Proposed British settlement on the northwest coast of Borneo,
and occupation of the island of Labuan.--Governor Crawfurd's
opinions thereon.
The establishment of a British settlement on the northwest coast of
Borneo, and the occupation of the island of Labuan, are measures that
have for some time past been under consideration by her majesty's
government; and I am courteously enabled to lay before my readers
the valuable opinions of Mr. Crawfurd (late Governor of Singapore)
on this subject:
"I am of opinion (Mr. Crawfurd writes) that a settlement on the
northwest coast of Borneo--that is, at a convenient point on the
southern shore of the China Sea--would be highly advantageous to
this country, as a coal depot for steam navigation; as a means of
suppressing Malayan piracy; as a harbor of refuge for ships disabled
in the China Sea; and finally, as a commanding position during a
naval war.
"The island of Labuan has been pointed out for this purpose; and as
far as our present limited knowledge of it will allow me to judge, it
appears to possess all the necessary qualities for such a settlement.
"The requisite properties are, salubrity of climate, a good harbor, a
position in the track of steam-navigation, conveniency of position for
ships disabled in typhoons, conveniency of position for our cruisers
during war, and a locality strong and circumscribed by nature, so as
to be readily capable of cheap defence.
"Labuan lies in about 6 deg. of north latitude, and consequently the
average heat will be about 83 deg. of Fahrenheit; the utmost range of
the thermometer will not exceed ten degrees. In short, the year is a
perpetual hot summer. It is, at the same time, well ventilated by both
monsoons; and being near twenty miles from the marshy shores of the
Borneo river, there is little ground to apprehend that it will be found
unhealthy, even if those shores themselves had been ascertained to be
so, which, however, is not the case; for, in proof of their salubrity,
it may be stated, that the town of Borneo is healthy, although it
stands, and has stood for centuries, on the flooded banks of the river;
the houses being built on posts, and chiefly accessible by boat.
"With respect to harbor, a most essential point, I do not perceive
that the island is indented by any bay or inlet that would answer the
purpose of one. [29] The channel, however, which lies between it and
the mainland of Borneo is but seven miles broad, and will probably
constitute a spacious and convenient harbor. The name of the island
itself, which means anchorage, I have no doubt is derived from the
place affording shelter to native shipping, and those probably, in
most cases, fleets of pirate prahus. This channel is again further
restricted by four islets, and these, with four more lying to the
southwest, will afford shelter in the southwest or mild monsoon;
protection is given in the northeast, the severest monsoon, by Labuan
itself: and I may add, that the island is, by four degrees of latitude,
beyond the extreme southern limit of the typhoons of the Chinese Sea.
"In the channel between Labuan and the main, or rather between Labuan
and the islets already mentioned, the soundings on the Admiralty
chart show that vessels drawing as much as eighteen feet water may
anchor within a mile of the shore, and the largest vessels within
a mile and a half; a convenience for shipping which greatly exceeds
that of Singapore. One of the advantages of Labuan will be that it
will prove a port of refuge for shipping disabled in the storms of
the Chinese Seas. Many examples, indeed some of recent occurrence,
might be adduced to show the need there is of such a port.
"Labuan lies nearly in the direct track both of steam and sailing
navigation from India to China, during the northeast, the worst
and severest of the two monsoons; and is as intermediate a position
between Singapore and Hong Kong as can be found, being 700 miles from
the former and 1000 from the latter.
"The insular character and narrow limits of Labuan will make it
easily and cheaply defensible. The extreme length of the island
appears to be about six miles, its greatest breadth about four and a
half, and probably its whole area will not be found to exceed thirty
square miles.
"From the rude tribes of the immediate vicinity no hostile attack is
to be apprehended that would make the present erection of forts or
batteries necessary. No Asiatic enemy is at any time to be feared that
would make such defences requisite. In five-and-twenty years it has
not been found imperative to have recourse to them at Singapore. It
is only in case of war with a naval power that fortifications would be
required; but I am not informed what local advantages Labuan possesses
for their erection. A principal object of such fortifications would
be the defence of the shipping in the harbor from the inroads of an
enemy's cruisers. At one point the soundings, as given in the Admiralty
chart, are stated nine fathoms, within three quarters of a mile of
the shore; and I presume that batteries within this distance would
afford protection to the largest class of merchantmen. In Singapore
Roads no class of shipping above mere native craft can lie nearer than
two miles of the shore; so that in a war with a European naval power,
the merchant shipping there can only be defended by her majesty's navy.
"One of the most striking national advantages to be expected from
the possession of Labuan would consist in its use in defending our
own commerce, and attacking that of opponents, in the event of a
naval war. Between the eastern extremity of the Straits of Malacca
and Hong Kong, a distance of 1700 miles, there is no British harbor,
and no safe and accessible port of refuge; Hong Kong is, indeed,
the only spot within the wide limits of the Chinese Sea for such a
purpose, although our legitimate commercial intercourse within it
extends over a length of 2000 miles. Everywhere else, Manilla and
the newly opened ports of China excepted, our crippled vessels or our
merchantmen pursued by the enemy's cruisers, are met by the exclusion
or extortion of semi-barbarous nations, or in danger of falling into
the power of robbers and savages.
"Labuan fortified, and supposing the Borneon coal to be as productive
and valuable in quality as it is represented, would give Great Britain
in a naval war the entire command of the China Sea. This would be the
result of our possessing or commanding the only available supply of
coal, that of Bengal and Australia excepted, to be found in the wide
limits which extend east of the continents of Europe and America.
"The position of Labuan will render it the most convenient possible
for the suppressing of piracy. The most desperate and active pirates
of the whole Indian Archipelago are the tribes of the Sooloo group
of islands lying close to the north shore of Borneo, and the people
of the north and northeastern coast of Borneo itself; these have
of late years proved extremely troublesome both to the English and
Dutch traders; both nations are bound by the Convention of 1824 to
use their best endeavors for the suppression of piracy, and many
efforts have certainly been made for this purpose, although as yet
without material effect in diminishing the evil.
"From Labuan, these pirates might certainly be intercepted by armed
steamers far more conveniently and cheaply than from any other position
that could be easily pointed out: indeed, the very existence of a
British settlement would tend to the suppression of piracy.
"As a commercial depot, Labuan would have considerable advantages
by position; the native trade of the vicinity would of course resort
to it, and so would that of the north coast of Borneo, of the Sooloo
Islands, and of a considerable portion of the Spice Islands. Even for
the trade of the Philippines and China, it would have the advantage
over Singapore of a voyage by 700 miles shorter; a matter of most
material consequence to native commerce.
"With all the countries of the neighborhood lying west of Labuan I
presume that a communication across both monsoons might be maintained
throughout the year. This would include a portion of the east coast
of the Malay peninsula, Siam, and part of Cochin China.
"Labuan belongs to that portion of the coast of Borneo which is the
rudest. The Borneons themselves are of the Malay nation, originally
emigrants from Sumatra, and settled here for about six centuries. They
are the most distant from their original seat of all the colonies which
have sprung from this nation. The people from the interior differ from
them in language, manners, and religion, and are divided into tribes
as numerous and as rude as the Americans when first seen by Europeans.
"From such a people we are not to expect any valuable products of art
or manufacture, for a British mercantile depot. Pepper is, however,
produced in considerable quantity, and the products of the forests
are very various, as bees-wax, gum-benjamin, fine camphor, camphor
oil, esculent swallows' nests, canes and rattans, which used to form
the staple articles of Borneon import into Singapore. The Borneon
territory opposite to Labuan abounds also, I believe, in the palm
which yields sago, and indeed the chief part of the manufactured
article was thirty years ago brought from this country. The Chinese
settlers would, no doubt, as in Singapore and Malacca, establish
factories for its preparation according to the improved processes
which they now practice at those places.
"There may be reason to expect, however, that the timber of the
portion of Borneo referred to may be found of value for ship-building;
for Mr. Dalrymple states that in his time, above seventy years ago,
Chinese junks of 500 tons burden used to be built in the river
of Borneo. As to timber well-suited for boats and house-building,
it is hardly necessary to add that the northwest coast of Borneo,
in common with almost every other part of the Archipelago, contains
a supply amounting to superfluity.
"I may take this opportunity of stating, as evidence of the conveniency
of this portion of Borneo for a commercial intercourse with China,
that down to within the last half century a considerable number of
Chinese junks were engaged in trading regularly with Borneo, and that
trade ceased only when the native government became too bad and weak
to afford it protection. Without the least doubt this trade would
again spring up on the erection of the British flag at Labuan. Not
a single Chinese junk had resorted to the Straits of Malacca before
the establishment of Singapore, and their number is now, of one size
or another, and exclusive of the junks of Siam and Cochin China,
not less than 100.
"From the cultivation of the land I should not be disposed to expect
anything beyond the production of fresh fruits and esculent vegetables,
and when the land is cleared, of grass for pasture. The seas in this
part of the world are prolific in fish of great variety and great
excellence; and the Chinese settlers are found everywhere skillful
and industrious in taking them.
"Some difficulty will, in the beginning, be experienced with respect to
milk, butter, and fresh meat: this was the case at first in Singapore,
but the difficulty has in a good measure been overcome. The countries
of the Archipelago are generally not suited to pasture, and it is
only in a few of them that the ox and buffalo are abundant. The sheep
is so nowhere, and for the most part is wanting altogether; cattle,
therefore, must be imported.
"As to corn, it will unquestionably be found far cheaper to import
than to raise it. Rice will be the chief bread-corn, and will come in
great abundance and cheapness from Siam and Cochin China. No country
within 700 miles of Singapore is abundant in corn, and none is grown
in the island: yet from the first establishment of the settlement
to the present time, corn has been both cheap and abundant, there
has been wonderfully little fluctuation, there are always stocks,
and for many years a considerable exportation. A variety of pulses,
vegetable oil, and culinary salt, will be derived from the same
countries, as is now done in abundance by Singapore.
"The mines of antimony are 300 miles to the southwest of Labuan,
and those of gold on the west and the south coasts; and I am not
aware that any mineral wealth has been discovered in the portion of
Borneo immediately connected with Labuan, except that of coal--far
more important and valuable, indeed, than gold or antimony. The
existence of a coal-field has been traced from Labuan to the islands
of Kayn-arang--which words, in fact, mean coal island--to the island
of Chermin, and from thence to the mainland over a distance of thirty
miles. With respect to the coal of Labuan itself, I find no distinct
statement beyond the simple fact of the existence of the mineral;
but the coal of the two islands in the river, and of the main, is
proved to be--from analysis and trial in steam-navigation--superior
to nearly all the coal which India has hitherto yielded, and equal
to some of our best English coals. This is the more remarkable, as
it is known that most surface-minerals, and especially coals, are
inferior to the portions of the same veins or beds more deep-seated.
"Nearly as early as the British flag is erected, and, at all events,
as soon as it is permanently known to be so, there may be reckoned
upon with certainty a large influx of settlers. The best and most
numerous of these will be the Chinese. They were settled on the Borneo
river when the Borneo government, never very good, or otherwise than
comparatively violent and disorderly, was most endurable.
"Borneo is, of all the great islands of the western portion of the
Archipelago, the nearest to China, and Labuan and its neighborhood the
nearest point of this island. The distance of Hong Kong is about 1000
miles, and that of the island of Hainan, a great place for emigration,
not above 800; distances which to the Chinese junks--fast sailers
before the strong and favorable winds of the monsoons--do not make
voyages exceeding four or five days. The coasts of the provinces
of Canton and Fokien have hitherto been the great hives from which
Chinese emigration has proceeded; and even Fokien is not above 1400
miles from Labuan, a voyage of seven or eight days. Chinese trade
and immigration will come together. The northwest coast of Borneo
produces an unusual supply of those raw articles for which there
is always a demand in the markets of China; and Labuan, it may be
reckoned upon with certainty, will soon become the seat of a larger
trade with China than the river of Borneo ever possessed.
"I by no means anticipate the same amount of rapid advance in
population, commerce, or financial resources for Labuan, that has
distinguished the history of Singapore, a far more centrical position
for general commerce; still I think its prospect of success undoubted;
while it will have some advantages which Singapore cannot, from its
nature, possess. Its coal-mines, and the command of the coal-fields
on the river of Borneo, are the most remarkable of these; and its
superiority as a post-office [30] station necessarily follows. Then
it is far more convenient as a port of refuge; and, as far as our
present knowledge will enable us to judge, infinitely more valuable
for military purposes, more especially for affording protection to the
commerce which passes through the Chinese Sea, amounting at present
to probably not less than 300,000 tons of shipping, carrying cargoes
certainly not under the value of 15,000,000_l_. sterling.
"Labuan ought, like Singapore, to be a free port; and assuredly
will not prosper if it is not. Its revenue should not be derived
from customs, but, as in that settlement, from excise duties:
upon the nature of these, as it is well known, it is unnecessary
to enlarge. They covered during my time, near twenty years ago,
and within five years of the establishment of the settlement, the
whole charges of a small but sufficient garrison (100 Sepoys), and
a moderate but competent civil establishment.
"The military and civil establishments have been greatly increased
of late years; but the revenue, still in its nature the same, has
kept pace with them. During my administration of Singapore, the
municipal charges fell on the general fund; but they are at present
amply provided for from a distinct source, chiefly an assessment
on house-property.
