Renewed intercourse with the Rajah.--Prospects of
trade.--Ourang-outang, and other animals.--The two sorts of
mias.--Description of the Rajah, his suite, and Panglimas, &c.--The
character of the natives.--Leave Sarawak.--Songi Dyaks.--Visit
Seriff Sahib.--Buyat tongue.--Attack by pirates.--Sail for
Singapore.
Having returned to Sarawak, Mr. Brooke renewed his intercourse with
the rajah; and his Journal proceeds:
"_Sept. 9th._--Visited the rajah; civil and polite--I ought indeed to
say friendly and kind. Der Macota was on board, speaking on the trade,
and very anxious for me to arrange the subject with the rajah. I could
only say, that I would do so if the rajah wished, as I believed it
would be greatly for the benefit of their country and Singapore.
"_10th._--Laid up with my bad legs, and hardly able to crawl. Muda
Hassim presented us with another bullock, which we salted. At Lundu we
bought eight pigs, which arrived to-day in charge of Kalong, the young
Dyak. He is a fine fellow. I gave him a gun, powder-flask, powder,
&c. He was truly delighted. Our Pangerans arrived at the same time.
"_11th._--Very bad; got a novel, and read all day. Went ashore to
see Muda Hassim in the evening. He gave us a private audience: and we
finished our discussion respecting the trade, and I think successfully.
"I began by saying, that I as a private gentleman, unconnected with
commerce, could have no personal interest in what I was about to speak;
that the rajah must clearly understand that I was in no way connected
with the government of Singapore, and no way authorized to act for
them: that he must, therefore, look upon it merely as my private
opinion, and act afterward as his wisdom thought fit. I represented
to him that the kingdom of Borneo was the last Malay state possessing
any power, and that this might be in a great measure attributed to
the little intercourse they had had with European powers. I thought
it highly advisable to call into play the resources of his country,
by opening a trade with individual European merchants. Sarawak,
I stated, was a rich place, and the territory around produced many
valuable articles for a commercial intercourse--bees-wax, birds-nests,
rattans, beside large quantities of antimony ore and sago, which might
be considered the staple produce of the country. In return for these,
the merchants of Singapore could send goods from Europe or China which
his people required, such as gunpowder, muskets, cloths, &c.; and both
parties would thus be benefited by their commercial interchange of
commodities. I conceived that Singapore was well fitted for trade with
this place. The rajah must not suppose I was desirous of excluding
other nations from trading here, or that I wished he should trade
with the English alone; on the contrary, I thought that the Americans,
the French, or any other nation, should be admitted on the same terms
as the English.
"Of course, I was not allowed to proceed without much questioning and
discussion; many of the views were urged and re-urged, to remove their
false notions. That Mr. Bonham had the supreme command of the trade
of Singapore was the prominent one; and when he died, or was removed,
would not the next governor alter all kind intentions and acts? 'What
friend should they have at Singapore then?'
"Again they thought that a few ships might come at first; but then
they would deceive them, and not come again. It was very difficult
to explain, that if they procured cargoes at an advantageous rate,
they would come here for their own benefit; if not, of course it
would not be worth their while to come at all. The entire discussion
proceeded with the utmost good-will and politeness.
"That the political ascendency of the English is paramount here is
apparent. They might if they pleased, by means of an offensive and
defensive alliance between the two powers, gain the entire trade of
the northwest coast of Borneo, from Tanjong Datu to Malludu Bay.
"I obtained subsequently from Macota the following list of imports
and exports; which I here commit to paper, for the information of
those whom it may concern.
"_From Singapore._--Iron; salt, Siam; nankeen; Madras, Europe,
and China cotton cloth, coarse and fine; Bugis and Pulicat sarongs;
gold and other threads, of sorts and colors; brass wire, of sizes;
iron pans from Siam, called qualis; chintzes, of colors and sorts;
coarse red broadcloth, and other sorts of different colors; China
crockery; gunpowder; muskets; flints; handkerchiefs (Pulicat and
European); gambir; dates; Java tobacco; soft sugar; sugar-candy;
biscuits; baharri; common decanters; glasses, &c. &c.; China silk,
of colors; ginghams; white cottons; nails; beside other little things,
such as Venetian beads; ginger; curry-powder; onions; ghee; &c. &c.
