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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/27568-8.txt b/27568-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7091cea --- /dev/null +++ b/27568-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6389 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak, by Harriette McDougall + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak + +Author: Harriette McDougall + +Release Date: December 19, 2008 [EBook #27568] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKETCHES OF OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK *** + + + + +Produced by a Project Gutenberg volunteer working with +digital material generously made available by the Internet +Archive + + + + + + + + + +[Cover] + +[Illustration: HAPPILY HE HAD A STOUT WALKING-STICK, AND AT ONCE FELLED +THE REPTILE. + +_Frontispiece._ _Page_ 26.] + + + + + SKETCHES + OF + OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK + + + BY + HARRIETTE McDOUGALL. + + + _WITH MAP._ + + + PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE TRACT COMMITTEE. + + + LONDON: + SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, + NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS, W.C.; + 43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.; + 26, ST. GEORGE'S PLACE, HYDE PARK CORNER, S.W. + BRIGHTON: 135, NORTH STREET. + NEW YORK: E. & J. B. YOUNG AND CO. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + PART I. + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. INTRODUCTORY 7 + + II. THE COURT-HOUSE 13 + + III. COLLEGE HILL 21 + + IV. PIRATES 32 + + V. THE CHURCH AND THE SCHOOL 45 + + VI. THE GIRLS 58 + + VII. THE LUNDUS 68 + + VIII. A BOAT JOURNEY 82 + + IX. CONTINUATION OF THE TRIP TO REJANG 92 + + + PART II. + + X. RETURN TO SARAWAK 105 + + XI. CHINESE INSURRECTION 120 + + XII. CHINESE INSURRECTION (_Continued_) 139 + + XIII. EVENTS OF 1857 157 + + XIV. THE MALAY PLOT 174 + + + PART III. + + XV. THE CHILDREN'S CHAPTER 189 + + XVI. ILLANUN PIRATES 204 + + XVII. A MALAY WEDDING 215 + + XVIII. LAST YEARS AT SARAWAK 228 + + XIX. THE ISLAND OF BORNEO 239 + + + + +PART I. + +[Map: BORNEO] + + + + +SKETCHES OF OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +INTRODUCTORY. + + +Nearly thirty years ago I published a little book of "Letters from +Sarawak, addressed to a Child." This book is now out of print, and, on +looking it over with a view to republication, I think it will be better +to extend the story over the twenty years that Sarawak was our home, +which will give some idea of the gradual progress of the mission. + +This progress was often unavoidably impeded by the struggles of the +infant State; for war drowns the voice of the missionary, and though the +Sarawak Government always discouraged the Dyak practice of taking the +heads of their enemies, still it could not at once be checked, and every +expedition against lawless tribes, however righteous in its object, +excited the old superstitions of those wild people. When their warriors +returned from an expedition, the women of the tribe met them with dance +and song, receiving the heads they brought with ancient +ceremonies--"fondling the heads," as it was called; and for months +afterwards keeping up, by frequent feasts, in which these heads were the +chief attraction, the heathen customs which it was the object of the +missionary to discourage. + +I dare say, when we first settled at Sarawak, we thought that twenty +years would plant Christian communities, and build Christian churches +all over the country: but it is as well that we cannot overlook the +future; and perhaps, considering the many difficulties which arose from +time to time, from the missionaries themselves, and the unsettled +country in which they laboured, we ought not to expect more results than +have appeared. At any rate we have much to be thankful for, and as every +year makes Sarawak a more important State, consolidates its Government, +and extends civilization to its subjects, we may look for more success +for the missionaries, who can now point to the peace and prosperity of +the people, and say, "This is the fruit of Christianity and Christian +rulers." + +In giving a short account of our life in Borneo, I shall avoid alike all +political questions, or, as much as possible, individual histories among +the English community. It is already so long ago since we lived in that +lovely place, that events, trials, joys, and the usual vicissitudes of +life, are wrapt in that mellowing haze of the past, which, while it dims +the vividness of feeling, throws a robe of charity over all, and perhaps +causes actors and actions to assume a more true proportion to one +another than when we walked amongst them. I have, however, not depended +on memory alone for the records of twenty years, but have journals and +letters to refer to, which my friends in England have been good enough +to keep for me. Some parts of "Letters from Sarawak" I shall incorporate +into the present little book, for as it treats of the first six years we +lived there, and was written at that time, it is sure to be tolerably +correct. + +In those days, from 1847 to 1853, Sir James Brooke was very popular in +England. The story of his first occupation of Sarawak, published in his +journals, and the cruizes of her Majesty's ships in those eastern +seas--the _Dido_ and the _Samarang_--were read with avidity, and +furnished the English public with a romance which had all the charm of +novelty. However difficult and inconvenient it might be for the English +Government to recognize a native State under an English rajah, who was +at the same time a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, this question +had not then arisen; and all classes, high and low, could applaud a +brave and noble man, who had stepped out of the beaten track to spend +his fortune and expose his life in the cause of savages. There were many +fluctuations of sympathy and opinion in after years towards Sir James +Brooke; but, through evil report and good report, through difficulty and +danger, Sarawak has still advanced, and is as worthy of the interest of +the best and wisest of mankind as it was in 1847. At this time, indeed, +it seems to me to furnish a lesson in the management of native races +which might be useful in our own colonies. English governors always set +out with good intentions towards the natives of savage countries, but +how is it that war almost always follows their occupation? Surely it is +because the settlers go there, not in the interest of the native race, +but their own, and the two interests are sure to clash in the long-run. + +It requires great patience and forbearance to educate natives up to a +rule of justice and righteous laws; but that it may be done, and carry +the co-operation of the people themselves, is evident at Sarawak, where +the Malays and Dyaks are associated in the Government, and have always +stood by their English rajah, even when it was necessary to punish or +exile some of their own chiefs. I am aware that an English colony cannot +be governed in this way; nevertheless, the spectacle of wild natives, +rising by the influence of a few good Englishmen from lawless misrule to +a settled government, where vice is punished without partiality, is very +beautiful to philanthropists, and makes one think better of human nature +and its capabilities. I wish I could portray the hilly and thorny road +by which this has been attained! It would, methinks, create a new +interest in Sarawak, if the past and the present could be fairly set +before the discerning world; we should again hear of missionaries +longing to help in the improvement of people who have shown themselves +so open to good influences. I have said that I would not touch upon +politics, but Church and State are so naturally bound together in the +task of civilization, that it is difficult to relate the history of the +mission without mentioning the Government. Of course they do not stand +in the same relation to one another in a Mahometan country, where the +English Church is but a tolerated sect, as they do in a Christian land; +still the Christian Church strengthens the Christian ruler, and he in +his turn protects the Church by good government, although he may not +favour it except by individual preference. For my own part, I have +always thought it an advantage to our Dyak Christians that no favour was +shown them on account of their faith; at any rate, it was for no worldly +interest that they became Christians. + +Although our life in Sarawak extended over a period of twenty years, it +might naturally be divided into three parts--of six, five, and six years +respectively, the intervals being spent in visits to England. These +visits, although absolutely necessary, were a drawback to the mission +work. When the head of a family is absent, the responsibility is apt to +fall upon the younger members, and is sometimes too much for them. +However, they always did their best, and always welcomed us home most +warmly. It was a joyful sight, on our return, to find the missionaries +and school-children waiting for us at the wharf below our houses, the +children's dear little faces glad with smiles, and a warm welcome for +any baby we brought home. The second time, it was our daughter Mab; and +in 1862, our last baby, Mildred,--Mab, Edith, and Herbert being left in +England, for no English child can thrive in that unchangeable climate +after it is six years old. + +The first chapters of this little book will describe the first six years +of our stay at Sarawak; but, in speaking of subjects of interest, I +shall not stop short at the end of those years, but carry on the subject +to the end of our Sarawak experience. It is perhaps necessary to say +this to prevent confusion. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE COURT-HOUSE. + + +While Sir James Brooke was in England, in 1847, he asked his friends to +help him in his efforts to civilize the Dyaks, by sending a mission to +live at Sarawak. + +Lord Ellesmere, Admiral Sir H. Keppel, Admiral C. D. Bethune, Canon Ryle +Wood, and the Rev. C. Brereton, formed themselves into a committee, with +the Rev. I. F. Stocks for their honorary secretary, and soon collected +funds for the purpose. The Rev. F. McDougall was chosen as the head of +the mission, and with him were associated the Rev. S. Montgomery and the +Rev. W. Wright; but Mr. Montgomery died very suddenly, of fever caught +when ministering to the poor of his parish, before the time came for us +to embark, so the party was reduced to two clergymen and their wives, +two babies and two nurses. We sailed from London in the barque _Mary +Louisa_, four hundred tons, the end of December; Mr. Parr, a nephew of +Mrs. Wright's, being also one of the passengers. I had all my life loved +the sea, and longed to take such a voyage as should carry us out of +sight of land, and give us all the experiences which wait on those "who +go down to the sea in ships;" but I little thought how we should all +long for land before we saw it again. + +The barque was a poor sailer; we thought it a good run if she made eight +knots an hour, so no wonder we did not reach Singapore till May 23, +1848. It was a long monotonous voyage, but we were well occupied, and I +do not remember ever finding it dull. The sea was all I ever fancied by +way of a companion, and, like all one's best friends, made me happy or +unhappy, but was never stupid. Then we had to learn Malay and its Arabic +characters, with the help of Marsden's grammar and dictionary, and the +Bible translated into that language by the Dutch. We lived by rule, +apportioning the hours to certain duties, and every one knows how fast +time passes under those conditions. The two clergymen busied themselves +with teaching the sailors, and several of them presented themselves at +Holy Communion in consequence, the last Sunday before we landed. The +most trying time we passed was on the coast of Java, becalmed under a +broiling sun, the very sea dead and slimy with all sorts of creatures +creeping over it. As for ourselves, we were gasping with thirst, for we +had already been on short rations of water for six weeks, one of the +tanks having leaked out. One quart of water a day for each adult, and +none for the babies, so of course they had the lion's share of their +parents' allowance. Our one cup of tea in the evening was looked forward +to for hours; and what a wonderful colour it was, after all!--but that +was the iron of the tank. + +On the 23rd of May we landed at Singapore, and had to wait there for +four weeks before the schooner _Julia_, then running between that place +and Sarawak, came to fetch us. We reached Sarawak June 29th, entering +the Morotabas mouth of the river, which is twenty-four miles from the +town of Kuching, whither we were bound. The sail up the river, our first +sight of the country and the people, was indeed exciting, and filled us +with delight. The river winds continually, and every new reach had its +interest: a village of palm-leaf houses built close to the water, women +and children standing on the steps with their long bamboo jars, or +peeping out of the slits of windows at the schooner; boats of all sizes +near the houses, fishing-nets hanging up to dry, wicked alligators lying +basking on the mud; trees of many varieties--the nibong palm which +furnishes the posts of the houses, the nipa which makes their mat walls, +and close by the water the light and graceful mangroves, which at night +are all alive and glittering with fire-flies. On the boughs of some +larger trees hanging over the stream parties of monkeys might be seen +eating the fruits, chattering, jumping, flying almost, from bough to +bough. We afterwards made nearer acquaintance with these droll +creatures. + +At last we reached the Fort, a long white building manned by Malays, and +with cannon showing at the port-holes. The _Julia_ was not challenged, +however, but gladly welcomed, as she carried not only the missionaries +but the mail, and stores for the bazaar; for at that time there were not +many native trading-vessels--the fear of pirates was great, and there +was good reason to fear! + +The town of Kuching consisted in those days of a Chinese bazaar and a +Kling bazaar, both very small, and where it was scarcely possible to +find anything an English man or woman could buy. Beyond was the court of +justice, the mosques, and a few native houses. Higher up the river lay +the Malay town, divided into Kampongs, or clusters of houses belonging +to the different chiefs or principal merchants of the place. Opposite +the bazaar, on the other side of the river, stood the rajah's bungalow, +as well as two or three others belonging to Europeans, embosomed in +trees, cocoa-nuts and betel-nut palms, and other fruit-trees. Behind the +rajah's house rose the beautiful mountain of Santubong, wooded to its +summit nearly 3000 feet, with a rock cropping out here and there. At +this bungalow we landed, and were hospitably entertained for a few days +until the upper part of the court-house could be made ready for our +party. + +Shall I ever forget my first impressions of the rajah's bungalow? A +peculiar scent pervaded it. You looked about for the cause till your +eyes fell on two saucers, one filled with green blossoms, the other +with deep golden ones, much the same shape--the kenanga and the +chimpaka, flowering trees, which grew near the house. Their flowers were +picked every day for the rooms, as the rajah loved the scent, and so did +the Malays. The ladies steeped the blossoms in cocoa-nut oil and +anointed themselves, placing them also in their long black hair, with +wreaths of jessamine flowers threaded on a string. These perfumes were +rather overpowering at first, but I learnt to like them after I had been +some time in Sarawak. The large, bare, cool rooms were very refreshing +after the little cabins of the _Julia_. And then the library! a treasure +indeed in the jungle; books on all sorts of subjects, bound in enticing +covers, always inviting you to bodily repose and mental activity or +amusement, as you might prefer. This library, so dear to us all because +we were all allowed to share it, was burnt in 1857 by the Chinese +rebels. It took two days to burn. I watched it from our library over the +water, and saw the mass of books glowing dull red like a furnace, long +after the flames had consumed the wooden house. It made one's heart ache +to see it. An old gentleman of our English society watched it too, and I +wondered why his head shook continually as he sat with his eyes fixed on +those sad ruins; but I found afterwards that the sight, and doubtless +its cause, had palsied him from that day. But I must not linger too long +in the rajah's bungalow, though the white pigeons seem to call to me +from the verandahs; we must take boat again (for there are no bridges +over the Sarawak river), and cross to the court-house. + +This square wooden house, with latticed verandahs like a big cage, was +built by a German missionary, who purposed having a school on the ground +floor and living in the upper story; but as soon as he had built his +house he was recalled to Germany, and the only trace of him that +remained was a box full of torn Bibles and tracts, which, I am sorry to +say, had been used as waste paper in the bazaar for tying up parcels +since he left, but as the tracts were not in any language the people +could understand they were scarcely to blame. Rajah turned the house +into a court of justice, and we settled ourselves in the upper rooms, +which were divided from one another by mat walls. The river flowed under +this house at spring tides, and then nests of ants would swarm into it: +the rapidity with which these little creatures would carry all their +eggs up the posts and settle the whole family under a box in your +bedroom was marvellous; but as they were not pleasant companions there, +a kettle of hot water had to put an end to the colony. + +These little black ants did not sting, but there was a large red ant, +half an inch long, who was most pugnacious; he stood up on his hind legs +and fought you with amazing courage, and his jaws were formidable. We +made our first acquaintance with white ants while we lived in the +court-house. On unpacking a box of books, which had been our solace +during the voyage, we found them almost glued together by the secretion +of these creatures. The box had been standing on the ground floor of the +hotel. The white ants had eaten through and through the books, and +picked all the surface off the bindings; they were disgusting to look at +and to smell. Some years afterwards, one of our missionaries had a box +of clothes sent her from Singapore. It was necessary clothing, for she +had lost her effects, like the rest of us, during the Chinese rebellion. +I warned Miss Coomes that she must unpack the box directly, on account +of the white ants; but she put it off till the next day, and at night +these wretches ate through the bottom of the box, and munched up the new +linen and stockings. We soon learnt to guard against their attacks by +using no wood except balean, or iron-wood, which is too hard for them to +bite. English oak seemed like a slice of cake to white ants. + +No sooner were we settled at the court-house, than we had visits from +all the principal Malays, and also some Dyaks who happened to be at +Sarawak. My husband opened a dispensary in a little room behind the +store-room, and had plenty of patients. I used to hear continual talking +and laughing going on there, and by this means Mr. McDougall learnt to +talk the Malay language, which he only knew from books when he first +arrived. The pure Malay of books is very different from the colloquial +_patois_ of Kuching. To my sorrow, I learnt this some time after, when I +was trying to prepare two women for baptism: they listened to me for +some time, and then one said to the other, "She talks like a book," +which I fear meant that they only half understood me. + +Soon after this we took four little half-caste children to bring up. +They were running about in the bazaar, and their native mothers were +willing to part with them; so Mary, Julia, Peter, and Tommy were housed +in a cottage close by, under the care of a Portuguese Christian woman, +the wife of our cook. Every day I used to spend some hours with them, +that we might become friends. The eldest of these children was only six +years old, Tommy, the youngest, but two and a half; so they wanted a +nurse. They were baptized on Advent Sunday, 1848, and were the beginning +of our native school. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +COLLEGE HILL. + + +We stayed at the court-house a whole year, while our house on the hill +was being prepared. The hill, and the ground beyond it, about forty +acres in all, was given to the mission by Sir James Brooke. It was then +some way out of the town, but as the Chinese population increased, the +town grew quite to the foot of the hill--College Hill, as it was then +called--and a blacksmith's quarter even invaded the mission land. At +first, in order to cultivate the property, nutmegs and spice-trees were +planted, but the soil was not good enough for them; when their roots +pierced through the pit of earth in which they were planted, and reached +the stiff clay of the hill, they died off. It was necessary to do +something to keep the land clear of the coarse lalang grass, which grew +wherever the jungle was cut down. So after a while a herd of cattle was +collected, and they improved the poverty of the land, at the same time +furnishing milk and a little butter. I say a _little_, because even +when seven cows were in milk, as they only gave two quarts a day each, +and there were always plenty of children in and out of the mission to +consume it, but little was left for butter-making. Cocoa-nut trees were +planted in the low ground, and some few grew up; but wild pigs were +great enemies to them, for they liked to eat the cabbage out of the +heart of the young tree, which of course killed it. In that seething +warmth of Sarawak you could almost see plants grow. If you scattered +seeds in the ground, they sprouted above it on the third day. I planted +some of those little coral-looking seeds which are to be found in every +box of Indian shells, the seed of the satin-wood, and they grew up into +beautiful forest trees in twelve years' time. We used to make long +strings of these coral seeds, and use them in Christmas decorations. + +By degrees we had a very bright garden about the house. The Gardenia, +with its strongly scented blossom and evergreen leaves, made a capital +hedge. Great bushes of the Hybiscus, scarlet and buff, glowed in the +sun--they were called shoe-flowers, for they were used instead of +blacking to polish our shoes. The pink one-hundred-leaved rose grew +freely, and blossomed all the year round. Shrubs of the golden +Allamander were a great temptation to the cows, if they strayed +into the garden. The Plumbago was one of the few pale-blue flowers +which liked that blazing heat. Then we had a great variety of +creepers--jessamine of many sorts, the scarlet Ipomea, the blue +Clitorea, and passion-flowers, from the huge Grenadilla with its +excellent fruit, to the little white one set in a calyx of moss. The +Moon-flower, a large white convolvulus, tight-shut all day, unfolded +itself at six o'clock, and looked lovely in the flower-vases in the +evening. The Jessamine and Pergolaria odorotissima climbed up the +porch, and in the forks of the trees opposite I had air-plants +fastened, which flowered every three months, and looked like a flight +of white butterflies on the wing. The great mountain of Matang stood in +the distance, and when the sun sank behind it, which it always did in +that invariable latitude about six o'clock, I sat in the porch to watch +the glory of earth and sky. How dear a mountain becomes to you, is only +known to those who live in hilly countries. One gets to think of it as +a friend. It seems to carry a protest against the little frets of life, +and, by its strength and invariableness, to be a visible image of Him +who is "the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." But I am running on +too fast with the garden before the house is built. + +The hill was first cleared of jungle, and flattened at the top, then the +foundation was dug, and great sleepers were laid ready for the upright +posts. A wooden house is joiner's work, and rather resembles a great +bedstead. All the wood is first squared and cut, which takes a long +time, because the balean-wood is extremely hard, and consumes a great +deal of labour; but once ready, the house rises from the earth like +magic, for every beam and post fits into its place. + +We had brought a great box of carpenter's tools with us from England, +among them valuable moulding-planes; we wished the carpenters to learn, +in building the house, how to make the arches and ornamental mouldings +for the church. + +Happily for us, when the _Mary Louisa_ was wrecked in the straits on her +way home, the crew were all saved, and the ship-carpenter came over to +Sarawak to see if my husband would employ him. As he was a capital +joiner, he was set over a gang of workmen at once. All the plans for the +house and church were made by Frank (my husband), and I was set to draw +patterns of the doors and windows, the verandah railings, and the porch. +Stahl was an intelligent German workman, and soon learnt Malay enough to +direct the men. The Malays levelled the hill and dug the foundations; +the Chinese were employed as carpenters, but they, too, could speak +Malay. I remember making great friends with one of them, Johnny Jangot, +John of the Beard, so called on account of a few long hairs at the tip +of his chin, for the Chinese are a beardless race. Johnny used to eat +his breakfast in the court-house to save himself trouble. What a set-out +it was! Rice, of course; then three or four little basins with different +messes--duck, fish, chicken, and plenty of soy-sauce; more basins with +vegetables, all eaten with the help of chop-sticks; and a teapot snugly +covered with a cosy. I asked one day to taste the tea, and Johnny +poured me out a tiny cup of hot, sweet, spirits and water! Samchoo is a +spirit made from rice, and very strong, as our poor English sailors used +to find to their cost when her Majesty's ships paid us a visit. The +Chinese said that the English drank the samchoo cold and raw, and +therefore it poisoned them, whereas they always qualified it with hot +water. It did not taste strong, which made it all the more pernicious. +Johnny drank real tea all day long, and smoked a good deal of +tobacco--it seemed to me he did very little else; but he was not a bad +workman, though of course it was not such a day's work as an Englishman +can do. + +In the East you must accept the customs of the country, and be content +with the people: they are not given to change. Stahl made some +wheel-barrows for the men to use instead of little baskets in which they +carried earth, and which held nothing. But it was no use; they laughed +at the wheel-barrows, and said "Eh yaw!" but went on with the baskets. + +Every evening we used to walk up the hill to see how the building was +getting on, all the children with us; then, as we sat on the timber, I +used to draw the letters of the alphabet on the white sand, and the +little ones learnt them. We went home through a piece of ground we +called our garden. In it grew plenty of pine-apples and sugar-cane, and +the gardener always supplied us with pieces of the latter to eat--very +refreshing and nice, but the juice ran all over your hands. As for +pine-apples, we soon got tired of them; but they made good tarts, and, +mixed with plantains and lime-juice, a very pleasant and useful jam. + +In clearing the hill our workmen disturbed the haunts of many snakes. We +were a good deal visited by cobras for some years. The natives said that +the Adam and Eve of all the cobras lived in a cave under our hill. + +One day we were having asphalte laid down in the printing-room, to keep +away white ants. The room had been emptied to do this, and Stahl went in +to inspect the work after the men had gone to their breakfast at eleven +o'clock. He saw a large cobra at the end of the room, and hit it with a +stick he had in his hand; but the stick broke in two, and the cobra +reared itself up with inflated hood. Another minute must have seen Stahl +a prey to the monster; but the Bishop, passing by, heard him exclaim +when the stick broke, and going quickly in saw Stahl standing, white, +fascinated, and motionless, before the cobra. Happily he had a stout +walking-stick, and at once felled the reptile; but he took a good deal +of killing. It was ten feet long. + +This was Adam. + +Eve was killed under the verandah of the house almost a year afterwards. +She was eight feet long. + +One night the Bishop had been reading the Rev. F. Robertson's sermon +about St. Paul and the viper. It was late, and being rather sleepy he +carried the book in one hand and a candle in the other into his +dressing-room, and was just going to set the candle down, when his eye +fell on a cobra, coiled up on the chair on which he was about to seat +himself. No stick was at hand, but he smote the snake with the book. +Struck in the right place, they are not difficult to kill. So "St. Paul +and the Viper" put an end to the cobra. That the bite of this snake is +not, however, certain death we had a curious instance. + +One of our servants, a very strict Mahometan, believed himself charmed +against poisonous reptiles, and used to bring me centipedes and +scorpions in his hands, saying they never hurt him. He left our service +and was employed by the Borneo Company, about half a mile from our +house. One day, while cutting rattans in a shed, a cobra bit his thumb. +He thought nothing of it, but, putting away his work as usual, went +home, cooked his rice and ate his supper. By this time, however, his arm +began to swell and his head to swim. Instead of going to the doctor, who +then lived close by, he must needs go to the Bishop to cure him; so just +as we were sitting down to dinner, about seven o'clock, he reeled into +the house. The Bishop cauterized the wound, although it seemed too late +to be any use; he was getting cold and faint. However, by dint of being +walked up and down between two men, and having two whole bottles of +brandy administered to him, a glass at a time, besides sal volatile, +chloroform, and every stimulant we had, he got through the night. The +Bishop sat up with him all night, and I could hear him, when at last I +went to bed, calling out at intervals, "Oh, Allah! Oh, Lord Bishop!"--so +terrible was the pain he suffered in his arm. His wife, who was my +baby's ayah, appeared in the morning. "Come," said she, "make no more +noise, keeping everybody awake, but take up your bed (mat) and let us go +home." He meekly obeyed; but, poor man, he had abscesses under his arm, +and fell into weak health afterwards; so it is evidently unwise to +despise a cobra. + +There were many other snakes besides cobras, some poisonous, but most of +them harmless. + +The Marquis Doria and Signor Becarri, two distinguished naturalists, who +lived for some months at Sarawak, collecting bird-skins, insects, and +plants, told me that the natives often represented a snake to be +poisonous which was not so. However, we had the mata hari, sun-snake, +black and coral colour, and a metallic green flat-headed creature, +Fortrex trigonocephalus, which were venomous enough. I once had a little +flower-snake for a pet. It was beautifully marked with green and lilac, +and used to catch flies climbing about the room; but one day it mounted +to the top of a high door, the wind blew the door to, and my pretty +snake was thrown to the ground and broke its back. + +The boa-constrictor--sawar, as the Malays called it--lived in the jungle +and rice-swamps. Sometimes it attained an enormous size. An Englishman +told me that he and some Malays were exploring the jungle to find traces +of antimony ore, and came to an opening in the wood, across which they +saw the body of a sawar as thick as his own--he was not very +stout--moving along; but they never saw either the head or tail of that +snake, for, after watching its progress for a long time, they were +seized with a panic at its enormous length, and fled. + +A Malay whom we knew very well, Abong Hassan by name, and a mighty +hunter, told us that once, when he was seeking deer in the forest, +towards evening he sat down to rest, and cook his rice, on what he +thought was a great fallen tree. While thus occupied, he felt his seat +moving from under him, and, starting up, found he had been making use of +a huge sawar lying inert and distended with food. He killed it, and +found a full-grown deer in its stomach. These snakes must live to a +great age, and grow always, to attain such a size. + +Some people kept a small boa in their house to kill rats, but we found +they were equally fond of chickens, and therefore not desirable inmates; +for at Sarawak chickens were the principal animal food to be had, and it +was necessary to keep a stock of them. + +After some years we built up the lower story of the mission-house with +bricks, to make it more substantial and cooler. The ground floor was at +first wholly occupied with the school, the dormitory on one side, the +matron's and girls' room on the other, and a large schoolroom through +the centre of the house. A similar room over it was our dining-room, and +was used for divine service until the church was finished. The library +and our bedroom were over the boys' dormitory, and bedrooms for +missionaries on the other side. There were also three rooms in the roof, +which made good bedrooms, but were too hot for use in the daytime. The +roof was covered with shingles of balean-wood, which only grows harder +and darker coloured from rain and use. They were blown off sometimes in +the storms to which we were subject, but were otherwise more lasting +than any other kind of roofing. We used to call this house Noah's Ark, +from the variety of its occupants. A bell hung in the porch roof, and +rung at different hours to call the workmen and regulate the school. The +people in the town got so used to it that, when we discontinued it for a +time, they sent a petition that it might begin again, for without it +they never knew what o'clock it was. When the school outgrew this house +we built another for the boys, their master, and the matron, close by; +but I always kept the girls with us until Julia married, when they were +sent to the Quop, in charge of the missionary's wife there. + +Long before we left the court-house, Mr. and Mrs. Wright decided to give +up the Sarawak mission, and went to Singapore, where Mr. Wright became +master to the Raffles Institution for the education of boys. We were +therefore quite alone until February, 1851, when the Bishop of Calcutta +paid us a visit to consecrate the church, and brought with him Mr. Fox +from Bishop's College, to be catechist, with a view to his future +ordination. Very soon after him came the Rev. Walter Chambers from +England, and about the same time Mr. Nicholls also arrived from Bishop's +College; but, as he only wished to stay for two years in the country, he +had scarcely time to learn the language before he returned to Calcutta. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +PIRATES. + + +When we first lived at Sarawak, the coasts and the seas from Singapore +to China were infested with pirates. "It is in the Malay's nature," says +a Dutch writer, "to rove the seas in his prahu, as it is in the Arab to +wander with his steed on the sands of the desert." Before the English +and Dutch Governments exerted themselves to put down piracy in the +Eastern seas, there were communities of these Malays settled in various +parts of the coast of Borneo, who made it the business of their lives to +rob and destroy all the vessels they could meet with, either killing the +crews or reducing them to slavery. For this purpose they went out in +fleets of from ten to thirty war-boats or prahus. These boats were about +ninety feet long; they carried a large gun in the bow and three or four +lelahs, small brass guns, in each broadside, besides twenty or thirty +muskets. Each prahu was rowed by sixty or eighty oars in two tiers, and +carried from eighty to a hundred men. Over the rowers, and extending +the whole length of the vessel, was a light flat roof, made of split +bamboo, and covered with mats. This protected the ammunition and +provisions from rain, and served as a platform on which they mounted to +fight, from which they fired their muskets and hurled their spears. +These formidable boats skulked about in the sheltered bays of the coast, +at the season of the year when they knew that merchant-vessels would be +passing with rich cargoes for the ports of Singapore, Penang, or to and +from China. A scout-boat, with but few men in it, which would not excite +suspicion, went out to spy for sails. They did not generally attack +large or armed ships, although many a good-sized Dutch or English craft, +which had been becalmed or enticed by them into dangerous or shallow +water, was overpowered by their numbers. But it was usually the small +unarmed vessels they fell upon, with fearful yells, binding those they +did not kill, and burning the vessel after robbing it, to avoid +detection. While the south-west monsoon lasted, the pirates lurked about +in uninhabited creeks and bays until the trading season was over. But +when the north-east monsoon set in, they returned to their settlements, +often rich in booty, and with blood on their hands, only to rejoice over +the past, and prepare for next year's expedition. There are still some +nests of pirates in the north of Borneo, although of late the Spaniards +have done much to exterminate them. But when Sir James Brooke first +visited Sarawak, the nobles there, and their sultan at Bruni, used to +permit, nay, encourage, piratical raids against their own subjects at a +little distance, provided they shared in the profits of the expedition, +thus impoverishing the country they ruled, and putting a stop to all +native trade--a short-sighted and wicked policy. It took a good many +years of stern resistance on Sir James Brooke's part before the Bruni +nobles could be cured of their connivance of pirates, whether Malay or +Dyak. + +The Dyaks of Sarebas and Sakarran, a brave and noble people, were taught +piracy by the Malays who dwelt among them. These Dyaks were always +head-hunters, and used to pull the oars in the Malay prahus for the sake +of the heads of the slain, which they alone cared for. But, in course of +time, the Dyaks became expert seamen. They built boats which they called +bangkongs, and went out with the Malays, devastating the coast and +killing Malays, Chinese, Dyaks, whoever they met with. The Dyak bangkong +draws very little water, and is both lighter and faster than the Malay +prahu; it is a hundred feet long, and nine or ten broad. Sixty or eighty +men with paddles make her skim through the water as swiftly as a London +race-boat. She moves without noise, and surprises her victims with +showers of spears at dead of night; neither can any vessel, except a +steamer, catch a Dyak bangkong, if the crew deem it necessary to fly. +These boats can be easily taken to pieces; for the planks, which extend +the whole length of the boat, are not fastened with nails, but lashed +together with rattans, and calked with bark, which swells when wet; so +that, if they wish to hide their retreat into the jungle, they can +quickly unlace their boats, carry them on their shoulders into the +woods, and put them together again when they want them. When we first +lived at Sarawak no merchant-boat dared go out of the river alone and +unarmed. We were constantly shocked with dreadful accounts of villages +on the coast, or boats at the entrance, being surprised, and men, women, +and children barbarously murdered by these wretches. I remember once a +boat being found with only three fingers of a man in it, and a bloody +mark at the side, where the heads of those in the boat had been cut off. +Sometimes the pirates would wait until they knew the men of a village +were away at their paddy farms, then they would fall suddenly upon the +defenceless old men, women, and children, kill some, make slaves of the +young ones, and rob the houses. + +Sometimes, having destroyed a village and its inhabitants, they would +dress themselves in the clothes of the slain, and, proceeding to another +place, would call out to the women, "The Sarebas are coming, but, if you +bring down your valuables to us, we will defend you and your property." +And many fell into the snare, and were carried off. If they attacked a +house when the men were at home, it was by night. They pulled stealthily +up the river in their boats, and landing under cover of their shields, +crept under the long house where many families lived together. These +houses stand on high poles. The pirates then set fire to dry wood and a +quantity of chillies which they carried with them for the purpose. This +made a suffocating smoke, which hindered the inmates from coming out to +defend themselves. Then they cut down the posts of the house, which +fell, with all it contained, into their ruthless hands. + +In the year 1849, the atrocities of the piratical Dyaks were so +frequent, that the rajah applied to the English Admiral in the straits +for some men-of-war to assist him in destroying them. Remonstrances and +threats had been tried again and again. The pirates would always promise +good behaviour for the future to avert a present danger; but they never +kept these promises when an opportunity offered for breaking them with +impunity. In consequence of Sir James Brooke's application, H.M.S. +_Albatross_, commanded by Captain Farquhar; H.M.'s sloop _Royalist_, +commander, Lieutenant Everest; and H.E.I.C.'s steamer _Nemesis_, +commander, Captain Wallage, were sent by Admiral Collyer to Sarawak. +Then the rajah had all his war-boats got ready to join the English +force. There was the _Lion King_, the _Royal Eagle_, the _Tiger_, the +_Big Snake_, the _Little Snake_, the _Frog_, the _Alligator_, and many +others belonging to the Datus, who, on occasions like these, are bound +to call on their servants, and a certain number of able-bodied men +living in their kampongs, to man and fight in their boats. This is their +service to the Government. The rajah supplies the whole force with rice +for the expedition, and a certain number of muskets. The English ships +were left, the _Albatross_ at Sarawak, and the _Royalist_ to guard the +entrance of the Batang Lupar River, into which the Sakarran and Sarebas +Rivers _débouche_; but their boats, and nearly all the officers, +accompanied the fleet, and the steamer _Nemesis_ went also. On the 24th +of July they left us, as many as eighteen Malay prahus, manned by from +twenty to seventy men in each, and decorated with flags and streamers +innumerable, of the brightest colours,--the Sarawak flag, a red and +black cross on a yellow ground, always at the stern. For the _Tiger_ I +made a flag, as it was Mr. Brereton's boat, with a tiger's head painted +on it, looking wonderfully ferocious. It was an exciting time, with +gongs and drums, Malay yells and English hurrahs; and our fervent +prayers for their safety and success accompanied them that night, as +they dropped down the river in gay procession. They were afterwards +joined by bangkongs of friendly Dyaks, three hundred men from Lundu, +eight hundred from Linga, some from Samarahan, Sadong, and various +places which had suffered from the pirates, and were anxious to assist +in giving them a lesson. We heard nothing of the fleet until the 2nd of +August, when I received a little note from the rajah, written in pencil, +on a scrap of paper, on the night of the 31st of July, and giving an +account of how they fell in with a great balla (war fleet) of Sarebas +and Sakarran pirates, consisting of one hundred and fifty bangkongs, +returning to their homes with plunder and captives in their boats. The +pirates found all the entrances of the river occupied by their enemies, +the English, Malay, and Dyak forces being placed in three detachments, +and the _Nemesis_ all ready to help whenever the attack began. The _Lion +King_ sent up a rocket when she espied the pirate fleet, to apprise the +rest. Then there was a dead silence, broken only by three strokes of a +gong, which called the pirates to a council of war. A few minutes +afterwards a fearful yell gave notice of their advance, and the fleet +approached in two divisions. But when they sighted the steamer they +became aware of the odds against them, and again called a council by +beat of gong. After another pause, a second yell of defiance showed they +had decided on giving battle. Then, in the dead of the night, ensued a +fearful scene. The pirates fought bravely, but could not withstand the +superior forces of their enemies. Their boats were upset by the paddles +of the steamer; they were hemmed in on every side, and five hundred men +were killed, sword in hand; while two thousand five hundred escaped to +the jungle. The boats were broken to pieces, or deserted on the beach by +their crews; and the morning light showed a sad spectacle of ruin and +defeat. Upwards of eighty prahus and bangkongs were captured, many from +sixty to eighty feet long, with nine or ten feet beam. + +The English officers on that night offered prizes to all who should +bring in captives alive: but the pirates would take no quarter; in the +water they still fought without surrender, for they could not understand +a mercy they never accorded to their enemies. Consequently the prisoners +were very few, and the darkness of the night favoured escape. + +The peninsula to which they fled could easily have been so surrounded by +the Dyak and Malay forces that not one man of that pirate fleet could +have left it alive. This blockade the Malays entreated the rajah to +make; but he refused, saying that he hoped they had already received a +sufficient lesson, and would return to their homes humbled and +corrected. He therefore ordered his fleet to proceed up the river, and +the pirates went back to Sarebas and Sakarran. This severe punishment +cured the Dyaks of those rivers once and for all of piracy, and was the +greatest blessing which could have been conferred on those fine tribes. +They allowed forts to be built on their rivers, and submitted to English +residents, who ruled them with the counsel of their own chiefs. In 1857, +when the Chinese rebelled and burnt the town of Kuching, these Dyaks +sent their warriors to assist the Sarawak Government; in doing so they +joined other tribes whose hereditary enemies they had been for many +generations. Some of us felt anxious when we saw the fleet of Sakarrans +and Balows lying side by side at the Linga Fort; but they all kept +their good faith, and in fighting a common enemy became friends for +evermore. + +In 1852 Sir James Brooke placed Mr. Brereton in a fort at Sakarran, +built at the entrance of the river. He threw himself heartily into the +work of improving the people, and gained a good influence over many. One +of the most important chiefs, Gassim, attached himself to him, and even +gave up the practice of head-taking to please him. + +There were certain paddy farms in the country which by ancient custom +could only be cultivated by heroes who had taken many heads. One of +Gassim's people, however, who had never taken a single head, presumed to +clear and plant some of this ground; whereupon the other chiefs +complained, and one sent a message to Gassim, that if he did not put a +stop to this breach of law, he would fight him. Gassim answered that he +was ready to fight with swords if necessary, but first he begged a +conference with all the other chiefs to discuss the matter. To this they +agreed, and by the force of his eloquence and the justice of his cause, +Gassim proved to them that the old custom was bad and ought to be +repealed. About that time Brereton brought Gassim and a number of his +people to visit Kuching, and the chief breakfasted with us. When all the +school-children came in to prayers--for the church was not yet +finished--and Gassim heard them repeat the responses and say the Lord's +Prayer, he was delighted, and said that he and his people would also +like to be Christians. + +We used to like the Sakarrans much better than their neighbours, the +Sarebas, in those days. They were fine, tall, handsome men, with +straight noses and pleasant manners. The Sarebas were coarser-looking +people, who disfigured themselves by wearing brass rings all along the +lobes of their ears: the one at the bottom was as large as a +curtain-ring in circumference, though of slender make; it lay on the +chest, and by its weight dragged a great hole in the ear. These rings +were inserted when the children were quite young, and pulled their +little faces out of shape, giving an uncomfortable expression. Sarawak +Malays always said, "A Sakarran Dyak may be trusted, but a Sarebas is +deceitful." It is a curious fact, however, that the Sakarrans, with all +their fair words and sleek prepossessing looks, did not embrace the +gospel as the Sarebas did. The Rev. Walter Chambers lived at Sakarran +for some time, but gathered no converts. He then settled himself among +the Balows of the Batang Lupar and Linga, and when there was a community +of Christians from these rivers, at Banting, where Mr. Chambers had +built his church and house, a Sarebas chief, Buda by name, the son of a +notorious old pirate, happened to meet some of these Christian Dyaks, +and came himself to be taught. He brought his wife, sister, and child. +They walked upwards of eighty miles, partly through the mud of the +sea-shore, carrying their mats and cooking-pots with them, and +established themselves in the mission-house, where they were kindly +welcomed, and stayed six weeks, during which time they were so diligent +that they learnt to read and made some progress in writing. This was in +the rainy season, when all farming operations are in abeyance. The next +year they returned at the same time, but, meanwhile, they had not been +idle, but had taught all they knew to their countrymen. Shortly +afterwards Buda was made a catechist, and he excited so much interest, +that in 1867 Mr. Chambers baptized one hundred and eighty of these +people, who were once the most dangerous enemies of the English and the +most notorious pirates of Borneo. Then Buda proceeded to the village of +Seruai, and Mr. Chambers had soon to visit there, for the people were so +earnest they would scarcely let him sleep, nor seemed to require any +sleep themselves, but day and night learnt the hymns and catechism, +which they must know by heart to be baptized. Nearly two hundred were +baptized on the Kryan River. A catechist had been placed there, called +Belabut. He married Buda's sister, who walked to Banting for +instruction. She had much influence over the women of the tribe, and Mr. +Chambers said it was delightful to hear her read "her beloved gospel" +with the correct pronunciation of an English lady. + +The Christians of the Kryan did not keep the good news to themselves, +but proceeded to teach the next village of Sinambo. In these villages +there are now school-chapels, built by the Dyaks themselves. In 1873, +Mr. Chambers, who was then bishop, wrote: "These Sea Dyaks have made the +greatest advances in civilization and Christianity. Looking back even +five years, there is a great difference. They have abandoned +superstitious habits." "They no longer listen to the voices of birds to +tell them when to sow their seeds, undertake a journey, or build a +house; they never consult a manang[1] in sickness or difficulty; above +all, they set no store by the blackened skulls which used to hang from +their roofs, but which they have either buried or given away to any +people from a distance who cared for them, assuring them at the same +time that they 'were no use.'" + + [Footnote 1: Heathen doctor.] + +Thus we see what a just punishment and a fostering Government, added to +the sweet influences of Christianity, have done for these people; but it +took years of patience and faith to effect so great a change. + +After the pirate fight of 1849, the evil disposed and turbulent, both of +the Sakarrans and Sarebas, found a leader in Rentab, a Sarebas chief. He +braved the Government for years. In 1852 his war-boats appeared above +the Sakarran Fort, and the two young Englishmen there, Mr. Brereton and +Mr. Lee, too confident in their strength, attacked the boats with a +small force. In this engagement Mr. Lee was killed, and Mr. Brereton +escaped with difficulty. Several expeditions were taken into the +interior against Rentab; but he was so clever, that even when Captain +Brooke battered his stronghold to pieces by having guns dragged up the +steep hill on which his fort was built, Rentab managed to escape, and +was never taken. His followers, however, fell away from him by degrees, +and there are now no pirates in those rivers. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE CHURCH AND THE SCHOOL. + + +As soon as we removed to College Hill, the building of the church began. +On the 28th August, 1850, a few days after the return of the expedition +against the pirates, the summit of a rising ground about two hundred +yards from the house having been cleared and levelled, a large shed was +built over the ground, which the sailors of H.M.S. _Albatross_, and our +workmen, adorned with gay flags and green boughs. + +A little procession left our house, the rajah walking first, dressed in +full uniform as Governor of Labuan, and Suboo, the Malay executioner, +holding a large yellow satin umbrella over his head, as is the custom on +all state occasions, for yellow is the royal colour in Borneo; then my +husband, in surplice and hood, the English residents, naval officers, +and, last, a crowd of Malays and Chinese followed, to witness the +ceremony of laying the first great block of wood in the foundation of +St. Thomas's Church. After prayers had been read, the rajah lowered the +great sleeper into its place, and we all returned home. From that day +the church began to rise out of the earth with the same seeming magic as +the house had done. It was entirely built of wood--all the beams, +rafters, and posts of the hard balean-wood, and the roof covered with +balean shingles, like the house. The planking was a cedar-coloured wood, +and all the arches and mouldings were finished like cabinet-work, so +that it was both handsome and durable. The ornamental pillars were first +made of polished nibong palms; but in a few years these had to be cut +away, as they were full of white ants, and hard wood substituted. The +building of this little church was most interesting to us. When my +husband was at Singapore for a short time in 1849, he had the pulpit, +reading-desk, a carved wooden eagle, and the chairs made there; also a +coloured glass east window was contrived, with the Sarawak flag for a +centre light. This pleased the Malays; indeed, they admired the house +and church immensely, and always assured us that they knew we could not +have built either, unless inspired by good antoos (spirits). + +The baptismal font was a huge clam-shell, large enough to dip an infant +in, if desired; and this natural font was adopted in all the churches +afterwards built at Dyak stations--at Lundu, at Banting, Quop River. + +The church bell was a difficult matter. Nothing larger than a ship bell +could be found in the straits. At last, a Javanese at Sarawak said he +could cast a bell large enough if he had the metal; so Frank bought a +hundredweight of broken gongs--there is a great deal of silver in gong +metal--and with these the bell was cast. Then an inscription had to be +put round the rim--"Gloria in excelsis Deo," in large letters; and the +date, Sir James Brooke's name on one side, and F. T. McDougall on the +other. It was a great success, and was safe in the little belfry before +the church was consecrated, in February, 1851. I do not know whether +this bell is now cracked, but it has worked very hard from that day--two +services every week-day, and four on Sunday, to say nothing of extra +occasions. Before long, we found a gilder who could adorn the reredos. +There were seven compartments at the east end: in the centre one was a +gilt cross, and in the others, the Lord's Prayer and the Creed, in +English, Malay, and Chinese. The gilder was a Chinese catechumen, and +was very anxious to do it well; but he knew nothing of English letters, +so each letter had to be cut in paper, and he traced it on the wooden +panel. It was necessary to watch him narrowly, or he put the letters +upside down! Such are the difficulties of making churches in the jungle. +All this took some time to complete. I had a very severe illness in +November, 1850; and when, about Christmas, I was able to sit in the +verandah, the progress of the church was my great amusement, for it was +quite near enough to watch from the house. + +In August, 1850, a great influx of Chinese came to Sarawak. There was a +war at Sambas, the principal Dutch settlement in Borneo, between the +Chinese, who were friendly to the Dutch, and who were living at +Pernankat, and the Montrado Chinese, who, with the Dyaks of the country, +rebelled against the Dutch. The Montrados beat the Pernankat Chinese, +and they fled from the place, carrying with them their wives and +children, and as much property as they could cram into their boats. The +boats were overladen, and many of them perished at sea, but some reached +Tangong Datu. On the 26th of August, four hundred of these poor +creatures arrived at Sarawak, saying there were three thousand more +starving on the sands at Datu, who would follow as fast as they could; +and, in course of time, most of them did find their way up the river, +although those in charge of the Government (the rajah was at Labuan) +tried to persuade them to make a town for themselves at Santubong (one +of the mouths of the river). A few of them did settle at Santubong, but +every day brought boats full of Chinamen into the place. The rajah fed +these poor people for months with rice, and gave them tools that they +might clear the ground and make gardens in the jungle. At first, before +they could build themselves houses, the whole place seemed upset by +them. Many lived in their boats on the river; every shed and workshop in +the town was full. One night Frank walked into the church, to see no one +was stealing planks from the unfinished building. All was quiet, but by +a stray moonbeam he perceived that one end of the church, already +boarded, was full of mosquito curtains, and they as full of sleeping +Chinamen. Such a thing could not be allowed--nails knocked into the +polished walls to tie up the curtains, tobacco perfuming the place, to +say nothing of sparks to light the pipes, and a considerable allowance +of bugs which Chinese people always carry about with them. Frank jumped +straight into the middle of the muslin curtains, with a shout; and +amidst a hubbub of tongues, "yaw-yaw" and laughter, bundled them all out +into the workmen's shed close by, where they might sleep in peace. It +occurred to my husband that some of these Chinese would be glad to have +their children brought up with the seven little orphans we had already, +so he went to Aboo, the Chinese magistrate, and offered to take ten +children into our house to be brought up as Christians, baptized, and +educated for ten years. The Chinese value education, and were very glad +to give them to us. I shall never forget sitting in the porch one +morning to receive my new family. Neither parents nor children could +speak Malay. They walked up the stairs, bringing a little boy or girl, +nodded and smiled and put the child's hand into mine, as much as to say, +"There, take it." One of our Chinese servants then explained to them +what we could do for the child, and that it must remain with us until +grown up. That day we took Salion, Sunfoon, Chinzu, Queyfat, Assin, +Umque, Achin, boys; Achong, Moukmoy, Poingzu, girls. The English nurse +we had brought with us to Sarawak had married Stahl, the carpenter, of +whom I spoke before, and Mrs. Stahl became the matron of the school when +we moved to College Hill, and had these ten Chinese children as well as +the orphans to care for. We were very busy sewing for them, with a +Chinese tailor to help. Blue jackets and trousers for week-days, and +black trousers and white jackets for Sundays, had to be made at once. +The girls wore trousers as well as the boys, only wider, and their +jackets reached to the knee. + +At the end of a week they were all clean and neat. Their heads were +shaved every Saturday, and their long tails freshly plaited up with +skeins of black or red strong silk, made on purpose. At first a barber +came to do this, but soon the elder boys learnt to do it, and it was a +regular Saturday business. These ten children soon learnt to speak +Malay. Then we took five more, and after that one or two as +circumstances threw them in our way. The school at last numbered +forty-five, but there was not room in the mission-house for so many; we +did not get beyond thirty the first year of the school. + +I scarcely think thirty English children could have been so easily +reduced to order as these little Chinese. School must have been paradise +to them after the hardships they had undergone, and that perhaps made it +easier to please them; besides, the Chinese readily submit to rule and +method. The day was laid out for them. They rose at half-past five when +the day dawned; after a bath in a pond in the grounds, they had a slice +of rice-pudding with treacle on it, and then went to church for morning +prayers. By seven o'clock they were all at lessons in the big room--such +a buzzing and curious singsong of Chinese words--until nine, when the +breakfast took place; rice, of course, and a sort of curry of +vegetables, also a great dish of fish, either salt or fresh; a little +tea for the elder children, no milk or sugar, and water for the rest. +They soon learnt to sing their grace before and after meals. + +The same kind of meal was repeated at five o'clock, but on Sunday they +had pork curried instead of fish, and on festivals chickens. I taught +these children to sing from the first. The Chinese are not musical +generally, and some of them found the sounds of _do_, _re_, _mi_, very +difficult to master, but we had very nice singing in church in time; and +when a schoolmaster came who knew plenty of songs, glees, and rounds, +the children learnt them quickly, and were often sent for to sing to the +rajah and other guests when they came to dinner. + +It used to startle strangers to hear "The Hardy Norseman," "The Cuckoo," +and such-like songs from the lips of little Chinese boys. Every Saturday +evening they came to the house to practise the hymns and chants for +Sunday; I had an harmonium in the dining-room. On these occasions they +all had a cup of tea and slice of cake, and used to look at the picture +newspapers which had come from England the last mail. They were very +intelligent boys. It was necessary they should learn Malay and English +as well as Chinese, and of course arithmetic, geography, and the usual +rudiments of learning. I have often watched the Chinese writing-lesson: +it seemed the most difficult branch of their education--one complicated +character, something like a five-barred gate, representing a variety of +sounds as well as meanings; but our little fellows learnt it all. They +had a Chinese master as well as an English, and they soon spoke English +as well as we could desire. My husband took the greatest interest in +this school. When the children first came he taught them games and made +them playthings, and they were always about him. Whenever we went +anywhere by boat a crew of boys was added to the rowers. They soon +learnt to use their paddles well, and at the public boat-races, on New +Year's Day, pulled their own boat in the race and sometimes won it. When +my husband became Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak, he always took some of +the schoolboys with him in his visits to the different stations. They +helped the church services by their singing, and had their especial +chums among the Dyak Christian boys in the different tribes. So many +boys passed through the school during the twenty years we took an +interest in it, that I cannot even remember all of them. Some are now +catechists among the Dyak tribes; many entered the service of the +Government or the Merchant Company as clerks; some went to Singapore and +found employment there. I know of only one who has as yet been +ordained, but perhaps that time has scarcely yet arrived in Sarawak. It +is difficult for Malays or Dyaks to look up to a Chinaman sufficiently +to make him their minister: they are less clever than the Chinese, but +look down upon them nevertheless--the Malays, because the Chinese are +the workers, and they the gentlemen; the Dyaks, I suppose, because they +gave them such a thrashing in 1857. One good consequence of the Chinese +school was, that it attracted the attention of the parents towards +Christianity, and they presented themselves as catechumens. There were +many difficulties with the languages, for the Chinese at Sarawak were +not all of the same tribe, and could not understand one another. +However, after a while a Chinese professor arrived at Sarawak, bringing +his wife and family with him. In those days the women were forbidden to +emigrate with their husbands, but Sing Sing put his wife into a large +chest with air-holes at the top, and brought her safely from China. The +Bishop employed this man, who was well educated, to make translations, +and to interpret what he said to the Chinese, so there were soon Bible +classes at our house every Wednesday evening. Sing Sing became an +inquirer himself while translating the gospel to others. He was soon +able to hold cottage lectures in the town, and after some years the +Bishop had the happiness to ordain him as minister to his people. There +was a large congregation of Chinese at the Sunday services before we +left, and it was a good proof of the sincerity of these converts, that +while all their heathen countrymen worked at their trades on Sunday as +well as other days, our Christians spent their Sunday in worship and +rest, which no doubt was an advantage to their health as well as their +growth in grace. + +At Christmas they always shared in our feasting. We killed an ox, and +all the Christians had beef for their dinner, as well as all the queer +things they delight in. + +In January, 1851, the Church of St. Thomas at Kuching was consecrated by +Bishop Wilson, of Calcutta. On the afternoon of the 18th, I was +returning from church, and mounting the flight of steps which led to the +porch of the house, I saw a large steamer turn the corner of the +Pedungen Reach and anchor above the fort. It was the _Semiramis_ +bringing the Bishop, Archdeacon Pratt and Mrs. Pratt, the Rev. H. Moule +from Singapore, Dr. Beale, the Bishop's physician, and Mr. Fox from +Bishop's College. This party, escorted by Frank, who rushed home to +dress himself in black (his usual attire being grey flannels and a white +muslin cassock), very soon marched into the house, exclaiming with +pleasure at the wreaths of white jessamine growing over the stairs, and +the fresh air of the hill. We had so lately settled in the house that it +was not half furnished, but we gave up our rooms to our guests and +stowed ourselves in an empty corner. I remember the satisfaction with +which Mrs. Stahl produced the remains of the Christmas plum-pudding, +and the comfort it was to have a joint of venison in the house. Dinner +was soon on the table, and immediately afterwards the Bishop read +prayers and retired to his room. We all went into the library, where we +had tea and talk. It was very refreshing to have an English lady to +speak to, and Mrs. Pratt was so tall and fair that everybody admired +her, especially the Malays, who used to say that it was sufficient +pleasure to look at her throat only. + +The natives used to flock into the house every evening to see the Tuan +Padre besar (the great priest), and all the new-comers. At half-past +five a.m. the Bishop's bell used to ring for his servants to dress him, +and bring his tea. The whole house was astir then. The Indian servants +of the party slept in the verandahs, and seemed to me to talk all night. + +The next day was Sunday, but the church was not cleared out for +consecration, and most of the fittings had come from Singapore in the +_Semiramis_, and could not be got out on Saturday night. So morning and +evening prayers were as usual in the dining-room, and what with the +officers of the _Semiramis_, the English of the place, the school and +our home party, the room was very full. The children sang with all their +might, and were much interested with the visitors. The Bishop and +Archdeacon Pratt preached morning and afternoon. On Wednesday the church +was ready. Mrs. Stahl and I were up before dawn, covering hassocks with +Turkey red cotton. The church was tiled, but platforms of wood, covered +with mats, which were a present from Mr. and Mrs. Stahl, were placed on +the tiles, and the chairs just arrived by _Semiramis_ stood on them. We +afterwards had to clear the platforms away--they became full of white +ants; but they looked very well at first. + +When all was ready, Captain Brooke and all the principal English +inhabitants met the Bishop at the church door, and presented a petition +that he would consecrate the building. He then entered, and walked up +and down the church repeating psalms, etc. Then came morning service; +afterwards, the Bishop preached, and as he was very energetic and struck +the desk with his hand, our gentle Datu Bandar thought he was angry, and +slipped quickly out of church. There was a confirmation of a Chinese +teacher and my little maid Susan after the celebration of Holy +Communion, and then, after three hours and a half service, we returned +home. The next morning, early, the Bishop consecrated the burial-ground. +He was carried round it in a chair, for he was unable to walk much; and +though he was a hale old man of seventy-two, his many years' residence +at Calcutta had, I imagine, spoilt his walking powers. + +He was very kind and friendly to us all, and admired the church very +much. His visit was a boon to the mission. It impressed the native mind +with the importance Christians attach to their churches and to public +worship. When our church bell called us to prayers twice every day, the +Mahometans revived the daily muezzin at the mosque; and the sight of the +public practice of religion amongst us quickened the Malays in the +performance of their own religious rites, and from that time there were +many more pilgrims to Mecca from Sarawak. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE GIRLS. + + +Having said so much about the schoolboys, it would be unfair not to +mention the girls. Mary, Julia, and Phoebe, the half-caste children, +grew up beside us, and so did Polly, who was a Dyak baby brought to me +after the pirate expedition of 1849. Her mother fled, and dropped her +baby in the long grass, where it was found by an English sailor, who +carried it to the boats and gave it to one of the women captives to +bring to me--a poor little, skinny thing, with long yellow hair, like a +fairy changeling. I got a wet nurse for her and fed her with baby food, +but she got thinner and more elfish-looking. One day her nurse was +standing by while the other children were eating their dinner, and Polly +stretched out her arms to the rice and salt fish, and began to cry. +"Oh," said I, "perhaps she can eat;" and from that day the little one +ate her rice and discarded the nurse, growing fat and merry like the +rest. + +Polly had a great talent for languages. Of course she learnt English and +Malay at once, hearing both languages from her earliest years. But how +she learnt Chinese as well used to surprise me. In 1866 I took Polly to +Hongkong. She was then nurse to our youngest child. The lady of the +house where we were staying accosted Polly in the pigeon English of the +place--a jargon mysterious to unaccustomed ears. It must be allowed that +Polly was not unlike a Chinese in appearance. She stared at the lady, +and then at me, upon hearing directions she could not understand. I +laughed. "Speak to Polly in English," I said, "and she will understand +what you mean." "Impossible," answered Mrs. M----; "my servants tell me +she must be Chinese, for she can talk in two dialects." + +Polly married a Christian Chinaman afterwards, so her taste lay in that +direction. When I last heard of her, she was teaching in the day-schools +at Sarawak. + +Mary married the schoolmaster, Mr. Owen. We brought Julia home with us +in 1869, and put her into a training-school for teachers in Dublin, +where she was much beloved. When we returned to Sarawak, in 1861, she +became the schoolmistress to the girls I then had in the house, and +others who came as day-scholars. She was a thoroughly good girl, and a +great comfort to me, but of course she married, a young man employed as +mate in the _Rainbow_, a Government vessel running between Sarawak and +Singapore. Some years afterwards Forrest died, and Julia married again, +an older man very well off. I have no doubt she is bringing up her +family in the fear of God, but I have not heard of her lately. I had +many trials with the girls, more than I like to recount. All the first +little family of Chinese girls we received in 1850 belonged to the tribe +who rebelled in 1857, and their relations carried them off when we were +driven from the mission-house. They were taken to Bau where their +relations lived, but what became of them in the terrible flight to the +Dutch country, when many were killed, and still more died of the +privations of the jungle, we never could hear. + +Sarah and Fanny came to us in 1856. They were little orphans, half +Chinese, half Dyak, whom, with two more girls and four boys, the +Government had redeemed from slavery and gave to the mission. Some of +these children stayed at Lundu with Mr. Gomez and his family; some came +to me--Sarah, Fanny, and Betsy, a baby whom I gave out to nurse. Poor +little Sarah had a very scarred face from a burn, but she was a bright, +clever child. Fanny was better-looking, but more heavy and less +impressible. These two girls married native catechists in course of +time. I trust they are doing some good among their own people. + +In the year 1862 some little captives fell into the hands of Captain +Brooke, then ruling at Sarawak. They came from Sarebas, and one of them +had been wounded by a spear, though he was only a tiny boy of four +years old. Captain Brooke wrote to me to know if I would take this +family of children into the school--two girls, Limo and Ambat, and two +boys, Esau and Nigo. If I could not take them, he said, they must be +sent back to their own country immediately, as there was a boat +departing the next day. The Bishop was away from Sarawak, so I had to +decide; nor would there have been any doubt in my mind about it, but +Esau the eldest boy was covered with kurap, from head to foot. This is a +skin disease to which Dyaks are subject, and which suggests the leprosy +of the Old Testament, for the outer skin peels off in flakes, and gives +almost a "white as snow" appearance to the surface. I doubted whether I +ought to take a pupil so afflicted, for it is decidedly catching. I +found that Ambat and Nigo had both patches of it here and there from +contact with Esau, whereas Limo, who was older, more clothed, and who +slept apart, was quite free. + +Still, the alternative was nothing less than sending these four children +to their heathen relations, and to a place at that time beyond the reach +of Christ's gospel--a terrible idea which could not be entertained for a +moment. So at last I sent for them, resolving to keep them in our house, +and not allow them to go down to the school until the Bishop returned. +Shortly afterwards a Chinese doctor came to the Bishop, and said, "If +you will give me fifteen dollars I will cure that boy of kurap. I have a +wonderful medicine for it, made at the Natunas Islands." So he had the +money on condition of the cure. The medicine was an ointment as black as +pitch--indeed, I believe there was a good portion of tar in it. With +this the doctor smeared Esau all over. He was to wear no clothes, and +not to be washed or touched. I used to see him, poor child, skipping +about exactly like the little black imps depicted in _Punch_. + +The ointment did not hurt him, but every third day the doctor came and +washed it all off with hot water: this was rather a painful operation, +but it was worth while undergoing some discomfort, for at the end of a +month the disease had vanished, and "his skin came again like the flesh +of a child." Esau grew up to be a good man and catechist to his own +countrymen, so it was well I ventured to keep him at Sarawak. The other +children soon got well when separated from him. Kurap arises, I believe, +from poor food and exposure to weather. A Dyak wears no clothes except a +long sash wound round him and the ends hanging down before and behind; +and when we consider the hot sun and frequent rains which beat upon him, +for he lives mostly out of doors, it is no wonder his skin suffers. Limo +and Ambat were clever children. In a letter, written about a year after +they came to us, I find this passage: "I have only four girls who can +read English and understand it. My two little Dyaks, Limo and Ambat, are +very fond of learning English hymns, and say them in such a plaintive, +touching voice, pronouncing each syllable so clearly, but they don't +understand it until it has been explained to them in Malay. Limo's +brother and uncle came this week from Sarebas--two fine, tall men, with +only chawats[2] and earrings by way of clothes. Limo was delighted; she +would have gone away with them in their great boat if I had allowed her. +No doubt they told her how much they would do for her at Sarebas. +However, I drew a little picture of the women setting her to draw large +bamboos full of water, and to beat out the paddy with a long pole--very +hard work, and always done by the young girls,--a more truthful and less +delightful view of things; so Limo said she would stay with me until she +was grown up. I gave her a pair of trousers for each of the men, a +present generally much esteemed. But these two were very wild folk; they +laughed very much at the trousers, and carried them away over their +shoulders." + + [Footnote 2: A chawat is a long strip of cotton or bark cloth + wound round the body.] + +I must not forget to tell the story of my dear child Nietfong, although +it is a very sad one. She was the daughter of the Chinese baker who +lived in the lane which led from our garden to the town. I used to +befriend her mother, a delicate little woman, very roughly treated by +her husband. She twice ran to me for shelter when her husband beat her, +and though of course I always had to give her up to him when he came +begging for her the next day, he knew what I thought of him, and had a +sort of respect for me in consequence. This poor woman died young, and +left one little girl about four years old. Nietfong used to come up to +day-school when she was old enough, and in 1858, when I was so happy as +to have an English governess for my Mab, I took the little Chinese girl +to live with us and join Mab in her lessons. She was quite a little +lady, so gentle, teachable, and well mannered. In 1860 we took our +children to England: Mab was six years old, and could not with any +safety remain longer in a hot climate. Little Nietfong went home, for +her father would not allow her to go to the school in my absence. We +returned in 1861, leaving three children in England, and brought a baby +girl out with us. As I walked up the lane to the mission-house, Nietfong +stood watching for me at the gate. "Take me home with you; oh, I am so +glad you are come back!" So I took her home, and Nietfong told me that +her father had married again, and that her step-mother was unkind to +her, and beat her when she said the prayers I had taught her night and +morning; "but," said the child, "I always prayed, nevertheless." She +lived with us till she was about thirteen, perhaps not so much; then her +father came to the Bishop and said he had sold Nietfong for a good sum +of money to a man in China, and must send her there to stay with her +grandmother. + +In vain I entreated Acheck not to be so wicked. "Tell me how much you +would get for your daughter," I said, "and we will give you the money." +He laughed, and said I could not afford it, mentioning a large sum, but +I do not remember what it was; so I had to break the sad news to +Nietfong. We wept and prayed together that she might remain steadfast in +her Christian faith. As she then knew English very well, I gave her an +English Prayer-book, which she promised to use. Soon after, Acheck +himself took her to China; and when he came back, he would only say, "Oh +yes, of course she is happy--she is married and well off." I have always +felt sure that this dear girl was kept by God's grace from sin and evil, +for I believe she truly loved and desired to serve God. There was +something especially pure about her. Nietfong was never wilfully +naughty; she was one of those blameless ones who seem untouched by the +evil around them. We shall not know the sequel of her history until by +God's mercy we meet her in the heavenly home. + +As I have spoken about the Dyak kurap, I may as well here mention the +real leprosy of the East, which was a terrible but not frequent scourge +among the Chinese. The Rajah had a small house built out of the town for +any men who were so afflicted, and they were fed by Government. The +Bishop or his chaplain used to go and teach these poor creatures, but +there were not more than three or four of them at a time. We knew one +Chinese woman who had leprosy. She became a Christian, and liked to have +a cottage lecture at her house. I often went to see her. Her toes +gradually dropped off, and her fingers. I never heard her complain. One +day I went to see her and found her very ill, constantly sick. She said +she had been poisoned; and it seemed probable, for no medicine gave her +any relief, and in a few hours she died. The natives have such a horror +of leprosy that they do not like to touch the body of any one who has +died of it, so the Bishop and Owen, the schoolmaster, laid poor Acheen +in her coffin; and this charitable act they performed for any +unfortunate who died of this terrible disease. + +Acheen had adopted a little boy, Sifok by name. She must have been very +kind to the child, for he seemed wild with grief when she died, and was +very anxious that whoever had poisoned his mother, as he called her, +should be punished. But the case was not clear, and no one was punished. +We took Sifok into the school, and I taught him to play the harmonium, +which at last he accomplished very fairly. + +Amongst our schoolboys was one particularly steady and religious. Tung +Fa was so good a Malay and Chinese scholar that he could interpret at +the Chinese Bible class, and also the sermon at the Chinese service at +church on Sunday. I think he knew his Bible almost by heart. He was +never very strong in health; then his feet began to swell, and leprosy +declared itself. For a long time he was carried to and from the church +in a chair, but at last he was so diseased that he was removed from the +school-house, and a little hut was built for him close to us. The boys +brought him his food, and of course he had anything he fancied from our +kitchen. I think the servants were very kind to him, and he exhibited a +beautiful example of patience and resignation until the disease affected +his brain; even then he was quite gentle, only he was always begging to +be baptized over again that he might die free from sin. This mistake +arose entirely from his illness. We were quite thankful when one morning +he was found dead in his bed. What a blissful waking, after so much +suffering! + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE LUNDUS. + + +The beginning of the year 1851 brought us much sorrow. After my illness +in November, 1850, we were persuaded by Sir James Brooke to accompany +him to Penang Hill, where the Government bungalow had been placed at his +disposal; consequently, after Christmas, we sailed in H.M.S. _Amazon_, +through the kindness of Captain Troubridge, for Singapore, taking our +child Harry with us. We had to wait some weeks at Singapore for the +Rajah, and soon after our arrival our little boy died of diptheria, +leaving us childless, for we had already lost two infants at Sarawak. +This grief threw a veil of sadness over the remaining years of our first +sojourn in the East. Perhaps it urged us to a deeper interest in the +native people than we might have felt had there been any little ones of +our own to care for; but those six years "the flowers all died along our +way," one infant after another being laid in God's acre. + +We stayed six weeks amid the lovely scenery and in the cooler air of +Penang Hill, and returned to Sarawak in May, Admiral Austin giving us a +passage in H.M.S. _Fury_. The admiral gave me his cabin to sleep in, all +the gentlemen sleeping in the cuddy. I woke in the night, hearing a +rushing sound in the air, then, patter, patter, all over the bed. I +jumped up, and called Frank to bring a light and see what was the +matter. "Oh," said a voice from the cuddy, "better not: it is only +cockroaches, and if you saw them you would not go to sleep again." This +swarm of cockroaches came out several times before daylight. The next +night I put up a mosquito-net to protect my face and hands from these +disgusting creatures. When a steamer has been nearly three years in +these hot latitudes it becomes horribly full of rats and cockroaches. My +husband, taking a trip in H.M.S. _Contest_, in 1858, woke one morning +unable to open one eye. Presently he felt a sharp prick, and found a +large cockroach sitting on his eyelid and biting the corner of his eye. +They also bite all round the nails of your fingers and toes, unless they +are closely covered. It must be said that insects are a great discomfort +at Sarawak. Mosquitoes, and sand-flies, and stinging flies which turn +your hands into the likeness of boxing-gloves, infest the banks of the +rivers, and the sea-shore. Flying bugs sometimes scent the air +unpleasantly, and there are hornets in the woods whose sting is +dangerous. When we look back upon the happy days we spent in that +lovely country, these drawbacks are forgotten; the past is always +beautiful, and shadows, even of sorrow and sickness, only enhance the +interest of the picture. Sin alone, in ourselves and those about us, can +make the past hateful, and the great charm of the future is that it is +untouched by sin. Happy, then, are those who are able to look back on +the past with smiles of thankfulness, while they stretch out their arms +hopefully to the future. + +Sarawak looked very peaceful on our return; and now began the interest +of the Dyak missions. From our first arrival at Kuching my husband had +taken every opportunity of visiting the Dyak tribes, and sometimes a +chief would come to the town with a number of his people, to pay their +rice tax, or purchase clothes, tobacco, gongs, gunpowder, whatever the +bazaar possessed which they valued. They brought with them beeswax, +damar, honey, or rattans to exchange for those things. On these +occasions the whole party came up to the mission-house to hear the +harmonium, see the magic-lantern, and beg presents. At first they would +ask for arrack, but finding nothing but claret to be had with us, soon +left off that request. Plates and cups were always valued, and they used +to say we had _so many_ more than we could possibly want in the pantry, +that of course we would give them some. To their honour be it said, they +never stole one, and were invariably refused, for we had not any more +than we wanted. The Dyaks hung their plates in loops of rattan very +ingeniously against the walls of their houses; but a plantain-leaf +folded up is more often used by them in lieu of plates, and they could +not have a better substitute. I never enjoyed a meal so much as some +cold rice and sardines eaten off a plantain-leaf in the jungle at Lundu, +after a long walk to the waterfall. The servant with the provision +basket had lost his way, and as we sat hungry under the great trees at +the foot of the fall, a Dyak friend produced a box of sardines and a +parcel of cold rice, and divided it amongst us. When at last the basket +of cold chickens arrived we handed them over to the Dyaks, feeling quite +superior to such civilized food. + +The Lundu Dyak chief was a great friend and admirer of Sir James Brooke +from his first arrival in the country. He and his tribe were the +determined enemies of the pirates, and with the Balows of the Batang +Lupar braved the Sarebas and Sakarrans, even when they were most +powerful. At the pirate fight of 1849 the Lundu chief lost two of his +sons: they were killed by an ambush set by Lingi the Sarebas chief. Only +one son, Callon, remained, and he was not his father's favourite. Poor +old Orang Kaya! it was a terrible trial, and nearly brought him to his +grave. Some time afterwards, he and Callon were at Sarawak to pay their +tax. Lingi, who had then submitted to the Rajah, had been in Sarawak for +some days, professedly to trade, but really to see if he could not take +Sir James Brooke's head. This was prevented by the watchfulness of the +Malays, who, suspecting Lingi, never let him get near the Rajah when +they sat talking after dinner, as was the custom in those days. So Lingi +went away foiled, and the day they dropped down the river the Lundus +heard of it. Revenge seemed ready at hand: they had a fast boat, were a +large party, and brave to a man. They entreated the Rajah to let them +follow Lingi and take his head--never again would they take a head, only +Lingi's, the Rajah's enemy and their own. Of course they were refused, +and it must have been a terrible strain on their affection and fealty to +the Rajah, not in this instance to follow the traditions of their +ancestors, and gratify their personal revenge by killing a traitor. But +they obeyed, and Lingi got safely back to Sarebas, little knowing how +narrowly he escaped. The old Lundu chief was a Christian before he died. +He always professed a desire to be of the same religion and brother to +the white man, but when, after due instruction, his son and grandson +came to Kuching to be baptized, he was not well enough to accompany +them, Mr. Gomes promised to baptize him on their return; but when that +event took place Orang Kaya was dead, gone where, no doubt, the will was +taken for the deed, as he was a Christian at heart. Mr. Gomes was from +Bishop's College, Calcutta. Soon after he came to us, in 1852, he went +to Lundu and remained there until 1867, when his children requiring more +education than he could give them at a Dyak station, he went to +Singapore, and accepted the post of missionary priest there. + +Mr. Grant was Government resident at Lundu, and the ruler and missionary +devoted themselves to the improvement of the people. In 1855, when we +returned to our home after our first visit to England, we received a +delightful visit from Mr. Gomes and twelve Dyaks, whom he brought to be +baptized at St. Thomas's Church. Callon's son Langi, and half a dozen +other boys, lived with Mr. Gomes, and ran after him all day--nice little +fellows, who fraternized with our boys at the school-house. There were +also five men, the chief of whom was Bulan (Moon), one of the manangs, +or witch-doctors, of the tribe. These manangs, being as it were the +priests of Dyak superstitions, and getting their living by pretended +cures, interpretations of omens and the voices of birds, were of course +the natural enemies of truth and enlightenment. Bulan, however, had +tried to be an honest manang, and finding it impossible had turned with +all his heart to Christianity. His brother Bugai, also a Christian, was +a very intelligent person, and became catechist at Lundu. + +There was also a very rich old man, Simoulin by name, who was baptized +at this time. His wife had opposed his conversion with all her might; +indeed, she declared she would leave him and carry half the property +with her. Simoulin said quietly, "If she will she must: she is only a +woman, and her judgment in the matter is not likely to be good." +Christianity had strong opponents in the women of all the Dyak tribes. +They held important parts in all the feasts, incantations, and +superstitions, which could not be called religion, but were based on the +dread of evil spirits and a desire to propitiate them. The women +encouraged head-taking by preferring to marry the man who had some of +those ghastly tokens of his prowess. When Sir James Brooke forbad +head-taking among the tribes in his dominions, it was the women who +would row their lovers out of the rivers in their boats, and set them +down on the sea-coast to find the head of a stranger. When heads were +brought in, it was the women who took possession of them, decked them +with flowers, put food into their mouths, sang to them, mocked them, and +instituted feasts in honour of the slayers. The young Dyak woman works +hard; she helps in all the labours of sowing, planting out, weeding, and +reaping the paddy. She beats out the rice in a wooden trough, with a +long pole, or pestle. She grows the cotton for clothing, dyes and weaves +it. She carries heavy burdens, and paddles her boat on the river. All +these are her duties, and in performing them she quickly loses her +smooth skin, bright eyes, and slender figure. It is only the young girls +who can boast of any beauty, but the old women are very important +personages at a seed-time or harvest festival. They dress themselves in +long garments embroidered with tiny white shells, representing lizards +and crocodiles. With long wands in their hands, they dance, singing wild +incantations. They have already prepared the food for the +feast--chickens roasted in their feathers; cakes of rice, spun like +vermicelli and fried in cocoa-nut oil; curries, and salads of bitter and +acid leaves; sticks of small bamboo filled with pulut rice and boiled, +when it turns to a jelly and is agreeably flavoured with the young +bamboo. It is the women also who serve out the tuak, a spirit prepared +from rice and spiced with various ingredients, tobacco being one. The +men must drink at these feasts; they are very temperate generally, but +on this occasion they are rather proud of being drunk and boasting the +next day of a bad headache! The women urge them to drink, but do not +join in the orgies, and disappear when the intoxicating stage begins. I +trust that this description belongs only to the past; at any rate, we +know that in those places where the missionaries have long taught, their +people follow a more excellent way of rejoicing in the joy of harvest, +and, after their thanksgiving service in church, pour out their +offerings of rice before the altar to maintain the services, and +minister to the sick and needy. + +[Illustration: A DYAK GIRL. + +_Page_ 74.] + +For many years, however, the women were opposed to a religion which +cleared away the superstitious customs which were the delight of their +lives, their chief amusement and dissipation, and a means of influencing +the men. It was not until the year 1864 that Mr. Gomes asked us to visit +Lundu and welcome a little party of women, the first converts to the +faith which their fathers and husbands had long professed. This is a +long digression from the history of the Lundus' visit to Kuching in +1855, which was at the time a great event. I find the following passage +in my journal: "Every evening, before late dinner, the Lundus go up to +Mr. Gomes's room to say their prayers, and sing, or rather chant, their +hymns. There is something very affecting in this little service--the +Dyak voices singing of Christ's second coming with His holy angels, and +rejoicing that He came once before for their salvation; then praying for +holy, gentle hearts to receive Him. I always feel on these occasions as +if I heard these precious truths afresh when they are spoken in a tongue +till lately ignorant of them. Indeed, there can scarcely be a more +joyful excitement than such passages in the life of a missionary; they +are worth any sacrifice. After English morning service, Mr. Gomes has +prayers in church for his Dyaks. He then instructs them in the baptismal +service. This makes five daily services in church, two English, two +Chinese, and one Dyak. We clothed all the candidates in a new suit of +cotton garments with a bright-coloured handkerchief for their heads. It +would be considered very irreverent for Easterns to uncover their heads +in church. I taught the school-children to sing 'Veni, Creator Spiritus' +at this baptism, while the clergy were arranging the candidates and +sponsors round the font. The font was wreathed with flowers by my +children. There was quite a full church, for the Chinese Christians all +came to see the Dyaks baptized, and all the English of the place were +present. Mr. Gomes baptized, and my husband signed them with the cross. +They all spoke up bravely in answering to their vows: may God give them +grace to keep them." + +This baptism took place on Whit Sunday. On Thursday of that week, Mr. +Gomes, his Dyaks, and Frank, went off to Linga for a week to visit Mr. +Chambers, and Mr. Horsburgh at Banting, that the converts of both tribes +might become friends. The Balows and Lundus had always been united in +their efforts against the pirate tribes, and in their fealty to the +Rajah's Government. On this account they had a right to the services of +the first missionaries who came from England to teach Dyaks. The visit +to Banting had another object besides the mutual friendship of the +converts. A controversy had arisen in the mission about the right word +to be used in translations for _Jesus_. Isa is the name the Malays use, +and the Dutch translations of the Bible employ this name; but there +happened to be a bad Malay man owning the name of Isa, well known to the +Balows, and Mr. Chambers feared some confusion would arise in the minds +of converts in applying the same name to our Lord. It was therefore +necessary to have a meeting of the clergy to decide this and many other +religious terms to be used in hymns, catechisms, and in general +teaching, that there might be unity in the mission: it would not do to +have any divisions in the camp on such a subject. There are fifty miles +of sea to cross from the Sarawak River to the Batang Lupar, then a long +pull from the fort at Linga up to Banting. The journey took three nights +and two days. + +The mission-house at Banting is most romantically placed on the crest of +a hill overhanging the river about three hundred feet, and stands in a +grove of beautiful fruit-trees. The view from it is enchanting. The +river branches at the foot of the hill, and each branch seems to vie +with the other in the tortuousness of its course through the bright +green paddy-fields. About a mile off rises Mount Lesong[3] with a +graceful slope, about three thousand feet, and then terminates abruptly +in a rugged top. The four clergymen who met at Banting looked almost as +wild as their people--wide shady hats, long staffs, long beards, not a +shirt among the party, and but one pair of shoes, belonging to my +husband, who never could walk barefooted. They spent several days +together, and had much consultation about religious terms. The most +intelligent of the Dyak Christians were present, as it was necessary, +not only to choose words they could understand, but such as they could +easily pronounce. On Trinity Sunday there were several services in the +large room of the house, for the church was not yet built. The Lingas +sang their hymns with great energy to one of their own wild strains, but +when they heard the Lundus' melodious chant they were ashamed to sing +after them, and begged them to teach them. The Dyaks love music and +verse. Mr. Gomes and Mr. Chambers wrote them hymns, and the Creed in +verse, which they readily commit to memory and understand better than +prose. Pictures are also used in their instruction: a parable or miracle +is read, then a picture of it produced and explained, the Dyaks +repeating each sentence after the teacher, to keep their attention. + + [Footnote 3: _Lesong_, mortar, being mortar-shaped.] + +The baptized alone join in the Litany and Holy Communion. The afternoon +was spent in visiting the sick and giving medicine. Several women came +to the house for instruction, and seemed to take great interest in Mr. +Chambers, teaching; but it was not until Mr. Chambers was married that +any women were baptized. At breakfast the next morning came an old +chief, called Tongkat Langit--the Staff of Heaven. His son Lingire was +one of the most pleasing converts, and Tongkat was wavering--had not +leisure at present! The necessity of forswearing the practise of +head-taking deters the old men from becoming Christians: they fear to +lose influence with their tribe. The little party then fixed upon the +spot where the church should be built, a permanent bilian chancel to +which a nave could be added when the additional room was required. +Twenty-five pounds from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge +was all the money then in hand to begin with; but very soon more was +collected, and when I visited Banting in 1857 there was a lovely little +church standing on the hill overlooking the village, and surrounded by +beautiful trees. The walk to it from the mission-house was just like a +gentleman's park, the green sward and groups of trees with lovely peeps +of hill and valleys and winding streams between. Again in 1864 we went +to Banting, that the Bishop might consecrate the church. The nave was +then built. Every stick in the church was bilian. The white ants walked +in as soon as the workmen left. In one night they carried their covered +ways all over the inside of the roof, the walls, the beams, and rafters; +and finding nothing they could bite, they walked out again, leaving +their traces plainly marked. Since then a coloured-glass window, +representing our Lord's Resurrection, has been added at the east end of +the church; and, what is better far, the church is full of Dyak +Christians every Sunday, and from this living Church many branches have +been planted, so that the Banting Mission now includes seven stations, +where there are school-churches built by the natives themselves, and +many hundreds of Christian worshippers. + +In 1854, six years having passed away since a little band of Sir James +Brooke's friends founded the Borneo Church Mission, the funds of the +Society came to an end; and the mission would have collapsed also, had +not the venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign +Parts consented to become responsible for it. As the missionaries and +catechists increased in number, and fresh stations were added to the +church, they opened their arms wider to receive them, until they set +apart £3000 a year for Borneo. Under their fostering care the mission +flourished, as it could not have done under the management of any +private society. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +A BOAT JOURNEY. + + +Throughout the year 1852 and part of '53 my husband was much tried with +rheumatism in his knee, which made him quite lame, though he would +hobble to church on crutches, and to hospital to look after his poor +patients. Meanwhile he taught the young missionaries something of the +art of healing, dressing wounds and broken bones, and physicking the +ailments to which natives are most subject--fever, dysentery, etc. It +was quite necessary they should know something of these subjects before +they could be any use in the jungle. The first question the Dyaks asked, +if told a new missionary was coming, would always be, "Is he clever at +physic?" Medicines and simple remedies were always furnished to every +mission-station, and the Rajah supplied all the stores that were needed +for Kuching or elsewhere. We had taken a good stock with us at first, +and all sorts of surgical instruments, but the Government kept it +replenished. + +The hospital was set up when the great influx of Chinese brought numbers +of sick people to the place. A long shed was built, and twenty beds +immediately filled; but the next day, one of the patients having died, +all the others who could move ran away. They have so great a horror of a +dead body that they never suffered any one to die in their houses if +they could help it, but built a little shed for the sick man, and +visited him twice a day with food and opium while life lasted. A +separate room was therefore added for the dead. This hospital furnished +good instruction to the missionaries. It was also their duty to teach +the sick every day, and the result was that several Chinese were +baptized on their recovery. This shed was afterwards exchanged for a +long room above the fort, which was both more airy and substantial. A +dispensary was attached to it. + +When Mr. Chambers came from England and was able to undertake the duties +at Kuching, my husband accompanied Captain Brooke and some of the +Government officers in a tour up the Batang Lupar and Rejang Rivers. He +was very lame at the time, but had no walking to do, only now and then +to get out of his large boat and scramble up into a Dyak house. How he +managed it under the circumstances I never could imagine, for the +staircase from the water to a high Dyak house is only the trunk of a +tree with a few notches in it, and, at low tide, a case of slippery mud; +this, placed at a steep angle, without any rail, is not easy climbing +for any one, but a stiff knee made it still more difficult. + +The object of the expedition was to make peace between certain Dyak +tribes who had long been enemies, and to build a fort on the Rejang +River, similar to Mr. Brereton's fort at Sakarran, and for the same +purpose. An Englishman named Steele was to occupy the fort with some +Malays. Captain Brooke took the _Jolly Bachelor_ gunboat, and Frank +moved into it to cross the sea from the mouth of the Sarawak to the +Linga River, for the waves were high and wetted the smaller boats. When +they reached the Linga River, he was sitting one Sunday night on the +boom of the _Jolly_, enjoying the moonlight, and watching the swift rush +of the tide, which is very rapid in that river. Suddenly, the piece of +wood he was trusting to broke, and he was precipitated over the stern. +Had he fallen into the water he must have been dragged under the vessel +by the tide and drowned, but, through God's mercy, the ship's boat +(_Dingy_), which only a few minutes before was the whole length of its +painter away from the _Jolly_, swept up to it from the swing of the +vessel, and, as he fell, he caught hold of the boat and pulled himself +into it, escaping with only a bruise, when a watery bed, or the jaws of +an alligator or shark, might have received him. A shark had been +swimming round the gun-boat during Divine service that day, and an +alligator had taken a man only the day before from a boat close by. My +dear husband's comment on this narrow escape is, "Praise the Lord, O my +soul, and forget not all His benefits; who redeemeth thy life from +destruction, and crowneth thee with mercy and lovingkindness." + +The fleet waited for some days in the Linga River, while the Balow Dyaks +fetched the jars which they were to exchange with the Sakarrans as a +pledge of peace. These jars, of which every Dyak tribe possessed some, +are of unknown antiquity. There is nothing very particular in their +appearance. They are brown in colour, have handles at the sides, and +sometimes figures of dragons on them. They vary in value, but though the +Chinese have tried to imitate them, hoping to sell them to the Dyaks, +they have never deceived them: they detect a difference where no +European or Chinese eye can, and at once pronounce the Chinese jars of +no value. Yet they will not sell their own rusas or tajows for any +money, and they fancy that some of them have the property of keeping +water always sweet. If a Dyak tribe offends the law, Government fines +them so many jars, which are brought to Kuching and kept, or returned on +their good behaviour. This reminds me of the story of a little Dyak boy +who was taken prisoner in 1849. His father was killed, and the boy, +about eight years old, was brought to the Rajah. For some days the child +seemed quite happy, then he begged to speak to "Tuan Rajah," and told +him confidentially that he knew a place in the jungle where some +valuable tajows were secreted, and if he would land him with some +Malays or the bank of the river, he would point out the place. The Rajah +believed the child, and the jars were found, and taken on board the +boat. Then the little boy went again to the Rajah, and bursting into +tears, said, "I have given you the riches of my tribe; in return give me +my liberty. Set me down in the jungle path, give me some food, and in +two days I shall reach my home and my mother." So the child was laden +with all he took a fancy to--a china cup, a glass tumbler, and a gay +sarong (waist-cloth), and as much food as he could carry--and we heard +afterwards that he rejoined his friends in safety. + +I must now return to my husband's journal. He says: "While at breakfast +this morning, one of the men told us he had seen the people with tails, +of whom we have often heard.[4] They live fifteen days up a river, in +the interior of the Bruni country. It is a large river, but in some +places runs through caverns, where they can only pass on small rafts. He +was sent there by Pangeran Mumeim to get goats, as these tailed gentry +keep a great many of them. He says their tails are as long as the two +joints of the middle finger, fleshy and stiff. They must be very +inconvenient, for they are obliged to sit on logs of wood made on +purpose, or to make a hole in the earth, to accommodate their tails +before they can sit down. These people do not eat rice, but sago made +into cakes and baked in a pot. In their country, he said, was a great +stone fort, with nine large iron guns, of which the people can give no +account, not knowing when or by whom it was built. + + [Footnote 4: This legend, though commonly reported, has never + been proved.] + +"After dinner, when the men sit round me and smoke my cigars, they soon +enter into conversation. We spoke a good deal to-day on the subject of +religion, the difference between Christianity and Mahometanism, and, +above all, the absurdity of their repeating the Koran, like so many +parrots, without understanding one word of what they say; and the +irreverence of addressing God in words they do not understand, so that +their hearts can take no part in their prayers. They agreed that it +would be better to learn God's law, instead of trusting merely to their +hadjis, who are often as ignorant as themselves. A respectable old Bruni +man, speaking of different races of men of various colours, said he had +visited a tribe of white people, who lived on a high hill in the +interior of the country; they were very white, and the women beautiful, +with light hair. The men dress like Dyaks, but the women wear a long +black robe, tight at the waist, and puffed out on the shoulders. The +tradition of their origin, he said, was as follows: A long, long time +ago, an old man who lived on this mountain lost himself in the jungle at +its foot, and at night, being tired, and afraid of snakes and the evil +spirits of the wood, he climbed into a tree and fell asleep. He was woke +by a noise of ravishing music, the sweetest gongs and chanangs mingling +with voices over his head. The music came nearer and nearer to the +place where he was, until he heard the sweet voices under the tree, and, +looking down, beheld a large clear fountain opened, and seven beautiful +females bathing. They were all of different sizes, like the fingers on a +man's hand, and they sung as they sported in the water. The old man +watched them for some time, and thought how much he should like one of +them as a wife for his only son; but as he was afraid of descending +among them, he made a noose with a long piece of rattan, lowered it +gently, and slipping it over one of them, drew her up into the tree. She +cried out, and they all disappeared with a whirring noise. The girl he +caught was very young, and she cried sadly because she had no clothes +on; so he rolled her in a chawat (long sash), and immediately heard the +gongs at his own house, which he had thought was a long way off. He took +the child home, and she was brought up by his wife, until she was old +enough to marry their son. She was very good and sweet-tempered, and +everybody loved her. In course of time she had a son, as white as +herself. One day her husband was in a violent rage and beat her. She +implored him not to make her cry, or she should be taken away from him +and her child. But he did not heed, and at last pulled her jacket off to +beat her. Immediately another jacket was dropped with a great noise from +the sky, upon the house. She put it on, and vanished upwards, leaving +her son, who was the ancestor of the present tribe." + +Who would have thought of a Dyak Undine? + +While the Malay was telling this story, the boat was waiting in a +sheltered nook of the Sakarran River for the bore to pass, before the +crew dare venture up to the fort. The bore is a great wave, twelve feet +high, which rushes up with the tide, and is succeeded by two smaller +waves. It is very dangerous to boats; but happily the natives know where +to hide while it sweeps past. + +When they reached Sakarran Fort it took several days to hear all the +claims the Lingas and Sakarrans had against each other. Six years +before, the Rajah had persuaded them to make peace, but they had broken +it the same day, and laid the blame upon one another. At last matters +were arranged, and a platform being made under a wide-spreading +banyan-tree, the chiefs sat round; and Captain Brooke made them a +speech, describing the evils of piracy and war, and the determination of +the Rajah that his subjects should live at peace with one another. + +"He then presented each chief with a jar, a spear, and a Sarawak flag, +and desired them to use the flag in their boats for the purposes of +trade. Nothing could be more picturesque than the scene. The surface of +the water was dotted over with the long serpent-like bangkongs, gaily +painted and adorned with flags and streamers of many colours, which +looked all the brighter against the solemn jungle background. Then +Gassim and Gila Brani (madly brave), on the part of the Sakarrans, and +Tongkat Langit (Staff of Heaven), the Linga chief, joined hands; and +each tribe killed a pig with great ceremony, and inspected the entrails +to see if the peace was good. Then they feasted and rejoiced together. +This ended, they proceeded up the Rejang River in the boats, and paddled +for four days, from twenty-five to thirty miles a day, until they came +to the Kenowit, on the banks of which the fort was to be built." + +The Rejang is a glorious river. It is not visited by a bore, and eighty +miles from the sea it is half a mile broad, and deep to the banks. The +flowers and fruits which grow there are a continual surprise and +pleasure--but how shall I describe the flowers of those great +woods?