"If the military and civil charges of Labuan are kept within moderate
bounds, I make no doubt but that a similar excise revenue will be
adequate to cover the charges of both, and that in peace at least the
state need not be called on to make any disbursement on its account;
while during a naval war, if the state make any expenditure, it will
be fully compensated by the additional security which the settlement
will afford to British commerce, and the annoyance it will cause to
the enemy.
"As to the disposal of the land, always a difficult question in a new
and unoccupied colony, the result of my own inquiries and personal
experience lead me to offer it as my decided conviction that the most
expedient plan--that which is least troublesome to the government,
most satisfactory to the settler, and ultimately most conducive to the
public prosperity--is to dispose of it for a term of years, that is,
on long leases of 1000 years, or virtually in perpetuity; the object in
this case of adopting the leasehold tenure being, by making the land
a chattel interest, to get rid of the difficulties in the matter of
inheritance and transfer, which, under the administration of English
law, and in reference more particularly to the Asiatic people who
will be the principal landowners, are incident to real property. Town
allotments might be sold subject to a considerable quit-rent, but
allotments in the country for one entirely nominal. Those of the
latter description should be small, proportionate with the extent of
the island, and the time and difficulty required in such a climate
to clear the land, now overgrown for the most part with a stupendous
forest of evergreen trees, and the wood of which is too abundant to be
of any value, certainly for the most part not worth the land-carriage
of a couple of furlongs.
"A charter for the administration of justice should be as nearly as
possible contemporaneous with the cession. Great inconvenience has
resulted in all our Eastern settlements of the same nature with that
speculated on at Labuan, from the want of all legal provision for
the administration of justice; and remembering this, it ought to be
guarded against in the case of Labuan.
"Whether in preparing for the establishment of a British settlement
on the coast of Borneo, or in actually making one, her majesty's
ministers, I am satisfied, will advert to the merits and peculiar
qualifications of Mr. Brooke. That gentleman is unknown to me,
except by his acts and writings; but, judging by these, I consider
him as possessing all the qualities which have distinguished the
successful founders of new colonies; intrepidity, firmness, and
enthusiasm, with the art of governing and leading the masses. He
possesses some, moreover, which have not always belonged to such men,
however otherwise distinguished; a knowledge of the language, manners,
customs, and institutions of the natives by whom the colony is to be
surrounded; with benevolence and an independent fortune, things still
more unusual with the projectors of colonies. Toward the formation of
a new colony, indeed, the available services of such a man, presuming
they are available, may be considered a piece of good fortune."
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.
[First Edition.]
The recent proceedings of Government in following up the impression
made upon Malay piracy, as related in these pages; the appointment
of Mr. Brooke as British Agent in Borneo, armed with the moral and
physical power of his country; the cession of the island of Labuan to
the British crown; and the great advance already made by the English
ruler of Sarawak, in laying broad foundations for native prosperity,
while extending general security and commerce; all combine to add an
interest to the early individual steps which have led to measures of
so much national consequence.
Deeply as I felt the influence of that individual on the condition of
Borneo, and the Malayan Archipelago generally, while employed there,
and much as I anticipated from his energetic character, extraordinary
exertions, and enlarged views for the future, I confess that my
expectations have been greatly increased by the progress of events
since that period. It needed nothing to confirm my faith in the
results that were sure to follow from his enlightened acts--from
his prudence and humanity in the treatment of his Dyak subjects,
and the neighboring and interior independent tribes--from his firm
resistance to the Malay tyranny exercised upon the aborigines,
and his punishment of Malay aggression, wherever perpetrated. But
when I see these elements of good wisely seconded by the highest
authorities of England, I cannot but look for the consummation of
every benefit desired, much more rapidly and effectively than if left
to the efforts of a private person, even though that person were a
Brooke! If the appearance of H.M.S. Dido on the coast and at Sarawak
produced a salutary effect upon all our relations with the inhabitants,
it may well be presumed that the mission of Captain Bethune, and the
expedition under Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane, must have greatly
improved and extended that wholesome state of affairs. Indeed, it is
evident, by the complete success which attended Mr. Brooke's official
visit to Borneo Proper in H.M.S. Driver, after receiving dispatches
from Lord Aberdeen appointing him British agent in the island,
carried out by Captain Bethune in November, 1844, that the presence
of a British force in those seas was alone necessary to enable him
to suppress piracy, and perfect his plans for the establishment of
a native government which should not oppress the country, and which
should cultivate the most friendly intercourse with us. Thus we find
the piratical Pangeran Usop put down, and Muda Hassim exercising the
sovereign power in the name of his imbecile nephew, who still retains
the title of sultan. The principal chiefs, and men distinguished by
talent and some acquaintance with foreign affairs, are now on our side;
and it only requires to support them in order that civilization may
rapidly spread over the land, and Borneo become again, as it was one
or two centuries ago, the abode of an industrious, rich, pacific,
and mercantile people, interchanging products with all the trading
nations of the world, and conferring and reaping those blessings
which follow in the train of just and honorable trade wheresoever its
enterprising spirit leads in the pursuit of honest gain. As the vain
search for the philosopher's stone conducted to many a useful and
valuable discovery, so may we be assured that the real seeking for
gold through the profitable medium of commerce has been, is, and will
be the grand source of filling the earth with comfort and happiness.
Among the numerous visions of this kind which open to our sense while
reflecting on the new prospects of this vast island--so little known,
yet known to possess almost unbounded means to invite and return
commercial activity--is the contemplation of the field it presents
to missionary labors. When we read Mr. Brooke's description of the
aboriginal Dyak, and observe what he has himself done in one locality
within the space of four or five short years, what may we not expect
to be accomplished by the zeal of Christian missions judiciously
directed to reclaim such a people from utter barbarism, and induce
them to become true members of a faith which teaches forbearance and
charity between man and man, and inculcates, with the love and hope
of heaven, an abhorrence of despotism and blood, and a disposition to
live in good-will and peace with all our fellow-creatures? There are
here no prejudices of caste, as in India, to impede the missionaries'
progress. Mr. Brooke has pointed out what may be effected in this way,
and we have only to say amen to his prayer, with an earnest aspiration
that it may be speedily fulfilled.
Having enjoyed the pleasure of communicating to the public this
satisfactory description of the _status quo_ in Borneo to the latest
period (September, 1845), I venture to congratulate them upon it. Thus
far all is well and as it should be, and promising the happiest issue;
but I hope I may not be charged with presumption in offering an opinion
from my experience in this quarter, and respectfully suggesting that,
in addition to a permanent British settlement at Labuan, it will be
absolutely necessary to proceed with the suppression of Malay piracy,
by steadily acting against every pirate-hold. Without a continued and
determined series of operations of this sort, it is my conviction that
even the most sanguinary and fatal onslaughts will achieve nothing
beyond a present and temporary good. The impression on the native mind
is not sufficiently lasting: their old impulses and habits return
with fresh force; they forget their heavy retribution; and in two
or three years the memory of them is almost entirely effaced. Till
piracy be completely suppressed there must be no relaxation; and
well worth the perseverance is the end in view, the welfare of one
of the richest and most improvable portions of the globe, and the
incalculable extension of the blessings of Britain's prosperous
commerce and humanizing dominion.
In looking forward to the certain realization of these prospects,
I may mention the important circumstance of the discovery of coal in
abundance for the purposes of steam navigation. The surveys already
made afford assurances of this fact, and the requisite arrangements
are in progress for opening and working the mines. It is generally
known that the Dutch assert very wide pretensions to colonies
and monopolies in those seas. A treaty has been concluded between
the Netherlands government and England; and although that important
document contains no reference whatever to Borneo, it is most desirable
for the general extension of commerce that no national jealousies, no
ideas of conflicting interests, no encroaching and ambitious projects,
may be allowed to interfere with or prevent the beneficial progress
of this important region. With such a man as Mr. Brooke to advise the
course most becoming, disinterested, and humane for the British empire
to pursue, it is not too much to say that, if the well-being of these
races of our fellow-creatures is defeated or postponed, the crime will
not lie at our door. The sacrifices we have made to extinguish slavery
throughout the world are a sure and unquestionable pledge that we will
do our utmost to extirpate the horrid traffic in those parts, and to
uproot the system of piracy that feeds it. It is the bounden duty of
both Holland and Great Britain to unite cordially in this righteous
cause. The cry of nature is addressed to them; and if rejected, as
surely as there is justice and mercy in the Providence which overrules
the fate of nations, no blessing will prosper them, but wealth, and
dominion, and happiness will pass away from them forever. Mr. Brooke
invokes their cooeperation, and his noble appeal cannot be withstood.
The central position of Labuan is truly remarkable. That island is
distant from
Hong Kong 1009 miles.
Singapore 707 "
Siam 984 "
Manilla 650 "
On the other hand, Mr. Brooke's territory of Sarawak is distant from
Singapore 427 miles.
Labuan 304 "
Hong Kong 1199 "
How direct and central are these valuable possessions for the universal
trade of the East!
POSTSCRIPT TO THE SECOND EDITION.
June 6th, 1846.
In the foregoing remarks with which I closed the first edition of this
book, I ventured to congratulate the public on the cheerful aspect
of affairs in Borneo at the latest period of which accounts had then
reached me. I could then say, with a joyful heart, "Thus far all
is well and as it should be, and promising the happiest issue." But
now I must write in a different strain. The mischiefs I pointed out
above as likely to ensue from a desultory and intermittent mode of
dealing with Malay piracy have revealed themselves even sooner and in
a more formidable manner than I had anticipated. The weak and covetous
sultan of Borneo has, with more than the usual fickleness of Asiatics,
already forgotten the lessons we gave him and the engagements he
solemnly and voluntarily contracted with us. Mr. Brooke's faithful
friends, Muda Hassim and the Pangeran Budrudeen, with numbers of
their families and retainers, have been basely murdered by their
treacherous kinsman, because of their attachment to the English
and their unswerving determination to put down piracy; and what is
worst of all, Mr. Brooke's arch-enemy, the subtle and indefatigable
villain Macota, the man whose accursed head was thrice saved by my
too-generous friend, has now returned triumphantly to the scene
of his former crimes, and is commissioned by the sultan to take
Mr. Brooke's life by poison, or by any other of those treacherous arts
in which there is no more consummate adept than Macota. I could trust
securely to Mr. Brooke's gallantry and skill for the protection of
his life against the attacks of open foes; and my only fears arise
when I reflect on his utter insensibility to danger, and think how
the admirable qualities of his own guileless, confiding nature may
facilitate the designs of his enemies.
H.M.S. Hazard, from Hong Kong, having touched at Bruni about the
end of March last, was boarded by a native, who gave the captain
such information as induced him to sail with all speed for Sarawak;
and there this man made the following deposition:--
Japper, a native of Bruni, deposes that he was sent aboard
H.M.S. Hazard by the Pangeran Muda Mahomed, to warn the captain
against treachery, and to communicate the following details to
Mr. Brooke at Sarawak.
The Rajah Muda Hassim was raised by the sultan to the title of
Sultan Muda (or young sultan), and, together with his brothers and
followers, was living in security, when he was attacked by orders
of the sultan at night, and together with thirteen of his family,
killed in different places. Four brothers, viz. Pangeran Muda
Mahomed, Pangeran Abdul Kader, Pangeran Abdulraman, and Pangeran
Mesahat, together with several young children of the Rajah Muda
Hassim, alone survive. The deponent Japper was in attendance on
his lord, the Pangeran Budrudeen, at the time of the attack. The
Pangeran, though surprised by his enemies, fought for some time,
and when desperately wounded, retired outside his house with his
sister and another woman named Koor Salem. The deponent was there
and was wounded, as were both the women. The Pangeran Budrudeen
ordered deponent to open a keg or cask of gunpowder, which he did;
and the last thing his lord did was to take his ring from his
finger and desire the deponent to carry it to Mr. Brooke; to bid
Mr. Brooke not to forget him, and not to forget to lay his case
before the Queen of England. The deponent then quitted his lord,
who was with the two women, and immediately after his lord fired
the powder, and the three were blown up. The deponent escaped
with difficulty; and a few days afterward, the ring intrusted
to his charge, was taken from him by the sultan. The sultan,
and those with him, killed the Rajah Muda Hassim and his family,
because he was the friend of the English and wanted to suppress
piracy. The sultan has now built forts and defied the English. He
talked openly of cutting out any vessel that arrived; and two
Pangerans went down, bearing the flag of the Rajah Muda Hassim,
to look at the vessel, and to kill the captain if they could get
him ashore. The deponent had great difficulty in getting to the
ship; and should his flight be discovered, he considers the lives
of the surviving portion of the Rajah Muda Hassim's family will be
in danger. The deponent did what he was ordered, and what his late
lord, the Pangeran Budrudeen, desired him to do. The sultan had
a man ready to send, named Nakoda Kolala, to Kaluka, to request
that Pangeran Macota would kill Mr. Brooke by treachery or poison.
(_Signed_)
J. Brooke.
Having put Mr. Brooke on his guard, the Hazard proceeded to Singapore,
whence the H.E.I.C. war-steamer Phlegethon would be immediately
dispatched to Sarawak.
H h
Suggestions for Accelerating the Communication Between Great Britain
and China.
