenant, Mr. Heard, who had left our
ship, in consequence of the treatment he received from the captain,
was wounded in this attack. Mr. Wade was the first lieutenant who
sailed from England in the Samarang, and who also left us, not being
able to put up with the treatment he received. It is singular that
poor Mr. Wade should be killed so soon after he left the ship, and that
his successor, Mr. Heard, as soon as he also left us, should have been
wounded. But these were not the only officers who had quitted the
ship : Lieutenant Inglefield, who joined the ship as assistant-surveyor,
was, like most of the other officers, soon under an arrest ; and after
having had a report spread against him that he was mad, he deter-
mined to leave the ship, and obtained his Admiralty discharge. The
second master, appointed by the Admiralty as one of the assistant-
surveyors, also left the ship, but was compelled to join again.

A court-martial was now held on board of the Castor, to inquire
into the conduct of Lieutenant Heard (our late first lieutenant), during
the time that he served under Sir Edward Belcher. The court-
martial had been demanded by Lieutenant Heard, in consequence of
Sir Edward Belcher having written a private letter to Admiral Sir
Thomas Cochrane, accusing Mr. Heard of conduct unbecoming an
officer and a gentleman. The whole of the officers of the Samarang

192 BORNEO AND

were subpoenaed, and there is no doubt what the result of the court-
martial would have been ; but the court was broken up on the plea
that the charges were not sufficiently specific, as neither date nor cir-
cumstances were specified. Before the court broke up, however, they
did so far justice to Lieutenant Heard, as to return his sword, and
state that there was not the slightest stain upon his character, and
that he was honourably acquitted. The reader may perhaps ask, why
the court was dissolved ? It was to save the honour of the cloth, that
the court, composed of captains, came to that decision. Had the
court-martial proceeded, what would it have proved ? — that a
superior officer had been guilty of slander, and had attempted by
this means to ruin a most excellent officer. The court declared
that the charges were not sufficiently specific. Surely, they were
plain enough. Lieutenant Heard was charged with conduct unbe-
coming an officer and a gentleman — a charge sufficient to dismiss
him the service, if it could have been proved. But let us reverse
this case: suppose that Lieutenant Heard had thus slandered Sir
Edward Belcher. Would the court of captains then have discovered that
the charges were not sufficiently specific? Most certainly not. The
trial would have proceeded, and the lieutenant, for making such false
charges in a private letter, would have been dismissed with ignominy
from the service.

November 1st. — Sailed from Hong Kong, after a detention of some
days, in consequence of a row between Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane
and our gallant captain ; the admiral, as we understood, refusing to
allow the Samarang to leave the port until Sir Edward Belcher had
apologised for his insubordination towards him. After a detention of
a few days, the apology was forced from Sir Edward Belcher, and we
were permitted to get under weigh. Of course, I cannot exactly vouch
for the correctness of this statement, but such was the on dit of the

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

193

SALT SMUGGLERS.

c c

194 BOENEO AND

day. On the second we experienced a heavy gale, and the Royalist,
who was with us as a tender, parted company. After a weary beat
of nineteen days, we arrived at Batan, the capital of the Bashee islands ;
but I have already described this place. We remained here eight
days, anxiously expecting the Royalist, but she did not make her
appearance, and we concluded that she must have received some
injury in the gale, and had borne up for Manilla. We sailed for
that place, and arrived there on the 2d of December. Our conjectures
relative to the Royalist were correct : she was here at anchor, having
crippled her foremast in the gale, so as to render it necessary' for her
to bear up for this port.

We had always enjoyed ourselves at this place. During our repeated
visits we had made many acquaintances and friends, and it was with
no small pleasure that we found that we were to remain here till the
first day of the new year.

It is the custom at Manilla for the inhabitants to throw most of
their houses open on that day : any one may enter, and be sure of a
hearty welcome from the hospitable Spaniards. We anticipated great
pleasure, -and we did nothing but talk about it, as our last Christmas
Day had been a most dreary one, and we were delighted at the idea of
passing this one among hospitable and civilised people. The reader
may therefore imagine our disgust and vexation when, on the 23d, with-
out our having the least notice of his intention, the captain gave orders
for the anchor to be weighed, and ran the ship down to Caviti, a town
about seven miles distant. Caviti was deserted ; all the inhabitants
had gone to Manilla to enjoy the holidays ; not a soul remained to
welcome us ; but if they had, it would have been of no good to us, as,
on Christmas morning, about two o'clock, we were almost all of us
sent on shore to take a set of magnetic observations, which were not
completed until the same hour on the following day. At the same

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 195

time, to make " assurance doubly sure " that we should have no
pleasure on that day, leave was stopped to all those remaining on
board of the ship. I will not enter further into this affair. All I
shall say is, that Christmas Day, the day of rejoicing, the day of
good-will, was turned into one in which the worst passions were
roused, and in which " curses not loud but deep " were levelled at the
head of the man who, " dressed in a little brief authority," took this
opportunity of exercising the power entrusted to him. After com-
pleting the observations, we moved further down the Bay, and sur-
veyed the shoals of St. Nicholas ; after which we returned to Manilla,
where all gaiety had ceased.

Caviti was once a place of great importance, having been the capital
of Luzon, from whence the galleons conveyed the treasure to Spain.
The arsenal still remains, but in a very dilapidated state : we found
the artificers busily employed completing some gun-boats and small
schooners, which were intended to accompany the Esperanza, Spanish
frigate, in an expedition to an island off Borneo, where the Esperanza
had latterly sustained a defeat from tfye pirates who inhabited the
island.

At Caviti lie the remains of an old Spanish galleon, one of the few
which had the good fortune to escape Commodore Anson. The whole
of one side of the vessel is gone, and she is now fast falling to pieces,
but the Spaniards look upon her with great reverence. She is a relic
of their former grandeur; and I was informed by a Spanish gentleman
that she never would be broken up. I looked upon her, if not with
reverence, at least with sympathy ; and as I made a sketch of her my
thoughts naturally turned to the rise and fall of empires, and I com-
muned with myself as to what would be the date in which England
would be in the same position as modern Spain, and fall back upon
her former glories by way of consolation for her actual decay.

c c 2

196

BORNEO AND

On our arrival at Manilla, whether it was that the captain thought
that we might too readily console ourselves for our Christmas disap-

SI'AN'ISH GAXL20N.

pointment, or that he had heard (which I doubt not was the case) the
expressions of disgust which had been so universal, we found that all
leave was stopped. A few of us, not relishing this confinement with-
out just cause, made our appearance on shore in plain clothes ; for we
had become reckless. We could but be turned out of the ship and
out of the service : we longed for the first most especially, and were

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 197

not alarmed at the prospect of the second. But although the captain
was very willing to oblige us with the latter as soon as he had done
with us, upon the paying off of the ship, he was not at all inclined to
enter into our views as to the former ; for he knew that he never
would get another officer to join him. He therefore took all the work
he could out of us for the present, bottling up his indignation for a
future opportunity.

We visited the cigar manufactory. About three thousand women
are daily employed in making and packing up the cigars. One party
seleets, cleans, and moistens the leaf ; a second cuts ; a third rolls ;
another packs them ; and thus they are passed through a variety of
hands before they are completed. The best cheroots made here are
sent to the royal family, and are called Finas. No. 3. are the- next
best : of these there are two kinds — one for consumption, another for
exportation. The cheroots sold in England under the name of
Government Manillas are of inferior quality. In consequence of the
failure in the preceding tobacco crop, cheroots were very scarce during
the time we were at Manilla.

