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[Cover]
[Illustration: HAPPILY HE HAD A STOUT WALKING-STICK, AND AT ONCE FELLED
THE REPTILE.
_Frontispiece._ _Page_ 26.]
SKETCHES
OF
OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK
BY
HARRIETTE McDOUGALL.
_WITH MAP._
PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE TRACT COMMITTEE.
LONDON:
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE,
NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS, W.C.;
43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.;
26, ST. GEORGE'S PLACE, HYDE PARK CORNER, S.W.
BRIGHTON: 135, NORTH STREET.
NEW YORK: E. & J. B. YOUNG AND CO.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTORY 7
II. THE COURT-HOUSE 13
III. COLLEGE HILL 21
IV. PIRATES 32
V. THE CHURCH AND THE SCHOOL 45
VI. THE GIRLS 58
VII. THE LUNDUS 68
VIII. A BOAT JOURNEY 82
IX. CONTINUATION OF THE TRIP TO REJANG 92
PART II.
X. RETURN TO SARAWAK 105
XI. CHINESE INSURRECTION 120
XII. CHINESE INSURRECTION (_Continued_) 139
XIII. EVENTS OF 1857 157
XIV. THE MALAY PLOT 174
PART III.
XV. THE CHILDREN'S CHAPTER 189
XVI. ILLANUN PIRATES 204
XVII. A MALAY WEDDING 215
XVIII. LAST YEARS AT SARAWAK 228
XIX. THE ISLAND OF BORNEO 239
PART I.
[Map: BORNEO]
SKETCHES OF OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Nearly thirty years ago I published a little book of "Letters from
Sarawak, addressed to a Child." This book is now out of print, and, on
looking it over with a view to republication, I think it will be better
to extend the story over the twenty years that Sarawak was our home,
which will give some idea of the gradual progress of the mission.
This progress was often unavoidably impeded by the struggles of the
infant State; for war drowns the voice of the missionary, and though the
Sarawak Government always discouraged the Dyak practice of taking the
heads of their enemies, still it could not at once be checked, and every
expedition against lawless tribes, however righteous in its object,
excited the old superstitions of those wild people. When their warriors
returned from an expedition, the women of the tribe met them with dance
and song, receiving the heads they brought with ancient
ceremonies--"fondling the heads," as it was called; and for months
afterwards keeping up, by frequent feasts, in which these heads were the
chief attraction, the heathen customs which it was the object of the
missionary to discourage.
I dare say, when we first settled at Sarawak, we thought that twenty
years would plant Christian communities, and build Christian churches
all over the country: but it is as well that we cannot overlook the
future; and perhaps, considering the many difficulties which arose from
time to time, from the missionaries themselves, and the unsettled
country in which they laboured, we ought not to expect more results than
have appeared. At any rate we have much to be thankful for, and as every
year makes Sarawak a more important State, consolidates its Government,
and extends civilization to its subjects, we may look for more success
for the missionaries, who can now point to the peace and prosperity of
the people, and say, "This is the fruit of Christianity and Christian
rulers."
In giving a short account of our life in Borneo, I shall avoid alike all
political questions, or, as much as possible, individual histories among
the English community. It is already so long ago since we lived in that
lovely place, that events, trials, joys, and the usual vicissitudes of
life, are wrapt in that mellowing haze of the past, which, while it dims
the vividness of feeling, throws a robe of charity over all, and perhaps
causes actors and actions to assume a more true proportion to one
another than when we walked amongst them. I have, however, not depended
on memory alone for the records of twenty years, but have journals and
letters to refer to, which my friends in England have been good enough
to keep for me. Some parts of "Letters from Sarawak" I shall incorporate
into the present little book, for as it treats of the first six years we
lived there, and was written at that time, it is sure to be tolerably
correct.
In those days, from 1847 to 1853, Sir James Brooke was very popular in
England. The story of his first occupation of Sarawak, published in his
journals, and the cruizes of her Majesty's ships in those eastern
seas--the _Dido_ and the _Samarang_--were read with avidity, and
furnished the English public with a romance which had all the charm of
novelty. However difficult and inconvenient it might be for the English
Government to recognize a native State under an English rajah, who was
at the same time a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, this question
had not then arisen; and all classes, high and low, could applaud a
brave and noble man, who had stepped out of the beaten track to spend
his fortune and expose his life in the cause of savages. There were many
fluctuations of sympathy and opinion in after years towards Sir James
Brooke; but, through evil report and good report, through difficulty and
danger, Sarawak has still advanced, and is as worthy of the interest of
the best and wisest of mankind as it was in 1847. At this time, indeed,
it seems to me to furnish a lesson in the management of native races
which might be useful in our own colonies. English governors always set
out with good intentions towards the natives of savage countries, but
how is it that war almost always follows their occupation? Surely it is
because the settlers go there, not in the interest of the native race,
but their own, and the two interests are sure to clash in the long-run.
It requires great patience and forbearance to educate natives up to a
rule of justice and righteous laws; but that it may be done, and carry
the co-operation of the people themselves, is evident at Sarawak, where
the Malays and Dyaks are associated in the Government, and have always
stood by their English rajah, even when it was necessary to punish or
exile some of their own chiefs. I am aware that an English colony cannot
be governed in this way; nevertheless, the spectacle of wild natives,
rising by the influence of a few good Englishmen from lawless misrule to
a settled government, where vice is punished without partiality, is very
beautiful to philanthropists, and makes one think better of human nature
and its capabilities. I wish I could portray the hilly and thorny road
by which this has been attained! It would, methinks, create a new
interest in Sarawak, if the past and the present could be fairly set
before the discerning world; we should again hear of missionaries
longing to help in the improvement of people who have shown themselves
so open to good influences. I have said that I would not touch upon
politics, but Church and State are so naturally bound together in the
task of civilization, that it is difficult to relate the history of the
mission without mentioning the Government. Of course they do not stand
in the same relation to one another in a Mahometan country, where the
English Church is but a tolerated sect, as they do in a Christian land;
still the Christian Church strengthens the Christian ruler, and he in
his turn protects the Church by good government, although he may not
favour it except by individual preference. For my own part, I have
always thought it an advantage to our Dyak Christians that no favour was
shown them on account of their faith; at any rate, it was for no worldly
interest that they became Christians.
Although our life in Sarawak extended over a period of twenty years, it
might naturally be divided into three parts--of six, five, and six years
respectively, the intervals being spent in visits to England. These
visits, although absolutely necessary, were a drawback to the mission
work. When the head of a family is absent, the responsibility is apt to
fall upon the younger members, and is sometimes too much for them.
However, they always did their best, and always welcomed us home most
warmly. It was a joyful sight, on our return, to find the missionaries
and school-children waiting for us at the wharf below our houses, the
children's dear little faces glad with smiles, and a warm welcome for
any baby we brought home. The second time, it was our daughter Mab; and
in 1862, our last baby, Mildred,--Mab, Edith, and Herbert being left in
England, for no English child can thrive in that unchangeable climate
after it is six years old.
The first chapters of this little book will describe the first six years
of our stay at Sarawak; but, in speaking of subjects of interest, I
shall not stop short at the end of those years, but carry on the subject
to the end of our Sarawak experience. It is perhaps necessary to say
this to prevent confusion.