------------------------+-----------------+---------+-------+---------+---------+---------+-------------------
| | |Average|Interval |Interval | |
| | | Rate | under | at | Total |
Proposed Route from | | | per | Weigh. | Anchor. |Interval.|
Hong Kong to London, | |Distance,| Hour, |----+----+----+----+----+----|
and vice versa. | Course. | Miles. | Miles.| D | h | D | h | D | h | Duties at Anchor.
------------------------+-----------------+---------+-------+----+----+----+----+----+--- +----------------
Hong Kong to Pulo Labuan| S. 2 deg.18'E. | 1009 | 7 | 6 | -- | 1 | 12 | 7 | 12 |To receive Coal.[A]
Pulo Labuan to Singapore| S. 69 23 W. | 707 | -- | 4 | 6 | -- | 12 | 4 | 18 |{To receive Coal, land and
| | | | | | | | | |{receive Mails.
Singapore to Malacca |{S. 64 48 W. 19} | 122 | -- | -- | 18 | -- | 6 | 1 | -- |To land and receive Mails.
|{N. 51 41 W. 103}| | | | | | | | |
Malacca to Pinang | N. 30 37 W. | 222 | -- | 1 | 8 | -- | 16 | 2 | -- |(To receive Coal, land and
| | | | | | | | | | receive Mails.
Pinang to Ceylon [B] |{N. 82 24 W. 303}| 1219 | -- | 7 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 18 | Ditto Ditto
|{S. 80 45 W. 916)| | -- | | | | | | |
|-----------------+---------+-------+----+----+----+----+----+----+-------------------
Ceylon to Aden {|As now performed by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam }| 11 | -- |
{| Navigation Co., detention of 2 days included }| | |
Aden to Suez | Ditto Ditto | 8 | -- |
Suez to Alexandria | Ditto all stoppages included| 3 | -- |
Alexandria to Malta | Ditto Ditto | 4 | -- |
Malta to Marseilles |As now performed by H.M. Post-Office Packets, ditto | 4 | -- |
Marseilles to London | Ditto by regular course of Post ditto | 5 | -- |
|----+----|
Total Interval from Hong Kong to London, and vice versa, by the proposed | | |
Route. Days | 59 | -- |
Average interval of transmission of China Correspondance, via Calcutta and }| | |
Bombay, during the last Twenty Overland Mails, viz. from 10th October, 1841, }| | |
to 6th May, 1843 }| 89 | -- |
|----+----|
Difference of time in favor of proposed Route Days | 30 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+----+----+-------------------
KEY: D - Days.
h - Hours.
Mem.--I have adopted an average rate of seven miles per hour as a fair
estimate of the speed well-appointed Steam Vessels, of moderate size
and power, will be enabled to accomplish and maintain, throughout
the proposed Route, at all seasons of the year; for, during the
whole distance from Pinang to Aden, and _vice versa_, neither
monsoon, from the course steered, becomes at any period a directly
adverse wind, an advantage which the route hitherto observed does
not possess. Assuming that the Hon. East India Company continue the
management of the Bombay line, and that the Peninsular and Oriental
Steam Navigation Company are encouraged to render their operations
more comprehensive, by the establishment of branch steamers between
Ceylon and Singapore, to which latter port her majesty's steam
vessels on the China station could convey the mails from Hong Kong,
this all-important object might, without difficulty, be attained. The
advantages to the Straits settlements, consequent on the adoption of
improved arrangements, require no comment; and the _practicability_
of effecting a very considerable acceleration of the communication
with China is evident from the simple fact that the average interval
which has occurred in the transmission of letters from China, by the
last twenty Overland Mails (irrespective of the unfortunate July mail
from Bombay), exceeds the period occasionally occupied by fast-sailing
ships, in accomplishing the voyage via the Cape of Good Hope.
London, _14th Sept. 1843._ [33]
HENRY WISE,
13, Austin Friars.
P.S.--_Oct. 9th._ The arrival at Suez on the 16th ult. of the
H.C.S. Akbar, in _forty-six_ days from Hong Kong, after accomplishing
the passage down the China seas, against the S.W. monsoon--unassisted
also by any previously arranged facilities for coaling, exchange of
steamers at Aden, and other manifest advantages requisite for the
proper execution of this important service, confirms the correctness
of my estimate for performing the voyage from Hong Kong to Suez,
or _vice versa_, viz. _forty-three_ days, including stoppages.
APPENDIX.
No. I.
NATURAL HISTORY.
_Mr. Brooke's Report on the Mias._ (From the Transactions of the
Zoological Society.)
JAMES BROOKE, Esq., to Mr. WATERHOUSE.
My dear Sir:--Singapore, 25th March, 1841.
I am happy to announce the departure of five live ourang-outangs by
the ship Martin Luther, Captain Swan; and I trust they will reach you
alive. In case they die, I have directed Captain Swan to put them into
spirits, that you may still have an opportunity of seeing them. The
whole of the five are from Borneo: one large female adult from Sambas;
two, with slight cheek-callosities, from Pontiana; a small male,
without any sign of callosities, from Pontiana likewise; and the
smallest of all, a very young male with callosities, from Sadung. I
will shortly forward a fine collection of skulls and skeletons from
the northwest coast of Borneo, either shot by myself or brought by
the natives; and I beg you will do me the favor to present the live
ourangs and this collection to the Zoological Society. I have made
many inquiries and gained some information regarding these animals,
and I can, beyond a doubt, prove the existence of two, if not three,
distinct species in Borneo.
First, I will re-state the native account: secondly, give you my own
observations; and thirdly, enter into a brief detail of the specimens
hereafter to be forwarded.
1st. The natives of the northwest coast of Borneo are all positive as
to the existence of two distinct species, which I formerly gave you
by the names of the _Mias pappan_ and _Mias rombi_; but I have since
received information from a few natives of intelligence that there are
three sorts, and what is vulgarly called the Mias rombi is in reality
the _Mias kassar_, the rombi being a distinct and third species. The
Mias pappan is the _Simia Wurmbii_ of Mr. Owen, having callosities
on the sides of the face: the natives treat with derision the idea
of the Mias kassar, or _Simia morio_, being the female of the Mias
pappan or Simia Wurmbii; and I consider the fact can be established
so clearly that I will not trouble you with their statements: both
Malays and Dyaks are positive that the female of the Mias pappan has
cheek-callosities the same as the male; and if on inquiry it prove
to be so, the existence of three distinct species in Borneo will
be established. The existence of the Mias rombi is vouched by a few
natives only, but they were men of intelligence, and well acquainted
with the animals in the wild state. They represent the Mias rombi to
be as tall as the pappan, or even taller, but not so stout, with longer
hair, a smaller face, and no callosities either on the male or female;
and they always insisted that it was not the female of the pappan.
The Mias kassar or Simia morio is of the same color as the Mias pappan,
but altogether smaller, and devoid of callosities either on the male
or female adults.
By the native statements, therefore, we find three distinct species,
viz. the Mias pappan or Simia Wurmbii, the Mias kassar or Simia morio,
and the Mias rombi, which is either the _Simia Abelii_, or a fourth
species. The existence of the Sumatran ourang in Borneo is by no
means impossible; and I have already compared so many of the native
statements, that I place more confidence in them than I did formerly,
more especially as their account is in a great measure borne out by
the skulls in my possession. I had an opportunity of seeing the Mias
pappan and the Mias kassar in their native woods, and killing one of
the former and several of the latter species. The distribution of these
animals is worthy of notice, as they are found both at Pontiana and
Sambas in considerable numbers, and at Sadung on the northwest coast,
but are unknown in the intermediate country which includes the rivers
of Sarawak and Samarahan. I confess myself at a loss to account for
their absence on the Sarawak and Samarahan rivers, which abound with
fruit, and have forests similar and contiguous to the Sadung, Linga,
and other rivers. The distance from Samarahan to Sadung does not
exceed twenty-five miles; and though pretty abundant on the latter,
they are unknown on the former river. From Sadung, proceeding to the
northward and eastward, they are found for about 100 miles, but beyond
that distance do not inhabit the forests. The Mias pappan and Mias
kassar inhabit the same woods, but I never met them on the same day;
both species, according to the natives, are equally common, but from
my own experience the Mias kassar is the most plentiful. The Mias
rombi is represented as unfrequent and rarely to be met with. The
pappan is justly named _Satyrus_, from the ugly face and disgusting
callosities. The adult male I killed was seated lazily on a tree, and
when approached only took the trouble to interpose the trunk between
us, peeping at me, and dodging as I dodged. I hit him on the wrist,
and he was afterward dispatched. I send you his proportions, enormous
relative to his height; and until I came to actual measurement my
impression was that he was nearly six feet in stature. The following
is an extract from my journal relating to him, noted down directly
after he was killed:--
"Great was our triumph as we gazed on the huge animal dead at our feet,
and proud were we of having shot the first ourang we had seen, and
shot him in his native woods, in a Borneo forest, hitherto untrodden by
European feet. The animal was adult, having four incisors, two canines,
and ten molars in each jaw; but by his general appearance he was not
old. We were struck by the length of his arms, the enormous neck,
and the expanse of face, which altogether gave the impression of great
height, whereas it was only great power. The hair was long, reddish,
and thin; the face remarkably broad and fleshy, and on each side, in
the place of a man's whiskers, were the callosities or rather fleshy
protuberances, which I was so desirous to see, and which were nearly
two inches in thickness. The ears were small and well shaped, the nose
quite flat, mouth prominent, lips thick, teeth large and discolored,
eyes small and roundish, face and hands black, the latter being very
powerful. The following are the dimensions:
ft. in.
Height from head to heel 4 1
Length of foot 1 0
Ditto hand 0 10 1/2
Length of arm from shoulder-blade to finger-end 3 5 3/4
Shoulder-blade to elbow 1 6
Elbow to wrist 1 1 1/2
Hip to heel 1 9
Head to os coccygia 2 5 1/2
Across the shoulders 1 5 1/2
Circumference of neck 2 4
Ditto below the ribs 3 3 1/4
Ditto under the arms 3 0
From forehead to chin 0 9 3/4
Across the face, below the eyes, including callosities 1 1
From ear to ear across the top of the head 0 9 1/2
From ear to ear behind the head 0 9 3/4
The natives asserted the animal to be a small one; but I am skeptical
of their ever attaining the growth of a tall man, though I bear in mind
that full-grown animals will probably differ as much in height as man."
Some days after this, and about thirty miles distant, I was fortunate
enough to kill two adult females (one with her young), and a male
nearly adult, all the Mias kassar. The young male was not measured,
owing to my having waded up to my neck in pursuit of him, and thereby
destroyed my paper and lost my measure; but he certainly did not exceed
3 feet, while the two females were about 3 ft. 1 in. and 3 ft. 2 in. in
height. The male was just cutting his two posterior molars: the color
of all resembled that of the Mias pappan, but the difference between
the two animals was apparent even to our seamen. The kassar has no
callosities either on the male or female, whereas the young pappans
dispatched by the Martin Luther (one of them not a year old, with two
first molars) show them prominently. The great difference between the
kassar and the pappan in size would prove at once the distinction of
the two species; the kassar being a small, slight animal, by no means
formidable in his appearance, with hands and feet proportioned to the
body, and they do not approach the gigantic extremities of the pappan
either in size or power; and, in short, a moderately strong man would
readily overpower one, when he would not stand the shadow of a chance
with the pappan. Beside these decisive differences may be mentioned
the appearance of the face, which in the Mias kassar is more prominent
in the lower part, and the eyes exteriorly larger, in proportion to
the size of the animal, than in the pappan. The color of the skin in
the adult pappan is black, while the kassar, in his face and hands,
has the dirty color common to the young of both species. If further
evidence was wanted, the skulls will fully prove the distinction of
species; for the skulls of two adult animals compared will show a
difference in size alone which must preclude all supposition of their
being one species. Mr. Owen's remarks are, however, so conclusive,
that I need not dwell on this point; and with a suite of skulls,
male and female, from the adult to the infant, of the Mias kassar,
which I shall have the pleasure to forward, there can remain, I should
think, little further room for discussion. I may mention, however,
that two young animals I had in my possession alive, one a kassar,
the other a pappan, fully bore out these remarks by their proportionate
size. The pappan, with two molars, showed the callosities distinctly,
and was as tall and far stouter than the kassar with three molars,
while the kassar had no vestige of the callosities. Their mode of
progression likewise was different, as the kassar doubled his fists
and dragged his hind quarters after him, while the pappan supported
himself on the open hands sideways placed on the ground, and moved one
leg before the other in the erect sitting attitude; but this was only
observed in the two young ones, and cannot be considered as certainly
applicable to all.
On the habits of the ourangs, as far as I have been able to observe
them, I may remark, that they are as dull and as slothful as can
well be conceived, and on no occasion when pursuing them did they
move so fast as to preclude my keeping pace with them easily through
a moderately clear forest; and even when obstructions below (such
as wading up to the neck) allowed them to get way some distance,
they were sure to stop and allow us to come up. I never observed the
slightest attempt at defence; and the wood, which sometimes rattled
about our ears, was broken by their weight, and not thrown, as some
persons represent. If pushed to extremity, however, the pappan could
not be otherwise than formidable; and one unfortunate man, who with a
party was trying to catch a large one alive, lost two of his fingers,
beside being severely bitten on the face, while the animal finally
beat off his pursuers and escaped. When they wish to catch an adult,
they cut down a circle of trees round the one on which he is seated,
and then fell that also, and close before he can recover himself,
and endeavor to bind him.