--not only up the Rejang, but everywhere in the old jungle. They +seldom grow on the ground, though you may sometimes come upon a huge bed +of ground orchids, but mostly climb up the trees, and hang in festoons +from the branches. One plant, the Ixora, for instance, propagating +itself undisturbed, will become a garden itself, trailing its red or +orange blossoms from bough to bough till the forest glows with colour. + +The Rhododendron, growing in the forks of the great branches, takes +possession of the tall trees, making them blush all over with delicate +pinks and lilacs, or deepest rose clusters. Then the orchideous plants +fix themselves in the branches, and send out long sprays of blossom of +many colours and sweetest perfume. Here the voice of the Burong boya +(crocodile-bird) may be heard, singing like an English thrush. He shakes +his wings as he sings, and the Malays say that from time immemorial he +has owed a large sum of money to the crocodile, who comes every year to +ask payment; then the bird, perched on a high bough out of reach of the +monster, sings, "How can I pay? I have nothing but my feathers, nothing +but my feathers!" So the crocodile goes away till next year. There are +not many singing birds in Borneo besides this thrush. The soft voices of +many doves and pigeons may always be heard, and often the curious +creaking noise made by the wings of rhinoceros hornbills as they fly +past. More musical is the voice of the Wawa monkey, a bubbling like +water running out of a narrow-necked bottle, always to be heard at early +dawn, and the sweetest of alarums. A dead stillness reigns in the jungle +by day, but at sunset every leaf almost becomes instinct with life. You +might almost fancy yourself beset by Gideon's army, when all the lamps +in the pitchers rattled and broke, and every man blew his trumpet into +your ear. It is an astounding noise certainly, and difficult to believe +that so many pipes and rattles, whirring machines and trumpets, belong +to good-sized beetles or flies, singing their evening song to the +setting sun. As the light dies away all becomes still again, unless any +marshy ground shelters frogs. But to hear all this you must go to the +old jungle, where the tall trees stand near together and shut out the +light of day, and almost the air, for there is a painful sense of +suffocation in the dense wood. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +CONTINUATION OF THE TRIP TO REJANG. + + +After two days' paddling from the mouth of the Rejang, the boats arrived +at Sibou, where there is a manufactory for nepa salt. The nepa palm +grows down to the edge of the banks, which are washed by a salt tide, +and furnishes the Dyak with many necessaries. + +The leaves make the thatch to cover the roofs of the houses, or shelter +over their boats. Neatly fastened together with split rattans, they form +the walls of the house. From the juice of the tree they make a fermented +drink something like sweet beer, also brown sugar. The young shoots are +eaten in curries and salads. The fruit is salted or pickled. When they +have got all these good things out of it, they burn the stem of the palm +with some of the leaves, and wash the burnt ashes in water. This water +is then boiled until it is evaporated, and some black salt remains at +the bottom of the pot. It tastes bitter as well as salt; but the Dyaks +prefer it to common salt, and if you ask why, they say, "It is a fat +salt." I must now return to my husband's journal. "Arrived at Kenowit. A +tribe of Milanows have been induced to settle here lately by the Rajah. +Within the last few weeks they have built two long and substantial +houses, raised thirty feet from the ground on trunks of trees, some two +feet in diameter. There are in all sixty doors, or families. The tribe +furnishes three hundred fighting men, and numbers from fifteen hundred +to two thousand. + +"The bachelors, as with the Dyaks, have a separate dwelling. + +"Tanee's tribe, who are returning to Sibou on the Rajah's promise to +build a fort at Kenowit, are of the same tribe, and number about three +hundred men. They speak the Milanow language, and have the same customs +of burial. The men and some of the women are tattooed in the most +grotesque patterns. When you look at them closely the invention +displayed is truly remarkable; but at a distance they give a dingy, +dusky appearance to the men, as if they were daubed with an inky sponge. +Nature having denied them beards, they tattoo curly locks along their +faces, always bordered by a vandyke fringe, which must task their utmost +ingenuity. Tanee, who has followed us with some of his warriors, is the +very exquisite of a Kenowit. He is made like a Hercules, and is proud of +showing his strength and agility. He piques himself upon having the +best sword, of fine Kayan make and native metal, and the strongest arm +in his tribe. He sits most of the day sharpening one or another of these +swords, feeling and looking along its edge to see that the weapon is in +perfect order: then, to prove it, he seeks for a suitable block of wood, +as thick as his arm, severs it at a blow, gives a yell, and with a grin +of delight returns the weapon to its sheath. His jacket is of scarlet +satin; his long hair is confined by a gold-embroidered handkerchief; his +chawat is of fine white cloth, very long, and richly embroidered--the +ends hang down to his knees, he wears behind an apron of panther's skin, +trimmed with red cloth and alligator's teeth, and other charms; this +hangs from his loins to his knees, and always affords him a dry seat. +Tanee's boat is long, made out of one tree, like our river canoes, but +much lighter and faster. His cabin is a raised platform in the centre of +the boat, covered with a mat, and hung all round with weapons and +trophies of war--Kyan fighting-coats of bear and buffalo hides, having +head-pieces adorned with beads or shells, shields and spears all gaily +decked with Argus' feathers, or human hair dyed red. + +"On Sunday we moved from the boats into Palabun's house, and settled +ourselves in part of the verandah. After breakfast I doctored the sick, +and then we had the morning service, much to the surprise of the +natives, who, however, did not disturb us. They sit round us all day, +hearing and asking us questions.... Meanwhile the seven hundred men who +came in the flotilla of twenty boats, were busy building the fort. First +they pulled down a temporary fort already set up by the Kenowits, and +then cut wood to erect a substantial building. Four guns were mounted on +the parapet, and there was a house inside for the Malay commandant, and +a powder magazine. All the chiefs near Kenowit were assembled when the +fort was finished, and had the same kind of address made them as at +Sakarran, praising the benefits of peaceful trade instead of the +miseries of wasteful war. They all listened with respect. That same +afternoon, dismal howlings issued from Palabun's house. His brother, who +had left him two years ago with a party of fourteen, to visit a friendly +tribe at a distance, had been treacherously murdered. He and his party +had been kindly received by their friends, and they had all gone out +together on the war-path to seek heads. It is supposed that when they +met no one, the hosts had turned on their visitors and taken their +heads, rather than return home without any. Palabun vowed vengeance, and +the whole tribe go into mourning for three months." (Bishop's Journal.) + +A Dyak mourning is not a becoming black costume, made "cheerful," as the +dressmakers say, by jet ornaments and bugle trimmings. It consists in +the abandonment of all ornament and their usual clothing, and the +substitution of a kind of a brown cloth made of the inside bark of +trees, which must be as rough and uncomfortable as it is ugly. These +people, being Milanows, have peculiar burial customs. They lay the dead +in a boat, with all his property and belongings, and send it out to sea; +for they imagine that in some way a man's possessions may be of use to +him in another world, if no one claims them on earth. + +"In this case there was no corpse to bury. The clothes were so disposed +on the bier as to represent a figure, and laid beside it were handsome +gold cloths and ornaments, gold buttons, krises,[5] and breastplates, +and weapons of Javanese manufacture, representing some hundreds of +dollars. There were also gongs and two brass guns. Of course the fate of +such boat-loads, sent adrift in a tidal river, is generally to be +capsized and lost in the water. But if Malays encounter them they do not +hesitate to appropriate the effects. Palabun knew this, so he did not +send his brother's boat away until our fleet had departed." (Bishop's +Journal.) + + [Footnote 5: A kris is a Malay dagger.] + +I remember our once meeting one of these boats. It had been caught by +branches from the bank, and swayed idly to and fro in the stream. We +could only see a heap of coloured clothes inside it, but there was a +weird, ghastly look about the boat which made us shudder. An unburied +corpse, left to the winds and waves, without a prayer or a blessing! how +could it be otherwise? Even if we could delude ourselves into fancying +the Dyaks happy during their lives without Christianity, there can be no +doubt of their being miserable when death comes. They all believe dimly +in a future state, but their dread of spirits is so great that they can +have no ideas of happiness unconnected with their bodies. "Having no +hope, and without God in the world," describes the mental state of a +heathen Dyak. In 1856, we were living for a few weeks on a hill called +Peninjauh, some miles from Kuching, where the Rajah had built a cottage +as a sanitarium after illness. The cool freshness of the mountain air, +and the glorious view from See-afar Cottage, were indeed conducive to +health. On the hillsides lived several villages of Land Dyaks, and I had +a woman as nurse to my baby who belonged to one of these villages. The +cholera was in the country at that time, and three men had died of the +Sebumban Dyaks. Every night the most mournful wailing arose above the +trees--a sad sound indeed, rising and falling on the wind as the friends +of the dead walked all through the jungle paths near their homes, now +near to our cottage, now far off. One night I found my little ayah +seated in the nursery when she ought to have been in the cook-house +getting her supper. "What is the matter, Nina? Are you ill, that you are +eating no supper?" "No, I am not ill, but I dare not go to the +cook-house to-night." "Why?" "I fear to meet the spirits who are abroad +to-night in the jungle." "The spirits of the dead men?" "No, the spirits +who come to fetch them." After three days the bodies of these Dyaks were +burnt, for this was the custom of the Sebumbans. The dead man is laid +on a pile of wood, and they all sit round watching. Nina said, that when +the fire has burnt some time the dead man sits up for a moment, +whereupon they all burst into renewed waitings of sorrow and farewell. I +am told that the heat swelling the sinews of the dead body may cause +this curious phenomenon; but could there be a more mournful, hopeless +story of death? + +It is a relief to return to the party on the Rejang River. They were +much entertained one day with a war-dance between two warriors, which +was a graphic pantomime of their customs. "The two men appeared fully +armed, and were supposed to be each alone on the war-path, looking out +for a head. They moved to the beat of native drums, and seemed to be +going through all the motions of looking out for an enemy, pulling out +the ranjows (sharp pieces of cane stuck in the earth, point upwards, to +lame an enemy). At length they descried one another, danced defiance, +and, flourishing swords and shields, commenced the attack. The +nimbleness with which they parried every stroke of the sword, and +covered their bodies with their shields, was remarkable. In real combat, +to strike the shield is certain death, because the sword sticks in the +wood and cannot be withdrawn in time to prevent the other man from using +his sword. After a time, one of the combatants fell wounded, and covered +his body with his shield. The other danced round him triumphantly, and +with one blow pretended to cut off his head; then, head in hand, he +capered with the wildest gestures, expressive of the very ecstasy of +savage delight But, on looking at his trophy closely, he recognized the +features of a friend, and, smitten with remorse, he replaced the head +with much solicitude. Then, moving with a slow, measured tread, he wept, +and with many sighs of grief adjusted the head with much care, caught +rain in his shield and poured it over the body; then rubbed and shook +the limbs, which by degrees became alive by his mesmeric-like passings +and chafings from the feet upwards. Each limb as it revived beat time to +the music, first faintly, then with more vigour, till it came to the +head; and when that nodded satisfactorily, and the whole body of his +friend was in motion, he gave him a few extra shakes, lifted him on his +legs, and the scene concluded by their dancing merrily together." +(Bishop's Journal.) + +Captain Brooke and my husband were a month away on this expedition. They +would have liked to pay a visit to Kum Nepa, a Kyan chief, who lived +much farther up the river,--six days in a fast Kyan boat, said the +Dyaks, ten days in the boats our friends had with them. But Kum Nepa had +just lost two children from small-pox, and, according to their custom, +he and all his tribe had left their houses and taken to the jungle. The +Dyaks dread small-pox to such a degree that, when it appears, they +neglect all their usual occupation. The seed is left unsown, the paddy +unreaped; they leave the sick to die untended, and support themselves +in the jungle upon wild fruits and roots, until the scourge has passed +away. + +From the time we lived at Sarawak a continual effort was made to +introduce vaccination. It was difficult to get lymph in good order at so +distant a place; the sea voyage often rendered it useless. The other +difficulty was made by the Malays, who inoculated for small-pox; and, as +they charged the Dyaks a rupee a head for inoculating them, made it +answer pecuniarily. Some who were adepts in the art went about the +country inoculating until they caused quite an epidemic of small-pox. +Now, I believe, the Dyaks have learnt from experience the superior +advantages of vaccination, and, by a late _Sarawak Gazette_, I gather +that it is one of the duties of a Resident among the tribes up country +to vaccinate his people as well as to judge them wisely. + +When the guns were mounted at the fort, and a garrison of seventy men, +under Abong Duraup, settled there to guard it, the fleet left the Rejang +to return to Sarawak. Captain Brooke had persuaded Palabun to give up +his ideas of retaliation for his brother's death, on condition that the +Kapuas people who killed him should give satisfaction. The last +afternoon was devoted to doctoring the sick and giving them a stock of +remedies. One poor man had nearly recovered his eyesight during the week +he had been under treatment. So the Sarawak flag was hoisted at the fort +and saluted, and after some good advice and renewed promises from the +Sakarrans and Kenowits, the boats pulled away to the _Jolly Bachelor_, +which had been left at the Serikei River; and a few days afterwards we +heard gongs and boat music on the river, and my servant Quangho running +into my room called out, "Our Tuan is coming," so we all went down to +the stone wharf and welcomed them home. The lameness which had so long +hindered my husband from moving about, did not yield to any remedies we +applied, and at last we went to Singapore for medical advice. The +doctors there sent their patient to China for a cold season, and he +spent six weeks at Hongkong with the Bishop of Victoria, and at Canton +with other friends, to the advantage of his knee. Afterwards we went +together to Malacca, where there was a hot spring bubbling up in a +field. Into this spring we put a large tub; and there, in the early +morning, Frank used to sit, with no neighbours but the snipe feeding in +the field, and, as he had his gun by his side, he occasionally shot some +game for breakfast. + +In 1853 we went home. My health was very much broken, and my husband was +called to England by the necessary transfer of the mission from the +Borneo Mission Society, whose funds came to an end, to the venerable +Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, who kindly adopted us. We +arrived at Southampton one grey November day. I wondered to see the sky +so near the earth, and the trees almost like shrubs in height compared +to our Eastern forests. But it was sweet to hear the children speaking +English in the streets, and their fair rosy faces were refreshing +indeed. I never thought our school-children plain when we were at +Sarawak, but the contrast was certainly very great when we looked about +us in England. + + + + +PART II. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +RETURN TO SARAWAK. + + +In 1854, after eighteen months' stay in England, during which time my +husband worked as deputation for the Society for the Propagation of the +Gospel, we returned to Sarawak, _via_ Calcutta, in one of Green's +sailing vessels, for we were too large a party to afford the overland +route. + +Besides ourselves and our baby, we had two young ladies who wished to +try and teach the Malay women in their homes, and to help with the +day-scholars at the mission-house. Only one of these ladies reached +Sarawak; the other left us at Calcutta, and married there eventually. +The Rev. J. Grayling and Mr. Owen, a schoolmaster, also went with us, +and a young friend who was put under my charge, and lived with us for +some years on account of his health. + +For nurse I had an old Malay woman who had taken some children to +England from Singapore, and wanted to return. She was a capital sailor, +and always able to carry Mab about however rough the sea was. Nothing +could exceed her devotion to the child, but she had contracted a bad +habit of always sharing the sailor's grog by day, and requiring a +tumbler of hot gin and water before she went to bed. This was a great +trouble to me, but I never saw her tipsy till we were staying at the +Bishop's palace at Calcutta. Ayah, having been in the bazaar buying +presents for her children, was brought back lying senseless in a +palanquin. The Bishop, who was in the hall when the bearers set the +palanquin down, exclaimed, "Oh! that woman has cholera! take her away." + +However, she was kindly cared for by the servants, and appeared the next +day without any shame, bringing "a toy for missy." All my lecture was +quite thrown away--she "had only taken a glass of grog in the bazaar, +and they had put bang into it, so of course it made her insensible; but +it was no fault of hers." This curious old woman was a Mahometan, +therefore her tipsiness was inexcusable. She practised the habit of +alms-giving, however, not only with her own money but mine. She used to +say I did nothing in that way for the salvation of my soul, and, as she +loved me, she must do it for me. I remember seeing a beggar-woman with +twin babies, who used to sit in the streets of Kensington with Mab's +bonnets on the babies' heads. Ayah gave them for my sake. Indeed, she +was notorious in Kensington, because she could not resist treating boys +to ginger-beer, and I sometimes had the mortification of seeing Ayah +with a small crowd at her heels, and my baby kissing her little hands to +them as Ayah desired her. + +We only spent a week in Calcutta. The object of our going there was that +the Bishop, in conjunction with Bishop Dealtry of Madras, and Bishop +Smith of Victoria, should consecrate my husband Bishop of Labuan; but +the Bishops had not reached Calcutta, and their arrival was uncertain. +We were anxious to get to Sarawak, and could not wait for them; so it +was decided that Frank should return by himself in the autumn, and we +should proceed as quickly as we could. Sad news reached us from Kuching. +Our dear friend Willie Brereton, who had done so much for the Sakarran +Dyaks, was dead of dysentery. There was no medical man when my husband +was away. + +Our Rajah had been very dangerously ill of small-pox, and had only a +Malay doctor, who was devoted but ignorant. Happily Mr. Horsburgh, with +medical books to aid him, came to the rescue in time, but the return of +the physician of soul and body was much desired. I see, by my journal, +that after a weary passage of twenty-four days in a sailing vessel from +Singapore, we reached Sarawak on the 25th of April. Mr. Horsburgh came +to fetch us from the mouth of the river in the Siam boat, a long boat +with a house in it, which the Rajah brought with him from Siam after his +embassy to that country. Mr. Horsburgh told us that all the chief +Government officers were away, looking for Lanun pirates on the coast; +but we had plenty of kind greetings from the Christian Chinese, who came +about us in the bazaar, and all the school-children came running down +the hill with Mrs. Stahl, who almost screamed for joy at our return. The +house looked nicer than ever, for the trees had grown up about it, and I +felt most vividly that this was our chosen home, endeared to us by many +sorrows, but the place where we had received much blessing from God, and +where our work lay, and perhaps some day its reward, in the Church +gathered from the heathen into Christ's fold. We were not long alone; +the next day Mr. Chambers arrived from Banting with a party of seven +baptized Dyaks. + +We had brought all sorts of beautiful things from England for the +Church. A carpet to lay before the altar, a new altar-cloth, also +painted shields for the roof. Our friends in England had furnished us +with a box of clothes for the Dyaks, cotton trousers and jackets, and +gay handkerchiefs for their heads. We always dressed the Christians for +baptism--it was a sign of the new life they professed at the font; but +we did not expect them to wear clothes generally, except their own +chawats, nor was it to be desired until they knew how to wash them. We +had also brought a beautiful magic lantern with a dissolving-view +apparatus for our people's amusement and instruction, for some of the +slides were painted by Miss Rigaud to illustrate the life of our Lord, +and there were many astronomical slides also. All these treasures +brought us numerous visitors. The Chinese Christians were all invited to +a feast at our house, after which the magic lantern was exhibited, and +we were glad to find that our school-children could explain all the +Scripture slides quite correctly. + +Mr. Horsburgh accompanied Mr. Chambers to Banting that day, to assist +him in his work for the Balow Dyaks; and soon after, Mr. Gomes arrived +from Lundu with a large party of men and boys; but I have already +described their visit. My dear husband went off to Calcutta again in +September, and was consecrated Bishop of Labuan on St. Luke's Day, +October 18, 1855. Sir James Brooke added Sarawak to his diocese and +title on his return; indeed, the small island of Labuan, no larger than +the Isle of Wight, was only the English title to a bishopric which was +then almost entirely a missionary one. The Straits Settlements, +including Singapore, Penang, and Malacca, were then under the Government +of India, and Labuan was the only spot of land under the immediate +control of the Colonial Office. The Bishop of Calcutta would, from the +first, have been glad to part with so distant a portion of his then +unwieldy diocese, but it could not at that time be effected. As soon as +the Straits Settlements were passed over to the Queen's Government, the +Bishop of Labuan became virtually the Bishop of the Straits, and, even +long before that, performed all episcopal functions in those +settlements; but the title has only lately been altered. + +As I was not present at my husband's consecration, I cannot do better +than transcribe good Bishop Wilson's letter to the venerable society +(S.P.G.), describing the ceremony. + + Calcutta, Bishop's Palace, October 22, 1855. + + Thank God, the consecration took place with complete success on + Thursday, October 18th, St. Luke's Day. The Bishop elect arrived + some days before, the Bishop of Victoria on the 16th, and Bishop + Dealtry (of Madras) on the 17th. The crowded cathedral marked + the interest which was excited. We sent out two hundred printed + invitations to gentry, besides requesting the clergy to attend + in their robes. There were more than eight hundred jammed into + the cathedral, and hundreds could not gain admittance. The + clergy were thirty. After morning prayer the assistant bishops + conducted the elect Bishop to the vestry, where, having attired + himself in his rochet, he was presented to me when seated near + the Communion table. Her Majesty's mandate was then read, and + the commission of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. The + several oaths were next duly administered by the registrar of + the diocese. The Litany was devoutly read by the Bishop of + Madras, and afterwards the examination of the candidate took + place. I should have said that the sermon followed the Nicene + Creed. It was by the Bishop of Madras, the text being taken from + 2 Tim. i. 6, 7:-- + + "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the + gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. + For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, + and of love, and of a sound mind." + + The Bishop has consented at my request to print the discourse, + which I shall have the pleasure of sending copies of for the + Archbishop and yourself, I was gratified at observing that the + text is taken from the solemn words used at the very act itself + of consecration. After the examination, the Bishop returned to + the vestry to put on the rest of the episcopal dress; and as the + vestry in the cathedral is at the west end of the building, he + had to pass down the one hundred and twenty feet conducting to + it, with the eyes and hearts of the congregation fixed upon him + with wonder and pleasure. On his return, the "Veni, Creator + Spiritus" was sung, each alternate line being answered by the + Bishops and clergy, with the accompaniment of our fine organ. + After the appointed prayers, which are directed to follow this + hymn, the imposition of hands took place, and the words of the + consecration pronounced by myself as presiding metropolitan. The + Bible was next placed in his hands, with the admirable + exhortation prescribed--an exhortation which I think + incomparable and almost inspired, as indeed the whole service + is. The collection at the offertory was made for the Sarawak + Mission, and above five hundred C. rupees collected. The whole + service concluded with the Holy Communion of the body and blood + of Christ. + + The new Bishop preached at St. Thomas's Church on Sunday, the + 21st, for his mission; and a single gentleman contributed one + thousand C. rupees. He will preach at the cathedral on the 28th, + when something more will be gathered. The Bishop of Madras has + presented the four hundred rupees of his voyage expenses, from + Madras to Calcutta and back, to the same blessed cause. I have + had three breakfast parties (for I don't give dinners) to meet + the Bishop, of about forty each, on the day after the + consecration, and on Saturday, and this morning, and the + addresses made by Bishops Dealtry and Smith were most warmly + received. Thus has this great occasion passed off--the first + consecration, I believe, that has ever taken place out of + England since the glorious Reformation, and perhaps the first + missionary Bishop sent out by our Church; unless the Bishop of + Mauritius may be considered as having preceded him. + + It was, indeed, a singular event that four Protestant Bishops + should meet in the heart of heathen India, amidst one hundred + and fifty millions of idolaters and worshippers of the false + Prophet. + + God be praised for this completion of episcopal functions in + India! + + DANIEL CALCUTTA. + +I must add to this graphic letter a note which the venerable Bishop +wrote to my husband, November 6th of the same year. + + Tennasarim, Bishop's Cabin. + + MY BELOVED REV. BISHOP OF LABUAN, + + Whether to write to you by the pilot or not I can hardly tell. + However, I am so anxious for your beginning well at Singapore + and Sarawak, and so responsible also from having consecrated you + to the Lord, that I must write. I have taken the liberty with + you which Mr. Cecil took with me in 1801, to caution you, now + you are a chief pastor and a father in God, against excessive + hilarity of spirits. There is a mild gravity, with occasional + tokens of delight and pleasure, becoming your sacred character, + not noisy mirth. + + I met with a letter of a minister, now with God, to a brother + minister, who was about to take his duty for a time, which I + think will give you pleasure. "Take heed to _thyself_; your own + soul is your first and greatest concern. You know that a sound + body alone can work with power; much more a healthy soul. Keep a + clear conscience through the blood of the Lamb. Keep up close + communion with God. Study likeness to Him in all things. Read + the Bible for your own growth first, then for your people. + Expound much; it is through the truth that souls are to be + sanctified, not through essays upon the truth. You will not find + many companions; be the more with God. Be of good courage, + there remaineth much land to be possessed. Be not dismayed, for + Christ shall be with you to deliver you. I am often sore cast + down; but the Eternal God is my refuge. Now farewell; the Lord + make you a faithful steward." If we do not meet again in the + flesh, may we meet, never to part, before the throne of the + Great Redeemer! + + I am your affectionate + + D. CALCUTTA. + +After my husband's consecration, he undertook a confirmation tour for +Bishop Wilson, at the mission stations around Calcutta. He also +consecrated a church at Midnapore in South Bengal. In December, after +four month's absence, he returned to Sarawak. + +Our party in the mission-house during his absence consisted of a +chaplain, a missionary lady learning Malay and teaching the girls' +school, our young friend Mr. Grant, myself, and baby Mab. The days ran +along a smooth groove, although we had all plenty to do. Up early in the +morning, then a walk, and service in church at seven. After prayers some +hours' teaching and learning before midday bath and breakfast. The +afternoon was a more lazy time, though the hum of school went on +continuously, while we did our sewing and reading in the coolest corners +we could find. The new school-house, in which all the boys, the Stahls, +and Mr. Owen, the schoolmaster, lived, was near enough to the +mission-house for us to know the hour of the day by the lesson going on +at the time; for all the younger boys repeated their multiplication +tables in a loud voice together (in Malay), also their Chinese reading; +then came the singing, rounds and part-songs, the most popular lesson of +all. At four o'clock the school broke up. The children amused themselves +as English boys do. There was a season for marbles, for hop-scotch, for +tops, and for kites. Above all, do Chinese children love kites, and are +most ingenious in making them. They cut thin paper into the shapes of +birds, fish, or butterflies, and stretch it over thin slips of the spine +of the cocoa-nut leaf, then they ornament it with bits of red or blue +paper, and fasten it together with a pinch of boiled rice. The string is +the most expensive part, and two pennyworth lasts many kites, for they +are very frail affairs, and in that land of trees do not long escape +being caught, though they fly beautifully. Miss J---- had a cockatoo +which amused her and the little girls during sewing-class. He was a +beautiful bird with a rosy crest, but extremely mischievous. To sharpen +his beak he notched all the Venetian shutters in the verandahs; and if +he spied a looking-glass, flew at it in a rage and broke it: fortunately +there were no large mirrors in the house. These birds look very pretty +perching in the trees, and this one became tame enough to be trusted out +of doors, but they are bad inmates. + +We had also a chicken-yard for Alan's amusement, and great were our +difficulties in preserving the nests from rats, who ate the eggs. If we +placed the nests on a high shelf, these creatures managed to shove the +eggs out of the nests so that they fell broken on the floor all ready +for their supper. At last we circumvented them by slinging the nests by +long rattans from the roof. + +At five o'clock another short service took place in church. In the +evening we read aloud to one another, while the rest sewed or drew. + +This tranquil, even monotonous life was very much to my taste in my +husband's absence, but after a few weeks it was disturbed by sad trials. +First, the chaplain had a sunstroke, and fell out with the climate, the +place, and some members of our little society; so he went to Singapore, +and from thence to England. When we were recovering from this blow, and +had again settled down into our usual ways, a worse trial befell me. + +One morning Miss J---- did not appear at early breakfast, and little +Mary, who waited upon her in her room, said she was sound asleep and did +not wake when she opened the shutters. I thought nothing of it at first, +for Miss J---- sometimes sat up late at night; but an hour afterwards, I +went into her room and looked at her. Her breathing was so laboured I +thought she was in a fit; and first I tried to put leeches on her +temples, but they would not bite, and we resolved to carry her into the +fresh breeze in the verandah, for the air of the room seemed laden with +something close and stifling. When I threw back the covering of the bed, +I perceived that the veins of both arms had been cut, and a few drops +of blood stained her night-dress; also there was a small empty bottle in +the bed with "Laudanum" on its label. The terrible truth was +evident--she had taken poison and tried to bleed herself to death! +Probably the action of the laudanum prevented any flow of blood, yet the +few drops may have relieved the brain. The horror of this discovery +nearly deprived me of my senses; but there was no time for +lamentation--she was not dead, thank God, and all our efforts must be +used to restore her to life. We were very ignorant, but we did all we +could think of. There was no doctor to apply to, only the chemist who +served the dispensary. He gave medicine which was certainly very strong, +and we put mustard plasters on her legs. By the evening she was sensible +enough to take some food, but for a week there was serious illness, and +it was a long time before I could ask my poor friend why she had done +this thing. She had left me a letter to read in the event of her death, +but of course I never read it. We were very much together, but I had not +thought her unhappy; indeed the only reason she ever gave me for so +hating her life was, that she could not learn Malay, and did not think +she should be any use as a missionary. This despondency was known to me, +but I had no idea it cut so deep. Miss J---- had a great deal of quiet +fun--she often amused us by her clever and somewhat caustic remarks. But +Sarawak was too monotonous a life for her. When, some weeks afterwards, +she had quite regained the balance of her mind, she went to Singapore, +and became a very useful member of society for many years before she +died. I never felt that I could judge her, for I had so much more to +occupy my mind and interest my heart than my companion. There was baby +in the first place, and the responsibilities of the school and mission +naturally fell to my share. No doubt it requires an even temperament to +live contentedly without society, and with only such excitement as daily +duties and the beauties of nature afford. Yet these are full of infinite +happiness, and we were not without friends, although we had no company: +the little party at Government House, as it was then called, were very +agreeable and uniformly kind. It is, however, a common mistake to +imagine that the life of a missionary is an exciting one. On the +contrary, its trial lies in its monotony. The uneventful day, mapped out +into hours of teaching and study, sleep, exercise, and religious duties; +the constant society of natives whose minds are like those of children, +and who do not sympathize with your English ideas; the sameness of the +climate, which even precludes discourse about the weather,--all this, +added to the distance from relations and friends at home, combined with +the enervating effects of a hot climate, causes heaviness of spirits and +despondency to single men and women. Married people have not the same +excuse; for besides duty and nature, they have "one friend who loves +them best," and that ought to be enough for the most exacting +temperament. I say nothing about the comforts of religion--they are the +portion of all, married or single; still some spirits become so +sensitive in solitude that they are not able to take the cheerful side, +even of their relation to their Heavenly Father, and these are generally +the most reserved to their companions. I am glad to find that +missionaries are now seldom sent alone to any station, and women are +more often associated in sisterhoods for mission work under our colonial +Bishops, so that they have the society and sympathy of English ladies +after the toils of the day. I felt much discouraged after Miss J---- +left me, and afraid of urging any one to follow in her place; but at +last a cousin of my husband's came out to us, and as she enjoyed the +climate, and delighted in the place and people, declaring that she had +never been more happy in her life than with us, I consoled myself that +it was not all the fault of Sarawak and the mission-house that poor Miss +J---- could not live there. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +CHINESE INSURRECTION. + + "Mortal! if life smile on thee, and thou find + All to thy mind, + Think, Who did once to earth from heaven descend + Thee to befriend; + So shalt thou dare forego, at His dear call, + Thy life, thine all." + + +These lines were most applicable to us during the year 1856. It was such +rest and peace when our Bishop returned from Calcutta and soothed all +the griefs and heartburnings we had suffered the four months he was +away. Then ensued the performance of his new episcopal duties. Mr. Gomes +was ordained priest in March. Confirmations took place, of our elder +school-children, who were all baptized when they first came to us; also +many Chinese Christians too, who had long attended the Bible classes at +the mission-house and stood firm to their baptismal vows. In April we +had another baby girl; and soon after, the Bishop went to Labuan, to +arrange about a church being built there. Unfortunately he caught fever +at Labuan; which declared itself at Singapore on his return. We were +both very ill, and glad of doctors' advice at Singapore; but Labuan +fever returns again and again, though in a slighter form after a while, +and was for years a constant trial to the Bishop's strength. When we +returned to Sarawak in October, our party was increased. Mr. and Mrs. +Crookshank had come out from England--she a bride, and quite a new +element of youth and beauty for Sarawak. A lady friend and her child and +nurse also came on a long visit to us, the air of Sarawak being +considered quite a tonic compared to the sea-breeze at Singapore, which +was at times visited by a hot wind from Java. Very pleasant days +followed our return home. Mrs. Harvey and I, with our children, went for +a month to "See-afar" Cottage on the hill of Serambo. I have already +mentioned this little house, built by Sir James Brooke as a sanitarium +after his attack of small-pox. The only objection to it was, that it was +built in the region of clouds: had the hill been five hundred feet +higher we should have had the clouds below us, as they are on Penang +Hill. The path up the mountain--if path it can be called--is almost a +staircase of tumbled rocks, and requires both strength and agility to +climb. It was quite beyond me; but I was carried on a man's back, +sitting on a bit of plank, with a strip of cloth fastened round my waist +and across the man's forehead, my back to his back. The Dyaks are famous +mountaineers, their bare feet cling to the stones, or notched trunks of +trees thrown from one rock to another. I never felt unsafe on my Dyak +friend's back, and he used to laugh when I proposed his setting me down +and taking a rest, and say, "You are not as heavy as a basket of durian +fruit." These Dyaks have beautiful groves of fruit-trees, and make a +good purse in the fruit season by bringing down durians, mangosteen and +lansat fruit to sell at Kuching. They also carry all their harvest of +paddy up the mountain to their rice-stores in the villages, so they are +used to heavy weights. + +We took a stock of provisions up with us, fowls and ducks, a goat and +her kid, etc., and all the bedding we wanted, for of course there was +not much furniture in the cottage. Our first night was unfortunate. We +had settled ourselves in the rooms, had our supper, and were about to go +to bed, when the servants ran out of the cook-house, which was a +stone's-throw from the cottage, crying out, "Fire!" and in a few minutes +we saw it wrapped in flames. Of course a house built of sticks and +leaves does not take long to burn down to the ground, but we were +distressed to hear the bleatings of the little kid which could not be +got out in time. The ducks, too, were still in the long basket coop in +which they were carried up, and were literally roasted in their feathers +before anybody remembered them. A large party of Dyaks were on the spot +directly they saw the flames, and they did good service by throwing +water on the roof of the cottage, and watching lest the thatch should +catch. In the morning they discovered the burnt ducks, and ate them up +with much relish, for a Dyak likes the flavour of burnt feathers. The +next day the cook-house was rebuilt. These native huts look so clean and +fresh when first put up, the straw-coloured attap[6] walls and green +leaf roofs are so agreeable to the eye. They quickly turn hay colour and +then get discoloured by the wood smoke. Except that we were at times +rather short of food, we enjoyed our mountain retreat very much. The +bath was a remarkable feature--a natural stone basin, under the shadow +of a great rock, fed by the clearest streamlet and sheltered from view +by a heavy bit of curtain, was our bathing-place. We carried a little +leaf bucket and our towels in our hands, and while we poured the fresh +water over our heads we could now and then stop to look at the great +expanse of plain and forest, with silver rivers winding amidst them, and +blue smoke stealing up here and there to mark a Dyak village. There was, +however, a particular rock on the spur of the mountain from whence we +always watched the sun set; there was a much wider view from thence. The +sea lay on the horizon, and the pointed mountain of Santubong stood on +the plain, with other ranges of hills far away. I fear we did little +else but watch the glories of earth and sky at that time, and look after +our children, who could not be trusted alone a minute on those steep +paths. + + [Footnote 6: Palm leaf.] + +Meanwhile the Bishop was paying a visit to Lundu in his new life-boat, a +boat of about twenty-eight feet, with a little covered house in it, and +water-tight compartments in the bow and stern to keep her afloat. She +was well named, for even in this first voyage she saved the lives of her +passengers. From the coast at Santubong you see blue hills far away to +the west, which lie in the Lundu country. The sea runs very high, in the +north-cast monsoon, between the mouths of these two rivers, the Sarawak +and Lundu; and on this occasion the waves on their return from Lundu +were fearful. Seven great waves like green hills advanced one after +another. The Malay crew prayed aloud with terror. Stahl and the Bishop +steered the boat and held their breaths. It looked like rushing into the +jaws of death, but the life-boat mounted the big waves one after +another, sometimes shuddering with the strain, but buoyant and stiff. +The danger past, the crew praised Allah and the good boat; and they, as +well as Stahl who had behaved so well at the time of danger, fell into a +fit of ague from the nervous shock. We knew on the top of the hill that +a fearful storm was raging, but we did not see the white boat flying +like a bird over the seven great rollers, or there would have been no +sleep for us that night. The crew never forgot it, nor the calm pluck of +their steersman the Bishop. I must confess that an attack of fever was +the result of all this exertion when he joined us on the hill. + +The rest of the year 1856 passed away quietly. We were all looking +forward to an event which was to improve the English society of the +place very much. The Rajah's nephew, Captain Brooke, was bringing out a +bride; and her brother, Mr. Charles Grant, another. These four young +people were expected in the early spring of 1857, and the Rajah was +refurnishing his bungalow to receive these additions to his family. A +new piano had arrived, and all sorts of pretty things, to brighten up +the cool dark rooms of Government House. Mr. and Mrs. Crookshank were +preparing a house for themselves also; and all their boxes, which had +remained unopened while they lived with the Rajah, were moved up to +their bungalow. Little did we think that all these treasures would be +burnt before they were even unpacked! + +The Chinese gold-workers of Bau and Seniawan had long given more or less +trouble to the Sarawak Government. They were governed by their own +self-elected kunsi (magistrates), and recognized their fealty to Sarawak +only by the payment of a small tax on the gold they washed from the +soil. They sent the gold away to China, and habitually cheated as to the +quantity obtained. They also smuggled opium from the Dutch settlement of +Sambas, thus defrauding Government of revenue. Worse than all this, they +introduced secret societies, or hui, among themselves, and threatened to +rebel if any of their kunsi were punished for breaking the laws of the +country. At Christmas, 1856, they boasted they could demolish Kuching +in one night, if they chose; and that a new Joss House they were +building there should furnish them with a pretext to gather by hundreds +to set the Joss in his temple, and possess themselves of the place and +the Europeans who lived there. These uncomfortable rumours seemed to +have some foundation when a new road was discovered which the Chinese +had made between Bau and Seniawan, another settlement nearer to Kuching. +Mr. Crookshank, who was in charge of the Government, sent word to Mr. +Johnson, who immediately came from Sakarran with a fleet of Dyaks, +delighted to have a chance of fighting the Chinese, and carrying plenty +of heads back to their homes. At the same time a gun-boat was stationed +on the river to prevent any communication between Bau and Kuching. Upon +this the kunsi came very humbly and begged pardon, declared the whole +story was a fabrication, and that they never intended mischief. We only +half believed them, but the Dyaks were dismissed, and unfortunately the +gun-boat no longer kept watch on the river. Our Christian Chinese +teacher "Sing-Song," was of the Kay tribe, the same as the Bau people, +and once a month he went there to teach his countrymen. There were a few +Christians among them. One, a goldsmith, did his best to let us know +that danger was impending, but the kunsi suspected him, and put him in +prison; we were therefore quite unprepared for what took place. On the +17th of February, three Chinese kunsi were flogged by order of the +court at Kuching, for taking the law into their own hands, and seizing a +runaway prisoner, as well as the captain of the boat in which she +absconded, although he was not guilty of hiding her. This seems to have +put the finishing touch to the factious state of feeling at Bau. The +Rajah and the Bishop had determined to take a trip together on the 15th, +in the life-boat, to Sadong, and from thence to Linga and Sakarran. The +Rajah had been ailing for some time, and we hoped this little voyage +would do him good. We prepared all the provisions for this trip: bread +and rusks were made, salt meat was cooked, and everything was ready +packed in the provision baskets (this was of great importance to us +afterwards). That evening we all met out walking, on the only +riding-road there was in those days. Rajah spoke to the school-children, +and we all amused ourselves with the little Middletons, boys of four and +five, strutting along with turbaned hats and long walking-sticks. It was +a dull evening, and we all felt unaccountably gloomy. We fancied it was +because Rajah was not well enough to come and dine with us, as he had +purposed in the morning; but during dinner I remembered afterwards that +the Bishop said, "If any sudden alarm were to take place to-night it +would rouse him and make him all right." + +We certainly went to bed without expecting anything to happen, but, +about twelve o'clock, we were roused by shouts and screams, and the +firing of guns. We got up and looked out. The Rajah's bungalow was in +flames across the river. On our side the Middletons' house was burning, +and Mr. Crookshank's new house, a little way up the road, was soon after +on fire. The most horrid noises filled the air, there was evidently +fighting going on at the two forts at either end of the town by the +river's side. We knew there were very few defenders at either of these +two forts, and that they would soon be taken; for by this time we were +sure it must be the Chinese miners who had fulfilled their threat to +take the town. We thought, "When the forts are taken they will come to +us." Presently the brothers, William and John Channon, who lived near +us, came to our house, bringing their wives and children for shelter. +They brought news that the fort near their houses was taken and burnt, +and they dare not stay in their own cottages, as they were Government +servants, and would be obnoxious to the rebels. + +We took our children out of bed and dressed them, and then we all went +down to the school-house, from whence we could see the burning houses +and hear what was going on in the town. A Chinaman came up from the +bazaar, begging us not to go to them for shelter, for they had been +warned by the kunsi not to harbour any English people, and they dared +not take us in. Poor creatures, they were in terror for themselves, as +they were not of the same tribe of Chinese as the Bau people. What +should we do? + +[Illustration: WE ALL WENT DOWN TO THE SCHOOL-HOUSE, FROM WHENCE WE +COULD SEE THE BURNING HOUSES. + +_Page_ 128.] + +We were so large a party, and had so many children amongst us, that we +did not venture to hide in the jungle: the night was quite dark and we +might lose one another. Then the Bishop said, "We cannot make any +resistance: we will hide away the guns we have in the house, and unite +in prayer to God." So we all knelt round him while he commended us to +the mercy of our Heavenly Father, and prayed for all our dear friends +who were exposed to the fury of the Chinese. Then we sat and waited. +Miss Woolley, who had only been three months in Sarawak, read aloud a +psalm from time to time to comfort us; but the hours seemed very long. +At five o'clock in the morning the kunsi, having possessed themselves of +the Chinese town, sent us word that they did not mean to harm us--"the +Bishop was a good man and cared for the Chinese," but he must go down to +the hospital and attend to their wounded. Then came the welcome news +that the Rajah had escaped, and Mr. Crookshank and Middleton--the three +people whom the Chinese most desired to kill, for the one was chief +constable and the other police magistrate, who carried out the Rajah's +sentence on the kunsi. A price was set on their heads, but the Malays' +love of their English Rajah made that only an idle threat. We were told +that Mrs. Crookshank was dead, and the little Middletons, as well as Mr. +Wellington, who lodged in their house, and Mr. Nicholetts, who was +staying at the Rajah's house. Mrs. Crookshank, however, was not dead, +but lying wounded in a ditch near the ashes of her house. When the +Bishop knew this he demanded her of the kunsi. They said no, at first, +for they were angry that her husband had escaped; but Bishop refused to +attend to the wounded unless they gave her up, so at last they gave +leave to have her carried to our house. + +It was about ten o'clock when she was brought in--a pitiful sight, her +dress covered with blood, her hair matted with grass and dust, her +fingers bleeding. It did not seem possible she could live after +remaining all night in this dreadful state. She told us that she and her +husband did not awake until the house was full of men. They had only +time to jump up and run down their bath-room stairs, he catching up a +spear for their defence. Opening the bath-room door it creaked, and a +man came running round the house shouting, "Assie Moy," the name of the +woman-prisoner they had seized. He struck down Mrs. Crookshank with a +sword he had in his hand, and Mr. Crookshank attacked him with the +spear. They struggled together till the Chinaman cut his right arm to +the bone, and the spear fell from his hand; then, seeing his wife lying +dead, as he thought, in the grass, he managed to get away to the edge of +the jungle, and sitting down, faint with loss of blood, saw his house +burn to the ground. As morning dawned he found his way to the Datu +Bandar's house, where the Rajah had already arrived, and Middleton. +Meanwhile the Chinese, chasing the fowls from the burning fowl-house, +came upon Mrs. Crookshank lying on her face, and one of them, seizing +her by her hair, desired her to follow him. She could not walk a step, +so he carried her in his arms; but when she groaned with the pain, he +laid her in a ditch near the road. Many Chinese came and stood by her: +they covered her with their jackets, one held an umbrella over her head, +another offered her some tobacco, but they would not let any of our +people touch her until an order came from the kunsi. We had sent our +eldest school-boy to reassure her, and he stood beside her until our +servants could bring her away safely. As soon as the Bishop had dressed +the wounded in the town, he came home for some breakfast. When I saw him +I called out, for his pith hat was covered with blood. "It is only +fowl's blood," said he, "don't be frightened: they killed a chicken over +my head as a sign of friend ship." The Middletons' servants came to us +early in the morning, and said that they did not know what had become of +their mistress, but the two little boys were killed by the Chinese, +their heads cut off, and their bodies thrown into the burning. Later on, +we heard that Mrs. Middleton, after seeing Mr. Wellington killed in +trying to defend her, had escaped into the bath-room and hidden herself +in one of the big water-jars; but, the door being open, she had seen her +children murdered, and then had got out of the jar and run into the +jungle, where she concealed herself in a little pool of water, much +hidden by overhanging boughs. There this poor mother remained for some +hours, until a Chinaman from the town came to the spring, carrying a +drawn sword in his hand. "Oh, sir, pray don't kill me!" she called out. +"Oh no!" answered the man, "I am a friend of Mr. Peter" (her husband), +"and will take care of you." So he took her to his house, and dressed +her in Chinese clothes. It was almost a wonder to me that this poor +young woman lived through that dreadful time. As the day wore on, Mr. +Ruppell, the banker of the place, and a great friend of the Chinese, +came and took up his abode with us. Then he, the Bishop, and Mr. Helms, +the manager of the English Merchant Company, were ordered to meet the +kunsi at the court-house; also the Datu Bandar, the chief Malay +magistrate. There a very trying scene took place. The kunsi sat in the +seats of the magistrates, smoking, their principal in the Rajah's own +chair. They stated that they did not wish to make war with the English, +or the Malays, only with the Rajah's government, and they desired those +present to assist them in the government of the country. This they had +drawn up in writing, and desired the English and Datu Bandar to sign. +The Bishop pointed out to them that the best thing they could do would +be to return to Bau and defend their town; that the Dyaks would +certainly come in fleets of boats directly they heard of what had +happened at Kuching, and they would as certainly be killed if they +remained in the place. This was true enough, but they were afraid of the +Malays attacking them on the water. The Chinese are bad boatmen. They +could not therefore make up their minds to go, and much fierce +discussion arose. The thieves and rogues of the place, being under no +restraint, robbed all the houses, on this afternoon, whose inmates had +taken refuge at the mission-house. The Christian Chinese, being afraid +of their countrymen, rushed into our house, carrying all sorts of goods +and chattels, and caused me much distress on Mrs. Crookshank's account, +who was very sensitive to fresh alarms. However, we settled our Chinese +friends in some of the lower rooms. The Channons and their babies were +in the attics. Night came at last, and a dead silence fell upon the town +and the crowded mission-house. Not even the usual sounds in the bazaar +or on the river were heard; only an occasional gun broke the stillness +of the night. Friends and foes were alike weary. We did not venture to +undress, but lay down all ready for flight if necessary, with our hats +and little bundles beside us. The Bishop and Mr. Ruppell watched all +night in the porch. Friday morning the Chinese, continually urged by the +Bishop, determined to return to Bau. Later on they heard a rumour that +the Malays would attack them on the river; then they made the Datu +Bandar sign a promise not to follow them. Still they felt no confidence +that he would not, so they said they would take Mr. Helms with them as a +hostage for the Datu's good faith. Poor Mr. Helms did not like this idea +at all, and having a fast boat lying in the creek near his house, he +slipped away early in the afternoon, down the river, and hid himself in +the jungle. No one in Sarawak could imagine what had become of him. + +About midday the Bishop told me he wished me, Miss Woolley, and the +children, including Alan Grant, to go to Singapore in a trading schooner +which Mr. Ruppell had detained at the mouth of the river in case of +emergency. + +Mrs. Stahl and Miss Coomes were to remain and nurse Mrs. Crookshank, but +it would be a great relief to him to think of us in safety. The Chinese +kunsi also wished us to go, "that the people at Singapore might see that +they did not desire our death." It seemed very hard to me to leave my +husband in such danger, for that morning the kunsi had flourished swords +in his face and threatened him, knowing very well that he wished to +bring the Rajah back. Still I knew he could more easily provide for the +safety of those left behind if we were already out of the way. So I +packed up some clothes and provisions for the voyage. While I was doing +this a Chinaman came from the _Good Luck_ schooner to say I must only +take one box for our party, as the schooner was very full of Chinese +passengers, fleeing for fear of the kunsi. With this we had to be +content. At three o'clock we went to the shop of Amoo, the Chinese owner +of the _Good Luck_. There I found my husband writing to Mr. Johnson at +Linga, to tell him what had happened. Then Datu Bandar came in to say +that the kunsi had gone up the river, and had taken some of the fort +guns with them; that they were very crowded in the boats, and that he +should follow after them with a Malay force at night. They did nothing, +however, when the time came; for until the Malays had got their families +safe out of the place they were not willing to fight. They were brave +enough when the women and children were moved to Samarahan on Saturday. +There were many Chinese women collected at Amoo's, belonging to the +shopkeepers in the bazaar. The wife of the court scribe, whom I knew, +told me in a whisper that she managed to get some bread to the Rajah and +his party, and had told Mr. Crookshank that his wife was alive and with +us. At last the life-boat was ready. Stahl went with us to steer, and +said there were plenty of Chinese to row the boat. When we got down to +it, we found it not only fully manned by Chinese, but full of their +women, children, and boxes, so that we could scarcely find room to +squeeze ourselves into the stern, and we were so heavily laden that we +made very slow progress. It was no use protesting, however: we were only +English folk, and the Chinese had it all their own way in those days. +About eight o'clock we got down to the mouth of the Morotabas, where the +schooner lay. Pitch dark and very wet it was, but it was a relief when +all the Chinese passengers climbed up the schooner ladder, and the men +hauled the boxes up one after another, last of all a very heavy one +which it took six men to lift, full of dollars,--so no wonder we were +overladen. Last of all I climbed into the _Good Luck_, leaving the +children still in the boat with Stahl and Kimchack, one of our +school-boys whose family were moving away in the schooner. I found the +deck covered with Chinese, and when I said to the little Portuguese +captain, "Where is the little cabin Mr. Ruppell promised me I should +have?" he answered, "Oh, ma'am, pray go back to your boat. I have +neither water nor fuel for the people who are already on board. The +cabin is filled with the family and friends of the Chinese owner of the +schooner, and I cannot give you even room to sit down anywhere." It was +indeed true. My friend, the court scribe's wife, said, "Come and sit by +me on the deck." "But the children, they cannot be exposed day and night +on deck." "Oh well, there is no other place for them." So I jumped into +the life-boat again, and reclaimed my treasures. "Rather," said Miss +Woolley and I, "die on shore than in that horrid boat." Indeed we felt +quite cheerful now we had the boat to ourselves; and Kimchack said he +had already been two nights on board the _Good Luck_ and had had no room +to lie down. There we were, however, in the middle of the river, with no +one to row the boat. Stahl could not move it by himself. At this moment +a small boat pulled alongside, and Mr. Helms' face appeared in the +darkness. How glad we were to see him! and he, faint and exhausted with +wandering all day in the jungle, was glad of a glass of wine, which was +soon got out of the provision basket. Then we opened a tin of soup, and +fed our tired and hungry children, who behaved all through those +terrible days as if it was a picnic excursion got up for their +amusement. They enjoyed everything, and were no trouble at all, either +Alan or Mab. Edith was a baby, and suffered very much from want of +proper food--but that was later on. Mr. Helms and his crew rowed our +boat into Jernang Creek, where there were some Malay houses. In one of +these he and Alan went to sleep, but he advised us to remain in the boat +until the morning. We laid Mab and Edith on one of the seats; Miss +Woolley lay on the other; and I sat at the bottom of the boat to prevent +the children from falling off. The mosquitoes were numerous on that mud +bank, and I was very glad when the morning dawned. At six o'clock Mr. +Helms came to say we could have an empty Malay house on shore for a few +days, so we gladly mounted up the landing-place and found a kind and +hospitable reception from our Malay friends. They had put up some mat +partitions in a large room, that we might sleep in private, and +presented us with a nice curry for breakfast. We then unpacked our box +and dried the clothes in it, which were wet through from the overlading +of the life-boat. About midday two Englishmen arrived from the Quop +River, nearer to Kuching, where they had been with the Rajah. They only +stayed a short time, but told us that the Kunsi Chinese had really gone +to Bau, and that the Bishop was with the Rajah at Quop. Late at night I +had a note from my husband, saying he thought we might return to +Sarawak, for all was quiet, and he hoped the Rajah would come back early +on Sunday morning. The next morning, therefore, we prepared to set off +again in the life-boat, but first I went to pay a visit to Inchi Bouyang +the Malay writer, who lived in one of the houses near, and who was too +stout to venture out of his own house into a less strongly built one. +This seems absurd enough, but the Malay houses were certainly very +slight; they seemed to sway in the mud of the creek, and the floors of +the rooms were made of very open strips of nibong palm, so that you had +to walk turning your feet well out in order not to slip through the +lantiles. I found many Malays gathered in the writer's house, all to +entreat me not to go to Kuching, because it was "not a lucky day." "If +the Malays fight the Chinese to-day," they said, "they will be beaten." +"What reason have you for saying so?" "No reason exactly, but the day is +unlucky; it is like Friday to the English, they never go to sea on that +day." "Oh," said I, "that was long ago: they often go to sea on Friday +now they know better, and no sensible person thinks anything of lucky or +unlucky days." "Well, we have told you what we think. If you must go, +some of us will go with you, and we shall tell the Tuan Padre it was not +our fault that you would not wait until to-morrow." So Lulut, a servant +of the Rajah's, and another Malay got into the boat with us, and we set +off up the river. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +CHINESE INSURRECTION (_Continued_). + + +As we proceeded up the river we agreed we would ask news of any boat we +met. Presently we noticed smoke rising above the trees. "The Malays are +burning the Chinese town," said the men; but as we drew nearer it was +evidently the Malay town which was burning. At last we met a boat. "Yes; +the Chinese had returned, and had set fire to the Malay town; they were +also firing at the Sarawak Chinese in the bazaar." On Saturday the +Bishop and the Channons and Stahl had unspiked two of the guns left in +the fort, and had hoisted the Sarawak flag again on the flag-staff. The +Bishop then went to the Rajah's war boat at the Quop, and told him that +the Malays had sent away their women, and were ready to fight should the +Chinese return; and he begged him to come to our house early the next +morning, where breakfast should be ready for him, and take the command. +But the Chinese heard of this, and returned in the morning, some by +river, some by road. As soon as the Malays saw their boats rounding the +corner near the Malay town, they attacked them bravely, drove them +ashore, and though suffering much loss from their superior fire, +captured ten of their boats, and secured them to a Malay prahu in the +river. While this struggle was going on, a large party of Chinese, who +walked from Seniawan, were ransacking the town. Enraged with the Bishop +for trying to bring the Rajah back, they rushed into our house to find +him; but he, having sent off all our belongings, English and native, ran +down the back stairs while the Chinese rushed up into the porch in +front, and escaped to the Chinese town, where shots were flying about in +plenty, but did not hit him. He got into a little boat passing by, with +two Malays in it, and they paddled him to the Rajah's war boat, then +retreating down the river. When they reached the Quop he found a little +boat, which brought him quickly to Jernang. + +We lay off the town in the life-boat, and saw one boat after another +rowing fast towards us. In one, Mr. Koch, the missionary, with a number +of school-boys; in another, Mrs. Crookshank, laid on a mattress, Mrs. +Stahl, and Miss Coomes, and the school-girls; then the Channons' +families and some Chinese; then the Sing-Song's family, and more boys. +"Where is the Bishop?" I shouted. "In the Rajah's war boat. We had the +greatest difficulty in getting boats enough for us; the Chinese were +running up to the house when he sent us off, and firing had already +begun in the streets when Mrs. Crookshank was got into the boat." + +This was an anxious moment; but before long our servant James appeared +with a message to me from my husband, to return to Jernang, and stay +there until he appeared. Our Malay friends here left us, to join their +families anchored in boats by the banks, and I filled the life-boat with +the school-children to lighten the other boats. Then we pulled slowly +back against the tide to Jernang. The little landing-place was crowded +when we arrived, for the smaller boats had got there first. I had the +greatest difficulty in persuading the Malays to give shelter to the +Chinese Christians and children. I answered for their good behaviour; +but all Chinese, whether rebels or no, were in sufficiently bad odour in +those days. At last I got them part of a house to themselves. No sooner +was all arranged than the Bishop arrived in his little boat; it was like +receiving him from the dead. + +Presently appeared the Rajah's war boat, he standing at the stern. We +all ran down to meet him and Mr. Crookshank, and take them to Bertha, +who had been carried into a house. While we were all standing on the +little wharf, built on tall piles into the water, the Malays cried out +that it was giving way, and we must all go into the houses. The Bishop +then decided what to do with his large party. Mr. Helms had a schooner +close by, in which he was going to Sambas, to seek assistance from the +Dutch, our nearest neighbours. He kindly offered to take Miss Woolley, +Miss Coomes, and two of our eldest school-boys with him. The rest of us +could go to Linga, where there was a fort, as a little pinnace belonging +to Mr. Steele lay handy at the mouth of the river. The Chinese, however, +implored to go with us; and indeed it would have been cruel to leave +them a prey to the Malays, or the bad Chinese, or the Dyaks. When we +were lodged in the pinnace, therefore, the Bishop went back to Jernang, +and packed all our Chinese into the life-boat, which was attached by a +rope to the pinnace; so we were all together. It was nearly dark when we +weighed anchor, and left the mouth of the river. There was a tiny cabin, +just large enough to hold Bertha on her mattress; a fowl-house, into +which our native children crept; an open hold, where we women sat down +on our bundles, with our children in our arms; and there was a place for +cargo forward, where the men settled themselves. The Rajah in his war +boat also proceeded to Linga, and we expected him to arrive long before +our slow boat; he would meet Mr. Johnson, his nephew, there, and +organize a force of Dyaks from the great rivers, Sakarran and Batang +Lupar, to drive away the Chinese rebels. We never had any doubt of their +doing this eventually, though we feared the remedy might be almost as +bad as the disease, if the Dyaks proved unmanageable and quarrelled with +one another. The night was very dark and wet, and the deck leaked upon +us, so that we and our bags and bundles were soon wet through. But we +neither heeded the rain nor felt the cold. We had eaten nothing since +early morning, but were not hungry; and although for several nights we +could scarcely be said to have slept, we were not sleepy. A deep +thankfulness took possession of my soul; all our dear ones were spared +to us. My children were in my arms, my husband paced the deck over my +head. I seemed to have no cares, and to be able to trust to God for the +future, who had been so merciful to us hitherto. I remember, too, when +Mrs. Stahl opened the provision basket, and gave us each a slice of +bread and meat, how very good it was, although we had not thought about +wanting it. We lit a little fire, and made some hot tea, but soon had a +message from the Rajah's boat to put out the fire lest we should be +seen. The only thing that troubled me was a nasty faint smell, for which +I could not account; but next morning we found a Chinaman's head in a +basket close by my corner, which was reason enough! We had taken a fine +young man on board to help pull the sweeps, a Dyak, and this ghastly +possession was his. He said he was at Kuching, looking about for a +_head_, and went