THE CHINESE INSURRECTION.
Secret Societies--Extensive Intercourse--Smuggling--The
Gold Company fined--Punishment of three of its
Members--Arrogance of the Kunsi--A Police Case--Real Causes
of the Insurrection--An Emissary from the Tien Ti Secret
Society--Reported Encouragement given by the Sultan of
Sambas--Sambas Nobles speak Chinese--Their Nurses--The Nobles
conspiring--An Emissary arrives in Brunei--Proposal--Knowledge
of the intended Insurrection--Proposed Attack on the
Consulate--The Tumanggong’s Threat--The Emissary before the
Court--Letter from the Tien Ti Hué--Rumours of intended
Insurrection--Preparations and Inquiries--Commencement
of the Revolt--Useless Warnings--Surprise of the
Government House--Danger of the Rajah--Cowardice of
the Chinese--Escape--Swims the River--Death of Mr.
Nicholets--Attacks on the other Houses--On the Stockade--Gallant
Conduct of Mr. Crymble and the Malay Fortmen--Warm Reception
of the Rebels--Death of a Madman--A Brave Corporal--Escape
of Mr. Crymble--His last Blow--Fortmen again behave
well--Confusion in the Town--Peaceful Assurances--Attempt
to organize a Defence--Panic-stricken--Departure--Conduct
of the People--Next Morning--Killed and Wounded--The
Chinese in Power--The Court House--A Check to Joy--Oath
of Fidelity--Courage shown by Abang Fatah--A Blow
struck--Second Descent of the Chinese--A Boat Action--Gallant
Attack--Deaths--Anecdote--The Second Retreat--The Town in
Flames--The Steamer--The Capital recovered--Pursuit of
the Chinese--They retire to the Interior--Attacks of the
Land Dayaks--Foray of the Chinese--Their Fort taken by
the Datu Bandhar--Pursuit--Disorderly Retreat--Critical
Position--Brave Girls--Pass the Frontier--The Men of the
Kunsi--A Quarrel--Stripped of Plunder--Results of the
Insurrection--Forces at the Disposal of the Sarawak
Government--Conduct of the People--Disastrous to the
Chinese--New System--Arrival of armed Chinese from Sambas--Dutch
and English Assistance--Revisit Sarawak--Change--Conduct
of the Rajah--Its Effect on the People--Secret Society
at Labuan--Dangers from the Secret Societies and their
Defenders--Curious Incident--Thoughtful Care of the Rajah.
I shall endeavour to tell the story of the Chinese insurrection which
suddenly broke out in Sarawak in the year 1857, as it appears to me to
be fraught with instruction to us, and if carefully studied, may be of
infinite service to those who have to govern colonies where the Chinese
form a considerable portion of the population.
For many years the Chinese had attempted to form secret societies in
Sarawak; but every effort was made to check their spread among the
people, and it appeared as if success had attended that policy. To a
considerable extent it was the case: but up in the interior, among
the gold workers, the kunsi or company stood in the place of a secret
society, and its members carried on an extensive intercourse with their
fellow-countrymen in Sambas and Pontianak, and with the Tien Ti secret
society in Singapore. I have described in the last chapter a tour
which Mr. Fox and I made among the settlements of the Chinese in the
interior of Sarawak, during which we became convinced that smuggling
was carried on to a great extent, for, however numerous might be the
new immigrants, the opium revenue did not increase.
At last it was discovered that opium was sent from Singapore to the
Natuna islands, and from thence smuggled into Sarawak and the Dutch
territories; it was traced to the kunsi, which was thereupon fined
150_l._: a very trifling amount, considering the thousands they
had gained by defrauding the revenue, and measures were immediately
taken to suppress the traffic, which, together with the punishment of
three of its members for a gross assault on another Chinese, were the
only grounds of complaint they had against the Sarawak government.
To show their arrogance, I will enter into the details of this case.
A Chinese woman ran away from her husband, a member of the kunsi,
who followed her to Kuching, and obtained an order from the police
magistrate that she should return with him, but on her refusal, she was
ordered to remain within the stockade. As the case was peculiar, she
was not confined to a cell, but suffered to move about in the inner
court; and some of her friends supplying her with men’s clothes, she
managed to slip out unperceived by the sentry, and obtained a passage
on board a Chinese boat bound for one of the villages on the coast. Her
husband hearing of the place to which she had removed, followed her
with a strong party of the members of the kunsi, and recovered her. Not
satisfied with this, they seized all the boatmen, and flogged them in
the most unmerciful manner, and then placed them in irons. When let go,
they of course brought their complaint before the police magistrate,
and three of the party were punished for taking the law into their own
hands.