In a small work entitled "The Menageries," published in 1838, there
is a good account of the Borneon ourang, with a brief extract from
Mr. Owen's valuable paper on the Simia morio; but, after dwelling on
the lazy and apathetic disposition of the animal, it states in the same
page that they can make their way amid the branches of the trees with
surprising agility; whereas they are the slowest and least active of
all the monkey tribe, and their motions are surprisingly awkward and
uncouth. The natives on the northwest coast entertain no dread, and
always represent the ourangs as harmless and inoffensive animals; and
from what I saw, they would never attack a man unless brought to the
ground. The rude hut which they are stated to build in the trees would
be more properly called a seat or nest, for it has no roof or cover
of any sort. The facility with which they form this seat is curious,
and I had an opportunity of seeing a wounded female weave the branches
together, and seat herself within a minute; she afterward received
our fire without moving, and expired in her lofty abode, whence it
cost us much trouble to dislodge her. I have seen some individuals
with nails on the posterior thumbs, but generally speaking, they are
devoid of them: of the five animals sent home, two have the nails,
and three are without them; one has the nail well formed, and in the
other it is merely rudimentary. The length of my letter precludes my
dwelling on many particulars which, as I have not seen the recent
publications on the subject, might be mere repetitions; and I will
only mention, as briefly as I can, the skulls of these animals in my
possession. From my late sad experience I am induced to this, that
some brief record may be preserved from shipwreck. These skulls may
be divided into three distinct sorts. The first presents two ridges,
one rising from each frontal bone, which, joining on the top of the
head, form an elevated crest, which runs backward to the cerebral
portion of the skull.
The second variety is the Simia morio; and nothing need be added to
Mr. Owen's account, save that it presents no ridge whatever beyond the
frontal part of the head. No. 9 in the collection is the skull of an
adult male: No. 2 the male, nearly adult, killed by myself: Nos. 11
and 3 adult females, killed by myself: No. 12 a young male, with three
molars, killed by myself: No. 21 a young male, died aboard, with three
molars: No. 19, young male, died aboard, with two molars. There are
many other skulls of the Simia morio which exactly coincide with this
suite, and this suite so remarkably coincides through the different
stages of age, one with another, that no doubt can exist of the
Simia morio being a distinct species. The different character of the
skull, its small size and small teeth, put the matter beyond doubt,
and completely establish Mr. Owen's acute and triumphant argument,
drawn from a single specimen.
The third distinction of the skulls is, that the ridges rising from the
frontal bones do not meet, but converge toward the top of the head,
and again diverge toward the posterior portion of the skull. These
ridges are less elevated than in the first-mentioned skulls, but the
size of the adult skulls is equal, and both present specimens of aged
animals. For a long time I was inclined to think the skulls with the
double ridge were the females of the animals with the single and more
prominent ridge; but No. 1 (already described as killed by myself)
will show that the double ridge belongs to an adult and not young
male animal, and that it belongs to the Simia Wurmbii with the huge
callosities. The distinction therefore cannot be a distinction of
sex, unless we suppose the skulls with the greater development of
the single ridge to belong to the female, which is improbable in the
highest degree. The skulls with the double and less elevated ridges
belong, as proved by No. 1, to the Simia Wurmbii; and I am of opinion
the single and higher ridge must be referred to another and distinct
species, unless we can account for this difference on the score of
age. This, I conceive, will be found impossible, as Nos. 7 and 20
are specimens similar to No. 1, with the double and less elevated
ridges decidedly old, and Nos. 4 and 5 are specimens of the single
high ridge, likewise decidedly old.
These three characters in the skulls coincide with the native
statements of there being three distinct species in Borneo, and this
third Borneon species may probably be found to be the Simia Abelii, or
Sumatran ourang. This probability is strengthened by the adult female
on her way home: her color is dark brown, with black face and hands;
and in color of hair, contour, and expression, she differs from the
male ourangs with the callosities to a degree that makes me doubt her
being the female of the same species. I offer you these remarks for
fear of accident; but should the specimens, living and dead, arrive
in safety, they will give a fresh impetus to the inquiry, and on my
next return to Borneo I shall, in all probability, be able to set
the question at rest, whether there be two or three species in that
country. Believe me, my dear sir, with best wishes, to remain,
Yours very truly, J. Brooke.
Borneo, like Celebes, teems with Natural History unknown to European
science; and Mr. Brooke has sent some remarkable specimens to England,
though his own large collection was, unfortunately, wrecked on its
voyage homeward. Every arrival, however, is now adding to the stores
we already possess. The British Museum has been much enriched, even
within the last year, with rare specimens of zoology and botany; and
at the Entomological Society there have been exhibited and described
many curious insects hitherto strange and unclassified.
No. II.
PHILOLOGY.
It was intended in this work to convey to the studious in
philology,--upon which science, rationally investigated, so
much depends on our ability to ascertain the origin and trace the
earliest relations of mankind,--as copious a vocabulary of the Dyak
language, with definitions of meaning and cognate references, as
might be considered a useful contribution to that important branch
of learning. But various considerations have induced us to forego
the design; and not the least of them has been, not the difficulty,
but the impossibility of reducing the whole collection to a system,
or of laying down any certain rule of orthography in this Oriental
confusion. Nearly all the vowels, for example, have been found of
equal value; and as they have but one general Malay name, so it
happens that (for instance) the consonants _b d_might be pronounced
with the intervening sound, _bad_, _bed_, _bid_, _bod_, _bud_, and
sundry variations beside, unknown to the English tongue. This will in a
great degree account for the universally vexatious, because puzzling,
spelling, inflections, and pronunciation of Eastern names, which
is so injurious to the literature and knowledge of those countries
among Europeans.
The vowel-sounds adopted are:
_a_ like _a_ in _father_.
_e_ " _a_ in _fan_.
_i_ " Italian _i_, or _ee_ in _thee_.
_i_ " _i_ in _pin_.
_o_ " _o_ in _spoke_.
_u_ " _oo_ in _cool_.
_u_ " u in run.
_y_ occasionally like _i_.
_ow_ (_ou_) like _ow_ in _cow_.
The final _k_ in Malayan is frequently mute: thus Dyak is pronounced
Dyaa, with the slightest possible aspiration.
_gn_ is a liquid sound.
We add an alphabetical list of some of the words which have occurred
in the preceding pages.
_Arafuras_, or _Haraforas_, natives of Papua.
_Balanian_, wild tribes in Borneo.
_Bandar_, or _Bandhara_, treasurer, high steward, high officer
of state.
_Basaya_, tribes in the interior of Borneo Proper, locating near and
resembling the Murut.
_Battara,_ one of the Dyak names of God (the Hindu _Avatara_).
_Borneo_, the island of, written "Bruni" by the inhabitants.
_Borneo Proper,_ the northern and northwestern part of the island;
an independent Malay state.
_Borneons_, the Malay inhabitants of Borneo Proper.
_Bruni_, the native name for Borneo.
_Bugis_, natives of Celebes.
_Bulan_, the Moon, a poetical title of honor to a pirate-chief.
_Campong_, a native village, or town.
_Datu_, a cape or point of land to the northwest of the river
Banjamassim.
_Datus_, strictly, native chiefs, heads of tribes.
_Dusun,_ agricultural villagers on the northern extremity of Borneo.
_Dyaks_; or Dyak, aborigines of Borneo, and generally pronounced Dyah.
_Dyak Darrat,_ Land Dyaks.
_Dyak Laut,_ Sea Dyaks.
_Gantong_, a Malay measure for rice.
_Gunong_, a mountain.
_Hadji_, a Mahomedan who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca.
_Haraforas_, or _Arafuras_, natives of Papua.
_Idaans_ [Kadiens], Borneon tribes, and the name generally given to
most of the varieties of the Indian Archipelago.
_Illanuns_ or _Lanuns_, pirates inhabiting the small cluster of
islands between Borneo and Magindano.
_Jovata_, a Dyak name of God, of Hindu origin.
_Kadiens_, Borneon tribes, Mahomedans, the Idaan of preceding voyagers
and writers. See _Idaans_.
_Kalamantan_, an original name of Borneo.
_Kanowit_, wild tribes in Borneo.
_Kaya_, a title of authority, Orang Kaya de Gadong, chief man of
Gadong.
_Kayans_, the most powerful and warlike people of Borneo, living
inland.
_Kuching_, the former name of the town of Sarawak.
_Lubuan_, the island off Borneo river, ceded by the sultan to the
British crown.
_Lelas_, guns.
_Magindano_, an island off the northeast of Borneo, the natives of
which are pirates.
_Makassar_, the straits of, usually written Macassar, but more
accurately Mangkassar.
_Malays_, settled on the Malayan peninsula, coasts of Borneo, &c. &c.,
a race of seafaring character, often piratical, and conquerors of
various native tribes in the Indian Archipelago.
_Malukus_, pirates from a bay in Gillolo, whose country is in the
possession of the Dutch.
_Marundum_, an island off Borneo.
_Matari_, or _Mata-hari_(the eye of day), the Sun, a poetical title
of honor to a pirate-chief.
_Mias Rombi_ and _M. Pappan_, two species of ourang-outang, determined
by Mr. Brooke.
_Millanows_, a tribe resembling the Kayans, living near the river Meri,
river Bentulu, tolerably civilized, and fairer than the Malays.
_Minkokas_, a wild tribe near the Bay of Boni.
_Morotaba_ river, one of the mouths of the Sarawak.
_Montrado_, a very large and populous Chinese settlement near Point
Data.
_Murut_, inhabitants of the interior of Borneo Proper.
_Natunas_, islands off Borneo.
_Ondong-ondong_, the written law of Borneo.
_Orang_, a man.
_Orang outang_, a wild man.
_Pangeran_, or _Pangiran_, the title of a high Malay authority.
_Panglima_, the head warrior of a Dyak tribe.
_Patingi_, or _Patingus_, a high local officer.
_Patobong_, the name of the ranjows and sudas, defences in war.
_Patakan Dyaks_, said by the Malays to be cannibals.
_Pontiana_, one of the finest rivers in Borneo; also the name of
natives on its banks. The Dutch have a settlement on this river.
_Ranjows_, bamboo-spikes stuck in the ground to wound the feet of
attacking enemies, or concealed in pits to wound or destroy them.
_Rhio_, a Malay settlement, under Dutch control.
_Sadung_, a river adjoining the Sarawak.
_Sakarra_, a Dyak god, residing in the Pleiades.
_Sakarran_, a river like the Sarebus (which see), with a similar
native population on its banks.
_Satigi_, a wooden spear, or dart.
_Sampan_, a small prahu.
_Sarebus_, a river flowing into the deep bay between Tanjong Sipang
and Tanjong Sirak.
_Sarebus_, powerful Dyak tribes and pirates, located on the above,
and other rivers flowing into the bay. They have thrown off the Malay
yoke, and plunder as far as Celebes.
_Seriff_, or _Sheriff_, a high Malay title, peculiar to persons of
Arab descent.
_Sibnowans_, or _Sibnyons_, Mr. Brooke's favorite tribe of Dyaks,
of superior character.
_Singe_, Dyak tribes.
_Songi Besar_, large river.
_Sooloo_, on the northeast of Borneo, a powerful piratical nest,
the natives of which massacred the garrison of Balambangan in 1775.
_Sudahs_, defences to wound the feet of attacking enemies.
_Sumpitan_, or _Simpote_, a tube seven or eight feet in length,
through which the Borneons blow small sharp-pointed arrows.
_Tanjong_, a point of land.
_Turaj_, or _Tarajahs_, natives of Celebes.
_Tatows_, wild tribes in the interior of Borneo.
_Tiran_, natives on the north of Borneo, reported (on doubtful
authority) to be pirates and cannibals.
_Tuan_, sir, an exclamation of assent to an approved speaker, instead
of "hear, hear," or "yes."
_Tuan Besar_, sir, great, great chief, higher applause and deference.
_Tumangong_, a local Malay officer.
_Tumbilans_, a beautiful group of about 150 small islands between
Borneo and Singapore.
_Tuppa_, a Dyak god.
_Wakil_, a deputy.
_Zedong_, like the Tiran, which see.
No. III.
_Proposed Exploring Expedition to the Asiatic Archipelago, by_ James
Brooke, Esq. 1838.