There is a fine lace sold at Manilla, called Pina-work. It is made
by the women of an island bearing that name, which is close to Luzon.
Although not so fine as some of the European manufactures, it fetches
very high prices in this country. There is not sufficient made for
exportation.

The night on which we went on shore contrary to orders proved to
be a festival, and the city was illuminated. There is a variety in
illuminations all over the world, as those who have been to various
countries well know. The lower classes of Manilla construct animals
of all sorts, ships, &c. out of coloured paper — very good imitations
of the reality — and these they illuminate by putting candles within
them. "We had amused ourselves with looking at the variety of objects

198 BORNEO AND

exhibited by the various whims of the illuminating parties, when, on
passing through a street, we observed a large illuminated pig — such
a beauty ! He was standing at the door of a shop, and the owner was
quite proud of our unqualified admiration. We examined him very
carefully, and at last we unfortunately discovered that he was fixed
on a board with four wheels. Wheels naturally reminded us that
they were vehicles of locomotion ; the pig could move — that was
certain — and we decided that, if possible, pig must go on board of
the Samarang. This was agreed to, nem. con., by all parties, with
the exception of the owner, who was not summoned to the consulta-
tion, which, I grant, was an omission. A ball of twine, some fifty
fathoms long, was purchased, and stretched' along the street, so as to
give us a good start in case of a rescue. We manned it with all
hands except one, who was appointed to make it fast to the pig,
which he effected with great dexterity, and without being perceived.
As soon as he rejoined us, off we set, followed by pig, who galloped
and capered down the streets in capital style, preserving his equili-
brium in a most astonishing manner.

But the owner of the pig soon discovered his loss, and gave the
signal for the chase. As we passed the gates, the soldiers joined in
the pursuit, and a large mob followed; but pig beat them all, and
arrived safely at the hotel where we resided. Of course, the owner
soon came in to claim his property ; but he was so nobly remunerated
for his animal, which became ours by purchase, that he went away
jingling the money, and agreeing with us that it was an excellent joke.
We placed our pig in the centre of the table, and passed our last night
at Manilla in a most agreeable manner.

We then sailed again for Caviti, which was now again inhabited.
The society is confined to the families of the civil and military officers
who are stationed there. Some of the villages in the vicinity of

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

199

Caviti are very picturesque : the bamboos planted on each side of the
road meet over head, and form shady lanes. The women at these
villages were handsomer than any I had seen at Luzon, and were dressed
very tastefully. A petticoat, reaching from the hips to between the
knees and ankles, a not too jealous boddice of light muslin, their long
hair flowing down their backs, and a neat straw hat, composed as
graceful a costume as I have ever witnessed. See. two of these girls,
both riding one pony, taking eggs to Caviti, as they pass through the
shady lanes, and you cannot desire a more agreeable picture.

WiTER CARRIERS — MANILLA

January 3rd. — From this day till the 20th of February we were sur-
veying various portions of the Phillippine group ; but as there is nothing

200 BORNEO AND

to interest the reader, I shall pass over a dry catalogue of mostly
uninhabited islands. One of the islands was covered with cocoa-nut
trees. We found on it some Malays, who had come there on an
annual visit, and were loading their boats with the nuts. They were
the rudest of the Malay tribe we had yet seen. Every article in our
possession excited their cupidity, and they expressed their wonder
and admiration by clacking their tongues against the roofs of their
mouths, and emitting a very strange sound. A needle was valued by
them at ten cocoa-nuts, a button at five. For the value of a few
shillings we filled the ship with those highly esteemed fruit. On the
21st of February we proceeded to Samboangan, a Spanish penal settle-
ment at the south extremity of Mindanao. The town, which is
insignificant, is built on a plain. Most of the houses are constructed
of leaves and bamboo, supported by stakes. The governor, however,
and some of the most respectable of the inhabitants, occupy neat little
white-washed cottages. There is a fine fort, in good condition, and
mounting several guns, which is garrisoned by about 400 Manilla
troops.

The town is surrounded nearly by groves of cocoa-nut trees and
bananas, and the roads cut through them form pleasant shady walks.
The plain on which the town is built is well cultivated, and watered
by a fine river. It is bounded by a range of mountains, which sepa-
rate the Spanish possessions from the country inhabited by the war-
like natives of the interior. The people appear well-conditioned and
industrious, and are remarkably neat in their dress and persons.
There are several gun boats stationed here, which are employed to
scour the coast of the pirates, who are very numerous and formidable.

Horses can be obtained here in any quantity, but saddles and
bridles are scarce. Unfortunately, there is nothing so civilised here
as an hotel, so few vessels visiting the port. The little commerce that

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 201

exists is carried on by small schooners which run between this island
and Manilla.

I have mentioned that this is the penal settlement of the Spanish
colonies. The prisoners are confined within the fort, and there is
none of that awe of restraint and doubtful position which you find in
a place where half the population consists of liberated convicts. It is
a flourishing and happy little colony. Many officers of an inferior
grade reside here, holding appointments either in the fort, gaol, or
the gun boats. These people and their wives are Mestichas (or half-
breed), and it is among them and their families that some of the
prettiest women in the Asiatic archipelago may be found.

Our first object after we were on shore was to procure horses, that
we might have a view of the country, as far as prudence would admit.
We were surprised at starting to find such fine roads, lined with gar-
dens and cottages, embowered in groves of cocoa-nut, bananas, and
bamboos. Where the road was not shaded, arches of wood were
raised to protect passengers from the heat of the sun. The whole
country was alive with natives, dressed in every variety of colour, and
sledges drawn by water buffaloes, carrying fruit, vegetables, and
Indian corn. We put our horses to a swift canter, and passed through
many villages, all in appearance as populous, as thriving, and as
happy as Samboangan. At last we arrived at an open plain, covered
with cattle, and bounded by the mountains in the distance. We
remained some time admiring and sketching ; the inhabitants showed
us every kindness, and were more courteous in their demeanour than
might be expected from their isolation from the rest of the world.

On our return, we stopped at a little shop by the road side, close to
the town. It contained fruit, grain, and tobacco ; but ascertaining
that coffee and chocolate could be had here, we ordered some of the
latter, which proved to be excellent, and moderate in price. This

D D

202 BORNEO AND

little shop, for want of an hotel, became our principal rendezvous
during our stay here.

About nightfall, as we were strolling through the town, we were
attracted by the sounds of music in an adjoining street. We altered
our course accordingly, and on arrival at a large thatched house, per-
ceived through the open windows that it was filled with musicians
and dancers. We were immediately observed, and the owner of the
house, in the most courteous manner, and in tolerable English, re-
quested us to enter, which request we immediately complied with.
We imagined that it was a ball, perhaps a wedding ; but what was our
surprise on entering to see a table in the middle of the room, on which
was placed a dead child ! It was neatly dressed, and ornamented with
flowers, looking more like a wax doll than a corpse. The ball, we
were informed, was given in honour of its funeral. The dancing had
not yet commenced, so we were in excellent time. The master of the
house was extremely polite, and requested that we would consider
ourselves at home. We took his advice, and immediately separated,
and paid our addresses to the ladies which ,most interested us by their
appearance. A great many of them were exceedingly pretty, and they
were dressed enchantingly. Their hair was drawn back, and collected
in a knot behind, their bosoms covered by a light muslin jacket with
short sleeves. A petticoat of many colours was sufficiently short to dis-
close their naked feet, on which was a slipper of velvet, embroidered
with gold or silver lace. Two or three great gold ornaments com-
pleted their costume. Add to this their sparkling black eyes, regular
features, and an air of naivete — inseparable from Spanish girls, and
you have some idea of the witchery of the belles of Samboangan.