These trivial cases were not the real cause of the insurrection, as
the Chinese before that date were greatly excited by the news that the
English had retired from before Canton; and it was of course added, we
had been utterly defeated, and their preparations were made before the
smuggling was discovered, or the members of their company punished. The
secret societies were everywhere in great excitement, and the Tien Ti
sent an emissary over from Malacca and Singapore, to excite the gold
workers to rebellion, and used the subtle, but false argument, that
not only were the English crushed before Canton, but that the British
Government were so discontented with Sir James Brooke, that they would
not interfere if the kunsi only destroyed him and his officers, and did
not meddle with the other Europeans, or obstruct the trade.
It is also currently reported that the Sambas sultan and his nobles
offered every encouragement to the undertaking, and the Chinese
listened much to their advice, as these nobles can speak to them in
their own language, and are imbued greatly with Chinese ideas. To
explain this state of things, I may mention that they are always
nursed by girls chosen from among the healthiest of the daughters of
the gold workers; and I may add, that about that time there was a very
active intercourse carried on between the Malay nobles of Sambas and
Makota, and that the latter was constantly closeted with an emissary
of the Tien Ti Hué, or secret society, to whom I am about to refer. It
behoves the Dutch authorities to look well to the proceedings of the
native governments within their own territories, as there is very great
discontent, and there is not the slightest doubt that the nobles are
conspiring.
To show that it is not a mere imagination that the Tien Ti secret
society sent emissaries around at that time, I may state that on the
14th of February, four days before the insurrection, a Chinese named
Achang, who had arrived in Brunei from Singapore a few days previously,
and had the year before been expelled from Sarawak for joining that
Hué, came to my house to try and induce my four Chinese servants to
enter it; and added as a sufficient reason that the kunsi of Sarawak
would by that time have killed all the white men in that country. He
also said that he was very successful in enlisting members among the
sago washers and other labourers in the capital, and that they had made
up their minds to attack my house, and destroy me within a few weeks,
and if my servants did not join the society they would share my fate.
I did not believe what was said about Sarawak, and any warning of mine
would not have reached there for a month, but I did not altogether
neglect this information, which was secretly given me by my butler, a
Chinese, who had lived several years in England, and whose death by
cholera in 1859 I much regretted; but sent to the sultan and ministers
intimation of what I had heard, and the stern remark of the tumanggong,
that if such an attack were made, not a Chinese should, by the
following night, be left alive in the whole country, effectually curbed
them. This Achang, though a very quarrelsome fellow, had soon a case
of just complaint against a British subject, which he brought before
my court; when it was over, I asked him how he would have obtained
a settlement of his claims, if his intention to murder me had been
carried out. I never saw a man’s countenance change more, and thinking
he was about to fall on the ground, and to clasp my knees, either to
beg for pardon, or, what is more probable, to entreat that I would not
believe the story, I told my writer to lead him out of the court.
At Bau the letter from the Tien Ti Hué was shown to nakodah Jeludin by
the writers of the kunsi, whilst he was detained a prisoner there, and
this was not invented by him as a startling incident, but mentioned
casually in the course of conversation; this Malay afterwards died
fighting bravely in the last charge to break the ranks of the Chinese.
During the month of November, 1856, rumours were abroad that the
Chinese gold company intended to surprise the stockades, which
constituted the only defences of the town of Kuching, and which, as no
enemy was suspected to exist in the country, were seldom guarded by
above four men each; but Mr. Crookshank, who was then administering
the government, took the precaution to man them with an efficient
garrison, as it was said that during one of their periodical religious
feasts, several hundred men were to collect quietly, and make a rush
for the defences which contained the arsenal. On Sir James Brooke’s
return, however, strict inquiries were instituted, but nothing could
be discovered to implicate the gold company in a plot, and it appeared
unlikely they would attempt it during the absence of the ruler who
could have so soon revenged it.
On the 18th of February, the chiefs of the gold company assembled
about 600 of their workmen at Bau, and placing all the available
weapons in their hands, marched them down to their chief landing-place
at Tundong, where a squadron of their large cargo boats was assembled.
It is generally reported that, until they actually began to descend
the stream, none but the heads of the movement knew the object, the
men having been informed that they were to attack a Dayak village in
Sambas, where some of their countrymen had lately been killed.
During their slow passage down the river, a Malay who was accustomed to
trade with them, overtook them in a canoe, and actually induced them
to permit him to pass, under the plea that his wife and children lived
at a place called Batu Kawa, eight miles above the town, and would
be frightened if they heard so many men passing, and he not there to
reassure them; he pulled down as fast as he could till he reached the
town of Kuching, and going straight to his relative, a Malay trader of
the name of Gapur, who was a trustworthy and brave man, told him the
story, but he said, “Don’t go and tell the chiefs or the rajah such a
tissue of absurdities;” yet he went himself over to the bandhar and
informed him; but the datu’s answer was, “The rajah is unwell, we have
heard similar reports for the last twenty years; don’t go and bother
him about it; I will tell him what your relative says in the morning.”