The voyage I made to China opened an entirely new scene, and showed
me what I had never seen before, savage life and savage nature. I
inquired, and I read, and I became more and more assured that there
was a large field of discovery and adventure open to any man daring
enough to enter upon it. Just take a map and trace a line over the
Indian Archipelago, with its thousand unknown islands and tribes. Cast
your eye over the vast island of New Guinea, where the foot of European
has scarcely, if ever, trod. Look at the northern coast of Australia,
with its mysterious Gulf of Carpentaria; a survey of which, it is
supposed, would solve the great geographical question respecting the
rivers of the mimic continent. Place your finger on Japan, with its
exclusive and civilized people; it lies an unknown lump on our earth,
and an undefined line on our charts! Think of the northern coast of
China, willing, as is reported, to open an intercourse and trade
with Europeans, spite of their arbitrary government. Stretch your
pencil over the Pacific Ocean, which Cook himself declares a field
of discovery for ages to come! Proceed to the coast of South America,
from the region of gold-dust to the region of furs--the land ravaged
by the cruel Spaniard and the no less cruel Bucaneer--the scene of
the adventures of Drake and the descriptions of Dampier. The places
I have enumerated are mere names, with no specific ideas attached to
them: lands and seas where the boldest navigators gained a reputation,
and where hundreds may yet do so, if they have the same courage and
the same perseverance. Imagination whispers to ambition that there
are yet lands unknown which might be discovered. Tell me, would not
a man's life be well spent--tell me, would it not be well sacrificed,
in an endeavor to explore these regions? When I think on dangers and
death, I think of them only because they would remove me from such
a field for ambition, for energy, and for knowledge.
Borneo, Celebes, Sooloo, the Moluccas, and the islands of the Straits
of Sunda and Banka, compose what is called the Malayan group; and
the Malays located on the sea-shores of these and other islands may
with certainty be classed as belonging to one people. It is well
known, however, that the interior of these countries is inhabited
by various tribes, differing from the Malays and each other, and
presenting numerous gradations of early civilization: the Dyaks of
Borneo, the Papuans of New Guinea, and others, beside the black race
scattered over the islands. Objects of traffic here as elsewhere
present interesting subjects of inquiry; and while our acquaintance
with every other portion of the globe, from the passage of the Pole
to the navigation of the Euphrates, has greatly extended, it is matter
of surprise that we know scarcely anything of these people beyond the
bare fact of their existence, and remain altogether ignorant of the
geographical features of the countries they inhabit. Countries which
present an extended field for Christianity and commerce, which none
surpass in fertility, rich beyond the Americas in mineral productions,
and unrivaled in natural beauty, continue unexplored to the present
day; and, spite of the advantages which would probably result, have
failed to attract the attention they so well deserve. The difficulty
of the undertaking will scarcely account for its non-performance,
if we consider the voluntary sacrifices made on the shrine of African
research, or the energy displayed and the sufferings encountered by
the explorers of the Polar regions: yet the necessity of prosecuting
the voyage in an armed vessel, the wildness of the interior tribes,
the lawless ferocity of the Malays, and other dangers, would prevent
most individuals from fixing on this field for exertion, and points
it out as one which could best and most fully be accomplished by
Government or some influential body.
It is not my object to enter into any detail of the past history of
the Malayan nations, but I may refer to the undoubted facts that they
have been in a state of deterioration since we first became acquainted
with them; and the records of our early voyagers, together with the
remains of antiquity still visible in Java and Sumatra, prove that once
flourishing nations have now ceased to exist, and that countries once
teeming with human life are now tenantless and deserted. The causes
of such lamentable change need only be alluded to; but it is fit to
remark, that while the standard of education is unfurled, and dreams
are propagated of the progressive advancement of the human race, a
large part of the globe has been gradually relapsing and allowed to
relapse into barbarism. Whether the early decay of the Malay states,
and their consequent demoralization, arose from the introduction of
Mahommedism, or resulted from the intrigues of European ambition, it
were useless to discuss; but we are very certain that this "Eden of the
Eastern wave" has been reduced to a state of anarchy and confusion,
as repugnant to every dictate of humanity as it is to the prospect
of commercial advantage.
Borneo and Celebes, and indeed the greater portion of the islands
of the Malayan Archipelago, are still unknown, and the apathy of two
centuries still reigns supreme with the enlightened people of England;
while they willingly make the most expensive efforts favorable to
science, commerce, or Christianity in other quarters, the locality
which eminently combines these three objects is alone neglected
and alone uncared for. It has unfortunately been the fate of our
Indian possessions to have labored under the prejudice and contempt
of a large portion of the well-bred community. While the folly of
fashion requires an acquaintance with the deserts of Africa, and a
most ardent thirst for a knowledge of the usages of Timbuctoo, it at
the same time justifies the most profound ignorance of all matters
connected with the government and geography of our vast acquisitions
in Hindoostan. The Indian Archipelago has fully shared this neglect;
and even the tender philanthropy of the present day, which originates
such multifarious schemes for the amelioration of doubtful evils,
which shudders at the prolongation of apprenticeship for a single year
in the West, is blind to the existence of slavery in its worst and most
aggravated form in the East. Not a single prospectus is spread abroad;
not a single voice is upraised to relieve the darkness of Paganism,
and the horrors of the Eastern slave-trade. While the trumpet-tongue
of many an orator excites thousands to the rational and charitable
objects of converting the Jews and reclaiming the Gipsys; while the
admirable exertions of missionary enterprise in the Ausonian climes
of the South Sea have invested them with worldly power as well as
religious influence; while we admire the torrent of devotional and
philosophical exertion, we cannot help deploring that the zeal and
attention of the leaders of these charitable crusades have never
been directed to the countries under consideration. These unhappy
countries have failed to rouse attention or excite commiseration;
and as they sink lower and lower, they afford a striking proof how
civilization may be dashed, and how the purest and richest lands
under the sun may be degraded and brutalized by a continued course of
oppression and misrule. It is under these circumstances that I have
considered individual exertion may be usefully applied to rouse the
zeal of slumbering philanthropy, and to lead the way to an increased
knowledge of the Indian Archipelago. Such an exertion will be made at
some cost and some sacrifice; and I shall here quit the general topic,
and confine myself to the specific objects of my intended voyage.
It must be premised, however, that any plan previously decided on
must always be subject during its execution to great modifications in
countries where the population is always rude and often hostile, and
where the influence of climate is sometimes so fatally opposed to the
progress of inquiry. Local information, likewise, frequently renders
such a change both advisable and advantageous; and circumstances, as
they spring up, too often influence us beyond the power of foresight,
more especially in my own case, where the utmost care would still
leave the means very inadequate to the full accomplishment of the
proposed undertaking. With a small vessel properly equipped, and
provided with the necessary instruments for observation, and the means
for collecting specimens in natural history, it is proposed in the
first instance to proceed to Singapore, which may be considered as
head-quarters for the necessary intervals of refreshment and repose,
and for keeping open a certain communication with Europe. Here the
best local information can be obtained, interpreters procured, the
crew augmented for any particular service; and here, if needful, a
small vessel of native construction may be added to the expedition,
to facilitate the objects in view. An acquaintance may likewise be
formed with the more respectable Bugis merchants, and their good-will
conciliated in the usual mode, viz., by civility and presents, so as
to remove any misconceived jealousy on the score of trading rivalry,
and to induce a favorable report of our friendly intentions in their
own country, and at the places where they may touch. The Royalist
will probably reach Singapore in the month of March, 1839, at the
latter end of the northwest, or rainy monsoon. The delay consequent
on effecting the objects above mentioned, beside gaining a general
acquaintance with the natural history and trade of the settlement,
and some knowledge of the Malay language, will usefully occupy the
time until the setting in of the southeast, or dry monsoon. It may be
incidentally mentioned, however, that in the vicinity of Singapore
there are many islands imperfectly known, and which, during the
intervals of the rainy season, will afford interesting occupation. I
allude, more especially, to the space between the Straits of Rhio and
those of Duryan, and likewise to the island called Bintang, which,
although laid down as one large island, is probably composed of small
ones, divided by navigable straits; a better acquaintance with which
might facilitate the voyage from Singapore to the more eastern islands,
by bringing to light other passages beside those of Rhio and Duryan;
and, at any rate, would add something to our geographical knowledge
in the immediate vicinity of our settlement. On the commencement of
the healthy season I propose sailing from Singapore, and proceeding
without loss of time to Malludu Bay, at the north end of Borneo. This
spot has been chosen for the first essay; and in a country every part
of which is highly interesting, and almost unknown, the mere fact of
its being a British possession gives it a prior claim to attention.
The objects in view may be briefly mentioned. 1. A general knowledge of
the bay, and the correct position of various points--more especially
the two principal headlands at its entrance, so as to determine its
outline. The westernmost of these headlands, called Sampanmange, will
likewise determine the extreme north point of Borneo. 2. Inquiries for
the settlement of Cochin Chinese, reported, on Earl's authority, to be
fixed in the vicinity of Bankoka: an intercourse will, if possible,
be opened with this settlement, if in existence. 3. The rivers which
flow into the bay will be carefully and minutely explored, and an
attempt will be made to penetrate into the interior as far as the lake
of Kini Ballu. 4. For the same purpose, every endeavor will be used to
open a communication with the aboriginal inhabitants of the country,
and every means employed to conciliate their good opinion; and (if
the ceremony exists in this part of the island) to enter into the
bonds of fraternity (described by Mr. Dalton) with some of the chiefs.
I speak with great diffidence about penetrating into the interior of
this country, for I am well aware of the insurmountable difficulties
which the hard reality often presents, which are previously
overlooked and easily overcome in the smoothness of paper, or the
luxury of a drawing-room. The two points to be chiefly relied upon
for this purpose are, a friendly intercourse with the natives, and
the existence of navigable rivers. It is mentioned by Sir Stamford
Raffles, on native authority, that a land communication, of not more
than forty miles, exists between Malludu Bay and Lake Kini Ballu;
but neither this computation, nor any other derived from the natives,
however intelligent otherwise, can be relied on; for the inhabitants of
these countries are generally ignorant of any measure for distance; and
their reckoning by time is so vague, as to defy a moderately-certain
conclusion. The fact, however, of the vicinity of the lake to the bay
may be concluded; and it follows, as a reasonable inference, that the
river or rivers flowing into the bay communicate with the lake. The
existence of such rivers, which were from the locality to have been
expected, is vouched for by Captain Forrest. "Most of this north part
of Borneo (he says), granted to the English East India Company by the
Sooloos, is watered by noble rivers: those that discharge themselves
into Malludu Bay are not barred." It is by one or other of these rivers
that I should hope to penetrate as far as the lake and mountain of
Kini Ballu, and into the country of the Idaan. I have not been able to
learn that any Malay towns of importance are situated in the bight of
Malludu Bay, and their absence will render a friendly communication
with the aborigines a matter of comparative ease. The advantages
likely to result from such friendly relations are so evident, that
I need not dwell upon them; though the mode of effecting such an
intercourse must be left to the thousand contingencies which govern
all, and act so capriciously on the tempers of the savage races. The
utmost forbearance, and a liberality guided by prudence, so as not
to excite too great a degree of cupidity, appear the fundamental
rules for managing men in a low state of civilization. The results
of an amicable understanding are as uncertain as its commencement;
for they depend on the enterprise of the individual, and the power
of the native tribe into whose hands he may have fallen. I will not,
therefore, enter into a visionary field of discovery; but it appears
to me certain that, without the assistance of the natives, no small
party can expect to penetrate far into a country populous by report,
and in many parts thickly covered with wood. Without entertaining
any exaggerated expectation, I trust that something may be added
to our geographical knowledge of the sea-coast of this bay, its
leading features, productions, rivers, anchorages, and inhabitants,
the prospect of trade, and the means of navigation; and although my
wishes lead me strongly to penetrate as far as the lake of Kini Ballu,
yet the obstacles which may be found to exist to the fulfillment of
this desire will induce me to rest satisfied with the more moderate
and reasonable results.
It may not be superfluous to notice here, that a foregone conclusion
appears to be spread abroad regarding the aboriginal (so called)
inhabitants of Borneo, and that they are usually considered and
mentioned under the somewhat vague appellation of Dyaks. They are
likewise commonly pronounced as originating from the same stock as the
Arafuras of Celebes and New Guinea, and radically identical with the
Polynesian race. The conclusion is not in itself highly improbable,
but certainly premature, as the facts upon which it is built are so
scanty and doubtful as to authorize no such structure. On an island
of the vast size of Borneo, races radically distinct might exist;
and at any rate, the opposite conclusion is hardly justifiable, from
the specimens of language or the physical appearance of the tribes
of the southern portion of the country. We have Malay authority for
believing that there are many large tribes in the interior, differing
greatly in their degree of civilization, though all alike removed from
the vicinity of a superior people. We have the Dyaks of the south; the
Idaan of the north; the Kagins; and a race little better than monkeys,
who live in trees, eat without cooking, are hunted by the other tribes,
and would seem to exist in the lowest conceivable grade of humanity. If
we may trust these accounts, these latter people resemble in many
particulars the Orang Benua, or aborigines of the peninsula; but the
Dyaks and Idaans are far superior, living in villages, cultivating
the ground, and possessing cattle. Beside these, likewise, we have
the names of several other tribes or people; and, in all probability,
many exist in the interior with whom we are unacquainted.
There are strong reasons for believing that the Hindoo religion,
which obtained so extensively in Java and Sumatra, and yet survives at
Bali and Lombock, was likewise extended to Borneo; and some authors
have conceived grounds for supposing a religion anterior even to
this. If only a portion of these floating opinions should be true,
and the truth can only be tested by inquiry, we may fairly look for the
descendants of the Hindoo dynasty as well as an aboriginal people. It
never seems to have occurred to any one to compare the Dyaks with the
people of Bali and Lombock. We know indeed but little of the former;
but both races are fair, good-looking, and gentle. Again, respecting
the concluded identity of the Dyaks and the Arafuras, it is clear we
have a very limited knowledge indeed of the former; and, I may ask,
what do we know of the Arafuras?