We were very soon on excellent terms, and the table with the dead
child being removed to a corner, the father and mother of the deceased
opened the ball with a slow waltz. This being concluded, we selected

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 203

our partners, and a livelier air being struck up, off we all went at a
splendid pace. The women waltzed well. The music was excellent.
In the first round all the ladies lost their slippers, which were without
heels ; and in the second the pace became fearful, and the old house
shook under the active bounds and springs of some twenty or thirty
couples.

Spanish quadrilles succeeded the waltz, and then we had the
country dance. This latter is complicated, but very pretty, and, with
the assistance of our partners, in a short time we were quite au fait
to its mysteries.

The music, which consisted of violins and guitars, bore up inde-
fatigably. About twelve o'clock we ceased dancing, and preparations
were made for supper. This was laid on the floor, clean grass mats
serving as table cloths. The contents of the dishes were of the most
novel description, and rice was the only article which I could recognise
as unmixed. The repast spread, the host requested us to place our-
selves. I followed my pretty partner's example, and came to an
anchor on the floor alongside of her. I was most assiduous in helping
her to whatever she pointed out ; and, as nearly as I can recollect,
the plate contained a curious medley of rice, prawns, fowls' legs,
apples, besides other articles unknown, at least to me. I had observed
a total want of knives, forks, and spoons, but this was explained
when I saw that all ate with their fingers. Seeing no objection to
this primitive plan, I was about getting a plate for myself, when I
was informed by my partner, in the most insinuating way, that I was
to consider her plate as my own. I fully appreciated the compliment,
and at once commenced, assisting her to demolish the pile that I had
collected, as I thought, for her use alone. On looking round I found
that we were not singular, and that every couple were, like us, dipping
into one dish. Never was there a more merry and delightful

D D 2

204 BOENEO AND

supper. As soon as it was over, which was not very soon, for I could
have gone on eating a long while for the very pleasure of meeting
the pretty little fingers in the plate, we rose, the mats and dishes
were cleared away, and we resumed the dancing, and it was at a
late hour that we made our buenas nochas to the fair girls of Sam-
boangan.

We remained in this delightful little place for two days. Many of
us were inclined to remain there for life, if we could have escaped.
We made several excursions into the interior, and the more we saw
the more we were convinced that no place was so pretty as Sam-
boangan.

March 3d. — Anchored in a port at Baselan, where the Spaniards
had very lately founded a colony. We found them very busy felling
trees, clearing backwood, and completing the stockade or fort. The
natives of Baselan are a courageous race, and were continually attack-
ing the Spaniards, occasionally with success. Two gun boats were
lying off the town, but the Spanish force is not sufficient to meet the
attacks of the natives, who continually surprise their outposts and
decapitate their prisoners. On our arrival a discharge of guns and
fire-arms was kept up during the whole night, fully proving the
trouble which the Spaniards would have in establishing and retaining
their settlement here. It was a few miles from this that the French
were beaten off by the Malays or pirates, for the terms are at Baselan
synonymous.

March 5th. — Having completed the survey of this port, we made
sail for Balam-bangan. On our route we stopped at Cagayan Sooloo,
where we fell in with two piratical prahus. For reasons, not explained,
these vessels were not interfered with, although there was not the
least doubt of their occupation.

March 9. — The ship struck several times while threading her way

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 205

through a line of dangerous shoals to the eastward of Bangay ; and
on the same evening we arrived at Balam-bangan.

The Royalist had been despatched about a month before to Sinca-
pore, to obtain provisions to enable us to survey the coast of Borneo.
Balam-bangan was the rendezvous appointed, and we expected to
have found her anchored there; but in this we were disappointed.
The survey of Balam-bangan was now commenced, and during our
survey we discovered the remains of the old English settlement. It
may be as well here to concisely narrate the history of its rise and fall.
About the year 1766, four ships, filled with troops and every thing
requisite for the formation of a colony, arrived at Balam-bangan,
which was formally taken possession of in the name of his Britannic
Majesty. But unexpected difficulties arose one after the other. The
natives of Bangay, about three miles distant, were hostile, and made
repeated attacks upon them. The soil was discovered not to be of
that fertile nature which had been represented ; and unfortunately
two of the ships were thrown on shore in a gale, and every soul on
board perished. These several disasters damped their energies, and
created a feeling of distrust among the settlers, but still the original
intention was not abandoned. The forts were completed, a few houses
rose, and as their comfort and security increased, so did their hopes
arise, and they worked with renewed vigour. But their prosperous
state excited the jealousy of the people of Sooloo, which island is the
emporium of the commerce between Borneo and the other islands.
The ruling powers of Sooloo considered that this commerce must fall
off if the English established themselves on an island so well adapted
for it in every respect as Balam-bangan, and they resolved to attack
the colony in its infant state. Perhaps they had another reason, which
was that they anticipated a rich booty, if successful, and no doubt
they were not disappointed. The attack was made with an over-

206 BORNEO AND

whelming force, and the English, although they bore themselves
bravely, could not resist it. Most of the colonists were butchered,
some few gained the ships in the harbour and sailed away to the port
from which the expedition was fitted out. Since that time no further
attempt to colonise this island has been made, nor, indeed, is it likely
that there will be, as Labuan is much more advantageously situated
in every respect.

The Royalist at last arrived : she had but few letters, but, valuable
and dear to us as letters always were, she brought intelligence that
made every heart, except one, beat with delight. Was it possible ?
Yes, it was true — true ! We were ordered home. Oh, the delight,
the frantic joy, which was diffused through the whole ship. To have
witnessed the scene we should have been considered as mad. Every
one embracing one another, shaking hands, animosities reconciled at
once, all heart-burnings forgotten : we could have hugged every thing
we met — dogs, monkeys, pigs — except the captain. All -our suffer-
ings and privations were forgotten in the general ecstasy, and,
although thousands of leagues were still to be run before we could
arrive at the desired goal, and months must pass away, time and
space were for the time annihilated, and, in our rapture, we fancied
and we spoke as if we were within reach of our kindred and our
homes. Could it be the Samarang that we were on board of? — the
same ship that we were in not one hour ago ? — the silent, melancholy
vessel, now all hands laughing, screaming, huzzaing, dancing, and
polkaing up and down the deck like maniacs? And then when the
excitement was a little over, and we became more rational, Why were
we ordered home ? was the first surmise. We had been sent out
on a seven years' expedition, and we had not yet been out four. The
surveys were not half finished. Was it the row that the captain had
had with the admiral, and the reports of many officers who had quitted

M.tU. EANH4BI LITH PRBiTiRS

I LL A IS A N PIRATE

(TAMPAS S K, B RNE 0)

LONDON, LONGMAN i. C? 18*8

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 207

the ship? We made up our minds at last that it must have been
upon the representations of the admiral to the Admiralty that we
had been ordered home. There could be no other reason. We drank
his health in nine times nine.