into the court-house. Hearing some one in a little side +room, he peeped in, and saw a Chinaman gazing at himself in a bit of +looking-glass, which was stuck against the wall. He drew his sword, and +in one moment, stepping close behind him, cut off his head: and having +obtained this prize, was naturally desirous of getting away from the +place; so he came off as boatman in one of the flying boats, bringing +the head in a basket, which he stowed in the side of the boat. It +entirely spoilt my hand-bag, which lay near it; I had to throw it away, +and everything in it which could not be washed in hot water. + +Towards morning the sea made us all sick, added to the wet, and cold of +dawn; yet, when the day cleared a little, and we got a fire on deck, and +some hot tea and biscuits, and the children seemed none the worse for +their bad night and the swarms of mosquitoes which had feasted upon +them, we could not repine. In the evening we passed the island of +Burong, at the mouth of the Batang Lupar River, and Mr. Crookshank tried +to stimulate the men pulling the sweeps to reach a Sebuyan village +farther on, before the tide left us and it grew dark. By dint of hard +pulling we made the village, and its little fort, standing close beside +the water and washed by its strong tide. A little boat came off from the +fort, with some Malays, of whom we inquired for the Rajah, thinking his +boat was far ahead of us, but they said they had seen nothing of him. +Mr. Crookshank then begged them to bring a boat in which he could take +Bertha up to Linga Fort that evening, instead of her remaining another +night in the pinnace. We went on as long as the tide lasted, and then +anchored in the Batang Lupar. Again we made a fire on deck, and after +taking some food, settled ourselves for the night. At eleven o'clock the +promised boat came for Bertha and Mr. Crookshank, and Mrs. Stahl went +with them as nurse; they thought nothing could be worse than spending +another night on board the pinnace, but I fear the little boat journey +was still more painful. When they reached Linga, they found only Malays +in the fort, and the dwelling-house shut up, for Mr. Johnson was at +Sakarran. They had to carry Mrs. Crookshank up a ladder into the fort, +and lay her on a table; but happily Mr. Chambers arrived that night from +Banting, and furnished a curtain as a screen, and pillows from his boat +to make a more comfortable couch. As we were setting off again next +morning, we met Mr. Johnson in a long boat, going straight off to +Kuching. He was lying ill of fever at Sakarran, when his Malays roused +him by saying, without preface--"The news is bad, Tuan: the Rajah is +killed and Kuching in the hands of the rebel Chinese." Upon this he +jumped up, called together the chiefs, and bidding them follow him with +a strong force of Dyaks, he set off himself without calling at Linga by +the way. When we told him that Rajah was alive and on his way to Linga, +he turned back with us, and taking me, my ayah, and the children into +his boat, soon landed us at his house. This was Tuesday, but we heard +nothing of the Rajah until Friday. Mr. Johnson, after breakfasting with +us at his house, went on to Kuching, and found that, after we lost sight +of the Rajah's war boat, they had fallen in with the steamer belonging +to the Borneo Company, the _Sir James Brooke_, just entering the river. +Mr. Helms' schooner also came across her, so all the passengers in the +schooner and the war boat had moved into the steamer, and they +immediately proceeded up the river, preparing the guns on board to +attack as soon as they reached the town. What must have been the +feelings of the Chinese in the fort when they saw the smoke of the +steamer curling above the trees, and then received one ten-pounder shot +after another into their midst! They fired one round of grape shot at +the steamer, and shouts of "Run!" rose on all sides. The steamer then +proceeded up to the Malay town, where the Malays still held out against +the Chinese; but as they were getting very short of ammunition, and +their enemies were bringing some large guns to bear on their position, +they greeted the steamer with shouts of welcome. The Chinese fled in +every direction. Cut off from their boats, they ran into the jungle; and +while many no doubt reached Bau in safety, many fell into the hands of +the Dyaks, who, following their usual course of warfare, spread +themselves through the jungle, and took the head of every man they met. +The town was quite clear of the rebels in a few hours, and the _Sir +James Brooke_, anchored in the river, furnished the base of operations +which the Rajah required: from thence he could direct the Malay and Dyak +forces, which were immediately at his disposal, to drive the rebels out +of the country. The day before, the Chinese had filled our house and +looted it completely, except the books in the library, for which they +seem to have had some respect; but we had reason to believe that on +Monday the house would have been burnt, for gunpowder and inflammable +materials were found strewed about after they left. They took everything +they could carry away, and destroyed the rest, cutting long slits in the +gauze of the mosquito-rooms, and pouring all the chemicals and medicines +of the dispensary over the contents of the drawers, clothes, and papers +they did not wish for. They found a long table set out ready for +breakfast, and had only to gather up the small plate, which, with a +house full of people, was all in requisition. The church, too, was +emptied of all its furniture, and the harmonium smashed; but the +opportune arrival of the steamer prevented these buildings from sharing +the fate of the other houses. + +Meanwhile, we were settling ourselves with our large party in Mr. +Johnson's house, which he kindly placed at our disposal. This house was +surrounded by a latticed verandah, the ground immediately about it was +cleared of jungle and drained by deep ditches. From the fort you looked +over the wide stretch of water of the Batang Lupar, but it was a lonely +and monotonous look-out. As the fort men were taken away to fight at +Kuching, the gentlemen had to form themselves into watches day and +night, with the few Malays who remained to guard the fort. Boats full of +Dyaks continually arrived, to join the Rajah's force--Balows, Sarebas, +and Sakarrans lay side by side on the river, all excited by the +prospects of war, and frequently causing silly panics among the Malays +of Linga, lest these warriors, from tribes so long enemies, should fall +out with one another before they got to Kuching. There were, of course, +no books or newspapers to read; our Bibles and Prayer-books alone were +among our luggage. We women were the best off, for we got some +unbleached calico from Sakarran, and cut out some under-clothing, of +which we had but little; this gave us occupation. We also had every day +to wash our linen and towels after bathing. The bath was a clear running +stream, covered in near the house, very pretty and romantic, but the +water was of a light brown colour, like toast and water, and had a +slightly acid taste, very agreeable but not very wholesome. Probably the +spring forced its way through dead leaves in the jungle; at any rate, it +did not wash the clothes white. It was very difficult to procure food +for us all. Rice and gourds made into a kind of curry stew was our daily +meal; if a chicken was got it was devoted to the children and the sick. +We were very anxious for some time on account of Mrs. Crookshank. Had +she remained quiet at Kuching, her wounds would have healed quickly, for +she was young and perfectly healthy; but all the moving into boats, and +carrying up ladders and steps, had broken open the wounds, and it was a +struggle of strength and youth against adverse circumstances. She was so +patient and cheerful that we never heard a complaint, which was in her +favour no doubt; still there were some days when her life was in great +danger in that hot climate. Twice during the month we received a box +from Kuching, sent by a native boat. Once it contained our mail--an +immense pleasure; also some bread and biscuits, but they were wet with +salt water, and mouldy besides. However, Mab and Alan could eat them. I +used to look with thankful astonishment at those children, both so +delicate generally, but who throve all the time we were without proper +food or shelter. But baby Edith shrank and pined, and at last my husband +said, "We shall lose this child if you stay here any longer: better go +and live among the Dyaks, who have plenty of fowls." + +So Mr. Chambers kindly took us in at his house at Banting, where we had +a most loving welcome, and saw something of the Dyak women and children. +The men were mostly gone to the war, and great excitement prevailed +among the tribe with the prospect of acquiring heads again, for the +Sarawak Government had quite stopped that hunting in the country. Boats +were continually arriving, gay with streamers, and noisy with gongs and +drums beating, with heads of Chinese on board. One day we were invited +to a feast in one of the long houses. I said, "I hope we shall see no +heads," and was told I need not see any; so, taking Mab in my hand, I +went with Mr. Chambers, and we climbed up into the long verandah room +where all the work of the tribe goes on. This long house was surrounded +with fruit-trees, and very comfortable. There were plenty of pigs under +the house, and fowls perching in every direction. About thirty families +lived in the house, the married people having each their little room, +the girls a room to themselves, and the long room I spoke of being used +for cooking, mat-making, paddy-beating, and all the usual occupations of +their lives. We were seated on white mats, and welcomed by the chief +people present. The feast was laid on a raised platform along the side +of the room. There were a good many ornaments of the betel-nut palm, +plaited into ingenious shapes, standing about the table, so that I did +not at first remark anything else. As we English folks could not eat +fowls roasted in their feathers, nor cakes fried in cocoa-nut oil, they +brought us fine joints of bamboo filled with pulut rice, which turns to +a jelly in cooking and is fragrant with the scent of the young cane. I +was just going to eat this delicacy when my eyes fell upon three human +heads standing on a large dish, freshly killed and slightly smoked, with +food and sirih leaves in their mouths. Had I known them when alive I +must have recognized them, for they looked quite natural. I looked with +alarm at Mab, lest she should see them too; then we made our retreat as +soon as possible. But I dared say nothing. These Dyaks had killed our +enemies, and were only following their own customs by rejoicing over +their dead victims. But the fact seemed to part them from us by +centuries of feeling--our disgust, and their complacency. Some of them +told us that afterwards, when they brought home some of the children +belonging to the slain, and treated them very kindly, wishing to adopt +them as their own, they were annoyed at the little ones standing looking +up at their parents' heads hanging from the roof, and crying all day, as +if it were strange they should do so! Yet the Dyaks are very fond of +children, and extremely indulgent to them. Our school was recruited +after the war by the children of Chinese, bought by Government from +their captors. This was my first and last visit to a Dyak feast. I used +to go and see the women in the early morning sometimes, and they +constantly came up to the mission-house to see my children. Of course +the war had an evil influence on them, increasing their interest in +heads, and all the heathen ceremonies connected with their possession. + +We stayed about ten days at Banting, walking every afternoon to the +little church through a long avenue of fruit-trees--great forest trees +which threw a grateful shade over the path, charming for the children's +walks. They could have chicken broth too for their dinners; and Edith +revived, but it was a whole year after this before she grew any taller, +so that when she began to run about, three months later, it looked a +surprising feat for a baby who should be in long clothes, yet she was +then sixteen months old. This life at Banting was a kind of dream, after +all the hurry and anxiety we had gone through. At last we heard that we +might go back to Kuching, the Chinese had all been driven out of the +country, or killed. Our house was purified, and the dead bodies lying +about in the jungle had been buried, so that the air was sweet again. We +returned to Linga, and all embarked in a little schooner for home. It +was not a much better boat than the one we had fled in, and we suffered +two very trying days' voyage; but when we walked into the mission-house +and found Miss Woolley to welcome us, and our house, though dismantled, +uninjured, and most of the books in the library, we were very thankful. +The Sunday after, we had a thanksgiving service in the church, in which +all joined very heartily. + +I must return, however, to the history of the war, from the time the +Rajah steamed up the river in the _Sir James Brooke_. + +At Bau there were supposed to be from three to four thousand Chinese +rebels, who had lately been strengthened by many malcontents from the +Dutch country. The Chinese held Bau, Seniawan, the government fort of +Baleda, and a fort at Peninjauh opposite to Baleda. They boasted that +they had rice and gunpowder enough to last out six months in these +places; but they were gradually surrounded on all sides by Malays and +Dyaks, so that they could get no fresh stores. On the 10th of March a +body of Chinese came down the river to Leda Tanah (Tongue of Land) about +halfway to Kuching. They built a breast-work by the river-side, dug a +trench behind it, placed some brass guns in position, and then retired +to eat their dinners in comfort behind their defences. There was a +little house and garden belonging to the Rajah at Leda Tanah. The Datu +Tumangong and Abang Boujong hearing of this, went up the river with a +Malay force and attacked the breast-work in front. The Chinese fired one +volley and ran. The Malays entered, sword in hand, but only killed two +men; all the rest fled into the arms of the Dyaks, who lay in wait in +the jungle behind, and took a hundred heads, some say two hundred, but +stories do not lose in the telling. The Chinese begged hard for their +lives, wrung their hands, wept, prayed the Dyaks to be friends with +them; but Dyaks know nothing about prisoners. One of the principal kunsi +was killed in this affair, and some say that Kamang, the leader of the +attack on the 18th of February, lost his head to the Sakarran Dyaks. + +This success was matter of great rejoicing at Kuching. Two days +afterwards they heard that Baleda Fort was deserted by the Chinese. Mr. +Johnson went up and found it quite empty; Seniawan too, and soon after +Bau also. All had fled towards the Dutch territory. A dreadful march +they had, poor creatures; carrying their sacred stone Tai pekong with +them. Nearly a thousand women and children delayed their progress. They +were harassed all the way by parties of Malays, and Dyaks cutting off +the stragglers. The party dwindled by degrees, until nearly all the +kunsi were killed, either by the enemy or their incensed countrymen, +who found themselves driven from their peaceful homes for the sins of +these rebels. It is so painful to think of the many innocent who +suffered with the guilty on this occasion, of the miseries they endured, +and the relentlessness of their foes, that I cannot detail it. War +naturally brines such evils in its train; even civilized warfare is not +without its horrors and its injustice: but when revenge falls into the +hands of savages these ills are multiplied. The Malays both hated and +despised the Chinese. That _such_ people should have taken their forts, +burnt their dwellings, compelling them to seek safety for their families +by flight, was so great an insult that their most violent passions were +aroused, and only the blood of all the Kay tribe could wipe out the +disgrace they had incurred. It was indeed wonderful that these Chinese +should imagine for a moment that they could remain rulers in a country +whose inhabitants regarded them as the natural hewers of wood and +drawers of water to the community; but no doubt they were intoxicated by +their unlooked-for success on the 18th of February, and a Chinaman seems +destitute of any appreciation of people who are not Celestials! A +remnant of these people got safely into the Dutch territory, where the +authorities took what arms and ammunition they had, and, very properly, +returned them to the Sarawak Government. They also offered to send a war +steamer and soldiers if desired. So our misfortunes called out the +goodwill of our neighbours. Soon after we returned home, H.M.S. +_Spartan_, Captain Hoste, arrived to protect British interests in +Sarawak. They stayed with us for a while, but the troubles were over, +and the only difficulty was how to make any visitors comfortable or to +feed them. We had to pass round a knife and fork at table for some days, +and there were only a few spoons left to us. On the beds there were hard +mattresses, but no pillows, sheets, or in fact any bed-furniture. Our +guests being travellers and full of resources, slept on their pith hats +for pillows, and used their pocket-knives. A good deal of fun was made +of our privations, and indeed, as no beloved friend was missing, we +could afford to laugh. + +We had all great reason to be thankful for the good behaviour of the +Dyaks during the war. There were no intertribal quarrels, and Mr. +Chambers told me that his Christians among the Balows were in the first +boats which went off to succour the Rajah, when they knew nothing of the +arrival of the steamer, and believed themselves to be facing a great +danger, and fire-arms, which they do not like. This was not the only +time that the Christians were among the bravest when all behaved well--a +fact which recommended their religion to their countrymen, with whom +courage is the first virtue. It was some years after this, however, that +Dyak Christians learnt to fight without taking the heads of their +enemies. + +When we left our house, our servants generally, except James a +Portuguese, and my Bengalee Ayah, fled from the place. But we had an +old Hindoo Syce, who was much attached to us and to the creatures under +his charge. He drove the two ponies we rode into the jungle, where they +looked after themselves, and, living in his cottage next to the stable, +did what he could for the cow and calves. When the rebels filled our +house and appropriated our effects, they broke open the plate-chest, and +melted the silver they found. Then Syce came forward and claimed a +portion of the spoil They gave him a lump of silver with some alloy in +it, the produce of some plated salvers, as his share. He pretended to +help them, but this lump he hid in the earth near his cottage, and, on +our return, triumphantly produced it as what he had saved for us from +the wreck. Some years after, this old man was very ill with an abscess +in his thigh, which he was sure would kill him. Bishop doctored and +nursed him through it, but he had given him a good-sized bag of dollars, +his savings, saying he wished Bishop to be his heir. When he got well +and the money was returned to him, he spent it in paying a visit to his +relations at Trichinopoli. I believe this faithful creature worshipped +the bull of our herd, and it was a great trouble to him that the Chinese +cruelly cut off the tail of the poor animal, thereby depriving him of +the means of whisking off the flies which sting so vehemently in that +climate. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +EVENTS OF 1857. + + +When we were once more at home we found it would be better to go to +Singapore, and from thence to Penang, for a little quiet. We were both +ill, the Bishop seriously so. We wanted for everything, and the bazaar +in Sarawak could not supply us: besides, ours was the only English +dwelling-house left in the place, except the Borneo Company's premises. +Captain Brooke and Mr. Grant with their brides were immediately +expected, and must be housed at the mission while a bungalow was being +built across the water. We left Miss Woolley to take care of the +expected visitors, the children and I went to Singapore in the _Sir +James Brooke_ steamer, and Sir William Hoste gave a passage in H.M.S. +_Spartan_ to the Bishop and Alan Grant. + +I was glad of an opportunity to get my baby vaccinated, which could only +happen at Singapore in those days. We were two months away, and the cool +quiet of Penang Hill was a great refreshment. The first news I heard +there was that Miss Woolley was to be married to Mr. Chambers. This +wedding took place immediately on our return home, the end of July. It +was a great benefit to the Banting Dyaks, for Mrs. Chambers devoted +herself to the women and young girls, and was a true friend to them. She +taught them to sew, and instructed them in morals and religion. When I +went to Banting some years afterwards, I found a set of modest young +women who were much pleased with gifts of needles, thread, and thimbles; +they also enjoyed a game of croquet after the lessons were done, and it +was wonderful to see what smart taps of the mallet were fearlessly given +under their bare feet; for of course the Dyaks do not wear shoes. + +About a month after our return to Sarawak, Captain Brooke's baby boy was +born. No one can tell what a care and anxiety this event was, in a place +where there was no doctor except the Bishop. The well-being of so +important a person as the Rajah mudah's wife, and the birth of the heir +of Sarawak, called forth much sympathy from everybody. Thank God, all +went well; but we said it ought never to happen again--there should be a +medical man whose sole duty it was to care for the bodies of the +community, while the Bishop was free to minister to their spiritual +wants. Soon after there was a public baptism of this boy Basil Brooke, +and his cousin Blanche Grant, in the church, which was full of Malays as +well as English to witness the ceremony. This was the day before the +Rajah set off for England. + +There were many happy days during the next few months, for there were +several English ladies in the place and we were all friends. In October +the Bishop went to Labuan, and while he was away the cholera made its +first appearance at Sarawak, among the Malays. The Rajah muda and I +consulted together what physic should be made ready for those who would +take it. A short time before, a little pamphlet had been sent to us +about the virtues of camphor, and especially its value in cholera. We +made a saturated solution of camphor in brandy, and gave a teaspoonful +of it on moist sugar for a dose, adding three drops of Kayu Puteh oil, +extracted from a Borneon wood and called cajeput oil in England, a very +strong aromatic medicine. This mixture proved itself very useful. If the +patients applied in good time it invariably gave relief to the cramp and +pain in the stomach; if the disease had gone on to sickness it was more +difficult to administer. Sometimes we followed it up with laudanum and +castor oil. + +The Malays suffered very much from this epidemic. Constant funerals were +to be seen on the river, and there was much praying at the mosque. Then +the Chinese were attacked, but not so fatally. Two dead men were, +however, found on our premises; they were strangers to us, but we +supposed they came late at night to the mission for medicine, and, lying +down in the stable or cow-house, died without reaching the house. It +was an anxious time. I used to hang little bags of camphor round the +children's necks, and was very careful of the diet for the household. +Thank God, we had no case either in the school or the house. + +Seven years afterwards the cholera returned much more violently. An +English gun-boat, lying off the town, lost several of her crew; and at +last the Bishop advised them to go to sea and let the sea air blow +through the ship, to carry off the infection. He went on board himself +to see them off, and while they were going down the river two more men +were seized with cholera, and died in half an hour. + +This time the cholera was very fatal among the Dyaks up some of the +rivers. The poor creatures were so terrified that they left their +houses, as in small-pox, and scarcely dared bury their dead. In one +instance they paid a very strong man to carry the dead on his back to a +steep hill, and throw them into the ravine at the bottom. The food +enjoyed by the Dyaks, rotten fish and vegetables, no doubt inclined them +to get cholera. The first time of its visitation was after a great fruit +season when durian, that rich and luscious fruit, had been particularly +abundant. A durian is somewhat larger than a cocoa-nut in its inner +husk; it has a hard prickly rind, but inside lie the seeds, enclosed in +a pulp which might be made of cream, garlic, sugar, and green almonds. +It is very heating to the blood, for when there are plenty of durians +the people always suffer more from boils and skin disease than usual. We +never permitted them to enter our house, for we could not bear the smell +of them. But many English people liked them; and they were so much +esteemed by the Dyaks, that when the fruit was ripe they encamped for +the night under the trees. When a durian fell to the ground with a great +thud, they all jumped up to look for it, as the fallen fruit belongs to +the finder, and they loved it so that they willingly sacrificed their +sleep for it. Woe be to the man, however, on whose head the fruit falls, +for it is so hard and heavy it may kill him.[7] + + [Footnote 7: The Dyaks believe there is a special place in the + other world, after death, for those who are killed by the fall + of a durian.] + +In February three new missionaries came from England--Mr. Hacket, Mr. +Glover, and Mr. Chalmers. The two last came straight to Sarawak on their +arrival at Singapore, Mr. Hacket and his wife about a month afterwards. +They were all from St. Augustine's College, Canterbury, thoroughly good +people, and a great happiness to us. Mr. Chalmers was settled among the +Land Dyaks at Peninjauh, afterwards at the Quop. Mr. Glover went to +Banting, to work among the Balows. The Hackets stayed at Sarawak: indeed +they all remained with us until Easter, when their ordination took +place. The Easter services that year, 1858, were very delightful. All +these missionaries were more or less musical, and Mr. Hacket adorned the +church as it had never been decked before. Flowers and ferns, and +lycopodium moss, were always to be had in abundance; and the polished +wooden walls were brightened by some beautiful scroll texts, printed by +a friend in England. We had full choral service on Easter Sunday, and +the school-children sang their part beautifully; indeed, our new comers +were astonished to find such good material for a choir in little native +boys. + +I had been fully occupied with preparations for these missionaries while +the bishop was at Labuan; some additions to the comfort of the house for +the Hackets; a new cook-house and servants' rooms near, to build; and +the church to reroof. The balean attaps were as good as ever, but the +strips of wood on which they hung were attacked by white ants, and had +to be renewed or the shingles would have fallen through. Such +responsibilities fell to my share when the Bishop was away, and heavy +cares they were when money was not abundant. The prospect of three new +missionaries was, however, worth any trouble. They came to teach the +Dyaks, who had so long waited for teachers, and we hoped they would +settle themselves among them for many years. In this hope we were to be +disappointed. Mr. Glover fell ill of dysentery at Banting, and before +two years had passed away was obliged to remove to a cold climate. He +went to Australia, and has been doing good work there ever since. Mr. +Chalmers was a very valuable missionary, and his labours among the Quop +and Merdang Dyaks bore much fruit in after years; but he also fell ill +from the climate, and the food which was attainable up country. In 1860, +he also made up his mind to follow Mr. Glover to Australia. There are no +doubt many difficulties for Englishmen living in Sarawak jungles. Some +become acclimatized to them, others cannot bear the low diet, the +loneliness, the apathy and indifference of the Dyaks. The Bishop was +once accused, by a person who ought to have known better, that he was +too apt to gather his clergy at Sarawak and keep them from their Dyak +parishes: but it was a necessary part of the Bishop's work to keep a +home where the missionaries could come for change and refreshment; where +they could enjoy a more generous diet, and the society of English +friends; where they could consult a medical man, and get some hints how +to treat the maladies of the Dyaks--for they expected all the +missionaries to know the art of healing, having had more or less +experience of the Bishop's skill. Mr. Hacket was consumptive, but +Sarawak is the best climate in the world for that disease: he got much +stronger with us, and might have lived many years there, but he was too +nervous for so unsettled a country. We were often subjected to panics +for many months after the Chinese insurrection, and though we old +inhabitants took it very easily, Mr. Hacket always thought his wife and +child in danger. I remember, one day a Malay was being tried in the +court-house, when he, by a sudden spring, escaped from the police, and +snatching a sword from a bystander, ran amuck through the bazaar, +wounding two or three people he met. The hue and cry in the town fired +the imaginations of the timid. People came running to the house for +shelter, bringing their goods and chattels, and all sorts of tales--"The +Chinese were coming from Sambas," and all sorts of nonsense. Then, Mrs. +Hacket fainting on the sofa, and the servants all leaving their work to +listen, and look out of the verandah, provoked us extremely: we +administered sal volatile and a good scolding, and sent everybody off to +their business again. But those scenes were very trying to the nerves. +That a Malay should run amuck (amok, in Malay) with anger or jealousy, +or a fit of madness arising from both these passions, was an occasional +event all through our Sarawak life, but it was no more alarming in 1858 +than in former years. It was the breach in the general feeling of +security under the Sarawak Government, which for a time magnified every +little disturbance of the peace into a public danger. + +Our school was enriched this year by, first, seven new Chinese boys, +then four more and four girls, the captives of the Lundu Dyaks, ransomed +by Captain Brooke. Those children were, some of them, miserable objects, +covered with sores from neglect. One boy had been set to carry red wood +which blisters the skin, another was badly burnt. Mrs. Stahl took them +in hand, dressed their wounds, nursed them, clothed them, and soon they +looked quite nice, sitting on a bench at the end of the church with a +monitor to take charge of them, for they were still unbaptized--they +were old enough to be instructed first, except two of the little girls +who were immediately received into the Church. About this time a little +Dyak boy, Nigo by name, was paying a visit to the school, and was +baptized in church, answering for himself. He was about six years old, +and as he stood at the font his face was lit up with so sweet a smile it +touched us all. Mab begged him to stay at Sarawak; but the Dyaks never +part with their children, and in this case it was not necessary, for +Nigo's father was a Christian. It was a great happiness to us that none +of our boys were killed in the insurrection; three got away to Sambas, +the rest came back to the school one by one, having all escaped the +Dyaks. The Christian goldsmith, too, who was put in prison by the kunsi +for trying to warn us of the attack on the 18th of February, got to +Sambas safe, and afterwards returned to us at Sarawak. + +This summer a doctor came out to Sarawak with his family. I heard of +their proposed arrival some months before, and wrote to Mrs. C---- to +beg they would leave their elder children in England, and only bring the +babies with them, for the little ones thrive well enough at Sarawak. I +also gave a plain unvarnished account of the place. But Mr. C----, +having made up his mind to bring all his family out, put the letter in +his pocket; and we were very sorry when they arrived, a party of nine, +having lost one child at Singapore. They only stayed one month; the +lady was so disgusted with the place--"no shops, no amusements, always +hot weather, and food so dear!"