In short, I feel as reluctant to embrace any preconceived theory as
I am to adopt the prevailing notion on this subject; for it requires
a mass of facts, of which we are wholly deficient, to arrive at
anything approaching a reasonable conclusion. To return, however,
to the proceedings of the Royalist, I would remark, that it depends
greatly on the time passed in Malludu Bay whether our next endeavor
be prosecuted at Abai on the western, or Tusan Abai on the eastern
coast. The object in visiting Abai would he chiefly to penetrate to
the lake, which, on the authority of Dalrymple and Burton, is not
far distant thence, by a water communication; but should any success
have attended similar efforts from Malludu Bay, this project will be
needless, as in that case the enterprise will have been prosecuted to
the westward, and reach to the vicinity of Abai. As Kaminis is the
limit of the British territory to the westward, so Point Kaniungan,
situated to the southward of the bay of Sandakan, forms the eastern
boundary; and a line drawn from coast to coast between these points
is represented as including our possessions. A reference to the chart
will show the extent to be considerable; and the eastern coast from
Malludu Bay to Point Kaniungan is so very little known, that it is
highly desirable to become acquainted with its general features and
conformation, and to seek thence the means of gaining an inlet into
the interior, should it be denied at Malludu Bay.
The reported proximity of Kini Ballu to Malludu Bay, and likewise to
Abai would (supposing it is anything like the size it is affirmed to
be) lead us to expect that it cannot be far distant from the eastern
coast; and it is but reasonable to conclude that some rivers or streams
discharge themselves into the sea in the numerous indentations that
abound on this shore. However this may be, the coast, with its bays
and islands and bold headlands, is one of great interest, and almost
unknown; and the careful inspection of it as far as Point Kaniungan
will, I trust, add something to our knowledge. The longitude of
Point Kaniungan and Point Unsang will likewise determine the eastern
extremity of Borneo.
Much more might be added on this topic, especially of the reported
communication by a line of lakes from Malludu Bay to Banjarmassim,
which, if true, would in all probability place some of these lakes
near particular points of the east coast, as the whole line, from the
relative position of the two extremes, must be on the eastern side
of the island. These reports, and the various surmises which arise
from them, are rather matters for verification than discussion; and I
will therefore only add that, tempted by success, I shall not devote
less than a year and a half to this object; but, in case of finding
a sickly climate, or meeting with a decidedly hostile population,
I shall more easily abandon the field, and turn to others of not less
interest, and perhaps of less risk.
Equal to Borneo in riches, and superior in picturesque beauty to any
part of the Archipelago, is the large and eccentric country of the
Bugis, called Celebes. So deep are the indentations of its coasts,
that the island may be pronounced as being composed of a succession
of peninsulas, nearly uniting in a common center in the district of
Palos; and thus, by the proximity of every part to the sea, offering
great facilities for brief and decisive interior excursions. The
Dutch are in possession of Makassar, and had formerly settlements
on the northwest coast and in the bay of Sawa. Their power appears,
however, never to have been very extensively acknowledged; and
at present I have not been able to meet with any account of the
condition of their factories. This information will probably be gained
at Singapore. Avoiding the Dutch settlements, I propose limiting my
inquiries to the northern and northeastern portion of the island, more
especially the great bay of Gunong Tella. It is impossible to state
here the direction of these inquiries, or any definite object to which
they should be turned, as I am acquainted with no author who speaks
of the country, save in a general and vague manner. It is reported
as rich, fertile, mountainous, strikingly beautiful, and possessed of
rivers; abounding in birds, and inhabited, like Borneo, by wild tribes
in the interior, and by the Bugis on the sea-shores and entrance of
rivers. The character of the Bugis, though so variously represented,
gives me strong hopes of rendering them, by care and kindness, useful
instruments in the prosecution of these researches; for all writers
agree that they are active, hardy, enterprising, and commercial; and
it is seldom that a people possessing such characteristics are deaf
to the suggestions of self-interest or kindly feeling. The arrogance,
and especially the indolence, of the Malays, counteracts the influence
of these strong incentives; and the impulse which governs such rude
tribes as the Dyaks and Arafuras is a dangerous weapon, which cuts all
ways, and often when least anticipated. The Badjows, or sea-gipsys,
are another race on whom some dependence may be placed. Mr. Earl,
who had a personal acquaintance with this tribe, and could speak their
language, always expressed to me a degree of confidence in their good
faith, which must have had some grounds.
I may here conclude the first stage of the expedition, during the
progress of which the head-quarters will be fixed at Singapore. During
some of the intervals I hope to see Manilla, and to acquire a cursory
knowledge of the unexplored tract at the southern extremity of Celebes,
called in Norie's general chart the Tiger Islands.
The time devoted to the objects above mentioned must, as I have before
said, be regulated by the degree of fortune which attends them; for,
cheered by success, I should not readily abandon the field; yet, if
persecuted by climate, or other serious detriments, I shall frequently
shift the ground, to remove myself beyond such evil influence. It
is scarcely needful to continue a detail of projects so distant,
having already carved out for myself a work which I should be proud to
perform, and which is already as extended as the chances of human life
and human resolves will warrant. The continuation of the voyage would
lead me to take the Royalist to Timor or Port Essington, thence making
excursions to the Arru Isles, Timor Laut, and the southern shores
of New Guinea. That part of the coast contiguous to Torres Straits I
am particularly desirous of visiting; as it has been suggested to me
by Mr. Earl, and I think with reason, that a better channel than the
one we are at present acquainted with may be found there. That such
a channel exists, and will be discovered when the coast is surveyed,
I entertain but little doubt; but the navigation is hazardous, and
must, from the westward, be attempted with great caution.
My own proceedings must, of course, be regulated by the discoveries
previously made by Captain Wickham or others; and as this gentleman
has orders to survey Torres Straits, the field may be well trodden
before I reach it. The rest of the voyage I shall consider as one
merely of pleasure, combining such utility as circumstances will
permit. It is probable that I shall visit our Australian settlements;
glance at the islands of the Pacific; and return to Europe round
Cape Horn. Before concluding, I may observe, that there are points
of inquiry which may be useful to the studies of the learned, which
(provided the process be moderately simple) I shall be willing to make,
and I shall always be happy to receive any directions or suggestions
regarding them. I allude to observations on the tides, to geology,
to the branches of natural history, &c. &c., for the general inquirer
often neglects or overlooks highly intersting facts, from his attention
not having been called to them. The specimens of natural history will
be forwarded home on every visit to Singapore; and the information
will be sent ot the Geographical Society, and may always, if it be of
any value, be used as freely as it is communicated. In like manner,
the objects of natural history will be open to any person who is at
all interested in such pursuits. I cannot but express my regret,
that from pecuniary considerations as well as the small size of
the vessel, and the limited quantity of provision she carries, I
am unable to take a naturalist and draughtsman; but I should always
hail with pleasure any scientific person who joined me abroad, or who
happened to be in the countries at the time; and I may venture to
promise him every encouragement and facility in the prosecution of
his pursuits. I embark upon the expedition with great cheerfulness,
with a stout vessel, a good crew, and the ingredients of success as
far as the limited scale of the undertaking will permit; and I cast
myself upon the waters--like Mr. Southey's little book--but whether
the world will know me after many days, is a question which, hoping
the best, I cannot answer with any positive degree of assurance.
No. IV.
_Sketch of Borneo, or Pulo Kalamantan, by J. Hunt_, Esq.
(Communicated, in 1812, to the Honourable Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles,
late Lieutenant-Governor of Java.)
The island of Borneo extends from 7 deg. 7' north to 4 deg. 12' south latitude,
and from 108 deg. 45' to 119 deg. 25' east longitude; measuring at its extreme
length nine hundred miles, at its greatest breadth seven hundred,
and in circumference three thousand. It is bounded on the north by the
Solo seas, on the east by the Straits of Macassar, on the south by the
Java, and on the west by the China seas. Situated in the track of the
most extensive and valuable commerce, intersected on all sides with
deep and navigable rivers, indented with safe and capacious harbors,
possessing one of the richest soils on the globe, abounding in all
the necessaries of human life, and boasting commercial products that
have in all ages excited the avarice and stimulated the desires of
mankind,--with the exception of New Holland, it is the largest island
known. Of the existence of this extensive territory, so highly favored
by Providence, and enriched by the choicest productions of nature,
there remains scarce a vestige in the geographical descriptions of
the day; and its rich products and fertile shores, by one tacit and
universal consent, appear abandoned by all the European nations of
the present age, and handed over to the ravages of extensive hordes
of piratical banditti, solely intent on plunder and desolation.
The natives and the Malays, formerly, and even at this day, call
this large island by the exclusive name of Pulo Kalamantan, from
a sour and indigenous fruit so called. Borneo was the name only
of a city, the capital of one of the three distinct kingdoms on the
island. When Magalhaens visited it in the year 1520, he saw a rich and
populous city, a luxuriant and fertile country, a powerful prince,
and a magnificent court: hence the Spaniards hastily concluded that
the whole island not only belonged to this prince, but that it was
likewise named Borneo. In this error they have been followed by
all other European nations. The charts, however, mark this capital
"Borneo Proper," or in other words, the only place properly Borneo:
this is the only confession of this misnomer that I have met with
among Europeans. The natives pronounce Borneo, Bruni, and say it
is derived from the word Brani, courageous; the aboriginal natives
within this district having ever remained unconquered.
The aborigines of Borneo, or Pulo Kalamantan, still exist in the
interior in considerable numbers; there are various tribes of them,
speaking different dialects. Some of them acknowledge Malay chiefs,
as at Landa, Songo, Mantan, &c. Several communities of them still
remain under independent chiefs of their own nation; and everywhere
their origin, their language, their religion, their manners and
customs, are totally distinct and apparent from those of the Islams,
or Malays, who have settled on the island. About Pontiana and Sambas
they are called Dayers; at Benjarmasing, Biajus; at Borneo Proper,
Moruts; farther northward, Orang Idan. Their original history is as
much enveloped in obscurity as that of the Monocaboes of Malaya, the
Rejangs and Battas of Sumatra, or the Togals of the Philippines. On
a nearer acquaintance with their language, customs, traditions, &c.,
perhaps an affinity in origin may be discovered among all the original
possessors of the Eastern isles. The Moruts and Orang Idan are much
fairer and better featured than the Malays, of a more strong and robust
frame, and have the credit of being a brave race of people. The Dayer
is much darker, and approaches nearer in resemblance to the Malay. The
Biajus I never saw. The few particulars which I have been able to
collect of these people I shall briefly state: They live in miserable
small huts; their sole dress consists of a slight wrapper round their
waists, sometimes made of bark, at others from skins of animals, or
perhaps of blue or white cloth; they eat rice or roots, and indeed
any description of food, whether beast, reptile, or vermin: they are
extremely filthy; this and bad food give them a cutaneous disorder,
with which they are very generally afflicted. Several tribes of them
smear themselves with oil and pigments, which gives them the appearance
of being tattooed. Whether this is intended to defend them against the
bites of insects, to operate as a cure or prevention of this epidemic,
or to adorn their persons, I cannot take upon me to decide. They
believe, it is said, in a Supreme Being, and offer sacrifices of
gratitude to a beneficent Deity. Polygamy is not allowed among them;
no man has more than one wife; they burn their dead. They are said
to shoot poisoned balls or arrows through hollow tubes; and whenever
they kill a man, they preserve the skull to exhibit as a trophy to
commemorate the achievement of their arms. They are said to have
no mode of communicating their ideas by characters or writing, like
the Battas. Driven from the sea-coast of Borneo into the mountains
and fastnesses in the interior, they are more occupied in the chase
and the pursuits of husbandry than in commerce. They, however, barter
their inland produce of camphor, gold, diamonds, birds'-nests, wax, and
cattle, for salt (which they hold in the highest degree of estimation,
eating it with as much _gout_ as we do sugar), china, porcelain,
brass and iron cooking utensils, brass bracelets, coarse blue and
white cloth, Java tobacco, arrack (which they also like), parangs,
hardware, beads, &c. Some tribes of them are said to pull out their
front teeth and substitute others of gold, and others adorn themselves
with tigers' teeth. The greatest numbers and most considerable bodies
of these men are found near Kiney Balu and about Borneo Proper.
The Malays represent them as the most savage and ferocious of men;
but to be more savage or ferocious than a Malay is a thing utterly
impossible. Their representations may be accounted for. These
aborigines have always evinced a strong disposition and predilection
for liberty and freedom; they have either resisted the yoke of the
Malay, or have retired to their mountains to enjoy this greatest of
all human blessings. The Malay, unable to conquer them, lays plans
for kidnapping as many as he can fall in with. Every Dyak so taken is
made a slave of, his children sold, and his women violated. The Malay,
hence, is justly considered by them as the violator of every law,
human and divine; and whenever any of these people meet with one,
they satiate their vengeance, and destroy him as the enemy of their
race, and as a monster of the human kind. The Portuguese missionaries
found these people very tractable converts, and very large bodies of
them are very easily governed by a single Malay chief, as at Landa,
Songo, and Matan. I have seen very large bodies of them at Kimanis
and Maludu, but none of them possessing the ferocity of a Malay.