On the 24th of March we sailed from Balam-bangan, with the
intention of making a flying survey of the coast of Borneo, as far as
the island of Labuan and the country at Sarawak, to make the best
of our way to Sincapore, at which place we hoped to arrive about the
1st of May, there to receive our final orders and start for England.
It would be tedious, and it is not necessary, to give a description of
the survey which we afterwards made. We went over the same
ground as before, and we surveyed with a musket in one hand and a
sextant in the other, for the natives were not to be trusted. Our
warlike friends at Tampassook did not much relish our re-appearance
on their coast. A Spanish slave made his escape from them and
came on board, begging a passage to any where. He had been taken
prisoner, with six or seven others, in an engagement between the
Manilla gun boats and the Illanoan pirates, and had been very
cruelly treated. We learnt from this man that the pirates of Tam-
passook are very rich, and possessed a large number of fine prahus.
They had also plenty of fire-arms, but were afraid of them, preferring
their own weapons.

It was here that we heard the news of the murder of our old friends
Rajah Muda and Bud-ruddeen. It appeared that they had been accused
of being privy to the attack of the English on Maludu, and sup-
porting our claims to the island of Labuan. Bud-ruddeen died as
he had lived, a brave man, and worthy of a better fate. On the
approach of his enemies he retired to his house with his sister and
favourite wife, both of whom insisted upon sharing his destiny. Eor
some time he fought like a lion against a superior force, until his

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 209

servants one by one fell dead. He then retired dangerously wounded
to an inner chamber, with his wife and sister, and, allowing his
enemies to follow him till the house was filled with them, he fired
his pistol into a barrel of gunpowder, which had been placed in
readiness, and at once destroyed himself, his friends, and his enemies.
But this barbarous murder on the part of the sultan of Borneo and
his advisers was not left unpunished. Sir Thomas Cochrane went to
Brum with his squadron, and reduced the sultan to submission and
a proper respect for the English, and those who were friendly with
them.

As we approached Labuan we found it necessary to be on the
qui vive, as all the natives were hostile to us, and would have cut
off our surveying parties if they had had a chance. In the bay of
Gaya, we met a brother of Bud-ruddeen. He was the Rajah of the
small province of Kalabutan. Both he and his followers burned to
revenge the death of a man so universally beloved as Rajah Muda,
and offered to accompany us with their whole force to attack the city
of Bruni. They came on board of us with fowls, eggs, and fruits.
They placed little value on dollars, preferring white linen, handkerchiefs,
and bottles, to any other article in the way of traffic. We, therefore,
as we were so soon going to England, made no ceremony of parting
with our old clothes in exchange for stock ; and the next vessel that
visits the river will be surprised at the quantity of midshipmen's
jackets, sailors' hats, and marines' boots, which will be worn by the
inhabitants, in addition to their own costume. Mr. Adams, the
assistant surgeon, had obtained permission to accept the Rajah's
invitation to visit the town, which was some five or six miles up the
river. He saw nothing worthy of remark except some of a tribe of
aborigines (Dusums). Their only covering consisted of large metal
rings worn round the neck and hips.

E E

210

BORNEO AND

While a party were observing on shore, a short distance to the
northward of Kalabutan, they were fired at by a party of natives con-
cealed in the jungle. The only person who was wounded was the

NATIVES OF N.E. COAST OF BOHNEO.

Spaniard, whom we had rescued at Tampassook, who was standing
by the captain. The ball passed through his arm, and grazed his
body. The arms were handed out of the gig, which was close at
hand, and the enemy retreated into the wood. The cutter then joined,
and having a three-pounder on her bows, opened fire upon the natives,
who had re-assembled. . The first two or three shots passed over their
heads, and encouraged by no injury being done to them, they came
forward dancing, yelling, drawing their knives and spears in defiance.
But a shot passing through the body of the chief set them all off.

. ' - ;

Uty H/.'HAPT 1.7H PRINTERS

D U S U M. ^

fN. COAST 0F BORNEO)

LONDON, LONGMAN * C° ;8*P

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 211

Thev bore him away on their shoulders, and did not afterwards make
their appearance. After cannonading the village for an hour, and
doing them all the mischief that we could, by destroying their forti-
fications, burning one and carrying off another prahu, we returned
on board, and then made sail for the island of Labuan, where we
arrived on the 25th of April, 1846. Here our surveying was com-
pleted, and we made the best of our way to Sarawak, where we
arrived on the 30th of April. We learnt all the news of the little
colony from Dr. Treecher, who came to visit us.

We found that Mr. Brooke had been recognised by Government,
and that Captain Bethune had been testing the capability of making
Labuan a coal depot. Poor Williamson, the interpreter, and a great
friend of ours, had been drowned some months previous, while crossing
the river at night in a small canoe, and no doubt fell a prey to the
alligators. He was not only a very amiable, but a very clever fellow,
and his loss was deeply felt by every body.

Mr. Brooke was absent from Kuchin on an expedition to the
Sakarran river, in the Phlegethon steamer, to inquire into the par-
ticulars, and punish, if necessary, an attack upon his Dyak allies by
the natives of Sakarran. Two Sakarran chiefs, accompanied by a
great many war prahus, had paid a visit to Mr. Brooke, and had been
entertained by him in his usual hospitable manner. At their
departure he loaded the chiefs with presents, for which they appeared
to be extremely grateful. As a return for this kindness, and to
prove their sincerity as allies, the principal chief left his son, a boy
of twelve years of age, with Mr. Brooke. But notwithstanding that
this boy was as a hostage, they could not resist an opportunity of
plunder, and that very evening they ascended one of the tributary
streams of the Sarawak, attacked a village, and brought off with them
twenty-seven heads of the unfortunate Dyaks. When the news

212 BOENEO AND

arrived, Mr. Brooke was so much enraged at their treachery, that he
almost determined upon sacrificing the boy chief, as the natives
expected; but not wishing to visit the sins of the father upon the
lad, who was innocent, and fearful that his own people would not be
so forbearing, he returned the boy to his parents. We all felt
annoyed that we had not an opportunity of bidding farewell to Mr.
Brooke, and thanking him for his kindness to us whenever he had an
opportunity of showing it. He was, indeed, beloved by every body
who had the pleasure of his acquaintance.

Sailed for Sincapore. The next night we communicated with the
Julia (Mr. Brooke's vessel). She had on board Captain Elliott, and
twenty-five sepoys*, who were to be stationed as a garrison at Kuchin.
We were much pleased to find that Government had taken up this
cause so warmly, and that Mr. Brooke was likely to be recognised
by it, after all his individual exertions. Our passage to Sincapore
proved very tedious, all hands upon short allowance, and no grog.
We touched at Barren Island, and obtained a large quantity of sea
birds' eggs, but they were mostly rotten ; but this did not prevent
our making omelets of them, for we were now with only three days'
provisions on board at half allowance, and the calm still continued.
Three days we were in sight of the island, the sails flapped idly
against the masts, and not a breath disturbed the surface of the
ocean wave. We thought of the tale of the Ancient Mariner, and
there were not wanting those on board who declared that this con-
tinued calm was a judgment upon us, not for shooting an albatross,
but for robbing the nests of the eggs.

Our barges were sent to Sincapore for provisions, for famine was
staring us in the face, but that same night a breeze sprang up, and

* These sepoys were raised and paid by Mr. Brooke.