--that she persuaded her husband to take +advantage of some difference he had with the Government, and return in +the same steamer by which they came out. I, however, gained by their +departure, for they brought a sweet young girl with them as governess, +and as she did not wish to return so soon, she remained with me, and +became Mab's governess and friend. We liked her very much, and I cannot +help mentioning an incident of her spirit and courage. One of our +children being ill, I had taken her down to Santubong, where we had a +seaside cottage; but as the house was full of clergy preparing for +ordination, I left Miss McKee to do the housekeeping and take care of +our guests for a few days. She slept at the top of the house, and little +Edith in a cot beside her. It was late at night, and the moon shining +into Miss McKee's room, when she woke and saw a Chinaman standing at the +foot of her bed with a great knife in his hand. She felt under her +pillow if the keys were safe, for the box of silver was put in her room +while I was absent; then she jumped up, shouting "Thieves!" with all her +might. The man ran and she after him, down a long passage, down the +staircase, out of the house, by which time her cries had roused the +gentlemen--the Bishop was nursing a sick man in fever, and was not in +the house that night. They looked out of their doors, asking what was +the matter? However, Miss McKee had by this time made up her mind that +the thief was our own cook; she had seen enough of him by her courageous +pursuit to be sure of it. No doubt he thought she would be fast asleep, +and he should carry off the silver and the keys without discovery. Only +a servant of the house would have known where they were kept. This young +lady afterwards married Mr. Koch, one of the missionaries. He came from +Ceylon, and eventually returned to his native country, where I hope they +are still. + +Now we were again without a doctor, and in the autumn Mrs. Brooke +expected her second confinement. This brings me to what we always called +the sad, dark time at Sarawak. The weather was rainy beyond any former +experience. We always had heavy rains in November, but this year they +began in October, and the sky scarcely seemed to clear. In October, God +gave us a little son, and in a usual way I should have been quite well +at the end of three weeks, and across the water to see Mrs. Brooke many +times before her confinement. But a long influenza cold kept me at home, +and the weather being always wet, there was no prospect of getting over +in a boat without a drenching, so only notes passed between us. + +On November 15th, Mrs. Brooke had another boy, and though there was some +anxiety at the time, she seemed pretty well until the fourth day, when +inflammation set in with puerperal fever, and at the end of ten days our +much-loved friend was gone to her home in heaven, leaving her husband +and children desolate. It seemed so impossible that so bright a creature +should pass away from us, that to the last day we believed she would +recover. That afternoon she called her husband and brothers and sisters +to her bedside, and said, "I have tried hard to live for your sakes, but +I cannot;" then she calmly and sweetly bade them good-bye, and no +earthly cares touched her afterwards. Very sad hearts were left behind, +but her example remained to us and called us upwards. Her short life had +been continual self-sacrifice. She gave up her beautiful home in +Scotland for love, and the prospect of doing good to Sarawak. On her +arrival there the most rigid economy was practised, on account of the +losses in the Chinese insurrection. A mat house, called "The Refuge," +neither airy nor comfortable, was her only home; but it was always +bright with Annie's good taste and cheerful spirits. Then came the last +sacrifice, her husband and children. These, too, she laid at her Lord's +feet with a willing heart. Everybody went into mourning; for in so small +a place it was quite a calamity to lose the head of our little society. +But to the Bishop this event was a great trial. He had spent most of his +time, day and night, striving to save this precious life. He was very +fond of her; he ministered to her as her priest; from his hands she +received the Blessed Sacrament a few hours before she died, and he heard +her say with almost her last breath, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;" +but he had also to witness agony which he could not relieve, and no +effort could prolong her life. It made him quite ill for some time, and +all the happy holiday days passed away with Annie Brooke. Government +House was never again, in our time, a bright and cheerful home: it +returned to its bachelor ways; and business, not social pleasure, +presided there. On Christmas Day, exactly a month after Mrs. Brooke died +and was laid in the churchyard, we placed a bouquet of flowers from her +garden on the altar, but there could be no festivities. The Chinese +Christians had their feast, and the school-children; but we who had lost +our companion and friend could not rejoice. It was sad enough to go over +the water and see Annie's empty room, kept just as she had left it, and +no sound in the house except the wails of the motherless baby, who we +feared would soon follow his mother to the grave. Captain Brooke was +obliged to go to England very soon after his wife's death; the Rajah was +struck with paralysis, and it was at first doubtful whether he would +recover. In the midst of all this sorrow I had the trouble of losing my +faithful servant, Mrs. Stahl, who took all the care of the +school-children off my hands. Her husband had found more lucrative work +at Singapore, and sent for her to join him. It was a grief to both of +us, and a great addition to my responsibilities. Mrs. William Channon, +then a widow, was installed matron of the school, but she had neither +knowledge nor experience. She did as well as she could, with continual +supervision. The sick children now came to me to be doctored early every +morning. I also had a large sewing-class of boys, and a tailor to teach +us how to cut out and make their peculiar-shaped clothes: however, we +soon learnt to do without the tailor. Mrs. Hacket taught the little ones +to sew, and I had the elder ones from seven to ten every morning. +Sometimes I gave a music lesson between whiles; sometimes I had to leave +them for a while, first to see what the cook had brought from the bazaar +for their day's food, and to give out the rice which was kept in my +store-room; also the cocoa-nut oil, which trimmed the lamps of both +house and school. Sometimes I read aloud to my boys, stories from +history. They could understand English quite well. + +While our spirits were at their lowest ebb, and the rain still pouring +with little intermission, we had a visit from H.M.S. _Esk_, Sir Robert +J. McClure captain. He did his best to cheer us. How kind and bright he +was I shall never forget, nor how he used to sit patiently under a tree +in the rain to be photographed, simply to amuse us. There are certainly +some people who have more of the wine of life than others, and who are a +wonderful refreshment to their friends. It was during this year, 1858, +that we built our seaside cottage at Santubong--Sandrock Cottage, as we +called it, which sounds rather cockney; but as it stood on the sand, +with great boulders of granite rock scattered about, it seemed the most +appropriate name. Santubong is the most beautiful of the two mouths of +the Sarawak River, but not as safe as the Morotabas for ships to enter. +The Bishop had a mission yacht this year; consequently he was away, +visiting the mission stations. The next year he sailed the _Sarawak +Cross_ to Labuan. The voyage took only one week either way, whereas in +other years he had to go to Singapore, more than four hundred miles off, +in order to get to Labuan by P. and O. steamer, or any man-of-war +chancing to go there. Months instead of weeks were consumed by this +means. + +Our cottage took three weeks to build. We sent three men down with a +thousand palm-leaf attaps for the outside walls and roof, and thirty +mats to make inner walls. The men went into the jungle and felled wood +for posts and rafters, then nibong palms were split into strips for the +floors. The whole building was tied together with rattans, like all +Malay houses. There were three rooms, twelve feet by fifteen each, and +two little bath-rooms. A verandah ran along the whole length of the +front, and this was planked to prevent little feet from slipping +through. But the rooms were covered with thick mats, and the floor was +so springy it danced as you moved. We put very little furniture into +these rooms, and the inside walls were only eight feet high, so that +though you could not see into the next room, you could hear all that +went on in all three rooms. The cook-house and servants' room were +separate. + +As early as the year 1848, the Rajah had a little Dyak house built on +high poles, under the mountain of Santubong. It was an inconvenient +little place, into which you climbed up a steep ladder--only one room, +in fact, with a verandah; but we spent some happy days there, for the +beauty of that shore made the house a secondary consideration. A small +Malay village nestled in cocoa-nut palms at the foot of Santubong; in +front lay a smooth stretch of sand, and a belt of casuarina-trees always +whispering, without any apparent wind to move their slender spines. The +deer in those days stole out of the jungle at night to eat the sea-foam +which lay in flakes along the sand, and wild pigs could often be shot in +a moonlight stroll under the trees. In the morning, we used to set off +as soon as it was light to a fresh spring in the jungle, where we took +our bath. Dawdling along the edge of the waves, then quite warm to our +bare feet, with towels and leaf buckets in our hands, we reached the +little stream, running under the shade of tall trees in which the +wood-pigeons were cooing. How delicious and fresh that water was! and +every sense was charmed at the same time, unless some stinging ants +walked over our feet, which was not uncommon. + +Then we trudged home again, with the wet towels folded on our heads to +shield us from the sun, who by that time was an enemy to be shunned. + +A little colony of Chinese were settled here in 1852, but they never +took to the place; the soil was perhaps not good enough for their +gardens. In 1857 the Malays fell upon them and killed them all, because +they were of the same tribe as the rebels, although they had nothing +whatever to do with the insurrection. When we were building our cottage +on the sands two Chinese skulls were dug up. We were all indignant at +this wanton cruelty, but unable to resent it, except by the expression +of our opinion, for the English were a mere handful of individuals in +Sarawak. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE MALAY PLOT. + + +Our cottage at Santubong was a source of much pleasure to many people. +We often lent it to invalids, sometimes to newly married couples, who +certainly had a good opportunity of studying each other's characters and +tastes in that lonely solitude. + +Sometimes we sent down all the children from the school, who wanted +sea-air and a holiday. Indeed, when we were staying there, we always had +relays of children to play on the sands and enjoy themselves. We had a +place staked round with strong hurdles, where we could bathe in safety +from sharks and alligators, who both infested the coast. I have often +seen quantities of jelly-fish and octopus sticking on the outside of the +hurdles: they sting dreadfully, so they were quite welcome to stay +there. + +During one of our visits to Santubong I remember a timber-ship lying off +the mouth of the river, to lade planks from a saw-mill which was on the +other side. One day three sailors came ashore to fill a cask with fresh +water; there was a spring among the rocks close to the water's edge. As +they neared the shore, the three men jumped into the sea for a swim; but +suddenly, one of them threw up his arms and disappeared. In vain his +comrades searched for him, but the next day his body, partly devoured by +a shark, was thrown upon the rocks. No doubt he was seized and dragged +under water. His comrades were much distressed, for he was a favourite +among the crew. Frank buried him, and helped the men to put a wooden +cross on the grave. + +In the north-west monsoon we sometimes went to Buntal, a bay on the +other side of the mountain of Santubong. No soul resided there, but it +was the resort of great flocks of wild-fowl at that season. We rowed +into the bay while it was still high tide, then left the boat; and our +men made little huts of boughs some distance from the shore, where we +could sit without being perceived. As the tide ebbed the birds +arrived--tall storks, fishing eagles, gulls, curlew, plover, godwits, +and many others we did not know. They flew in long lines, till they +seemed to vanish and reappear, circling round and round, then swooping +down upon the sand where the receding waves were leaving their supper. I +never saw a prettier sight. The tall storks seemed to act like +sentinels, watching while the others fed. At a note of alarm they all +rose in the air, flew about screaming, and then settled again on the +sands in long lines, the smaller birds together, the larger ones in +ascending rows. At last, alas! a gun fired into their midst caused death +and dismay. A few fell dead, and the rest fled to some happier shore, +where no destroying man could mar their happiness. And there are many +such spots in Borneo where no human foot ever trod, and where trees, +flowers, and insects flourish exceedingly; where the birds sing songs of +praise which are only heard by their Maker, and where the wild animals +of the forest live and die unmolested. There is always something +delightful to me in this idea. We are apt to think that this earth is +made for man, but, after many ages, there are still some parts of his +domain unconquered, some fair lands where the axe, the fire, and the +plough are still unknown. + +While we were at Santubong, in 1859, we were distressed to hear that Mr. +Fox and Mr. Steele, two Government officers in charge of a fort at +Kenowit, had been murdered by some Dyaks, whom they were judging in the +court-house. We were very grieved for our friends, especially for Mr. +Fox, who was for two years with us as catechist in the mission, and only +left because he could not make up his mind to be ordained. However, he +was most faithful in the performance of his duties at that lonely fort, +and most blameless in his life; we could only regret the loss of so good +a young man. We did not at that time connect this event with any general +enmity to Englishmen among the natives, but only thought that +particular tribe of Kenowits were not to be trusted. + +It was really a much more serious matter. Mr. Charles Johnson went up to +Kenowit directly, taking the Bishop's yacht, the _Sarawak Cross_, as his +floating fortress. He sent a thousand Dyaks to attack the fortified +village of the Kenowits, who were engaged in the murders. These Dyaks +were repulsed, but he led them on again himself with two hundred Sarawak +Malays, good men and true. They took a brass gun overland to the +village, and pounded them for a day; then the Malays and Dyaks attacked +and fired the place, and took it. + +There were many killed, but it was their own fault; for, before +attacking, a flag of truce had been hoisted, and all who would were +invited to submit, and promised their lives, but only a few women and +children availed themselves of it and were saved. Tanee the brave was +killed, and Hadji Mahomet. It was found that these traitors had spread a +report that all the English at Sarawak and at Labuan, as well as at +Bunjermassin, had been killed, and this was so thoroughly believed that +the Kenowits thought they had only to kill Mr. Fox and Mr. Steele, in +order to possess themselves of the arms and goods in the fort with +impunity. It was true that the Malays at Bunjermassin had risen upon the +Europeans there, and killed twenty Dutch officials and their families; +also four of the German missionaries living among the Dyaks, and a Mr. +Mattley, with his wife and three children, who used to live at Labuan. +The Dutch took summary vengeance for this massacre, but in spite of that +the Malays at Coti killed the Europeans who lived there; so that +neighbouring countries showed a bad example to our people, and we were +afraid that religious fanaticism might have something to do with the +hatred to Christians, whether Dutch or English. + +In every country there are unfortunately some bad men, who are +irreclaimable by kindness or severity. Such were the two who instigated +a plot to murder all the English in the Sarawak territory, and take the +Government to themselves. The oldest and most shameless of these men was +the Datu Patinghi of Sarawak, and to tell his story I must go back to +the early days of Sarawak. When Sir James Brooke first visited Mudah +Hassim, the Malay Rajah, he found him endeavouring to put down a +rebellion among his subjects. After a time Sir James Brooke helped him +with the guns of his yacht and the services of his blue jackets. The +enemy submitted, and then he begged their lives of Mudah Hassim. It was +with very great difficulty this unprecedented favour was granted. + +Gapoor and his followers were pardoned, and when Sarawak was given over +to Sir James Brooke by the Sultan of Bruni, it was naturally supposed +that this man who owed his life to the English Rajah would remain his +faithful friend and follower. He was made the chief datu, or magistrate, +of whom there were three--the Datu Patinghi, the Tumangong, and the +Bandhar. These Malay chiefs were members of the Council, and represented +Home Department, War Office, and Treasury in the State. For some time +all seemed to go well, but the Rajah soon found that the Datu Patinghi +could not be restrained from oppressing the Dyaks under his charge, +levying more than the proper tax, or obliging them to buy whatever he +wished to sell, at exorbitant prices. His power over the Dyaks was +therefore taken away, and a fixed income given him to preclude +temptation. When the Rajah was in England, in 1851, this Datu intrigued +with the Bruni Malays to upset the Government; he mounted yellow +umbrellas, a sign of royalty, and arrogated power to himself which might +have been mischievous had he been more popular with the natives. But he +had many relations among the high Malays of the place, and it was a +question whether they would resent his being publicly disgraced. Captain +Brooke told them plainly that he must be exiled, but that it should be +done in the most cautious way, and appearances should be saved. Datu +Patinghi was therefore advised to go a pilgrimage to Mecca. Money and +servants were supplied him, but he had no choice about it. We all hoped +he would never return. + +About a year afterwards Sir James Brooke said to me, "Did you ever feel +pleasure at hearing of the death of an old friend?" Before I could +consider this knotty question, he added Gapoor had died of small-pox at +Mecca. It was only a report, and proved untrue. Datu came back a hadji, +but was desired to go and live at Malacca the rest of his days. In 1859 +he begged to be allowed to return to Sarawak, and, as it was hoped he +could not be ungrateful for so much kindness and forbearance, he was +permitted; but he was only biding his time. After his return to Sarawak +he married his daughter to Seriff Bujang, the brother of Seriff +Messahore, whose rascality and bad faith were on a par with his own. +Bujang was a quiet creature enough, drawn into the wicked plots of his +brother and father-in-law, but they were bad to the core. A Seriff is +supposed to be a descendant of the Prophet Mahomet, at any rate he is an +Arab, and Messahore was said to be invulnerable and sacred in his +person. He was a fine, handsome creature, with insinuating manners, but +there was nothing more to say in his favour. He was at the bottom of +every disturbance in the country, but was cunning enough to keep himself +in the background. Directly a plot miscarried, he came forward zealously +to punish the wrong-doers. + +He instigated the murder of Mr. Fox and Mr. Steele; nay, it was intended +to be a general massacre of all the English in Sarawak territory; but by +a mistake of the Kenowits these two unfortunates were killed +prematurely. The day had not arrived, and this led to the discovery of +the plot. When Mr. C. Johnson went with an armed force to Kenowit, +Seriff Messahore had already killed the fort men, who had only executed +his own orders. For some time he, the guilty one, escaped detection. At +last some Christian Dyaks of Lundu and Banting disclosed to their +missionaries that Malays had visited them to say they had better turn +Mahometans, for soon there would be no English left in the country. +These stories being communicated by the Bishop to Mr. Johnson, he +consulted the Malay members of the council and other trustworthy native +friends, and it was evident they knew there was good reason for anxiety, +as they advised all the English to wear firearms, even the ladies. + +At last the rumours of threats were traced to old Gapoor, the +ex-Patinghi, and he was again banished the country by order of the +council. Seriffs Messahore and Bujang, being connected with him by +marriage, were also suspected. Messahore was warned that if he came to +Kuching he would be treated as an enemy. Nevertheless he advanced up the +river; his boat was greeted by a shower of balls, and he ignominiously +fled. When the glamour was thus taken from him everybody was ready to +divulge what they knew of the plot, and that a pension of six hundred +rupees a year was promised to any one who would kill Mr. C. Johnson. The +Rajah was in England, and known to be in bad health. Very few English +men-of-war visited Sarawak at that time. Rumours were got up at Bruni +that the Rajah was in disgrace with his own queen. This was the +consequence of the commission of inquiry about piracy, which had taken +place in 1858, by order of the English Parliament; for though the +results of that commission thoroughly exculpated Sir James Brooke from +any blame, there was never any _amende honourable_ made for subjecting +him to such an indignity. It was never understood by the natives as +anything but a slur on the Rajah's character, and was a terrible injury +to his prestige for a time. Indeed, it was the seed of the Malay plot; +and if we had all been killed, our own English Government would have +been the remote cause of our death. It is no doubt difficult for +Englishmen to understand the feelings of Malays and Dyaks. We are +accustomed in England to find fault with our rulers, and submit to them +all the same. But in the East it is different: no breath of blame must +touch the Rajah, nor can he be arraigned before any court, except the +throne of God. + +Fatima, Seriff Bujang's wife, was an old friend of mine. She had always +visited me from the time of our first arrival at Sarawak, and was then a +very handsome girl, with a pale, clear complexion, and fine hair and +eyes. We took a great interest in her marriage, and Seriff Bujang +frequently came to our house. He was apparently fond of Mab, and liked +to hear her tell fairy tales. Mab spoke Malay very well, and was always +popular with the natives, to whom she would sing, dance, or relate +Cinderella, the White Cat, or the Three Bears, etc. It was curious to +see a grave-looking Malay sitting to listen to fairy stories; still more +so when all the time he was party to a plot for the destruction of the +household he visited. He was more weak than wicked; and two years after +that he died. I had occasion to visit some Malays in his kampong after +his death, and found poor Fatima bereft of all her ornaments and gay +dresses, and working as a drudge in the house. Widows are little +accounted of in Eastern households. + +To return to the events of October, 1859. + +A timber-ship, the _Planet_, was lying in the river, and Mr. Johnson +requested that the women and children of the mission should be sent on +board until the panic passed away, and the old Datu was got safely out +of the place. The fort and Government House were manned and armed, and +the rest of the Europeans sheltered there. The Hacket family went down +at once, and in the evening we sent Miss McKee and the two youngest +children with her; but Mab was ill of fever, and could not be moved. So +the Bishop and I stayed with her, and ten Chinamen guarded our house. + +Mr. Chalmers had come from Merdang with news that some of those Dyaks +had joined the Datu Hadji, and also some bad Lundus, who had been +punished for sedition four years before. We all sat up that night; but I +was too much occupied with my sick child to be nervous about anything +else. The night passed over without any rising of the disaffected, and +the next day Gapoor consented to leave the country quietly, finding no +chief Malays would stand by him, and to be taken in a Government +gunboat to a brig just leaving the river. Thus, through God's mercy and +the loyalty of the people, no harm came of this plot, except that Mr. +and Mrs. Hacket decided to leave the mission, not being strong enough to +stand such alarms. They went to Malacca, where he became Government +chaplain, and died there of consumption, after some years' service. + +The heat of Sarawak climate was so injurious to our child Mab, who had +frequent attacks of fever, that as soon as the place was quiet again, we +resolved to pay another visit to England. The Bishop's health was much +shaken, and the doctors at Singapore ordered him home at once. But it +was winter, and we were afraid of taking our children too quickly into +the rigorous cold of England; therefore we took a passage in the +_Bahiana_, a steamer which had brought out a telegraph cable to lay +between Singapore and Batavia, and having accomplished her purpose, was +returning empty to England. The Bishop went with us as far as Bombay, +and then took P. and O. boat to England; whilst we called first at +Mauritius, then at the Cape of Good Hope, staying some days at each +place, and at the latter adding several passengers to our small party. +We proceeded very happily until we were within a day's steam of the +Island of St. Vincent, off the coast of Africa; then the great crank of +the steam-engine snapped in two, and we had to sail. It took us ten days +to beat up to the island, for a large screw steamer was never intended +to be propelled by sails. + +We began to have gloomy forebodings of the time which must elapse before +we could reach England, sailing at this rate, when we saw, lying in the +roads at St. Vincent, a very large West Indian steamer on her way home. +It was difficult to communicate with this ship, because she lay in +quarantine, yellow flag flying; and we did not know whether she had +yellow fever on board or not. Our captain, however, called us all +together, and said, "I hoped to have found some provisions in this +island, to add to our stores; but I find there is nothing." The island +seemed just a bare rock, with one solitary palm-tree growing by the +office door, and not a blade of grass. It was difficult to imagine what +provisions there could be, except the coal left by ships to supply +passing steamers. "It will be necessary," added Captain Grenfell, "that +some of you should go home in the _Magnolia_, West Indian steamer, for +we have not food on board for all, and cannot expect to be less than +another month reaching England under sail: therefore you must each of +you decide to-night what you will do; and if you choose to go home in +the _Magnolia_, I will pay your passage. But I ought to tell you that +probably there are cases of yellow fever on board that ship; for it is +the time of year when it is rife at the South American stations." + +Here was a problem to solve in the night! Should I take my children on +board a ship where there was probable infection, or should I subject my +husband to harassing anxiety about us for a whole month? In the morning +I decided to go home in the _Magnolia_; and I was rewarded when we +climbed up into that great ship, with two hundred passengers on board, +by finding that there was not a single case of yellow fever, or anything +infectious. We had a delightful ten days' passage, stopping a few hours +at Lisbon, but not allowed to land, and then straight to Southampton. My +only regret was leaving Captain Grenfell, who had been so kind to the +children all the way. + +The _Bahiana_ took just a month to get to England from St. Vincent. + + + + +PART III. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE CHILDREN'S CHAPTER. + + +In 1861 we again returned to our Eastern home, leaving our three +children behind, and taking only our baby girl for companion. What a +difference it makes in India, to "leave the children behind!"--a common +fate indeed for parents, but not the less to be deplored. We used to +think and speak of Sarawak as home until 1861; but ever after, we spoke +of going home to our children, for where the treasure is there must the +heart be also. To do the work so that the time might pass quickly and +peacefully, to live upon the mails from England, to carry on two lives +as it were, one in the present, the other in the pictures our English +letters presented--such at any rate was my fate, though my husband was +too true a missionary to feel as I did. + +Most of our old Sarawak friends had either died or gone away when we +returned in '61, but the mission grew more and more interesting as +Christian Churches sprang up on the Dyak rivers. Four new missionaries +came out soon after our arrival. Mr. and Mrs. Abè, Mr. Zehnder, Mr. +Mesney, and Mr. Crossland, the two latter from St. Augustine's College, +Canterbury, from whence had formerly come those two good men, Mr. +Chalmers and Mr. Glover. They had both gone to Australia on account of +their health, but the teaching of Mr. Chalmers had left its mark among +the land Dyaks of Murdang and the Quop, so that Mr. Abè, who was +afterwards placed on that station, reaped the harvest which had been +sown with many prayers two years before. Mr. Mesney succeeded Mr. Glover +at Banting, and its many branch missions; and Mr. Crossland went farther +off, to the Dyaks, on the Undop, where he eventually built a church and +gathered a little flock of Christians about him. Mr. Richardson came as +catechist about the same time, and after staying a short time at Lundu, +built himself a house among the Selaku Dyaks at Sedemac, in the country +towards Sambas. He was much beloved by those simple people, who speak +quite a different language to the Lundus. They exerted themselves to +build their own church of substantial balean-wood, and their women +learnt to pray as well as the men. "To learn to pray" is the Dyak +description of a Christian. "What will you do," asked a missionary, "to +bring those around you to Christ?" "I will teach them to pray," was the +answer. And surely this is the great distinction between the Christian +and the heathen--the one has communion with his Father in heaven, an +all-powerful, wise, and loving Friend; the other may cherish some vague +belief and worship of an unknown God, but has neither love nor trust to +carry him above this world's troubles and trials. + +Another baby was added to our family in May, 1862, whose mother died at +her birth. This little one stayed with us only seventeen months, and was +a great happiness to me; then Sir James Brooke took her to England. +However, it was a pleasant chapter as long as it lasted. + +Julia, one of our original school-girls, became very useful to me at +this time. We had taken her home with us in '59, and sent her to a +training-school for teachers in Dublin, so that she was quite competent +on our return to take the management of the girls' school. We had eight +girls in the house, and a few day-scholars from the town. Lessons used +to go on in a room on the basement, where of course I was +superintendent, and they learnt sewing in the afternoon. Julia was a +very gentle mistress, and I was feeling very happy about my girls, when +I found to my sorrow that Julia had an admirer, and I must make up my +mind to part with my child who had lived with us since she was four +years old. Such natural events must not be considered trials, but the +difficulty of replacing her was insuperable. I was obliged at last to +send my girls to Mrs. Abè, at the Quop Station, for I was too often away +in the mission-boat with the Bishop to keep them at the mission-house. +This was not until 1865, however. Poor Mildred felt parting with "her +girls," as she called them, very much, and often said, "Mamma, if Sarah +and Fanny might come back we would never, never quarrel any more." Are +not such pricks of conscience common to us all when our dear ones leave +us? But the past never returns! + +In 1863, the Bishop built a charming little yawl for mission work. The +_Fanny_ was just suited, from her light draught of water, to cross the +bars of the rivers, and she was a very good sea-boat too. Not only was +she wanted to take the Bishop on his missionary, tours, but she brought +the missionaries to Sarawak when, they came for ordinations, or the +annual synod; also when they were sick, and required medical aid or +change. Very few clergymen know much about the management of boats, and +native crafts are very unsafe, so that until the Bishop had a yacht many +accidents used to occur, not actually dangerous, for the natives swim +like fishes, but drenchings and loss of goods from the upsetting of +boats. In the north-east monsoon _Fanny_ was thatched over and laid +snugly up a creek, but all the south-west monsoon she was very useful; +and no one wanted to travel about, if they could help it, during the wet +tempestuous weather which prevailed from November to March. + +The Bishop paid his annual visit to Labuan in any steamer which happened +to be going. We had the great advantage of frequent visits from an +English gunboat, for the admiral of the Chinese seas had orders from +England to tell off one gun-boat for the two stations of Labuan and +Sarawak. This arose from our being also blest with the presence of an +English consul. But after he and his wife had remained two years at +Sarawak, they were heartily tired of the dulness of their lives, and did +their best to get removed to a more stirring station. However, the +recognition of England gave confidence to native traders and security to +the well disposed, so that there ensued a time of peace such as we had +not experienced during our former sojourns in the country. + +[Illustration: Tommy. Fanny. Mary. Mab. Sarah. Nietfong. + +SCHOOL CHILDREN. _Page_ 194.] + +I think the history of our life during these years may be partly told by +the letters I wrote to my children at home, or extracts from them; so +that this may be called the children's chapter. + + Sunday before Easter, 1862. + + MY DARLING MAB, + + I am glad you are not here, for it is very, very hot, and you + would probably have a bad headache. Julia is sitting in the + verandah teaching Polly, Sarah, Fanny, and Phoebe the Easter + hymn for next Sunday. Ayah is walking up and down with Mildred, + and Louis Koch is running about, making her laugh. I must tell + you how we spend the day. Papa gets up at five, and takes a ride + on his pony. I make the tea at six, and cut bread and butter for + Ayah and Julia, and Samchoon, one of the boys who has had fever + and wants feeding up. The bell calls us to church at seven, but + I don't go till the afternoon. The gardener brings me a tray of + flowers, and I make the nosegays for the day. Then I go + downstairs and see the butter made. The boy brings in a great + jar of milk, with which he mixes some warm water; into this he + puts a long piece of bamboo, with cross pieces fixed in it like + the spokes of a wheel. This he twirls round and round in the jar + till the butter comes. Then he takes it out with his black + hands, and I carry it off and wash and salt it. We only get five + ounces now at a time, though there are six cows in milk; but the + calves are such miserable little things they have to be helped + first, and fed with rice-gruel also. The butter finished, I go + up to the sewing-class, who are very busy making their Easter + clothes, both boys and girls; and I help them with my + sewing-machine until half-past ten, only running away + twice--once to see what the school cook has brought for their + breakfast, and then to order our own. Then we all bathe and + breakfast, and Ayah goes away for two hours for her breakfast + and midday nap; and I take care of Mildred, which is, I own, the + hardest part of my day's work, for the little restless thing + will never let me sit down, and is up to all sorts of mischief. + At two o'clock Ayah comes and sings Mildred to sleep, with the + same old tune of "Doo doo baby" which you used to sing to your + dolls. I think in the next box I have from home you might send + your old friends Sarah and Fanny a doll each, and dress them + yourself. Our Malay Tuan Ku was here the other day and asked + after you; he remembered your Malay fairy tales. + + * * * * * + + MY BELOVED CHILD, + + Our letters were very welcome last Sunday, _Easter Sunday_, + telling us good news of you all. Our church was very gay with + flowers and moss ferns; and the font was filled with large pink + water-lilies, whose beautiful round green leaves, a foot wide at + least, looked quite lovely round the white shell font. All holy + week and Easter Monday and Tuesday we had full service at seven + o'clock in the morning, papa preaching a short sermon from the + altar. It was delightfully cool at that hour, and began the day + so pleasantly. I always love Easter, when all our dear ones seem + to be gathered to us in Christ our Lord, whether those in Heaven + or those far away--all one family, and Christ's children through + God the Father's love and mercy. I have been very busy. The + school-children had all new clothes for Easter. We worked + diligently for three hours every morning. The jackets were made + of the Irish gingham I brought from home. This week is holiday, + and Julia and I have had a fine wash, and have clear-starched + the Bishop's sleeves and ruffles--such a business! My hand aches + to-day with lifting the heavy smoothing-iron, which is not iron, + but a large brass box, hollow and filled with hot charcoal. We + shall get more used to it in time. Mrs. Stahl used to do it. Now + she is gone it is quite impossible to let the Kling Dobie touch + papa's sleeves; they would soon be torn to ribbons. I gave the + school a treat on Easter Tuesday. They had two soup-tureens full + of syllabub, plum cake, and pine-apple puffs. My cook stared + when I said, "Make forty large pine-apple puffs." However, they + were for his own countrymen--he is Chinese. I thought at first + he understood English, for he always said "Yes" to my orders; + but it was his one word. After the school-children had finished + off with fruit and native cakes, they had, what they like best + of all, quantities of crackers, which filled the house with the + smell of gunpowder, and frightened baby Mildred out of her + sleep. Good-bye. + + * * * * * + + July, 1862. + + MY PRECIOUS MAB, + + Thank you for your note, written on the 4th of May, which I + received the other day. I always rejoice to think of you in the + springtime, because, like other young things, you enjoy the + opening buds, flowers, and sunshine after the long grave winter. + But winter is a good friend, although he has a grave face; we + should be all the better for a visit from him out here. My + garden is now as full of flowers as it will hold; Mrs. Little + brought me so many new ones from Singapore. I have a very gay + nosegay every morning, and still, leave flowers to adorn the + beds outside. We have turned out some of the fruit-trees to make + more room for flowers. This morning I have sown a quantity of + blue and purple convolvulus, which only display their beauties + to those who rise early before the sun closes their blossoms; + but we have flowers which only open at night, the moon-flower, + and night-blowing cereus, both white and fragrant. Dr. Little + has been travelling about the country looking for new plants. He + and Mr. Koch went to the top of the mountain of Poè near Lundu. + It was so cold six thousand feet above the level of the sea, + that they had to supply the natives who went with them with + blankets. At the very top of the mountain they found a new + orchid growing on the ground, a bright yellow flower, with + streaks of magenta colour inside. Dr. Little picked some of the + blossoms, and dug up one hundred roots, two of which he gave me; + but they will not live in my garden, they want mountain air. He + also gave me the dead flowers, and asked me to paint a picture + of one from his description and the faded blossom. I did it as + well as I could, but I fear it was not very good, and, after + all, the flower was not nearly as pretty as a bunch of laburnum + in England. They also found growing on the roots of a tree that + strange fungus flower described by Sir Stamford Raffles in his + book on Java and Sumatra--a yard wide across the petals, + brilliantly coloured red, purple, yellow and white, and, in the + hollow of the flower (nectarium), capable of holding twelve + pints of water, the whole weighing from fifteen to twenty + pounds; for it is a thick fleshy flower, not frail and delicate + as one likes a flower to be. It is very curious and gorgeous, + but as soon as it is fully expanded it begins to decay and + smells putrid. Sir James Brooke once found a specimen of this + gigantic flower in the jungle, and sent it to me to look at; but + it had lost all its beauty in the journey, and I held my nose as + I looked at it. The Dyaks said, "It is an auton" (spirit), which + is their explanation of anything they never saw before. The + natives of Sumatra call it "The Devil's sirih-box."