The Islams, or Malayans, who now possess the sea-coasts of Borneo
(as well as the sea-coasts of all the Eastern islands), are said to be
colonies from Malacca, Johore, &c., planted in the fourteenth century;
at this period, according to Mr. Poivre, "Malacca was a country
well peopled, and was consequently well cultivated. This nation was
once one of the greatest powers in the Eastern seas, and made a very
considerable figure in the theater of Asia; they colonized Borneo,
Celebes, Macassar, Moluccas, &c." The Malays on Borneo are like the
Malays everywhere else, the most atrocious race of beings on the
earth; and from their general character, and imprudent institutions,
both political and religious, are fast moldering in self-decay,
or mutual destruction.
From the earliest date that I have been able to trace, the island of
Borneo was always divided into three distinct kingdoms. The kingdom of
Borneo, properly so called, extended from Tanjong Dato, in latitude
3 deg. 15' north, to Kanukungan point, in the Straits of Macassar, 1 deg.
15' north, which included the whole north part of the island. The
kingdom of Sukadana (from _suka_, happiness, and _dunia_, the world,
or earthly paradise), extending from Tanjong Dato to Tanjong Sambar,
which belonged to the King of Bantam (when or how acquired I have
not learned): and the remainder of the island from Tanjong Sambar
to Kanukungan Point aforesaid, to the kingdom of Benjarmasing (from
_bendar_, a port of trade, and _masing_, usual, or the ordinary port
of trade).
When the Portuguese first visited Borneo, in 1520, the whole island
was in a most flourishing state. The numbers of Chinese that had
settled on her shores were immense; the products of their industry,
and an extensive commerce with China in junks, gave her land and
cities a far different aspect from her dreary appearance at this day,
and their princes and courts exhibited a splendor and displayed a
magnificence which has long since vanished.
Pigofetta says there were twenty-five thousand houses in the city of
Borneo Proper, and that it was rich and populous. Much later accounts
describe the numbers of Chinese and Japanese junks frequenting her
ports as great; but in 1809 there were not three thousand houses in
the whole city, nor six thousand Chinese throughout that kingdom,
and not a junk that had visited it for years. But the ports of Borneo
have not dwindled away more than Acheen, Johore, Malacca, Bantam,
Ternate, &c. All these places likewise cut a splendid figure in
the eyes of our first navigators, and have since equally shared a
proportionate obscurity.
Were the causes required which have eclipsed the prosperity of Borneo
and the other great emporiums of Eastern trade that once existed, it
might be readily answered--a decay of commerce. They have suffered the
same vicissitudes as Tyre, Sidon, or Alexandria; and like Carthage--for
ages the emporium of the wealth and commerce of the world, which now
exhibits on its site a piratical race of descendants in the modern
Tunisians and their neighbors the Algerines--the commercial ports of
Borneo have become a nest of banditti, and the original inhabitants
of both, from similar causes--the decay of commerce--have degenerated
to the modern pirates of the present day.
In exact proportion as the intercourse of the Europeans with China
has increased, in precise ratio has the decrease of their direct trade
in junks become apparent. The Portuguese first, and subsequently the
Dutch, mistress of the Eastern seas, exacted by treaties and other ways
the Malay produce at their own rates, and were consequently enabled
to undersell the junks in China. But these powers went further;
by settling at ports on Borneo, or by their guardas de costas, they
compelled the ports of Borneo to send their produce, calculated for
the China market, to Malacca and Batavia, which at length completely
cut up the direct trade by means of the Chinese junks.
The loss of their direct intercourse with China affected their
prosperity in a variety of ways. First, by this circuitous direction
of their trade, the gruff goods, as rattans, sago, cassia, pepper,
ebony, wax, &c., became too expensive to fetch the value of this
double carriage and the attendant charges, and in course of time were
neglected; the loss of these extensive branches of industry must
have thrown numbers out of employment. But the loss of the direct
intercourse with China had more fatal effects; it prevented large
bodies of annual emigrants from China settling upon her shores;
it deprived them of an opportunity of visiting the Borneon ports,
and exercising their mechanical arts and productive industry; and
of thus keeping up the prosperity of the country in the tillage of
the ground, as well as in the commerce of her ports. The old Chinese
settlers by degrees deserted these shores; and to fill up the chasms
in their revenues by so fatal a change, the rajahs have been tempted
to turn their views to predatory habits, and have permitted their
lands to run to jungle, by dragging their wretched laborers from
agricultural employments to maritime and piratical enterprises.
The first material alteration in the sovereignty of the territorial
possession took place in the kingdom of Borneo Proper, when her rajah
was obliged to call in the aid of the Solos to defend him against
an insurrection of the Maruts and Chinese. In consideration of this
important aid, the Rajah of Borneo Proper ceded to the Sultan of Solo
all that portion of Borneo then belonging to him, from Kimanis, in
latitude 5 deg. 30' north, to Tapean-durian, in the Straits of Macassar,
which includes the whole north of Borneo. After this period, the power
and fortunes of the Sultan of Solo rapidly declined. The Spaniards
succeeded in conquering all their islands. Solo, the capital, was
taken and fortified; the sultan and his court made prisoners. When the
English captured Manilla, they found this sultan incarcerated. They
agreed to relieve him from prison, and reinstate him on the musnud of
his forefathers under the express stipulation that the whole of the
aforesaid territory of Borneo, ceded to Solo by the rajah of that
kingdom, should be transferred to the English East India Company,
together with the south of Palawan, and the intermediate islands. These
terms were joyfully acceded to by the Sultan of Solo, and signed,
sealed, and delivered by him to the late Alexander Dalrymple, in the
year 1763.
The kingdom of Sukadana was ceded by the Rajah of Bantam (in what year
I know not) to the Dutch East India Company. Whether the kingdom of
Benjarmasing was ever actually ceded to the Dutch or not, I have not
been able to learn. But the occupancy of her capital, the military
government of the country, by the erection of forts, and a permanent
standing force, since transferred to the English arms, give to the
East India Company, actually or virtually, the entire sovereignty
and rule over the whole of this large island, with the exception of
the piratical port of Borneo Proper, and the portion of territory
yet annexed thereto.
The Portuguese, at a very early period, established themselves at
Benjarmasing: at Borneo Proper there still remain two bastions and a
curtain of a regular stone fort built by them: they had also one on
the island of Laboan, since destroyed. They fixed themselves at old
Sambas, from which they were driven by the Dutch in the year 1690,
and nearly about this period from all their establishments on Borneo.
When, or from what causes, the Dutch were induced to evacuate Sambas, I
know not, nor have I learned the period when they fortified themselves
at Benjarmasing and Pasir, but believe it could not have taken place
before the middle of the last century. They, however, settled at
Pontiana in 1786, and built a fortified wall round the palace and
factory, but were compelled to withdraw from it when the war broke out
with the English in 1796. The ports at Benjarmasing, when evacuated,
were sold by the Dutch to the sultan, and are since said to have
been repurchased from him by the English. The Dutch obtaining the
cession of the kingdom of Sukadana from the Rajah of Bantam, and their
subsequent measures in different parts of this territory, will show
that they had extensive views of firmly establishing themselves on this
island; and waking from an age of lethargy, at last began to see the
great advantages and unbounded resources these rich possessions were
capable of affording them, without any cost or expense whatever. The
year they withdrew from Pontiana they had it in contemplation to take
repossession of Sambas, and to unite all the ports, as well as the
interior, under the Rajah of Pontiana, in trust for them. Some letters
to this effect were written by the Dutch government to the late rajah.
That the English were not insensible to the value and importance
of the once valuable commerce of Borneo may be inferred not only
from the number of the Honorable Company's regular ships annually
dispatched to her ports prior to the year 1760 (vide Hardy's Shipping
Register), but from the efforts they have repeatedly made to establish
themselves on her shores. There still exist the remains of a British
factory at Borneo Proper. Before the year 1706, they had made two
successive attempts to fortify themselves at Benjarmasing; twice they
have attempted an establishment on the sickly island of Balambangan
(lying north of Borneo, near Maludu); and in 1775, the Honorable
Company's ship Bridgewater was sent to Pasir with similar views.
The failure of these British attempts, as well as the exclusion of all
other powers from the ports of Borneo, may be principally attributed
to the sordid desire of the Dutch of monopolizing the whole produce
of the Eastern Archipelago, and their rooted jealousy in opposing
the establishment of every other power in the vicinity of Java,
or that of the Spice Islands.
These considerations and feelings have induced them to commit the
most flagrant crimes, not only against the natives of these regions,
but against every European power. Their infamous massacres at Amboyna,
Banda, Bantam, &c., have been historically recorded to their eternal
disgrace. By their intrigues at Benjarmasing, the British attempts at
a settlement twice failed; and Forrest, in his Voyage to New Guinea,
says, that the Solos were by Dutch instigation induced to cut off the
infant establishment of Balambangan, in 1775. They frustrated the
attempts of the Bridgewater at Pasir; and even the massacre of the
garrison of Pulo Condore was effected by Javanese soldiers supplied
by the governor of Batavia. The English, from their strong desire
of having a port in the China seas, hastily pitched upon the most
unhealthy spots for that purpose, viz. Balambangan and Pulo Condore.
The father of the present Sultan of Pontiana was the descendant of an
Arab, residing at Simpan, near Matan. By the advice and concurrence
of the Dutch he was induced, about forty-two years ago, to settle
on the unfrequented shores of the river Pontiana, or Quallo Londa,
with promises of early cooeperation and assistance, as well as of
rendering it the mart of the trade and capital of all Sukadana. As
soon as Abdul Ramman (the name of the first sultan) had succeeded in
attracting around him several Chinese, Buguese, and Malay settlers,
and in building a town, the Dutch (in 1786) came with two armed
brigs and fifty troops to establish their factory. To make good
their promises to Abdul Ramman (the treaty I have never seen), they
immediately overthrew the chief of Mompava, and gave his country in
trust to this ally: they shortly after invested the ancient city of
Sukadana, burned it to the ground, transferred the inhabitants to
Pontiana, or dispersed them and their chief into the interior. The
Dutch likewise placed the present rajas on the musnuds of Songo, Landa,
&c., and kept up a force at the former, with the express stipulation
that the whole of their produce should be sent from each of their
respective districts to the Dutch factory of Pontiana. They had it
in contemplation, in 1795, to take repossession of Sambas, and wrote
to Abdul Ramman as to the preparatory measures requisite, when the
English war, as before observed, obliged them to abandon Pontiana.
This Abdul Ramman, the first sultan or chief of Pontiana, reigned
thirty-five years, and died in 1807, leaving his eldest son, the
present Sultan Kasim, now forty-six years of age, his successor;
who has a second brother, called Pangeran Marko, aged thirty-eight,
and Pangeran Hosman, thirty-six years, beside four sisters, one
of whom married the present Rajah of Matan, and about seventy half
brothers and sisters, the natural children of his father, with an
extensive sub-progeny. The present sultan has three sons (Abibuker,
heir-apparent, twenty-one years old, Ali, and Abdul Ramman), and
four daughters, lawfully begotten. None of the royal family make use
of either opium, betel, or tobacco, in any shape whatever; and the
present sultan has much the appearance of an Arab. The grandfather
of the present sultan was from Arabia, a Sayed Suriff; one of his
relations was fixed at Palimbang, whose name is unknown to me, and
the other, Shad Fudyel, at Acheen, who has been long dead.
The wet season commences from September, and ends in April,
when heavy rain, hard squalls, and much thunder and lightning are
experienced. From April till September is called the dry season, but
even in this portion of the year seldom a day elapses without a smart
shower or two. The monsoons on the northerly shores of Borneo are found
to correspond with those prevalent in the China seas, viz. from the
N.E. from October to April, and from the S.W. the rest of the year. To
the southward, about Benjarmasing, the monsoons are the same as in the
Java seas, _i. e._ westerly from October to April, and easterly the
rest of the year. Those parts of Borneo near or upon the equator have
variable winds all the year, and land and sea breezes close in shore.
This country is by no means so warm as one would be led to imagine by
its proximity everywhere to the line: this arises from the perpetual
refreshing showers and the land and sea breezes, the former being
wafted over innumerable rivers. In the month of November, the
thermometer at Pontiana ranges from 78 deg. to 82 deg..
During the wet season, the rivers swell and overflow the adjacent
shores, and run down with such continued rapidity, that the water may
be tasted fresh at sea at the distance of six or seven miles from the
mouths: these overflowings fertilize the banks and adjacent country,
and render the shores of Borneo, like the plains of Egypt, luxuriantly
rich. Susceptible of the highest possible culture, particularly in
wet grain, in the dry season the coast, from these overflowings,
presents to the eye the richest enameled fields of full grown grass
for miles around. It is at this season that whole herds of wild cattle
range down from the mountains in the interior to fatten on the plains,
but during the wet season they ascend to their hills.
The whole of the north, the northwest, and the center of Borneo is
extremely mountainous. The greatest portion of the ancient kingdom
of Borneo Proper is extremely elevated. That of Kiney Baulu, or
St. Peter's Mount, in latitude 6 deg. north, is perhaps one of the
highest mountains known. The country about Sambas, Pontiana, and
Sukadana is occasionally interspersed with a few ranges of hills,
otherwise the land here might be deemed low. But to the southward,
and more particularly to the east, in the Straits of Macassar, it
is very low. The shore in these latter places is extremely moist and
swampy, but the interior is said to be dry.