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 213

on the 20th of May we dropped our anchor in the roads. At
Sincapore we found the Hazard, 18, whose crew suffered so much
at New Zealand ; and here also we found, to our inexpressible delight,
our orders for England, of which we had begun to have some
doubts. On the 14th of June arrived the Admiral, in H. M. S.
Agincourt, towed by the Spitfire steamer. As soon as he was joined
by the rest of the squadron, it was the intention of Sir T. Cochrane
to make sail for Bruni, and punish the six-fingered sultan and his
piratical advisers.

Sincapore, like all new settlements, is composed of so mixed a com-
munity, that there is but little hospitality, and less gaiety. Every
one is waiting to ascertain what is to be his position in society,
and till then is afraid of committing himself by friendly inter-
course ; moreover, every body is too busy making money. The con-
sequence is, but few parties are given, and a ball is so rare that
it becomes the subject of conversation for months. There are some
good-looking girls at Sincapore, but it is only at church or on parade
that a stranger obtains a glimpse of them. Prudery is at present
the order of the day, and this is carried to such an extent from non-
intercourse, that at a farewell ball given to the Cambrians, the women
would only polka and waltz with each other.

The country immediately outside the town of Sincapore is spotted
with little bungaloes, the retreat of the merchants from the mono-
tonous business-life which they are compelled to lead. The plantations
of nutmegs and beetle-nut which surround these country residences
are very luxuriant ; and at this time the fruit was on the trees, and
the odour quite delightful. One male tree is planted for every ten
females. Very little cloves or cinnamon are grown at this settlement,
but I saw some specimens. A nutmeg tree is valued, when it once
arrives to full bearing, at a guinea a year. The Areca-palm is a very

214 BORNEO AND

beautiful tree, and requires but little attention : these and cocoa-nut
are valued at a dollar per year. Large quantities of sugar-cane are
now grown here, and some fine sugar-mills are built in the vicinity of
the town. The roads are kept in good repair by the convicts, and are
now really very respectable.

The Chinese joss-house here is considered very fine, and I made a
drawing of it. It has some good stone carving and figures, but is
very inferior to that of Ningpo. During the time that I was drawing
it was filled with Chinese, who were very inquisitive and troublesome :
the only method I could devise for keeping them off was by filling a
bowl full of vermilion, and when their curiosity overcame their
prudence, and they came rubbing up against me, daubing their faces
with the colour — this plan, accompanied with a kick, proved
effectual.

Sincapore being the penal settlement of India, there are a large
number of convicts here, who are chained, and work at the roads and
bridges. One night I visited the gaol, and was taken over it by an
overseer. We first visited the Chinese department. Two long
benches ran along the room, on which were stretched some thirty
men. As the overseer passed he struck each man with his rattan,
and in a moment they were all sitting up, rubbing their eyes, and
looking as innocent as possible. They were all confined for murder,
and were a most rascally -looking set. From this room we proceeded
to another, fitted in the same manner, and filled with Indians. Many
of them were branded on the forehead with " Doomga," which signifies
murder ; and in some cases the brand was both in Hindostanee and
English. Leaving them, we entered a small room close to the gates of
the gaol, and guarded by a sentry. In this room were confined the
most reckless characters. They were but eight in number. Parallel
to the bench ran a long iron rod, and to this they were shackled, both

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

215

hands and feet. The first man among them pointed out to me by the
overseer was a fine-looking grey-bearded Indian, of great stature,

and with the eyes of a tiger. He had been formerly a rich shipowner
at Bombay ; but having been convicted of insuring his vessels to a
large amount, and then setting fire to them, his property was confis-
cated by the government, and he was sentenced to work for life in
chains. It is said that he has offered a million rupees to any man
who will knock off his irons. His son carries on the business at
Bombay, and it was reported that a vessel was always lying at Sinca-
pore ready to receive him in case he should effect his escape ; but of
this there does not appear to be the slightest chance, as he is particu-
larly watched and guarded.

The next culprits pointed out to us were two of the heads of the

216

BORNEO AND

secret society of India. So much has already been said of this extra-
ordinary association, that I need not discuss it here. There is, how-
ever, a society in Sincapore of a similar nature, composed of all the
lower orders of the Chinese. It is said to amount to 15,000 ; and the
police is much too weak to prevent the robberies, although some check
is put to them by the presence of the military. It must not be sup-
posed that because there are 15,000 in the society, that there are that
quantity of robbers : such is not the case. Of course it is difficult to
arrive at the regulations of any secret society, but as far as can be
collected, they are as follows. A certain portion of the society are
regular thieves, and these in a body compel those who are inoffensive
to join the society, by threats of destruction of property, &c. If the
party joins the society, all that is expected of him is, that he will aid

KXING WOMAN.

and assist to prevent the capture, and give an asylum to any one of
the society who may be in danger. The richest Chinese merchants

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 217

have been compelled to join, and lend their countenance to this society,
upon pain of destruction of their property, and even assassination, if
they refuse ; and as they have more than once put their threats into
execution, the merchants have not the courage to resist. Shortly
after our arrival at Sincapore, the burial of one of the chiefs of the
society took place ; and such was the concourse assembled to witness
the funeral, that it was thought advisable to call out the troops, as
a skirmish was expected to take place. However, every thing passed
off quietly.

The richest Chinaman at Sincapore is Whampoa: he supplies the
navy with stores, and has a thriving business. His country house
is a favourite resort of the naval officers, and he gives excellent
dinners, and very agreeable parties. His champagne is particularly
approved of.

There is little or no amusement at Sincapore. During the afternoon
every body is asleep. In the cool of the evening half a dozen palan-
quins, and perhaps a few gigs, may be seen driving on the parade :
these proceed at a steady pace round the grass-plot for about an
hour ; and this is the only exercise taken. Fashion is very drowsy
here, and only wakes up occasionally, that she may sleep the longer
afterwards. From the want of hospitality, the evenings are passed by
strangers at the hotels, playing billiards, smoking, and drinking. The
hotels are very good, in consequence of the steamers from Bombay to
Hong Kong touching here ; they are fitted up with an unusual degree
of comfort ; and the charges are, of course, not very moderate. The
markets are well supplied with fruit, vegetables, and stock of all
kinds. Among the fruits must be mentioned the mangostein, which is
brought from Malacca; and the pine-apples from the island of St.
John's. The opposite side of the island upon which Sincapore is built
is well wooded. A great many tigers swim over from the main, and

F F

218 BORNEO AND

pits are dug for their destruction, 100 dollars being given by govern-
ment for every tiger killed.

On the 18th we received our final orders, and took our farewell of
Eastern India ; but it must not be supposed that we made the best of
our passage to England. On the contrary, the captain was as anxious
to remain out as we were to get home ; and we were six months and
twelve days from the time that we left Sincapore till our arrival at
Portsmouth. The fact was, that the pay and emoluments of a survey-
ing captain are such, that our captain felt no inclination to be paid off;
and as he never spent any money, he was laying up a nice provision
for his retirement ; besides which he hoped that, upon his representa-
tions to the Admiralty, the order for his recall would be cancelled,
and that he would find a letter to that effect at the Cape of Good
Hope. His object, therefore, was to spin out the time as much as
possible, so as to allow the answer of the Admiralty to arrive at the
Cape before we did. We were ordered to survey some shoals, the
Cagardos Carahos, on our passage home ; but I believe nothing more.