"The returns from Sarawak are now: antimony ore, sago, timber
(lackah, garu), rattans, Malacca canes, bees-wax, birds-nests, rice,
&c. Other articles, such as gold, tin, &c. &c., Macota said, would be
procured after the war, but at present he need say nothing of them;
the articles above mentioned might subsequently be greatly increased
by demand; and, in short, as every person of experience knows, in a
wild country a trade must be fostered at first.
"To the foregoing list I must add, pipeclay, vegetable tallow,
which might be useful in commerce, being of fine quality; and the
ore, found in abundance round here, of which I can make nothing,
but which I believe to be copper.
"_12th._--I received from the rajah a present of an ourang-outang,
young, and like others I have seen, but better clothed, with fine
long hair of a bright chestnut color. The same melancholy which
characterizes her race is apparent in Betsy's face; and though but
just caught, she is quite quiet unless teased.
"From the man who brought Betsy I procured a _Lemur tardigradus_,
called by the Malays _Cucan_, not _Poucan_, as written in
Cuvier--Marsden has the name right in his dictionary--and at the same
time the mutilated hand of an ourang-outang of _enormous_ size. This
hand far exceeds in length, breadth, and power, the hand of any man
in the ship; and though smoked and shrunk, the circumference of the
fingers is half as big again as an ordinary human finger. The natives
of Borneo call the ourang-outang the _Mias_, of which they say there
are two distinct sorts; one called the _Mias rombi_ (similar to the
specimen aboard and the two in the Zoological Gardens), and the _Mias
pappan_, a creature far larger, and more difficult to procure. To the
latter kind the hand belongs. The mias pappan is represented to be as
tall or taller than a man, and possessing vast strength: the face is
fuller and larger than that of the mias rombi, and the hair reddish,
but sometimes approaching to black. The mias rombi never exceeds four
or four and a half feet; his face, unlike the pappan, is long, and his
hair redder. I must own myself inclined to this opinion from various
reasons:--1st. The natives appear so well agreed on the point, and so
well acquainted with the distinction and the different names, that it
is impossible to suppose it a fabrication for our peculiar use. Of the
many whom I asked respecting them, at different times and in different
places, the greater part of their own accord mentioned the difference
between the mias pappan and the mias rombi. The animal when brought
aboard was stated to be the mias rombi, or small sort. In short,
the natives, whether right or wrong, make the distinction. 2d. The
immense size of the hand in my possession, the height of the animal
killed on the coast of Sumatra, and the skull in the Paris Museum,
can scarcely be referred to an animal such as we know at home; though
by specious analogical reasoning, the great disparity of the skulls
has been pronounced the result merely of age.
"However, facts are wanting, and these facts I doubt not I can soon
procure, if not actual proof; and whichever way it goes, in favor of
Buffon's Pongo or not, I shall be contented, so that I bring truth
to light.
"_19th._--From the 12th to the 19th of September we lay, anxious to be
off, but delayed by some trifling occurrence or other, particularly for
the letters which I was to receive for the merchants of Singapore. Our
intercourse the whole time was most friendly and frequent; almost
daily I was ashore, and the rajah often visited the vessel. How
tedious and _ennuyant_ to me can only be known by those who know me
well, and how repugnant these trammels of society and ceremony are to
nature. Nevertheless, I suffered this martyrdom with exemplary outward
patience, though the spirit flagged, and the thoughts wandered, and the
head often grew confused, with sitting and talking trifling nonsense,
through a poor interpreter.