This great security was caused by the universal belief that the Chinese
could not commit so great a folly as to attempt to seize the government
of the country, as they did not number above 4,000, while, at that
time, the Malays and Dayaks, within the Sarawak territories, amounted
to 200,000.
But at midnight the squadron of Chinese boats pulled silently through
the town, and dividing into two bodies, the smaller number entered
Suñgei Bedil, the little stream above the government house, while
the larger continued its course to the landing-place of the fort,
to endeavour to surprise the houses of Mr. Crookshank, the police
magistrate, and Mr. Middleton, the constable, while a large party was
told off to attack the stockades. The government house was situated
on a little grassy hill, surrounded by small, but pretty cottages, in
which visitors were lodged. The Chinese landing on the banks of the
stream just above a house in which I used to reside, marched to the
attack in a body of about a hundred, and passing by an upper cottage,
made an assault on the front and back of the long government house, the
sole inhabitants of which were the rajah and a European servant. They
did not surround the house, as their trembling hearts made them fear
to separate into small bodies, because the opinion was rife among them
that the rajah was a man brave, active, skilled in the use of weapons,
and not to be overcome except by means of numbers.
Roused from his slumbers by the unusual sounds of shouts and yells at
midnight, the rajah looked out of the venetian windows, and immediately
conjectured what had occurred: several times he raised his revolver to
fire in among them, but convinced that alone he could not defend the
house, he determined to effect his escape. He supposed that men engaged
in so desperate an affair would naturally take every precaution to
insure its success, and concluded that bodies of the insurgents were
silently watching the ends of the house; so summoning his servant, he
led the way down to a bath-room, which communicated with the lawn,
and telling him to open the door quickly, and then follow closely,
the rajah sprang forth with sword drawn, and pistol cocked, but found
the coast clear. Had there been twenty Chinese there, he would have
passed through them, as his quickness and practical skill in the use of
weapons are not, I believe, to be surpassed. Reaching the banks of the
stream above his house, he found the Chinese boats there, but diving
under the bows of one, he reached the opposite shore unperceived, and
as he was then suffering from an attack of fever and ague, fell utterly
exhausted, and lay for some time on the muddy bank, till slightly
recovering he was enabled to reach the government writer’s house.
An amiable and promising young officer, Mr. Nicholets, who had but
just arrived from an out-station on a visit, and lodged in the upper
cottage, was startled by the sound of the attack, and rushing forth to
reach the chief house, was slain by the Chinese; while Mr. Steel, who
was there likewise on a visit, and Sir James’s servant, escaped to the
jungle.
The other attacks took place nearly simultaneously, Mr. and Mrs.
Crookshank rushing forth, on hearing this midnight alarm, were cut
down, the latter left for dead, the former severely wounded. The
constable’s house was attacked, but he and his wife escaped, while
their two children and an English lodger were killed by the insurgents.
The forts, however, were not surprised; the Chinese, waiting for the
signal of attack on the houses, were perceived by the sentinel, and he
immediately aroused Mr. Crymble, who resided in the stockade, which
contained the arsenal and the prison. He endeavoured to make some
preparations for defence, although he had but four Malays with him. He
had scarcely time, however, to load a six-pounder field-piece, and get
his own rifle ready, before the Chinese, with loud shouts, rushed to
the assault. They were led by a man bearing in either hand a flaming
torch. Mr. Crymble waited till they were within forty yards; he then
fired and killed the man, who, by the light he bore, made himself
conspicuous, and before the crowd recovered from the confusion in which
they were thrown by the fall of their leader, discharged among them the
six-pounder loaded with grape, which made the assailants retire behind
the neighbouring houses or hide in the outer ditches. But with four men
little could be done, and some of the rebels having quietly crossed the
inner ditch, commenced removing the planks which constituted the only
defence. To add to the difficulty, they threw over into the inner court
little iron tripods, with flaming torches attached, which rendered it
as light as day, while all around was shrouded in darkness.
To increase the number of defenders, Mr. Crymble released two Malay
prisoners, one a madman, who had killed his wife, the other a debtor.
The latter quickly disappeared, while the former, regardless of the
shot flying around, stood to the post assigned him, opposite a plank
which the Chinese were trying to remove; he had orders to fire his
carbine at the first person who appeared, and when, the plank giving
way, a man attempted to force his body through, he pulled the trigger
without lowering the muzzle of his carbine and sent the ball through
his own brains. Mr. Crymble now found it useless to prolong the
struggle, as one of his four men was killed, and another, a brave
Malay corporal, was shot down at his side. The wounded man begged
Mr. Crymble to fly and leave him there, but asked him to shake hands
with him first, and tell him whether he had not done his duty; but
the Englishman seized him by the arm and attempted to drag him up the
stairs leading to the dwelling-house over the gate, but the Chinese
had already gained the court-yard, and pursuing drove their spears
through the wounded man, and Mr. Crymble was forced to let go his
hold, and with a brave follower, Duud, swung himself down into the
ditch below. Some of the rebels seeing their attempted escape, tried
to stop Mr. Crymble, and a man stabbed at him, but only glanced his
thick frieze coat, and received in return a cut across the face from
the Englishman’s cutlass, which, if he be still alive, will be a
remembrance to carry to the grave.