On Sunday, the 2 2d, we anchored off a small island near to the isle
of Billaton. At two a.m. we weighed, and ten minutes afterwards
the ship struck on a shoal. All our exertions to get her off proved
abortive, and in this uncomfortable position we remained till the fol-
lowing Thursday, when she again floated, after throwing overboard
the guns, and landing such stores as we could on the island. This
accident and light winds lengthened our passage to Anger (the Dutch
settlement in Java) to twenty-one days ; and there we remained five
days, to ascertain the rate of our chronometers. This Dutch settle-
ment at Anger, although slightly fortified, might be made a place of
great consequence : both outward and homeward bound vessels touch
here for water and stock ; and were it properly supported and improved
by the Dutch, as it should be, it would command a great deal of trade,

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 219

and during war be of great consequence. It is governed by a Dutch
military officer, and is garrisoned with about fifty soldiers. The
country is remarkably fine here, the plains richly cultivated and
covered with cattle. The farmers complain bitterly of the taxes
imposed upon them by the Dutch, taxes so onerous that no native
has a chance of realising any profits of consequence; but this is
Dutch policy, and very unwise policy it is. We now thought that we
were about to proceed to the isle of France direct, but we were mis-
taken : we weighed anchor, and proceeded to the Cocoa islands. This
is a low group of islands literally covered with cocoa-nut trees. These
islands are possessed by a Mr. Ross, formerly mate of a merchant
vessel. His family consisted of two sons and two daughters, and are
the only Europeans who reside there. We could not help thinking
that the Misses Ross had very little chance of getting husbands. The
remainder of the population, amounting to about 120 souls, are all
black. They extract the oil from the cocoa-nut, and trade with it to
Java, from whence they procure the necessary supplies. Whalers occa-
sionally call here to obtain fresh provisions ; but the visit of a man-of-
war was quite an event.

From the Cocoas we steered for the Cagardos Carahos shoals, where
we remained for more than a fortnight, surveying. There are several
islands close to these shoals, which are in the shape of a crescent.
They are very dangerous, being in the direct track of ships from China
and the Indies.

Indeed, we had ocular proof of their dangerous position, for there
were seven or eight wrecks upon them, and the small islands of sand
were crowded with masts, spars, chests, interspersed with human
bones bleaching in the powerful sun. On one of the islands we dis-
covered the remains of the British ship Letitia, which was wrecked in
September, 1845. At a short distance from the beach was the grave

r t a

220 BORNEO AND

of the captain, who was drowned in attempting to reach the shore
with a bag of dollars. Had he not held on so tight to the bag, he
would in all probability have been saved, as were all the rest on board
of her. It certainly would be very advisable to build a lighthouse
upon these shoals ; the expense would be nothing compared to the
loss of property and life which they occasion every year. From the
Cagardos Carahos we proceeded to the Mauritius. Here we found
the President, bearing the flag of Admiral Dacres, and the Snake brig
just arrived from England.

Port Louis has been too often described to be mentioned here.
Behind it rose a range of mountains, the highest of which are about
1400 feet above the level of the sea, and completely shelter the town
from the S. E. gales, which at this period of the year blow with great
violence. Among these mountains is the famous Peter-Botte, and we
looked upon it with great interest, in consequence of the daring and
successful attempt made a few years since by some Englishmen to
attain the summit of it. Even now, although we know that it has
been done, it appears to be impossible. One of the leaders of this
expedition was Lieutenant Thomas Keppel, the brother of our
favourite Captain Henry Keppel, and this circumstance gave it more
interest to us ; but T. Keppel has since left the service, and is now a
Reverend, moored in a snug Creek, and has quite given over climbing
up Peter-Bottes. During the short time that we remained at this
delightful island, we received every kindness and attention from the
governor and his lady, and the officers of the two regiments stationed
there.

From the Mauritius we proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope. On
the morning of the 24th of September we hove in sight of the Table
Mountain, but it was not until the 26th that we cast anchor in
Simon's Bay. Here we remained for a month, waiting for the arrival

; w
o 2

- 1 £

THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 221

of the mail from England. At last it arrived, but not bringing us,
as our captain hoped, the order for his return to India, on the 24th
of October we made sail for England, and, calling at St. Helena and
Ascension en route, on the last day of the year we dropped our anchor
at Spithead. We were not, however, emancipated till the 18th day
of January, on which day the ship was paid off, for which, and all
other mercies, may the Lord be praised !

222 OBSERVATIONS UPON

OBSERVATIONS

UPON

THE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO.

It is with diffidence that I take up my pen to offer a few remarks
upon the prospects afforded to our commerce and manufactures by
the opening of the Eastern Archipelago. Hitherto I have done little
more than narrate what I have seen, and have seldom made any
attempt to express what I have thought. However, as my thoughts
have been generated from what I have observed, whether I am cor-
rect or not in my opinions, I shall venture to lay them before my
readers.

How it is that until lately we have never taken any notice of this
immense archipelago it is difficult to say, unless we are to suppose that,
up to the present, the other portions of the inhabited globe have been
found sufficient to consume our manufactures as fast as they could be
produced. It does appear strange that an assemblage of islands,
which, large and small, amounting to about 12,000 in number, equal
in territory to any continent, and so populous, for the inhabitants,
including the more northern islands, are estimated at fifty millions,
should have hitherto been unnoticed, and, at all events, have not
attracted the attention of our government. Moreover, there are such
facilities of communication, not being compelled, as with the Chinese,

THE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO. 223

to confine ourselves to five or six ports, at which the whole trade is
centred in the hands of a monopoly, taxed with the expences of land-
carriage, port duties, and other exactions. Here, on the contrary,
from the division of the territory into so many portions, we possess
all the advantages of inland navigation, if I may use such a term,
for the straits and channels between them serve as large rivers do on
the continents to render the communication with the interior easy and
accessible. And yet, although we have had possession of the East
Indies for so many years, this archipelago has been wholly neglected.
At all events, the discovery of it, for it is really such, has come in good
time, and will give a stimulus to our manufactures, most opportune,
now that we have so much increased them, that we are in want of
customers. Still we have, almost unknown to ourselves, been ad-
vancing towards it step by step. The taking possession of the island
of Sincapore was the first and greatest stride towards it. Had it not
been that we had founded that settlement, we probably should not
have been nearer to Borneo now, than we were fifty years ago. Sir
T. Raffles conferred a great boon upon this country, and is entitled to
its gratitude for pointing out the advantages which would accrue from
this possession. Till we had made a settlement there, we knew no
more of the eastern archipelago, than what had been obtained by our
circumnavigators, or of the produce of it, further than that Borneo
was the country from which could be obtained the orang-outang.

Latterly we have been at some trouble and expence in forcing our
trade with China, little aware that almost in the route to China we
had an opening for commerce, which, in a few years, judiciously
managed, will become by far the most lucrative of the two, and what
perhaps is still more important, may be the means of a most extended
trade with China, as we can drive the Chinese from the archipelago,
and supply China from them ourselves ; but of that hereafter.