"I here bid adieu to these kind friends, fully impressed with their
kindness, and the goodness of their dispositions. To me they are far
different from anything I was at all prepared to meet, and devoid
of the vices with which their countrymen are usually stigmatized by
modern writers. I expected to find an indolent and somewhat insolent
people, devoted to sensual enjoyments, addicted to smoking opium, and
eternally cock-fighting or gambling: let me speak it to the honor of
the Borneons, that they neither cock-fight nor smoke opium; and in the
military train of their rajah they find at Kuching few conveniences
and fewer luxuries. Like all the followers of Islam, they sanction
polygamy; and the number of their women, and, probably, the ease and
cheerfulness of the seraglio, contrasted with the ceremonial of the
exterior, induce them to pass a number of their hours amid their women,
and excite habits of effeminacy and indolence. I should pronounce
them indolent and unwarlike; but kind and unreserved to foreigners,
particularly to Englishmen. They are volatile, generally speaking very
ignorant, but by no means deficient in acuteness of understanding;
and, indeed, their chief defects may be traced entirely to their
total want of education, and the nature of their government. The
lower orders of people are poor and wretched, and the freemen are
certainly poorer and more wretched than the slaves. They are not
greatly addicted to theft, and yet, unlike the scrupulous honesty
of the Sibnowans, they pilfered some trifling articles occasionally
when left in their way. The retainers of the court showed much the
same mean intriguing spirit which is too often found in courts,
and always in Eastern ones; and the rajah himself seldom requested
any favor from me directly, but employed some intermediate person
to sound me--to get whatever was required for himself if possible,
if not for the rajah. I took the hint, and always expressed my
wishes through the interpreter when not present myself. In this way
we were enabled to grant or refuse without the chance of insult or
offence. The suite of the rajah consists principally of slaves, either
purchased or debtors: they are well treated, and rise to offices of
some note. The Panglima rajah was a slave-debtor, though we did not
know it for some time after our arrival. I never saw either cruelty
or undue harshness exercised by the great men during my stay, and in
general their manners were affable and kind to those about them. The
Rajah Muda Hassim is a remarkably short man, and slightly built;
about 45 years of age; active and intelligent, but apparently little
inclined to business. His disposition I formed the highest estimate
of, not only from his kindness to myself, but from the testimony of
many witnesses, all of whom spoke of him with affection, and gave him
the character of a mild and gentle master. Muda Hassim's own brother,
Muda Mahammed, is a reserved and sulky man, but they spoke well of him;
and the rajah said he was a good man, but given to fits of sulkiness.
"Der Macota, unlike other Malays, neither smokes tobacco nor chews
sirih. He sought our society, and was the first person who spoke to
me on the subject of the trade. His education has been more attended
to than that of others of his rank. He both reads and writes his own
language, and is well acquainted with the government, laws, and customs
of Borneo. From him I derived much information on the subject of the
Dyaks, and the geography of the interior; and if I have failed to put
it down, it is because I have not departed from my general rule of
never giving any native statements unless they go far to verify my
own actual observations. I parted from the rajah with regret, some
six or seven miles down the river. Never was such a blazing as when
we left Sarawak; twenty-one guns I fired to the rajah, and he fired
forty-two to me--at least we counted twenty-four, and they went on
firing afterward, as long as ever we were in sight. The last words
the Rajah Muda Hassim said, as I took my leave, were--'Tuan Brooke,
do not forget me.'
"Among the curiosities in my possession are spears, swords, and
shields, from various tribes; a coat of mail, made to the northward of
Borneo, and worn by the pirates; specimens of Sakarran Dyak manufacture
of cloth, and Sarebus ditto; ornaments and implements of the Sibnowans;
and, last not least, a gold-handled kris, presented me by the rajah,
which formerly belonged to his father, and which he constantly wore
himself. I likewise presented him with a small English dagger, with
a mother-of-pearl handle; and my favor was so high with him, that he
used always to wear my gift, and I, to return the compliment, wore his.
"The climate of Sarawak is good, and is seldom hot: the last eight or
ten days were oppressive, but until then we could sleep with a blanket,
and seldom found it too warm in the day. Rain at this season falls
in great quantities; and from imprudence, our crew suffered on their
first arrival from colds and rheumatism; but getting more careful,
we had latterly no sick-list.
"Farewell to Sarawak! I hope to see it again; and have obtained a
promise from the rajah that he will go with me to Borneo, and show
me every part of the country by the way.
"I may here state the result of some inquiries I have made respecting
the government of Borneo. The form of government may be considered
aristocratic rather than oligarchical: it is ruled by the sultan, but
his power is kept in check by four great officers of government. These
are, the Rajah Muda Hassim, the Bandar, in whose hands is the
government of the country; Pangeran Mumin, the Degadon, the treasurer,
or, as Mr. Hunt says, controller of the household of the sultan;
Pangeran Tizudeen, Tumangong, or commander-in-chief; and Pangeran
Kurmaindar, the Pen-damei, or mediator and interceder. This officer
is the means of communication or mediation between the sultan and
his Pangerans; and in case of condemnation, he sues for the pardon or
mercy of his sovereign. Mr. Hunt, in his short but excellent paper on
Borneo, mentions some other officers of state: I will not follow him,
but in the names, as well as duties of these officers, his account
agrees with my information. Further than this, I have not yet learned,
therefore state not; for I am not _manufacturing_ a book, but gaining
information. I may add, however, that these offices are elective,
and not hereditary: as far as I yet know, I am inclined to believe
the election rests with the chief Pangerans of the state; not only
those in office, but others. When I reach Borneo I can procure more
ample details.