The other stockade, though it had but a corporal’s watch of three
Malays, did not surrender, until finding that every other place was in
the hands of the Chinese, the brave defenders opened the gates, and
charging the crowd of rebels, sword in hand, made their escape, though
they were all severely wounded in the attempt.
The confusion which reigned throughout the rest of the town may be
imagined, as startled by the shouts and yells of the Chinese the
inhabitants rushed to the doors and windows, and beheld night turned
into day by the bright flames that rose in three directions, where the
extensive European houses were burning at the same time.
It was at first very naturally thought that the Chinese contemplated a
general massacre of the Europeans, but messengers were soon despatched
to them by the kunsi, to say that nothing was further from their
intention than to interfere with those who were unconnected with the
Government.
The rajah had as soon as possible proceeded to the datu bandhar’s
house, and being quickly joined by his English officers, endeavoured
to organize a force to surprise the victorious Chinese, but it was
impossible; no sooner did he collect a few men, than their wives and
children surrounded them, and refused to be left, and being without
proper arms or ammunition, it was but a panic-stricken mob; so he
instantly took his determination, with that decision which has been
the foundation of his success, and giving up the idea of an immediate
attack, advised the removal of the women and children to the left-hand
bank of the river, where they would be safe from a land attack of the
Chinese, who could now make their way along the right-hand bank by a
road at the back of the town.
This removal was accomplished by the morning, when the party of English
under the rajah walked over to the little river of Siol, which falls
into the Santubong branch of the Sarawak, where obtaining canoes,
they started for the Samarahan river, intending to proceed to the
Batang Lupar to organize an expedition from the well-supplied forts
there. At the mouth of the Siol, the rajah found the war boat of abang
Buyong with sixty men waiting for him, which was soon joined by six
others, though smaller; as no sooner did the Malays of the neighbouring
villages hear that the rajah was at Siol, than they began flocking to
him. He now started for the Samarahan, and rested at the little village
of Sabang, and to the honour of the Malay character, I must add that
during the height of his power and prosperity, never did he receive so
much sympathy, tender attention, and delicate generosity, as now when a
defeated fugitive. They vied with each other, as to who should supply
him and his party with clothes and food, since they had lost all, and
if to know that he was enshrined in the hearts of the people was any
consolation to him in his misfortunes, he had ample proofs of it then.
When morning broke in Kuching, there was a scene of the wildest
confusion; the 600 rebels, joined by the vagabonds of the town, half
stupefied with opium, were wandering about discharging their muskets
loaded with ball cartridge in every direction; but at eight o’clock
the chiefs of the gold company sent a message to the bishop of Labuan,
requesting him to come down and attend the wounded. He did so, and
found thirty-two stretched out, the principal being from gun-shot
wounds; but among them he noticed one with a gash across his face from
the last blow Mr. Crymble had struck at the rebels, and before his
arrival they had buried five of their companions.
It was evident that in the intoxication of victory the Chinese aimed
now, if not before, at the complete government of the country, and
summoned the bishop of Labuan, Mr. Helms, Mr. Ruppell, and the datu
bandhar to appear at the court-house; the English were obliged to
attend the summons, and the last came with great reluctance, and
contrary to the advice of his energetic brother, but it was thought
expedient to gain time.
The Chinese chiefs even in their most extravagant moments of
exultation, were in great fear that on their return the Malays might
attack their crowded boats, and destroy them, as on the water they felt
their great inferiority to their maritime enemies.
It must have been an offensive sight to the English and the Malays
to witness the arrangement of the court-house: in the rajah’s seat
sat the chief of the kunsi, supported on either side by the writers
or secretaries, while the now apparently subdued sections took their
places on the side benches. The Chinese chief issued his orders, which
were that Mr. Helms and Mr. Ruppell should undertake to rule the
foreign portion of the town, and that the datu bandhar should manage
the Malays, while the kunsi as supreme rulers should superintend the
whole, and govern the up country.