224 OBSEKVATIONS UPON

One cause, perhaps, which has prevented us from turning our atten-
tion in this direction has been, an unwillingness to interfere with the
Dutch, who have been supposed to have been in possession of all the
valuable islands in the archipelago, and from long-standing to have a
prior right to this portion of the East ; but, although the Dutch have
not been idle, and are gradually adding to their possessions, there is
little chance of our interfering with them, as there is room, and more,
for the Dutch, ourselves, and every other nation which may feel
inclined to compete with us. The possessions of the Dutch are but a
mere strip in this immense field ; and, although it is true that they
have settlements on the Spice Islands, so named, yet we now know
that every one of these islands may be made spice islands, if the in-
habitants are stimulated by commerce to produce these articles of
trade.

It was the settlement at Sincapore which first gave us a notion of
the trade which might be carried on with this archipelago. Every
year large fleets of prahus have come up to Sincapore laden with com-
modities for barter, and have taken in exchange European goods to a
certain extent ; but their chief object has been to obtain gunpowder
and shot, to carry on their piratical expeditions. In fact, they are
traders when they can only obtain what they want by exchange ;
but when they can obtain it by force, they then change their cha-
racter, and become pirates. But our possession of Labuan has
brought us about eight hundred miles nearer to these people, and
enables us to take more effectual steps towards the suppression of
piracy than we have hitherto done ; for this we may lay down as an
axiom, that we never shall reap the advantages promised to us by
commerce in this archipelago till we have most effectually put an end
to the piracy which has existed in these quarters for centuries. Before
I go on, I cannot help here observing how much this country is in-

•

THE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO. 225

debted to Mr. Brooke for his unwearied exertions in the cause of
humanity, and his skilful arrangements. It is to be hoped, that our
gratitude to him will be in proportion, and that Her Majesty's minis-
ters will, in their distribution of honour and emoluments among
those who have served them, not forget to bestow some upon one
who has so well served his country.

The largest, and perhaps the most important of the islands in this
archipelago, although at present the most barbarous, and the most
hostile to us, is that of Papua, or New Guinea. The inhabitants are
as well inclined to commerce as the other natives of the archipelago,
and do at present carry on a considerable trade with the Chinese, who
repair there every year in their junks, which they fill with valuable
cargoes adapted for the Chinese market. The Chinese have found the
trade with New Guinea so lucrative, that they are doing all that they
can to secure the monopoly of it, and with this view take every occa-
sion, and do all that they possibly can, to blacken the character of the
Europeans in the minds of the inhabitants. It is to this cause that
the Papuan's hostility to Europeans, and especially to the English, is
to be ascribed ; and before we have any chance of commerce with this
people, it is necessary that the Chinese should be driven away from
the island, that they may no longer injure us by their malicious fabri-
cations. This will be but a just retribution for the falsehoods and
lies which they have circulated to our disadvantage. And there is
another reason why we should be little scrupulous in taking this
measure, which is, that one of their principal articles of commerce with
the Papuans consists in slaves, which are taken on board by the
Chinese, and sold at Borneo, and the adjacent islands of the archi-
pelago, at a great profit. To obtain these slaves, the Chinese stimu-
late the Papuan tribes to war with each other, as is done for the same
purpose in Africa. As this traffic is very considerable, and we are as

G G

226 OBSERVATIONS UPON

much bound to put down the slave trade in the east as in the west,
we have full warrant for driving their junks away, and, by so doing,
there is little doubt but that in a few years we shall secure all the
valuable trade of this island to ourselves.

Borneo is, however, the island (or continent) to which our first
attention will be particularly devoted. Up to the present we know
little of it except its coasts and a portion of its rivers ; but it is here
that our principal attention must be given, as in its rivers and the
island of Sooloo the chief piratical hordes exist. We have already
had some sharp conflicts with them, and have given them some severe
lessons ; but although we have given them a momentary check, and
some idea of our immense superiority, we must not imagine that two
or three successful conflicts are sufficient to put an end to a system
which has been carried on for centuries, and whicli is so universal, that
the whole of the present generation may be said to have been " born
pirates." In fact, we shall be compelled to subdue them wholly, to
destroy them in all their fastnesses, to leave them without a prahu in
their possession, to depose or confine their chiefs, to destroy their
forts, and to carry on a war of extermination for some years, before
we shall put down the piratical system which at present exists. It is
not quite so easy a task as may be imagined to reform so many millions
of people : for it must be remembered that it is not only at Borneo
that we shall have to act, but that we must destroy the power of the
sultan of Sooloo, and other tribes who frequent other islands, and who
follow the same profession. It must not be forgotten that one of the
principal objects of these piratical excursions is to procure slaves for
sale at other ports ; and perhaps this is by far the most profitable part
of the speculation. As long as there is no security for the person,
commerce must languish, and be proportionably checked. In putting
down these marauders, we are, therefore, putting down the slave trade

THE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO. 227

as with the Chinese at New Guinea. The sooner that this is effected
the better ; and to do it effectually we should have a large force at
Labuan, ready to act with decision. Let it be remembered that, with
people so crafty and so cruel as the Malays and descendants of the
Arabs, lenity is misplaced, and is ascribed to cowardice. No half
measures will succeed with them. Indeed, I have my doubts whether
it will not be necessary to destroy almost every prahu in the archi-
pelago, and compel the natives to remain on their territory, to culti-
vate or collect articles for barter, before we shall effect our purpose ;
for the prahu that sails as a trader is changed into a pirate as soon as
temptation rises on her way. Indeed, if Labuan becomes, as it will
probably be, an emporium and depot for European commerce, without
such stringent measures a great stimulus would be given to piracy.
The peaceable trading parties, on their return, would be laid in wait
for by the piratical prahus, and the English manufactures on board
would be so tempting, and such a source of wealth, that they would
be irresistible. Neither should we be able to afford any protection to
the traders, as they would be laid in wait for at the mouths or up the
rivers, and would be captured without our knowledge ; with this
difference, perhaps, that the fear of detection would induce them
to murder all the prisoners, instead of selling them as slaves, as
they do at present. Unless, therefore, the most stringent measures
are resorted to on our parts, an increase of commerce with this
archipelago would only occasion in a reciprocal ratio an increase of
piracy.

The occupation of Labuan and Sarawak will, I should imagine,
prove hardly sufficient to effect the important change to be desired, i. e.
that of the total suppression of piracy. Stations, with forts, must be
established at the mouths of the principal rivers, that we may have a
constant watch upon the movements of the occupants. In so doing

G G 2

228 OBSERVATIONS UPON

we should be only encroaching upon those who have encroached upon
others: these rivers have been taken forcible possession of by the
Malays and Arabs, who have driven away the proprietors of the soil,
which are the Dyaks, the aborigines of the island ; and they have no
more right to the possessions which they hold, than their chiefs have
to the high-sounding titles which they have assumed. That in taking
this step we shall interfere with no vested rights is certain : we shall
merely be dispossessing these piratical marauders of their strongholds ;
and the cause of humanity will sufficiently warrant such interference
on our parts.