"_23d._--Quitted the Royalist at the entrance of the Morotaba,
and accompanied by Pangerans Subtu and Illudeen, set sail for the
river Sadung.
"The town called Songi is of considerable size, and the entire
population along the river may certainty be reckoned at from 2000
to 3000 persons, independent of Dyaks. The country has a flourishing
aspect, but the soil is represented as bad, being soft and muddy. There
is a good deal of trade from this river, and it annually sends several
large prahus to Singapore: two were lying off the town when we arrived,
and two others had sailed for that place twenty days before. The
produce of the country is bees-wax, birds'-nests, rice, &c. &c., but
they seem to be procured in less abundance than in the other contiguous
rivers. There is nothing peculiar about the Malay population, except
that, generally speaking, it struck me, they appeared better off than
the people of Sarawak, or others I have visited hereabouts. We ascended
the river by night, anchored a short distance from the Songi, in a
tide-way like a sluice, and entered the smaller river shortly after
daylight. Having sent the Pangerans ahead to advise Seriff Sahib of our
arrival, we pulled slowly up to the campong of the Data Jembrong, where
we brought up to breakfast. Data Jembrong is a native of Mindanao,
an Illanun and a pirate; he is slightly advanced in years, but stout
and resolute-looking, and of a most polite demeanor--as oily-tongued
a cut-throat as a gentleman would wish to associate with. He spoke
of his former life without hesitation, and confessed himself rather
apprehensive of going to Singapore. He was remarkably civil, and sent
us a breakfast of some fruit, salt fish, stale turtles' eggs, and
coffee sweetened with syrup; but spite of all this, his blood-thirsty
education and habits prejudiced me against him. Breakfast finished,
we went forward to visit Seriff Sahib, who received us in an open
hall; promised to get us as many animals as he could now; regretted
our short stay, and assured me he would collect more by the time I
returned. Among these is to be a mias pappan, living or dead. I at
the same time offered ten dollars for the skeleton belonging to the
hand already in my possession, and a less sum for the parts. Being the
first Europeans Seriff Sahib had ever met, he was rather puzzled to
know what we were like; but we had every reason to be satisfied with
his kindness and the civility of his people: the inhabitants, though
crowding to see us, are by no means intrusive, and their curiosity
is too natural to be harshly repressed. I need hardly remark here
how very erroneously the position of the Sadung river is laid down in
the charts, it being placed in the bay, to the westward of Santobong,
and nearly in the position of the Samatan river.
"_25th._--The last night was passed off Datu Jembrong's house, and I
left him with a firm impression that he is still a pirate, or at any
rate connected with them. He resides generally at Tawarron, to the
northward of Borneo Proper, where his wives and children now are,
and he has come here to superintend the building of a prahu. The
people about him speak of his pursuits without disguise, and many
informed us the prahu near his house is intended for a piratical
vessel. Nothing could exceed the polite kindness of our rascally host,
and I spent the rainy evening in his house with some satisfaction,
acquiring information of the coast to the northward, which he is well
able to give.
"In the morning we dropped down with the last of the ebb to the mouth
of the Songi, and took the young flood to proceed up the Sadung. Beyond
the point of junction with the Songi the Sadung retains an average
breadth of from three-quarters of a mile to a mile. The banks continue
to be partially cleared, with here and there a few Dyaks residing in
single families or small communities on their ladangs or farms. The
Dyak campong, which terminated our progress up the stream, consists
of three moderately long houses inhabited by Sibnowans. The manners,
customs, and language of the Sibnowans of the Sadung are the same as
those of their Lundu brethren; they are, however, a wilder people,
and appear poor. Like other Dyaks, they had a collection of heads
hanging before the entrance of their chief's private apartments. Some
of these heads were fresh, and, with the utmost _sang-froid_, they
told us they were women's. They declared, however, they never took any
heads but those of their enemies, and these women (unhappy creatures)
had belonged to a distant tribe. The fresh heads were ornamented with
fowl's feathers, and suspended rather conspicuously in separate rattan
frames of open work. They professed themselves willing to go with
me up the river to the mountains; and on the way, they informed me,
were some large Malay towns, beside some more campongs of their own
countrymen. Farther up they enumerated some twenty tribes of Dyaks,
whose names I thought it useless to preserve. Late in the evening we
set off on our return, and anchored once again near Datu Jembrong's
house.