Everything now appeared to be arranged, when it was suggested that
perhaps Mr. Johnson might not quite approve of the conduct of the
Chinese in murdering his uncle and his friends; for the rajah at that
moment was supposed to be dead, and the head of Mr. Nicholets was shown
as the proof. At the mention of Mr. Johnson’s name there was a pause,
a blankness came over all their faces, and they looked at each other,
as they now remembered apparently for the first time that he, the
rajah’s nephew, was the governor of the Sea Dayaks, and could let loose
at least 10,000 wild warriors upon them. At last it was suggested,
after an animated discussion, that a letter should be sent to him,
requesting him to confine himself to his own government, and then they
would not attempt to interfere with him.
The Chinese were very anxious to have matters settled, as with all
their boasts they did not feel quite comfortable, and were anxious
to secure the plunder they had obtained. They now called upon the
gentlemen and the Malay chiefs present to swear fidelity to the kunsi,
and under the fear of death they were obliged to go through the Chinese
formula of taking oaths by killing fowls. Next day the rebels retired
up country unmolested by the Malays, and a meeting was at once held
at the datu bandhar’s house to discuss future proceedings; at first
no one spoke, there was a gloom over the assembly, as the mass of
the population was deserting the town, carrying off their women and
children to Samarahan as a place of safety, when abang Patah, son to
the datu tumanggong, addressed the assembly. He was a sturdy man, with
a pleasant, cheerful countenance, and a warm friend to English rule,
and his first words were,--“Are we going to submit to be governed by
Chinese chiefs, or are we to remain faithful to our rajah? I am a man
of few words, and I say I will never be governed by any but him, and
to-night I commence war to the knife against his enemies.”
This was the unanimous determination of the assembly, but they were
divided as to the course to be pursued. Patah, however, cut the knot
of the difficulty by manning a light canoe with a dozen Malays, and
proceeding at once up the river, attacked and captured a Chinese
boat, killing five of its defenders. In the meantime the women and
children were all removed from the town, and some boats were armed and
manned, but imperfectly, as the Chinese had taken away the contents of
the arsenal, and the principal portion of the crews were engaged in
conveying the fugitives to Samarahan.
Patah’s bold act was well-meaning, but perhaps premature, as the
Malays, being scattered, could not organize a resistance, and urgent
entreaties were made to the rajah by well-meaning but injudicious
friends, to return and head this movement. He complied, though he knew
its futility, and arrived at Kuching to find the rest of the English
flying, the town in the hands of the Chinese, and smoke rising in every
direction from the burning Malay houses. It appeared when the news
reached the Chinese that the Malays were preparing for resistance,
they determined to return immediately and attack them before their
preparations were completed. They divided their forces into two
portions, as they were now recruited by several hundreds from the other
gold workings, and had forced all the agriculturists at Sungei Tañgah
to join them; in fact, their great cargo boats would not hold their
numbers, so one-half marched down the road leading from the fields I
have mentioned, near the little hill of Stapok, while the rest came by
river.
As soon as the Malays saw the Chinese boats rounding the point, they
boldly dashed at them, forced them to the river’s banks, drove out
the crews, and triumphantly captured ten of the largest. The Chinese,
better armed, kept up a hot fire from the rising ground, and killed
several of the best men among the Malays, among others abang Gapur,
whose disbelief in his kinsman’s story enabled the rebels to surprise
the town, and who to his last breath bewailed his fatal mistake; and
one who was equally to be regretted, our old follower Kasim, whom I
have so often mentioned in the earlier chapters. The latter lingered
long enough to see the rajah again triumphant, and said he died happy
in knowing it. It was he who, though a good Mahomedan, and without
knowing he was a plagiarist, used to say,--“I would rather be in
hell with the English, than in heaven with you, my own countrymen.”
Notwithstanding their losses, the Malays towed away the boats,
fortunately laden with some of the most valuable booty, and secured
them to a large trading prahu anchored in the centre of the river.
Having thus captured also some better arms and ammunition, they kept up
a fire on their enemies who lined the banks.
In the meantime the rajah arrived opposite the Chinese quarter, and
found a complete panic prevailing, and all those who had preceded
him flying in every direction; having vainly endeavoured to restore
a little order, he returned to carry out his original intention. He
joined the fugitives farther down the river, and having sent off the
ladies and the wounded to the secure fort of Lingga, under the care
of the bishop and as many Englishmen as he could spare, he prepared
on the following day to take the same route, in order to obtain a
base of operations, and a secure spot to rally the people and await a
fresh supply of arms. It was sad to think of the mischief which might
happen during this period of enforced inaction, particularly as the
datu bandhar and a chosen band were still in Kuching anchored in the
centre of the river, and making attacks whenever they saw a chance.
The Chinese were dragging up heavy guns, and it was evident the Malays
could not hold for many days, and there was now nothing to defend, as
the flames reddened the horizon and the increasing volumes of smoke
told the tale too well that the town was being destroyed.