In our first attempts to establish, a peaceful and secure commerce
with this archipelago, it appears to me that it would be advisable for
the Government to take some share in the venture. Ten or twelve
schooners, well manned, confided to intelligent officers, and armed
with one heavy gun, and swivels in the gunwales, should sail for
Labuan, with assorted cargoes, with the view of both trading and
checking piracy. Much depends upon the way in which the barter is
first commenced, and it would be as well that it should not be left in
the hands of adventurers, whose mercenary feelings might induce
them to excite doubt or irritation in the minds of the natives, and, by
such means, do great mischief, and impede the trade. The constant
appearance of these vessels in the archipelago, the knowledge that
they were sent, not only to barter, but also to protect the well-disposed
against violence and rapine, would soon produce most beneficial effects,
and would impose confidence. Merchant vessels which entered the
trade should be empowered, by letters of marque, to put down piracy,
and should be armed in a similar way. Although there is little doubt
but that in a short time vessels would sail from Labuan with full
cargoes for Europe, still it is more than probable that the most impor-
tant part of the trade, and which would employ most vessels, would

THE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO. 229

be the colonial trade, or rather, country trade, to the several marts in
the Indus and China. There are many productions of the archipelago
which are only valued in the East, such as beche-de-mer, or trepang,
edible birds' nests, &c. This trade we might very soon monopolise to
ourselves, and a most lucrative one it would prove. The following
are the articles to be found in more or less quantities over the whole
of the Indian archipelago : — Antimony, tin, gold, diamonds, pearls,
sapphires, ivory, gums, camphor, sago, pepper, tortoise-shell, mother-
of-pearl, skins, wax, honey, cocoa-nut oil, coffee, rice, and coal, edible
birds' nests and trepang ; all the varieties of spices, as cinnamon, cloves,
nutmegs, can be grown as soon as there is a market for them ; the
cotton tree nourishes ; and, although not yet worked, it is proved that
there is abundance of copper and lead. An archipelago containing
such rich productions, and which we may, with some little trouble,
receive in exchange for our manufactures, becomes a national concern,
and it is the paramount duty of the Government to take every measure
to facilitate the communication with it.

The expedition of Mr. Murray to the river Coti, on the south side
of Borneo, although, from imprudence, it ended not only unsuccess-
fully but tragically, fully establishes that an opening for commerce is
to be established. In this expedition Mr. Murray, by his imprudence
and unguarded conduct, brought upon himself the attack of the
natives, in which he lost his own life, and the vessels with great
difficulty escaped. Since that failure, no English vessels have
attempted to trade to the south of Borneo ; but we discovered that
the Macassar boats paid the coast an occasional visit, under Dutch
colours, exchanging beads and other trumpery for rich cargoes of
ivory and skins. We also discovered that commercial negotia-
tions with this country would not be attended with any risk, pro-
vided that the vessels employed were well armed, and the arrange-

230 OBSERVATIONS UPON

ments were so made as not to excite the jealousy and suspicion of
the natives.

European manufactures would be eagerly purchased by the natives,
and would be paid for in ivory, rough ores, or dollars. Mr. Wyndham,
who has settled at Sooloo, has already sent a vessel to trade on the
south-east side of the island, near Gonong Tabor.

So much for the southern portion of this immense archipelago. We
have still to examine the more northern. Indeed, when we look upon
the map, and see the quantity of territory with which we may eventually
find the means of trading, — the millions who, but for the jealousy of
the governments, would be glad to receive our manufactures, — we are
lost in conjecture as to what extent it might eventually be driven. In
the north we should certainly have more difficulties to contend with ;
and it will require that the whole of the naval force in India should
be, for a time, devoted to this object. I believe it is as much from
their utter ignorance of our power, as from any other cause, that we
have hitherto been so unsuccessful at Japan ; but the object we have
in view may be effected, provided that a certain degree of the fortiter
in re be combined with the suaviter in modo. The Japanese now
carry on a large trade with China, and also a confined trade with the
Dutch, to whom they have allowed a factory upon a small island ; but
they treat the Dutch with the greatest indignity, and the Dutch
submit to it, and, in so doing, have rendered the Europeans vile
in the estimation of the Japanese. This is the error which must be
destroyed by some means or other, even if it should be necessary to
pick a quarrel with them, as we have already done with the Chinese.
At the same time that I admit the expediency of so doing, I by no
means assert that we shall be altogether justified.

There is another point worthy of consideration, which is, that a
whale fishery depot might be made with great success in this archi-

THE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO. 231

pelago, any where to the southward and eastward; and we might
recover a large portion of that lucrative employment, which, by the
means of British seamen employed in American vessels, has been
wrested from us ; for although, at the commencement, the whale fishery
from the States was carried on by Americans only, since it has so
enormously increased, at least two-thirds of the people employed in
the vessels are English seamen, who have become expert in the pro-
fession. It is much to be lamented that the laudable exertions of
Mr. Enderby and others to revive this lucrative employment for our
vessels and seamen has hitherto failed, and that some part of our
surplus capital has not been devoted to an object so important to us
as a maritime country.

I shall conclude with a reflection which I made while I was on the
coast, leaving the reader to agree with me or not, as he may be
disposed. How is it, as I have already observed, that all the colonies
founded by other nations, either languish or have been swept away, —
not all, perhaps, as yet, but the major portion of them ; while every
colony founded by our little island appears to flourish, till it becomes
so powerful as not only no longer to require the nursing of the mother
country, but to throw off its dependence, and become a nation of itself ?
How is it that it can so truly be said that the sun never sets upon the
English flag ? It cannot be from any want of energy, or activity, or
intelligence, or judgment in other nations ; for surely in these qualifi-
cations we are not superior to the French or to the Dutch, although
we may be to the present race of Spaniards and Portuguese. Our
colonies have not been more carefully fostered than theirs : on the
contrary, they have been neglected, and, if not neglected, they have
been but too often oppressed. Why, then, should this be ? Can
religion have any thing to do with this ? Can it be that Provi-
dence has imperceptibly interfered, and has decided that England

232 OBSERVATIONS UPON THE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO.

shall perform the high mission; that she has been selected, as a
chosen country, to fill the whole world with the true faith, with
the pure worship of the Almighty? Has it been for this object
that we have been supported in our maritime superiority ? Has it
been with this view that we have been permitted to discomfit the
navies of the whole world ? May it not be that when our naval com-
manders, with a due regard to propriety, have commenced their
despatches with " It has pleased the Almighty to grant us a splendid
victory," at the same time that they were trusting to the arms of
flesh and blood which have so well supported their endeavours, and
in their hearts ascribed their successes to the prowess of man, — may
it not be, I say, that the Almighty has, for his own good reasons,
fought on our side, and has given us victory upon victory, until we
have swept the seas, and made the name of England known to the
uttermost corners of the globe ? Has this been granted us, and have
we really been selected as a favoured nation to spread the pure light
of the gospel over the universe ? Who can say ? " His ways are not
our ways;" but if so, it is a high destiny, which we must act up to
at every sacrifice and at every expence.

THE END.

Lokdon :

Spottiswoodk and Shaw,
New-street- Square.

I IHH

RETURN TO the circulation desk of any
University of California Library
or to the
NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station
University of California
Richmond, CA 94804-4698

ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS

• 2-month loans may be renewed by calling
(510)642-6753

• 1 -year loans may be recharged by bringing
books to NRLF

• Renewals and recharges may be made 4
days prior to due date.

DUE AS STAMPED BELOW

SENT ON ILL

AP R 5 19 99

U. C. BERKELEY

SENT ON ILL

FEB t 2 2001

U.C. BERKELEY

12,000(11/95)

YE 05963

CDS137Dim

4?04O9

UNIVERSITY OI CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

&&■'

wttaBHBEm

gap

ihhi;

iSiSV,!

M$4k&7r-,
v* '4"'' I. to

:m&

•fe

iHiraHfc

. *\ <

;<>:*

■

:"SS

■Hi

«4