The common charts of Borneo will show the innumerable rivers that
water this vast island in every possible direction; but it is worthy of
remark, that all the principal rivers on this island have their main
source in a large lake in the vicinity of that stupendous mountain
before mentioned, Kiney Baulu. The river Benjarmasing takes its rise
from thence, and after traversing in all its windings a distance of
1500 miles, intersecting the island into two parts, falls into the
Java sea. Its rise and fall is said to be twelve feet, and it has
only nine feet at low water on the bar. It is said to have numberless
villages scattered on its banks; but I have obtained no particular
accounts of them, or their produce.
The great river of Borneo Proper is certainly the finest on the
island. It is a deep, navigable, and majestic stream; it has three
fathoms upon the bar at low water; the rise and fall is, I believe,
fifteen feet; there are docks here for Chinese junks of five or six
hundred tons, and a first-rate ship of war might get up far above
the town. The country, too, is populous, productive, and healthy. The
southern branch of this river has been well surveyed, but the branch
leading to the Marut country is little known; it has its source in
Kiney Baulu.
In the ancient kingdom of Sukadana, the five principal rivers are
the Sukadana, the Lava, the Pogore, the Pontiana, and the Sambas. The
former rivers communicate inland, and their main source is in Kiney
Baulu. The whole of these rivers are deep and navigable for seventy
or eighty miles; but have all of them mud flats at their mouths,
which would not admit of the entry of vessels exceeding fourteen feet
at high water springs.
The third most considerable river on Borneo is the Kinabatangan, lying
in the north of the island, and emptying itself into the Sulo seas. It
is said to be deep and navigable much farther than the Benjarmasing
river; it has several mouths, but it has never been surveyed. The
rivers Kuran, Pasir, and a variety of others that fall into the Straits
of Macassar, are said to be noble streams, navigable for vessels
of large burthen; but I have no accurate information of them. The
harbor of Sandakan is one of the finest in the world; a correct chart
of the same is published. The harbor of Tambisan, near Cape Unsing,
is equal to Pulo Pinang, and calculated for careening and building
ships; a tolerable chart of these is also published. The harbors of
Pulo Laut, Punangan, Maludu, and several others in the Straits of
Macassar, afford good anchorage and complete shelter for shipping.
Situated as Borneo is, immediately under the equator, everything
that can be produced in vegetation by the combined influence of
heat and moisture is here displayed in the highest luxuriance and
super-excellence. All the Oriental palms, as the cocoa-nut, the areca,
the sago, &c., abound here. The larger grasses, as the bamboo, the
canna, the nardus, assume a stately growth, and thrive in peculiar
luxuriance. Pepper is found wild everywhere, and largely cultivated
about Benjarmasing and the districts of Borneo Proper. The _laurus
cinnamomum_ and _cassia odoriferata_ are produced in abundance about
Kimanis. In no part of the world does the camphor-tree flourish in
equal perfection as in the districts of Maludu and Payton, in the north
of Borneo. The ebony, the dammar, the tree that yields the finest
dragon's blood in the world, all abound here. The cotton and coffee
trees are found in all parts of Borneo, though not much attended
to. The chocolate nut of Sulo is preferred at Manilla to that from
South America. The tree that yields the clove-bark, and the nutmeg,
and clove, thrive luxuriantly, though never tried to any extent.
The woods about Pontiana for carpentry and joinery, are kayu bulean,
chena, mintangore, laban, ebony, iron-wood, dammar, and dammar laut,
&c. &c. The pine abounds in the bay of Maludu, teak at Sulo. The
fruit-bearing trees which enrich and adorn the Indian continent,
offer, on the Borneon shore, all their kindred varieties, nurtured
by the bountiful hand of luxuriant nature. The durian, mangustin,
rambutan, proya, chabi, kachang, timon, jambu, kniban, beside the
nanka or jack, tamarind, pomplemose, orange, lemon, and citron,
all the kindred varieties of the plantain, banana, melon, annanas,
pomegranate, &c., are found on Borneo.
The garden-stuffs met with are onions, garlic, yams, pumpkins,
brinjals, greens, beans, cucumbers; and turnips, cabbages, and potatoes
would succeed, were there Europeans to attend to them.
The elephant was said to be seen about Cape Unsing, where several
teeth are still found; but it is conceived this animal is extinct on
the island. There are no dromedaries nor camels; nor are horses, asses,
or mules met with on Borneo (the former are seen at Sulo). None of the
larger breed of the feline species are found here, as the lion, tiger,
leopard; nor the bear, the wolf, the fox, nor even a jackal, or dog,
that I ever saw. The ourang-outang, or the man of the woods, is the
most singular animal found in these regions. The rivers swarm with
alligators, and the woods with every variety of the monkey tribe. The
names of other animals on Borneo are the bodok or rhinoceros, pelando
or rabbit, rusa or stag, kijang or doe, minjagon, babi utan or wild
hog, tingileng, bintangan, &c. There are buffaloes, goats, bullocks,
hogs, beside the rat and mouse species; a dog I never saw on Borneo.
There are few snakes on the sea-coast, owing to the moisture; plenty,
however, are found in the interior. The musketoe, the fly, the frog,
and the noisy beetle, with other insects and vermin found in Malay
countries, abound here.
The coasts and rivers abound with excellent and wholesome fish in
the greatest variety, and of the most delicious flavors; but such
is the miserable state of society, that few Malays have either the
inclination or the inducement to venture beyond the mouths of their
rivers in quest of them; and even there they are more indebted to the
industry of the Chinese with their fishing-stakes than to their own
labor for the supply of their markets. The names of their fish are,
the kakab, klabaw, jilawat, lai-is, pattain, udang or prawn, shrimp,
talang, sinanging, bawan, rowan, taylaon, duri, bleda, tingairy,
alu-alu, pako, jumpul, pari or skait, boli ayam, tamban or shad,
belut or eel, iyu or shark, lida or sole, batu batu, kabab batu, klaoi,
krang or cockle, tiram or oyster, tipy and lapis pearl oysters, cupang
or muscle, all the varieties of the turtle, with several other sorts.
The ornithology of Borneo is somewhat limited. There are the bayan,
nuri, dara, pepit or sparrow, tukukur or turtle-dove, berkey, kandang,
kiridi, gogaw or crow, seyrindit, layang or swallow, kalilawan. The
Chinese rear ducks; the tame fowl abounds; but the turkey, goose,
and peafowl are seldom met with.
The principal gold mines on Borneo are in the vicinity of Sambas. There
is a mountain called Guning Pandan, about eighty miles inland; from
this branch out three rivers--one leads to Mompava, one to Batu Bulat
near Tanjong Mora, and one to Landa; the whole intermediate area
between the above rivers is of a firm yellow argillaceous schistus,
or ferruginous quartz, interspersed with horn and vitreous ores, of
a remarkable dark reddish color, abounding with the richest veins of
gold, and equal if not superior to any mine extant. There are only
fifty parets or mines now wrought in the whole kingdom of Sukadana,
thirty of which are in the Sambas district, each mine having at least
three hundred men, Chinese, employed in them. Their pay, one with
another, is four dollars per mensem.
The mines are rented from the rajah at the rate of fifty bunkals of
gold per mine per annum, beside a capitation tax of three dollars
per head on every Chinaman. There are thirty thousand Chinese in the
Sambas districts, and they feel themselves strong enough to oppose or
evade this tax; it hence becomes a perpetual contest between greedy
extortion on the one side, and avaricious chicane on the other;
there are beside about twelve thousand Malays and Dayers.
The Laurat gold mines are situated to the eastward of the town of
Sambas, and are particularly rich and productive. The mines of Siminis
are one day's journey from Sambas, up a small creek leading from
Sambas river, below the town; and the mines are abundant. Salako is
up a river fifteen miles south of the Sambas river; it lies nearly
forty miles up, but communicates with Sambas by another river:
here the metal is found more abundant than anywhere else; and twenty
thousand Chinese are found in this district. Mantrado is three days'
journey up the Mompava river; it is under an independent Malay
prince. Some accounts make the population of this district great,
near fifty thousand Dayers, Malays, and Chinese; but perhaps half
the number may be nearer the truth; these are chiefly employed on
the gold mines, and in producing food for the miners; these mines,
however, do not produce that quantity which they might under Chinese
management. Mandore is about a day's journey from Pontiana, and belongs
to the sultan; it is reckoned a very rich mine, though but recently
wrought. There are as yet only twelve parets of about two hundred
men each, but it is capable of extension. Likewise are found in this
district some very rich specimens of copper ore; it has not as yet
been wrought, gold being deemed a much more productive article. The
sultan wishes, however, he had some boring utensils and an experienced
miner, to enable him to decide whether it would be worth working under
the peculiar circumstances above mentioned. Numbers of Chinese are
settled in this district, and the population is annually increasing.
About three days' journey up the Pongole river lies the district of
Songo, with a population of twenty-five thousand souls, Dayers, and a
few Chinese, under a Malay and an independent prince. The population
is chiefly employed on the rich mines of gold in the neighborhood,
which is particularly pure and abundant; but the mines are not wrought
with the same industry as those under Chinese management. The Dutch
thought it of so much consequence as to keep a force at Songo, and to
place the present rajah on that musnud. About two days' journey farther
up lies another gold district, called Santam, the inhabitants of which
are principally Dayers. Beyond Santam, and higher up on the same river,
lies the town of Sukadow, abounding in gold, the inhabitants of which
are also Dayers.
Matan belongs to the rajah of that name: he had the title of Rajah
of Sukadana, until driven out of the latter place by the Dutch,
seventeen years ago. There are ten thousand Dayers in this district,
and a few Chinese and Malays. The mines of gold are abundant, and
capable of becoming highly productive, as well as the mines of iron
and unwrought tin; but the sultan is much addicted to the use of
opium, and hence neglects a valuable country, capable, under better
management, of becoming the most valuable district on all Borneo.
About three days' journey from Pontiana lies the celebrated mountain
of Landa, which, after Golconda, is the most valuable diamond mine
in the world. There are at least thirty thousand people, principally
Dayers, employed on the mines and agriculture; it belongs to a Malay
prince, raised to that musnud twenty-five years ago by the Dutch,
through the agency of the present Sultan of Pontiana: here also much
gold is produced; and much more might be had under proper management.
There is a very valuable gold mine in the north of Borneo, at a place
called Tampasuk, situated in the district ceded to the English by
the Sultan of Sulo; but having become the principal pirate port on
the coast, the working of the mines has been discontinued.
The whole produce of the gold mines of Sukadana is said to be
annually about twenty piculs, or a million of dollars, at twenty-five
dollars a bunkal; but no calculation of this sort can possibly be
correct. Living, as the Chinese do, under the rapacity of despotic
and ferocious freebooters, who are actuated by no one principle of
honor, justice, or good faith, it is their interest to conceal the
riches they amass, not only to preserve themselves from the clutches of
these tyrants, but as the most compact substance to transport to their
native shores, to which they repair with the fruits of their industry,
by the annual junks that arrive at Pontiana, leaving the mines to
new settlers: from two to three hundred leave Pontiana every year.
The standard of Slakow gold at Pontiana is affixed at twenty-three
Spanish dollars the bunkal, of two dollars weight. The Songo and
Laurat is twenty-five dollars the said bunkal.
Not having had an opportunity to inspect any of the gold mines
personally, I know not if the ores readily melt of themselves, or
whether they require the aid of any fluxes before they yield the metal;
but I believe the principal attention of the miners is directed to the
rich veins of pure native gold, and that no operation is performed
beyond that of pulverizing, and simple washing; all the gold about
Pontiana being in dust, though some I have met with in Borneo Proper
was run into bars. About Landa, where the diamonds are found, the whole
of the stratum is observed to be a clay of a red burnt appearance,
nearly to the same degree as that of burnt bricks, which gives to the
rivers hereabouts a peculiar tinge. Whether this has been formed by
the action of subterraneous fires, or is the effect of volcanoes or
earthquakes, I cannot decide; the latter are said to be frequently
felt at Pontiana and at Sambas; and the former are said to exist in
the central mountains of Borneo.
From the slovenly manner in which the diamonds are sought for by
the Dayers, they seldom collect them of a size exceeding three or
four carats weight each. When rough, the Landa diamond has a white
or yellow hue; but none are found of that inky and flinty tinge,
so valuable in some of the Golconda diamonds. But that Landa does
produce them of a very considerable size, the extensive and valuable
specimens in Java, as well as the quantities annually sent to Batavia,
will evince. The King of Matan is at this instant in possession of a
diamond weighing 367 carats: the value of which, according to the old
mode of calculation, would be (367 x 367 x 2 = 269,378_l._) The Sultan
of Pontiana says, however, that a much larger price was offered for it
by the Dutch government of Java. He refused, it is said, twenty-five
laks of dollars, two sloops of rice, fifty pieces of cannon, and
a hundred muskets. Several from twenty to thirty carats have been
dug up. At Mompava there are said to be very rich copper mines;
but from want of population, a vigorous government, and scientific
mineralogists, little is to be hoped from them at the present day. At
Pulo Bongorong, near Borneo Proper, there is plenty of loadstone found.