With feelings of the most acute distress these few Englishmen, under
their brave leader, put out to sea to bear away eastward; when a
cry arose among the men, “Smoke, smoke, it is a steamer!” and sure
enough there was a dark column rising in the air from a three-masted
vessel; for a moment it was uncertain which course she was steering,
but presently they distinguished her flag; it was the _Sir James
Brooke_, the Borneo company’s steamer, standing right in for the
Muaratabas entrance of the Sarawak River. The crew of the rajah’s boat
with shouts gave way, and the prahu was urged along with all the power
of their oars, to find the vessel anchored just within the mouth.
Here, indeed, was a base of operations; the rajah felt the country was
saved. The native boats were taken in tow, and the reinforcements of
Dayaks, who were already arriving, followed up with eager speed. What
were the feelings of the Chinese when they saw the smoke, then the
steamer, it is not necessary to conjecture; they fired one wild volley
from every available gun and musket; but the balls fell harmlessly; and
when the English guns opened on them, they fled panic-stricken, pursued
by the rejoicing Malays and Dayaks.
Early that morning a large party of Chinese had crossed from the right
to the left bank to burn the half of the town which had previously
escaped; but though they succeeded in destroying the greater portion,
they signed their own death warrant, as the Malays, now resuming the
offensive, seized the remainder of their boats, and the relentless
Dayaks pursued them through the forests. Not one of that party could
have escaped; some wandered long in the forests and died of starvation,
others were found hanging to the boughs of trees, preferring death by
suicide to the lingering torments of hunger. All these bodies were
afterwards found, and the natives said on every one of them were from
five to twenty pounds sterling in cash, silver spoons or forks, or
other valuables, the plunder of the English houses.
Thus was the capital recovered; the Chinese on the right bank all fled
by the road, and thence retired up to the fort of Biledah, opposite
the town of Siniawan. The Land Dayaks were all ready assembled under
their different chiefs, and these without one exception stood faithful
to the government, and now rushed in every direction on the Chinese,
driving them from their villages, and compelling them to assemble and
defend two spots only, Siniawan and Bau, with the landing places of the
latter. The smoke rising in every direction showed them that the loss
they had inflicted on others was now retaliated on them. The kunsi had
in their blind confidence made no preparations for an evil day, and it
was well known that their stock of food was small, as everything had
been destroyed except their own stores at Tundong, Bau, and a little
at Siniawan, and they were required to supply all those whom they had
forced to join them from the town and the whole agricultural population.
The harassing life they led must soon have worn them out without any
attacks, as they could no longer pursue their ordinary occupations,
or even fetch firewood or water without a strong armed party, as the
Dayaks hung about their houses and infested every spot. It soon became
a question of food, and they found they must either obtain it, or
retire across the border into Sambas. They therefore collected all
their boats and made a foray of eight miles down the river to Ledah
Tanah, and there threw up a stockade, in which they placed a garrison
of 250 of their picked men, under two of their most trusted leaders.
They put also four guns in position to sweep the river, and these
Chinese had the best of the government carbines and rifles there. They
also sacked a few of the Dayak farmhouses, and one party made a bold
attempt to reach the rajah’s cottage at Peninjau, to which I have
referred in my chapter on the Dayaks of the right-hand branch.
But the villagers of Sirambau, Bombok, and Peninjau assembled in force,
threw up stockades across the steep path, and successfully defended
it against the assailants, who were driven back and pursued with
loss. To check the Chinese and afford assistance to the Land Dayaks,
the rajah sent up the datu bandhar and a small but select force to
wait his arrival below the Chinese stockade, but the gallant bandhar,
on being joined by the datu tumanggong and abang Buyong, and a few
Sakarang Dayaks, dashed at the fort, surprised the garrison at dinner,
and carried it without the loss of a man; the Chinese threw away their
arms and fled into the jungle, to be pursued by the Sakarang Dayaks;
stockade, guns, stores, and boats, all were captured, and, what was of
equal importance, the two principal instigators of the rebellion were
killed.
As soon as a few of the fugitives reached the fort at Beledah a panic
seized the Chinese, and they fled to Bau, where they made preparations
to retire into Sambas. The rajah, who was hurrying up to the support of
the bandhar, hearing of his success, despatched Mr. Johnson with the
light division to harass the enemy, and the advance parties of his Sea
Dayaks were on them immediately, but the Chinese being well provided
with fire-arms were enabled to retire in tolerable order, from a few
miles beyond Bau to the foot of the Gombang range, along the good path
which, as I have before mentioned, they had constructed; but every now
and then the active Dayaks made a rush from the thick brushwood which
borders the path, and spread confusion and dismay, but the Chinese
had every motive to act a manly part, as they had to defend above a
thousand of their women and children who encumbered their disastrous
flight.