"_26th._--Again visited Seriff Sahib. His name and descent are
Arabic; his father, an Arab, having married a daughter of the Borneo
Rajah. The Malays evidently honor this descent, and consider his birth
very high. His power, they say, equals his family; as he is, in some
measure, independent; and were he to instigate the Sadung country to
take arms against Borneo, it is very probable he would overthrow the
government, and make himself Sultan of Borneo. In person, this noble
partakes much of his father's race, both in height and features, being
tall and large, with a fine nose and contour of face. His manners are
reserved but kind; and he looks as if too indolent to care much about
acquiring power; too fat for an active traitor, though a dangerous
man to oppress. We were the first Europeans he had ever seen; but,
on our second visit, he lost much of his previous reserve, and
was curious in examining our arms and accoutrements. We, as usual,
_exchanged_ presents; mine consisting of some nankeen, red cloth,
knife, scissors, and handkerchief; while he gave me the shield of a
great Kayan warrior, a Bukar spear, a goat, fowls, and our dinner
and breakfast daily. He promised me specimens of the arms of all
the Dyak tribes, and plenty of animals, particularly my much-desired
mias pappan; and I, in return, agreed to bring him two small tables,
six chairs, and a gun. Subsequently to our interview he sent me a
tattooed Dyak, the first I had seen. The lines, correctly and even
elegantly laid in, of a blue color, extended from the throat to his
feet. I gained but little information; yet the history of the poor
man is curious, and similar to that of many other unfortunates. He
represented himself as a chief among his own people in the country
of Buyat, five days' journey up the Cotringen river (_vulgo_ Coti
river). Going in his canoe from the latter place to Banjamassim, he
was captured by Illanun pirates, with whom he was in bondage for some
time, but ultimately sold as a slave to a resident of Sadung. It was
now five years since he became first captive; but having lately got
money enough to buy his liberty, he is again a freeman; and having
married, and turned to the religion of Islam, desires no longer to
revisit his native country. The language of the tribe of Buyat he
represents as entirely Malay. I made him a small present for the
trouble I had given him, and he departed well content.
"About three o'clock in the afternoon we had a heavy thunder-storm,
with lightning as vivid as the tropics produce. Torrents of rain
descended, and continued a great part of the night; but, sheltered by
our kajangs or mats, we managed to keep tolerably dry. Indeed, the
voyager on this coast must be prepared for exposure to heavy rains,
and considerable detention from thick and cloudy weather. The latter
obstruction, of little moment or even agreeable to those making a
passage, is a cause of much vexation in surveying the coast, as for
days together no observations are to be had.
"_27th._--About 7 A. M. we quitted Songi, and dropped down as far as
Tanjong Balaban, a low point forming the larboard entrance into the
Sadung river, and bounding the bay, which lies between it and Tanjong
Sipang. Coming to this point gave us a good offing for our return,
and enabled me to take a round of angles to finish the survey as far
as this point and Pulo Burong, which lies off it. We crossed over
the sand flats with a light breeze, and reached the Royalist at 4
P.M. In the evening the Datu Jembrong, who had preceded us from Sadung,
spent the evening aboard. He expressed his willingness to accompany
me next season: whether I shall take him is another question; but,
could he be trusted, his services might be highly useful.