At the foot of the steep hill of Gombang they made a halt, for the
usual path was found to be well stockaded, and a resolute body of
Malays and Dayaks were there to dispute the way. It was a fearful
position; behind them the pursuers were gathering in increasing
strength, and unless they forced this passage within an hour they must
all die or surrender. At last some one, it is said a Sambas Malay,
suggested that there was an upper path, which, though very steep, was
yet practicable; this was undefended, and the fugitives made towards it.
The Sarawak Malays and Dayaks, too late seeing their error in
neglecting to fortify this also, rushed up the edge of the hill, and
drove back the foremost Chinese; their danger was extreme; at that
moment, as if by inspiration, all the young Chinese girls rushed to
the front and encouraged the men to advance, which they again did,
and cheered by the voices of these brave girls who followed them
close, clapping their hands, and calling to them by name to fight
bravely, they won the brow of the hill, and cleared the path of their
less numerous foes. They were but just in time, as the pursuers were
pressing hotly on the rearguard, and the occasional volley of musketry
told them that the well-armed Malays were upon them; but they were now
comparatively safe, as they soon cleared the Sarawak borders, and,
although a few pursued them, the main body of the Malays and Dayaks
halted on the Gombang range.
The miserable fugitives, reduced to two thousand, of whom above a half
were women and children, sat down among the houses of the village
of Sidin, and many of them it is said wept not only for the loss of
friends and goods they had suffered from the insensate ambition of the
kunsi, but that they must give up all hope of ever returning to their
old peaceful homes. The kunsi, which on the night of the surprise
had numbered six hundred men, were now reduced to a band of about a
hundred, but these kept well together, and were better armed than the
others, and formed the principal guard of the Taipekong, or sacred
stone, which they had through all their disasters preserved inviolate.
Several times the assailants, who mistook it for the gold chest, had
nearly captured it, but on the cry being raised that the Taipekong was
in peril, the men gathered round and carried it securely through all
danger. But here at Sidin, all immediate apprehension being over, the
discontent of those who had been forced to join the rebels burst forth
without control, so that from words they soon came to blows, and the
small band of the kunsi’s men was again reduced by thirty or forty from
the anger of their countrymen. Continuing their disorderly retreat,
they were met by the officers of the Dutch government, who very
properly took from them all their plunder and arms, and being uncertain
which was their own property, erred on the safe side by stripping them
of everything. Thus terminated the most absurd and causeless rebellion
that ever occurred, which, during its continuance, displayed every
phase of Chinese character: arrogance, secrecy, combination, an utter
incapability of looking to the consequences of events or actions, and
a belief in their own power and courage, which every event belied. The
Chinese never have fought even decently, and yet till the very moment
of trial comes they act as if they were invincible.
I think this insurrection shows that though the Chinese require
watching, they are not in any way formidable as an enemy, and it also
proves how firmly the Sarawak government is rooted in the hearts of the
people, since in the darkest hour there was no whisper of infidelity.
Had the Chinese been five times as numerous, there were forces in the
background which would have destroyed them all. Before the Chinese had
fled across the border thousands of Seribas and Sakarang Dayaks had
arrived, and the people of Sadong were marching overland to attack them
in rear, while the distant out stations were mustering strong forces,
which arrived only to find all danger past.
I almost believe it was worth all the disaster to show how uniform
kindness and generous consideration are appreciated by the Malays and
Dayaks, and how firmly they may become attached to a government which,
besides having their true interests at heart, encourages and requires
all its officers to treat them as equals. The conduct of the Malay
fortmen, of Kasim and Gapur, the generous enthusiasm of abang Fatah,
and the gallant rush at the Ledah Tanah stockade by the bandhar and
his forces, show what the rajah has effected during his tenure of
power. He has raised the character of the Malay, and turned a lawless
race into some of the best conducted people in the world.
I must add that the results of the Chinese insurrection were very
curious in a financial point of view; though above three thousand five
hundred men were killed or driven from the country, yet the revenue
rose instead of falling, which proves what an extensive system of
smuggling had been carried on. The breaking up of the kunsi was felt by
all the natives as a great relief; and if the Chinese were to increase
to ten times their former numbers, there would not be the slightest
danger if ordinary precautions were taken, and if there were stringent
rules well carried out to prevent them either forming extensive
companies, or proper measures pursued to crush all attempts at banding
themselves into secret societies.
The Dutch authorities who formerly suffered so much from that very
formidable association, the great gold kunsi of Montrado, are now
free from all anxiety, as they no longer permit the Chinese to form
companies more numerous than may prove sufficient to develop a single
working, and the same system is at present pursued in Sarawak. It is
not at all surprising that those Chinese who were forced to join in
the insurrection under threats of the vengeance of the kunsi, should
look back with regret to the quiet days they spent whilst cultivating
the fertile soil around Stapok or Suñgei Tañgah, and should now
petition for permission to return to Sarawak, which they do. However,
the regulation I have before mentioned as in force in the Sambas
territories, prevents their leaving, as they cannot readily gather
together the six pounds sterling necessary, and if they remove they
like to do so in a body, but small parties of fugitives occasionally
arrive. It is worthy of remark, that a few days after the insurrection,
boats full of armed Chinese arrived from Sambas to inquire whether
Sarawak were not now in the hands of their countrymen, and were
proceeding up to join them, but were easily driven back and destroyed
by the Malays, who, in a cause which they have at heart, are more than
a match for treble their number of Chinese.