"Our Pangerans arrived early this morning from Sadung; and to-morrow
was fixed for our departure, when an unforeseen occurrence caused a
farther detention. The day passed quietly: in the evening I was ashore,
and took leave of the Pangerans Subtu and Illudeen, who returned to
Sarawak, leaving the Panglima Rajah to pilot us out. The first part of
the night was dark; and the Panglima in his prahu, with twelve men,
lay close to the shore, and under the dark shadow of the hill. About
nine, the attention of the watch on deck was attracted by some bustle
ashore, and it soon swelled to the wildest cries; the only word
we could distinguish, however, being 'Dyak! Dyak!' All hands were
instantly on deck. I gave the order to charge and fire a gun with a
blank cartridge, and in the mean time lit a blue light. The gig was
lowered, a few muskets and cutlasses thrown into her, and I started
in the hope of rescuing our poor Malay friends. The vessel meanwhile
was prepared for defence; guns loaded, boarding-nettings ready for
running up, and the people at quarters; for we were ignorant of the
number, the strength, or even the description of the assailants. I
met the Panglima's boat pulling toward the vessel, and returned with
her, considering it useless and rash to pursue the foe. The story is
soon told. A fire had been lit on the shore; and after the people had
eaten, they anchored their boat, and, according to their custom, went
to sleep. The fire had probably attracted the roving Sarebus Dyaks,
who stole upon them, took them by surprise, and would inevitably have
cut them off but for our presence. They attacked the prahu fiercely
with their spears; five out of twelve jumped into the water, and swam
ashore; and the Panglima Rajah was wounded severely. When our blue
light was seen they desisted; and directly the gun fired, paddled
away fast. We never saw them. The poor Panglima walked aboard with a
spear fixed in his breast, the barb being buried, and a second rusty
spear-wound close to the first; the head of the weapon was cut out,
his wounds dressed, and he was put to bed. Another man had a wound from
a wooden-headed spear; and most had been struck more or less by these
rude and, luckily, innocuous weapons. A dozen or two of Dyak spears
were left in the Malay boat, which I got. Some were well-shaped, with
iron heads; but the mass simply pieces of hard wood sharp-pointed,
which they hurl in great numbers. Fire-arms the Dyaks had none,
and during the attack made no noise whatever; while the Malays, on
the contrary, shouted lustily, some perhaps from bravery, most from
terror. The force that attacked them was differently stated; some
said the boat contained eighty or a hundred men, others rated the
number as low as fifty; and, allowing for an exaggeration, perhaps
there might have been thirty-five--not fewer, from the number of
spears thrown. Being fully prepared, we set our watch, and retired
as usual to our beds; the stealthy and daring attack, right under
the guns of the schooner, having given me a lesson to keep the guns
charged in future. The plan was well devised; for we could not fire
without the chance of hitting our friends as well as foes, and the
deep shadow of the hill entirely prevented our seeing the assailants.
"_29th._--I considered it necessary to dispatch a boat to Sarawak to
acquaint the rajah with the circumstance of the attack made on his
boat. The wound of the Panglima was so severe, that in common humanity
I was obliged to wait until all danger for him was past. He was soon
well; and, as with natives in general, his wound promises favorably; to
a European constitution a similar wound would be imminently dangerous.
"_30th._--Took the long boat, and sounded along the edge of the sand;
soundings very regular. In the evening Mr. Williamson returned in
the gig, and a host of Pangerans; the Pangeran Macota at the head. He
urged me much to go and see Muda Hassim. The rajah, he said, desired
it so much, and would think it so kind, that I consented to go up
to-morrow. I am very desirous to fix their good feelings toward us: and
I was prompted by curiosity to see the rajah's _menage_ as his guest.
"_October 1st._--We had a heavy pull against tide, and arrived at
Sarawak about 4 P.M. We had eaten nothing since breakfast at 8; and we
had to sit and talk, and drink tea and smoke, till 8 in the evening;
then dinner was announced, and we retired to the private apartments--my
poor men came willingly too! The table was laid _a l'Anglaise_, a good
curry and rice, grilled fowls, and a bottle of wine. We did justice
to our cheer; and the rajah, throwing away all reserve, bustled about
with the proud and pleasing consciousness of having given us an English
dinner in proper style; now drawing the wine; now changing our plates;
pressing us to eat; saying, 'You are at home.' Dinner over, we sat,
and drank, and smoked, and talked cheerfully, till, tired and weary,
we expressed a wish to retire, and were shown to a private room. A
crimson silk mattress, embroidered with gold, was my couch: it was
covered with white gold-embroidered mats and pillows. Our men fared
equally well, and enjoyed their wine, a luxury to us; our stock of
wine and spirits having been expended some time.
"_2d._--Once more bade adieu to our kind friends; reached the vessel
at 4 P.M., and got under weigh directly. At dusk anchored in the
passage between the sands.
"_3d._--Five A.M. under weigh. Clear of the sands about mid-day,
and shaped our course for Singapore.
"_4th._--Strong breeze from w.s.w. Beating from leeward of Datu to
Pulo Murrundum, in a nasty chop of a head sea."