The Dutch authorities hearing of the rebellion in Sarawak sent round a
steamer with a party of soldiers to the assistance of the authorities,
but fortunately by that time all danger was passed, and as soon as
possible after the receipt of the news, Sir William Hoste, who has
always shown so intelligent an interest in Bornean affairs, sailed for
Sarawak in H. M. S. _Spartan_.
The news of the insurrection reached me after a very long delay, as the
first intimation I had of it was through a letter from Mr. Ruppell,
dated Singapore, as he had left Sarawak after the failure of the Sunday
attack, and I was kept in suspense for above a week, when a more rapid
sailing-vessel brought me the news that Sir James Brooke had triumphed.
I went down to Sarawak by the first opportunity, and reached it in
July, to find everything proceeding apparently as if no insurrection
had occurred. Though the Malay town had been burnt down, yet the
inhabitants had soon recovered their energy, and had built their
houses again, which, though not so substantial as the former ones,
still looked very neat. Some things were missed in the landscape,
and the handsome government house with its magnificent library, had
disappeared; Mr. Crookshank’s and Mr. Middleton’s houses were also
gone, and, with the exception of the rajah, they were the principal
sufferers, as the Chinese had had no time to destroy either the church
or the mission-house, or the Borneo company’s premises, and although
they all suffered losses from pilferers, yet they were comparatively
trivial, when placed in comparison to that noble library, which was
once the pride of Sarawak.
I found, as I had expected, that the loss of worldly goods had had
little effect on the ruler of the country, who was as cheerful and
contented in his little comfortless cottage, as he had ever been in the
government house. His health, which before was not strong, had been
wonderfully improved by his great exertions to endeavour to restore
the country to its former state, and I never saw him more full of
bodily energy and mental vigour than during the two months I spent at
Sarawak in 1857. Everybody took their tone from their leader, and there
were no useless regrets over losses, and it was amusing to hear the
congratulations of the Malay chiefs, “Ah, Mr. St. John, you were born
under a fortunate star to leave Sarawak just before the evil days came
upon us.” Then they would laughingly recount the personal incidents
which had occurred to themselves, and tell with great amusement the
shifts they were put to for want of every household necessary. There
was a cheerfulness and a hope in the future which promised well for the
country.
There is at the present time a branch of the Tien Ti Hué, established
in our colony of Labuan, and last August its meeting-house was
discovered in the depths of the forest, but none of its members were
caught unlawfully assembling, though all its chief officers are well
known to the police, and as Labuan is a penal settlement for Chinese
convicts, the evil of permitting the secret societies to continue is
obvious.
The danger to be apprehended from the secret societies is that all the
members are banded together by the most solemn oaths, and under the
penalty of death, not to divulge one of its secrets, and to aid and
assist its members under every circumstance; to bear no witness against
them, whatever may be their crimes, to shield fugitives from the laws
of the country, and lastly to carry out the orders of their chiefs,
whatever may be the consequences. In Singapore murdered men were
formerly often found with the mark of the secret societies upon them,
and the ordinary operations of the law are insufficient to meet these
cases. In fact, when any of their members are brought to trial, the
wealth of these great societies is sufficient to enable them to engage
the services of the best advocates, and to bribe most of the witnesses,
and the Singapore government has been thwarted in its efforts to put
down the secret societies, and to prevent pirate junks arming in the
harbours, by the technicalities of judges totally unacquainted with
the condition of eastern society, and by the perseverance of some of
the lawyers there, who consider it right to defend those curses to the
country by every means which are placed within their reach, by laws
intended to meet the requirements of a highly civilized people like the
English, and not a wild gathering from a hundred different countries,
such as is to be found in Singapore.
Not to interrupt the narrative, I have not before noticed that during
the height of the insurrection, when the rebels had only been driven
from the town a few days, news came that several hundred Chinese
fugitives from the Dutch territories had crossed the borders towards
the sources of the left-hand branch of the Sarawak, and were seeking
the protection of the Sarawak government. Though harassed by incessant
work, the rajah did not neglect their appeal, but immediately
despatched trustworthy men, who safely piloted them through the excited
Dayaks, who thought that every man who “wore a tail” ought now to be
put to death. No incident could better illustrate the great influence
possessed by the rajah over the Dayaks and Malays, and his thoughtful
care of the true interests of the country, during even the most trying
circumstances.