[8] Are you + as fond of frogs as you used to be? Last week, some people were + dining with us. I had just helped the soup, and, letting my hand + fall upon my lap, picked up one of your friends who had settled + himself there. Not knowing at first what the cold clammy thing + was, I jumped up, and everybody else jumped up too, to see what + was the matter; for it might have been a snake, you know! + Good-bye. + + [Footnote 8: The real name is _Rafflesia Arnoldi_. See page 343, + vol. i., "Raffles' Life and Journals."] + + * * * * * + + December 1, 1862. + + MY DEAREST MAB, + + Uncle told me of your walk with him to West Hyde Church, and how + you made believe to get to Sarawak and see mamma walking in the + verandah. You are much better off in the cold December air of + England, than you would be in this sultry place, for all its + green beauty and never-failing flowers. I had rather you carried + the roses in your cheeks than have them in the garden all the + year round. Last month papa went to visit the Quop Mission, + where Mr. and Mrs. Abi and their little baby, and your old Ayah + Fatima, live. To get there he goes down the Sarawak River and + up the Quop River, then lands at a Malay village, from whence + there is a walk of three or four miles, up and down pretty hills + and across Dyak bridges, and over paths made of two bamboos tied + together, with a muddy swamp on either side. Then you come to + the mission-house which papa has built, and to Mr. Chalmers' old + house, which at present serves as the church, and to some long + Dyak houses. Papa baptized twenty-four men, women, and girls, + and confirmed nineteen people who had been baptized by Mr. + Chalmers. The old Pangara, one of the principal chiefs, was + baptized, and three of his grown-up sons, and one little + grandson whom the old man held in his arms. We had made white + jackets for the baptized, but the old Pangara had not quite made + up his mind, fearing the ridicule of the other elders of the + tribe, till papa talked to him; so there was no jacket for him, + and papa gave him a clean white shirt, round the skirt of which + we tied his chawat, a very long waist-band which wraps round and + round the body, and that was all! no trousers, and very funny he + looked; but papa was too rejoiced at his becoming a Christian, + to laugh at him. These people will all be Christians soon. They + come to Mr. and Mrs. Abi, morning, noon, and night, to be + taught, and there are two daily services; so the missionaries + have plenty to do. Two of our old school-boys, now grown up, are + catechists there, Semirum and Aloch. There is much love between + the people and their teachers; they are so happy at the Quop + they never want to come away. However, I have asked the Abis to + come for a fortnight at Christmas, and bring their poor little + baby to be fattened on cow's milk. There are no cows at the + Quop. + + * * * * * + + January, 1863. + + MY BELOVED CHILDREN, + + As I cannot have you with me this Christmas and new year, I + must comfort myself as best I may by writing you an account of + all we have been doing, and how we have tried to fancy + ourselves in old England amidst the frost and snow, + notwithstanding the bright sunshine and perpetual green of our + Eastern home. When we woke before daylight on Christmas morning + the school boys were singing under our windows, "When Joseph + was a-walking he heard an angel sing," so we got up and looked + out, wishing the children a happy Christmas. Then we dressed, + for there was a great deal to do. Papa had many services in + church, Chinese, English, and Dyak. I had the wreaths to make. + The church had been decked with moss fern the day before, but + the flowers must be added in the morning, or they would be + faded. So Julia and I made a crown of French marigolds to hang + on the cross over the altar, two large wreaths for either side, + and one at the west end made entirely of the golden allamanda, + in the buds of which you used to imprison fire-flies when you + lived here. The font was adorned all over, in preparation for + the baptisms to take place in the morning service. At half-past + eleven we all went to church, and after the Litany there were + sixteen Dyaks from Murdang, six Chinamen, and six little + children baptized. Mr. Koch read the service in Malay, and papa + baptized. It was a beautiful sight. The children, four of my + little girls, and two small boys from the school behaved very + well, and looked pretty in their new clothes. But they all + understood something of why they were sprinkled with the + blessed water, for we had been teaching them for some time, and + Limo told me on Christmas Eve, that "our Saviour came into this + world a little child, to teach us to be good; and when He had + blessed them in their baptism, they must take pains to do all + He desired them." I thought this pretty well for a beginning. + Ambat always repeats what Limo says, so I do not know how much + is her own: she is Limo's sister. Ango and Llan, the other two + girls, have been taught by Miss Rocke, who has given them to + me; they know but little, but are gentle children. The school + had a feast at five o'clock, beef curry (papa had an ox + killed), salt pork, rice, and a huge plum-pudding. They had + newly white-washed their dining-room the week before, and + decked it with boughs, so that it looked very nice with six + lanterns hanging from the roof. They played there while we were + at dinner, and the Christian Chinese feasted at Sing Song's + house. Julia had her little party in her school-room, and + dinner from our table: some of the grown-up schoolboys and + Polly. We had Mr. and Mrs. Koch, Mr. and Mrs. Owen, Mr. + Zehnder, and Mrs. Crookshank at our table. Papa counted that + ninety-seven people were fed on the mission premises on + Christmas Day. After dinner we had a bonfire in the hollow + below our hill, between the house and the church. Quantities of + dry bamboo had been collected there, which threw up columns of + sparks, and lit up all the under leaves of the trees, making + the dark sky and the young moon look so far far away. Then the + boys began with crackers and rockets. Baby Agnes was not + frightened, but poor Mildred could not sleep for terror. Every + rocket made her call out "Bumah," and hide her face on my + shoulder; however, she got used to it at last. Christmas is the + time of year which belongs especially to children, because our + Lord Jesus Christ then deigned to become a little child. We + forget what happened to us when we were very young--even a + mother does not know all the feelings, little troubles, ardent + wishes and desires of her little ones--but it is impossible + that our Saviour can ever forget. He knows exactly all that + belongs to the daily life of a child, not only because He is + God and knows everything, but because He was once a child + Himself, and remembers all the joys and sorrows of His + child-life in the cottage at Nazareth; and so children are very + dear to Him--He listens to their prayers, accepts their + praises, and watches over them always. Remember, my darling, + that He is your best friend; to Him you may tell all your + little troubles and confess all your faults, for He is very + pitiful and of tender mercy. + + I gave my school-girls a box of dominoes and a set of + draughtsmen with a board for their Christmas present. They play + very well. All the sewing-class boys, too, had each a + present--either a knife, or belt, or box or basket to keep + their treasures in, or a head-handkerchief; but the Sarawak + bazaar does not furnish many desirable things, even for + school-boys. H.M.S. _Renard_ has arrived since I wrote thus + far, and we have had the boat races, which always take place in + January. Eleven of our school-boys won the boys' race, pulling + against Inchi Boyangs' school, the Mahometan school, and some + other boats. We dressed our boys in white and blue, and they + pulled beautifully. Papa had taught them to pull all together, + when they went to mission stations with him, and they are + really good paddlers. They disdained the short course marked + out for the boys, and pulled all the way out to the + winning-post, a boat anchored near the wharf, round it, and + back again, winning by two boats' lengths. They won five + dollars, and papa added two more; they gave some of the money + to their school-fellows, and celebrated their victory by + singing all the evening so nicely, and hurrahing at the end of + each song. They are good boys, and much happiness to us. + Good-bye. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +ILLANUN PIRATES. + + +I have described in a former chapter the habits of the Dyak pirates of +Sakarran and Sarebas, and how, after being punished by Sir James Brooke +when they were caught at the entrance of their river, with captives and +plunder in their boats, they were required to live at one with their +neighbours, and to study the arts of peace. Happily for them, they had a +wise and paternal Government to repress their vices, and, after a time, +Christian missionaries to teach them the fear and love of God. But the +Malay pirates who lived on the islands and coasts of North Borneo were +governed by sultans who encouraged piracy, and insisted on sharing their +spoils; moreover, they are Mahometans by religion, and that is not a +faith which teaches mercy or respects life. To this day, therefore, +these Illanuns remain pirates. They have larger prahus and carry heavier +guns than the Dyaks, and nothing can exceed their cruelty. When we +lived at Kuching there was scarcely a Malay family there who had not +suffered from them, either by the loss of relations or property; for +they are naturally a trading people. + +It is a common practice for a party of men to join together in hiring a +boat in which to venture goods or gold-dust by trading on the coast, or +even to Singapore three hundred and sixty miles away, These small and +comparatively unarmed boats fell an easy prey to the pirate prahus, who +went out in fleets. + +The Spaniards and the Dutch were every now and then roused to search the +seas for these pests of the human race, but they were so cunning they +generally evaded them. At last they had a signal lesson. In the year +1862, Captain Brooke, then governing Sarawak in his uncle's absence, +decided to go to Bintulu on the north-west coast of Borneo, a territory +which had lately been ceded to the Rajah by the Sultan, and build a fort +on the river, to check piracy and protect the peaceable inhabitants who +were settling there on the promise of such protection. For this purpose +he took the _Rainbow_, a small screw steamer of eighty-nine tons and +thirty-five horse power; and the _Jolly Bachelor_, a Government +gun-boat. The Bishop accompanied him, to see what missionary prospects +there were in that distant spot, also because he was at that time +anxious about Captain Brooke's health. Mr. Helms, the manager of the +Borneo mercantile company, accompanied them as far as Muka, where was +an establishment to collect sago for exportation. On the second day +after his arrival, a piratical fleet of Ilanuns, consisting of six +large, and as many smaller vessels, appeared on the coast, and blockaded +the town. For two days they remained off Muka, capturing there, and on +the coast southwards, thirty-two persons. + +Mr. Helms persuaded Hadji Mataim and a few natives to start in a fast +boat and apprize Captain Brooke; and this boat, though chased by the +pirates, got safe to Bintulu. Hadji Mataim got alongside the steamer +early on Thursday morning, while it was still dark, and the Bishop, +recognizing his voice, called him on board. He delivered a letter from +Mr. Helms, asking for help. Steam was got up directly, the Chinese +carpenters who were to build the fort were landed, and the guns which +had been brought to protect it were put on board, as well as the fort +men who were to man the fort, that they might strengthen the crew. With +the first dawn of light the _Rainbow_ steamed over the bar taking the +_Jolly Bachelor_ in tow, and steered for Muka. + +Meanwhile all preparation was made for fighting. Planks were hung over +the railing to raise the sides of the poop where there were no bulwarks, +and mattresses were laid inside to receive the shot and spears of the +enemy; this doubtless saved the lives of several of the crew. There were +eight Europeans on board, including the captain of the _Rainbow_ and his +mate, the engineer, Captain Brooke, Mr. Stuart Johnson, Mr. Hay, Mr. +Walters, and the Bishop. As soon as there were any wounded, Mr. Walters +assisted the Bishop in his work of mercy. The Bishop always carried a +medicine chest and case of surgical instruments wherever he went; and, +happily, a large sheet had been packed among his things this voyage, +which was speedily torn up into bandages. Now all was ready, but it was +not until Friday morning that they sighted what looked like three large +palm drifts to seaward off Tanjong Kidorong, to the north-east of the +British River. They proved to be three large prahus, with their masts +struck, and bristling with men, who were rowing like the Maltese, +standing, and pushing for shore, casting off their sampans[9] one by one +to make better way. Hadji Mataim recognized the sampan which chased and +fired at him when he slipped away from Muka. Brooke then asked one of +the chief officers of the Sarawak Government, who was on board, and +Pangeran Matussim of Muka, if they were perfectly sure that these prahus +were Illanuns? "Not a shadow of doubt," they said. So they loaded their +guns and prepared for action. The leading prahu was going almost as fast +as the steamer herself, and though steam was put on, and every effort +made to get between her and the Point, the prahu won the race, and got +into shallow water where the steamer could not follow; then she opened +fire on the steamer, which was returned with interest. This prahu had +three long brass swivel guns, and plenty of rifles and muskets. As she +was beyond the reach of the steamer, Captain Brooke turned to the second +prahu, which was now fast nearing the shore. His plan was to silence the +brass guns by the fire of the rifles on board the steamer, and shake the +rowers at their oars by a discharge of grape and round shot; then to put +on all steam and run at them with the stem of the _Rainbow_. This was +done with great coolness by Captain Hewat when Captain Brooke gave the +order; the steamer struck the prahu amid-ships and went over her. Those +on board called to the slaves, and all who would surrender, to hold on +by the wreck until the boats could take them off; then they steamed away +after the third prahu, which had already got into two-fathom water and +was struck too far forward to sink. All the pirates in her jumped +overboard and swam for shore, leaving their own wounded, the slaves, and +captives, who were also bid to remain by their vessel till they were +rescued. + + [Footnote 9: Small boats.] + +Meanwhile the first prahu, seeing the fate of the others, ran ashore +among the rocks inside Tanjong Kidorong; and all the crew, pirates, and +slaves ran into the jungle. Had the captives known better they would not +have run away. The _Jolly Bachelor_ was left to look after these +runaways, and then the captives of the other two prahus were helped on +board the steamer. Several of the crew of the _Rainbow_ recognized +friends and acquaintances among the saved; and the joyous, thankful look +of the captives, as they came on board and found themselves among +friends, was indeed a compensation for the awful destruction of the +pirates. Many were wounded, either with shot or the fearful cuts of the +Illanun swords of the pirates, who tried to murder their captives when +they saw all was lost. The Bishop was dressing one man who was shot +through the wrist, when he spoke to him in English, and after pouring +out his gratitude for his wonderful escape, said he was a Singapore +policeman, and was going to see his friends in Java when he was +captured. There were also two Singapore women, and a child, and two +British-born Bencoolen Malays, who were taken in their own trading boat +going to Tringanau. The husband of the younger woman had been killed by +the pirates, and she, like all women who fall into their hands, had +suffered every outrage and insult which could be offered her. They were +almost living skeletons. One was shot through the thigh, and after the +Bishop had dressed her wound, Mr. Walters said quaintly, "Poor thing, +she has not meat enough on her bones to bait a rat-trap." It is a wonder +how the poor creatures lived at all, under the treatment to which they +were subjected. When the Bishop asked some of the men whether their +wounds hurt much, they answered, "Nothing hurts so much as the salt +water the Illanuns gave us to drink. We never had fresh water; they +mixed three parts of fresh with four of salt water: and all we had to +eat was a handful of rice or raw sago twice a day." Very few of the +pirates who were not wounded surrendered. They are marvellous swimmers: +took their arms with them into the water, and fought the men in the +boats who were trying to pick up the captives. The Bishop and Mr. +Walters were fully occupied doctoring friends and foes, arresting +hemorrhage, extracting balls, and closing frightful sword or chopper +wounds. One man came on board with the top of his skull as cleanly +lifted up by a Sooloo knife, as if a surgeon had desired to take a peep +at the brain inside! It took considerable force to close it in the right +place. This man had also two cuts in his back, yet the next morning he +was discovered eating a large plate of rice, and he ultimately +recovered. Another poor fellow could not be got up the ladder because he +had a long-handled three-barbed spear sticking in his back: the Bishop +had to go down and cut it out before he could be moved. + +While all this was going on, the captives told Captain Brooke that there +were three more pirate vessels out at sea, waiting for those near shore +to rejoin them; as soon, therefore, as the steamer had picked up as many +captives as she could find, she steamed out to sea in search of them. +After an hour, the look-out from the mast-head reported three vessels in +sight. It was then a dead calm, and they were using their long sweeps, +when they were seen from the deck, to arrange themselves side by side, +with their bows towards the steamer; but, a breeze springing up, they +hoisted sail, spread themselves out broadside on, and opened fire on +the _Rainbow_ as soon as she was within range, so that there was no +question as to whether these were pirate prahus or not. The same plan +was followed as in the case of the other boats, and with more success, +as there was no shore to escape to. + +The pirates had secured their captives below the decks of the prahus, +but when the steamer struck them and opened their sides, they were +liberated. But few of them were drowned, being all good swimmers; but +some were killed by the pirates in their rage and despair, and some had +been lashed to the vessel and could not therefore escape. + +One poor Chinaman came swimming along, holding up his long tail of hair +lest he should be suspected to be a pirate; other men held up the ropes +round their necks, to show they were captives. The deck of the steamer +was soon covered with those who had been picked out of the water, men of +every nation and race in the Archipelago, who had been captured during +this cruise, which had lasted seven months. These vessels left +Tawi-Tawi, an island to the south-west of Sooloo, in October. The Sultan +of Sooloo is in league with the pirates, and receives part of the +plunder and slaves. In the only boat boarded by Captain Brooke was found +the Sultan's flag, which is only given to people of high rank; also the +usual Illanun flag, six Dutch, and one Spanish flag, which no doubt +belonged to vessels they had captured. The men who were saved gave +details of the taking of two large vessels--one a Singapore prahu +trading to Tringanau; the other a Dutch tope, of one hundred and fifty +tons, on the coast of Borneo to the south of Pontianak. There they fell +in with five other Illanun boats, which had come down from the +northward--they themselves were going up from the southward. The +new-comers told them of a merchant vessel near at hand, and proposed +they should join them in capturing her, which they did. She had a +valuable cargo, worth ten thousand dollars. They killed everybody on +board, plundered and burnt the vessel. Only the one Chinaman escaped who +told this tale. The captives stated that this was the usual proceeding +if resistance was made. When they spare their captives' lives, they beat +them with a flat piece of bamboo over the elbows and knees, and the +muscles of arms and legs, until they are unable to move; then a halter +is put round their necks, and, when they are sufficiently tamed, they +are put to the oars and made to row in gangs, with one of their own +fellow-captives as overseer to keep them at work. If he does not do it +effectually, he is krissed and thrown overboard. If these miserable +creatures jump into the sea they spear them in the water. They row in +relays, night and day; and to keep them awake, cayenne pepper is rubbed +into their eyes or into cuts dealt them on their arms. + +The masts of these prahus are very small, so that they may not be seen +at a distance. They go very fast. Those encountered by the _Rainbow_ +were seen off Datu on Monday night, and on Friday morning they were near +Bintulu, a distance of two hundred and forty miles, although they had +delayed nearly two days at Muka, picking up thirty people on the coast. +Most of these were recaptured and returned to Muka. On reckoning up, it +was found that one hundred and sixty-five people had been rescued, and +perhaps one hundred and fifty or two hundred had got away from the +vessels sunk on shore. In every pirate prahu were from forty to fifty +Illanuns, and from sixty to seventy captives, many of whom were killed +by the pirates when they found themselves beaten, among them two women. +Nine women and six children were saved; seven of the women belonged to +Muka or Oya. Of the Illanuns, thirty-two were taken alive; ten of these +were boys. Some died afterwards of their wounds; some were taken to +Kuching in irons, there tried, and some of them executed. They died the +death of murderers; but Captain Brooke gave the boys to respectable +people to bring up, hoping they might be reformed. We had one young +fellow, about fourteen years old, when he had been cured of his wounds +in the hospital. I kept him about me, and used to teach him; but he +could not be tamed. He turned Mahometan, and left us to be employed at +the fort; but there he stole money, and had to be sent elsewhere. The +nature of an Illanun pirate seems almost unmixed evil, because they are +taught to be cruel from their childhood. + +There were two circumstances in this affray with the Illanuns which +called for thankfulness on the part of the victors. First, that they met +the pirates in two detachments, which enabled them to attack them +successfully, without the danger of their boarding the steamer, which, +from their numbers, would have been fatal to the little party on board +the _Rainbow_. Secondly, that their ammunition lasted through the two +engagements. It was quite finished; only a little loose powder in a +barrel, and a few broken cartridges, remained when the last prahus were +taken. Had they fallen in with another fleet, they would have been at +their mercy. Almost while I write these last words, we have received a +letter from the present Rajah of Sarawak--Charles Johnson Brooke. He +says, "I have heard this morning that one of our schooners has been +captured by the Sooloo pirates, and the crew murdered." The last twenty +years have not therefore altered the character of these people, and +their extermination seems the only remedy for the misery they inflict on +their fellow creatures. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +A MALAY WEDDING. + + + MY DARLING MAB, + + I am sitting in a darkened room, while Mildred is having her day + sleep; and as I am thinking of you, I may as well begin a letter + for next mail. Last week I went to a Malay wedding, the first I + ever attended, although I have been here so many years. It + amused me very much; so I shall try to describe it to you. + + Early in the morning the bridegroom's friends came to beg + flowers from our garden. Then papa told them I would go to the + wedding, and they said, "Be sure not to be later than twelve + o'clock." Accordingly, Mr. and Mrs. Ricketts, the British Consul + and his wife, Mr. Zehnder, and I set off in two boats, after + eleven o'clock breakfast; but we need not have got there before + two o'clock. + + Eastern people set little value on time. They would just as soon + sit cross-legged on the floor smoking for three hours as for + one. The bride is the daughter of one of the first merchants in + the place, Nakodah Sadum, and the bridegroom is the grandson of + the old Datu Tumangong, whom you may remember. A handsome young + man is Matussim, and enlightened, for a Malay. He made his + betrothed a present of his photograph last year. Formerly Malays + objected to having their portraits taken, fancying it a breach + of the second commandment. + + The bride's father's house was gay with flags and streamers, and + in front of it lay, by the river's brink, four small cannon, + which had been busy, for days before and all that morning, + saluting the occasion. We walked up into the house, which was + full of guests. A long verandah, lined with hadjis and elders, + all smoking and talking, led to the principal room, which, + unlike any Malay house before built in Sarawak, had large + Venetian-shuttered doors all round, and was therefore cool and + airy. There was a little round table, and some armchairs covered + with white mats for the expected guests, in the middle of the + room. Sadum and his wife came forward and greeted us very + cordially, and then we were told to sit down on the chairs. I + looked about for the bride, and saw a crowd of women in one + corner, and a boy holding a gilt umbrella over the young lady, + who was being shaved. A woman with a razor was shearing her + eyebrows into a delicate line, and all round her forehead + trimming disorderly hairs. Four women, seated on their heels in + front of her, were fidgeting over her face; she, impassive as a + log in their hands. A vast deal of singing and drumming went on + all the time, a row of musicians keeping it up all round the + room. The girl was washed; then her hair, magnificent black hair + down to her heels, knotted in two great bows on either side of + her head. Over these, gold ornaments like wings were fixed, and + a little tower of gold bells above them. Then the women painted + a black band round her forehead, and added a silver edge to it, + also painted. Her eyebrows were likewise touched up, and her + skin rubbed all over with yellow powder. Poor child! she was a + curious figure by the time it was all finished, and her skin + must have felt painfully stiff. She was then attired in very + handsome silk robes, ornamented with solid gold, and the + attendants carried her to a raised dais or bed-place at one end + of the room. There she sat, not daring to lift her eyes until + the bridegroom's arrival. + + The divan was gorgeous with silk curtains and cushions + embroidered with gold thread and embossed with tinsel ornaments, + the work of the bride herself. The seat for the bridegroom was + somewhat higher and larger than the bride's. At last the + bridegroom approached in a large barge, which held about two + hundred people. A small boat preceded it with three guns, which + kept up a deafening noise as he drew near. He was carried up the + steps, and the house door was shut to in his face, according to + the Malay custom. Then he begged admittance very humbly, and + after paying a fee of five dollars, was admitted. His followers + rush in first--such a clatter! Greetings, welcomes, jokes, and + laughter, make a Babel of noise; everybody speaking at once. + Then a cloth was laid down for the bridegroom to pass over, and + he was pulled with apparent reluctance into the room, panting + and shutting his eyes as if exhausted. His head was wreathed + with Indian jessamine. He was naked to the waist, except a gold + scarf over one shoulder; otherwise he had plenty of gold and red + silk about him. He was pulled up to the bride, turning his head + away as if he was ashamed to look at her, and dropped a red silk + handkerchief over her face for a moment. Then he sat down on the + divan, and all the old women of both houses sprinkled the couple + with yellow rice, and rubbed their foreheads with some charm, + which looked like a bit of stone and a nutmeg-grater, and wished + them all kinds of luck--but especially that they might be the + parents of _sons_ only. After the young people had endured this + long enough, the curtains were let down round the dais, and only + two or three old women kept going in and out. We found they were + taking off all the finery, and dressing the bride and bridegroom + in their usual clothes; for while we were drinking coffee and + eating Malay cakes at the little table, they came out from the + curtains, looking quite pleasant and natural. So we shook hands, + made our congratulations, and bade them adieu. We got home at + four o'clock, very hot and tired, and papa laughed at us for + going; but I was glad I did for once in a way. + + A wedding is a very serious expense to Malays of any rank. The + bridegroom has to make settlements on the bride, and the bride's + father has to keep open house for weeks, besides fees to the + hadjis, and gunpowder _ad libitum_. The religious part of the + ceremony is enacted some days before the marriage. One day papa + was calling at a Malay house, where a wedding was about to take + place, and found the bridegroom learning a passage in the Koran, + in Arabic, which he could not translate, but which it was + necessary he should repeat. A hadji was standing by, driving the + words into his head. The hadji could not translate it either; + but the Koran may only be read in Arabic, lest it should be + desecrated. Sometimes papa would read a chapter to any Malay who + desired to understand the meaning of his sacred book; but they + were generally content with learning it as a charm, or certain + parts of it. + + The Rajah often made a present of an ox for a great man's + wedding. This was a great help, for many dishes of curry could + be made out of so much meat. When we wished for some meat at + Christmas and Easter, we sent for the Mahometan butcher to kill + the animal. He turned its head towards Mecca, repeated prayers + over him, and then cut his throat in such a way that no drop of + blood was left in the flesh; for the Malays hold to the Jewish + law in that as well as many other particulars. Then the people + would buy whatever beef we did not want ourselves; but not + otherwise. + + This is a long letter, but as I am on the subject of weddings, I + may as well tell you about a Chinese wedding we had the other + day at our house. The bridegroom was Akiat, a carpenter, about + six feet two inches high. He was dressed in whity-brown silk, + which made him look like a tall spectre; and the bride was Quey + Ginn, a fat, dumpy little girl of sixteen, the Chinese deacon's + daughter, and one of my scholars. She did not choose her old + husband of fifty years, but her parents arranged it, and Akiat + paid one hundred dollars for his wife. I went to see her the day + before the wedding, and she showed me all her clothes and + ornaments; but I thought she did not look as if she cared for + them. So I whispered, "Are you happy, child?" "No, not at all," + burst out Quey Ginn. "I don't want to be married and leave my + parents." Whereupon I could not help taking her in my arms and + comforting her, telling her to be a good wife, and she would + soon learn to be content. She has been to visit me since her + marriage, and I am amused to see that she is quite a little + woman, instead of the shy girl she used to be; and, whereas as a + girl she was never allowed to be seen in the streets, or even to + go to church, she now does exactly as she likes, and, I am happy + to say, comes regularly to church. These people were all sincere + Christians. Akiat was the Chinese churchwarden, and, as papa + esteemed them very highly, he allowed the breakfast to take + place at our house. + + I had a cake made for the occasion, which Quey Ginn cut up with + much pleasure. The ring in it fell to Mr. Zehnder's share, which + amused him also. Good-bye. + +It was this year, 1865, that Mr. Waterhouse, the chaplain of Singapore, +came to visit us. The doctors often sent us a patient or friend to be +under the Bishop's care, and for rest and change; the latter was the +cause of Mr. Waterhouse's visit, and six weeks of jungle life did him +good, while his society and sympathy were a great pleasure to us, the +Bishop especially. The Bishop took him to visit the different mission +stations, and he often spoke to me with satisfaction of the "real +mission work" he witnessed at Banting, Lundu, and the Quop. At each of +these stations he found a consecrated church and a community of +Christian people; whilst the missionaries set over them, not only +instructed and ministered to the tribe among whom they lived, but +journeyed to outlying places, founding branch missions and setting +catechists to work under them. I find in one of my letters, when Mr. +Waterhouse returned from Banting, he said, "I cannot but admire the +patience with which Mr. Chambers talks all day, morning, noon, and +night, to every party of Dyaks, who march into the house whenever they +like, making it quite their home: it is what very few people could do +day after day." This is the trial of Dyak teaching. You cannot appoint +specific hours for instruction. People come when they can, sometimes +long distances. They can never be denied, except you are actually at +meals, and then they sit down and wait till the eating is over. Here is +a programme of a day at Banting:-- + +By seven in the morning Mr. Chambers goes to one or another Dyak house +to teach. These houses contain many families under one roof. The people +understand now that teaching is the sole object of Mr. Chambers' visit, +so, when he enters, all who are at leisure gather round him. He returns +home to eleven o'clock breakfast. After breakfast his school of boys +occupies him for the afternoon; but every party of Dyaks who come in +must be listened to, and, if they are willing, instructed, taught a +prayer, a hymn, a parable, or some Scripture lesson. This goes on till +five o'clock, when the bell calls them to daily prayers, and they all +walk together down the beautiful jungle avenue to the pretty church. A +short service, in which the Dyaks respond heartily, and a catechizing +follows, during which they are allowed to ask questions of their +teacher. Then an hour's rest before dinner. But immediately after dinner +more Dyaks, sometimes a whole house, _i.e._ forty or fifty persons, come +in, and have coffee, and pictures, and a lecture. All this does not +happen every day, but most days during what we call the working season, +from March till October, and no doubt so much talking and so little +leisure is very fatiguing. But then comes the harvest, and afterwards +the wet monsoon, and the schools fall off, and the Dyaks no longer come +from a distance to be taught. It is sufficiently dull and lonely then in +the jungle stations. The sea runs too high for boats to bring mails, or +books, or provisions; the rain falls heavily, and with little +intermission, and food becomes scarce. Mrs. Chambers told me that the +prayer for daily bread, which seems to us to relate to the daily needs +of our souls for the bread and water of life, bore a literal meaning to +them in the north-east monsoon, when the day's food was by no means +certain. Rice they had, it is true; but English people get nearly +starved upon rice alone, without fish, meat, or bread. It was therefore +with sincere thankfulness that they welcomed a chicken, however skinny, +in that season. + +After the Banting expedition, the Bishop took Mr. Waterhouse to Lundu, +and Mr. Hawkins, a missionary lately come out, went with them. They +arrived on a Saturday. On Sunday there was a great gathering of +Christian Dyaks: fifty-two people were confirmed, eighty received the +Holy Communion, so that they were more than three hours in church, the +Bishop preaching to them in Malay. On Monday Mr. Waterhouse and Mr. +Hawkins paid a visit to a beautiful waterfall, about two miles from the +town; and on Tuesday all the party, Mr. Gomez included, went in boats +forty miles up the river Lundu, with three hundred Dyaks, to tuba fish. +The Bishop had paid the Dyaks to collect tuba the week before. It is a +plant found in the jungle, the root of which washed in water makes a +milky-looking poison. It does not make the fish unwholesome to eat, only +intoxicates them for the time, so that they rise floundering about on +the surface of the water, but it destroys human life, and is the poison +chosen by Dyaks who commit suicide, though I do not believe that this +crime is common among them. + +When the party had ascended the river far enough, the Dyaks built a hut +for the English to sleep in. They made a floor of logs of wood, spread +over with the bark of trees, which, beaten down hard, made a capital +mattress on which to lay their mats and pillows. The kajangs (leaf mats) +off the boat made some shelter from the weather, although it takes a +good deal to keep Borneo rain out! The Dyaks were much too busy to go to +sleep at all: they drove stakes all across the river to secure their +fish, then they beat out the tuba in the bottom of their boats. It took +all night, by the light of torches, to do this; and a wild sight it was, +in the midst of the solemn old jungle. Very early in the morning, when +the tide was at its lowest ebb, they put the tuba into the river; the +flood coming up, and bringing plenty of fish, encountered this +intoxicating milk, and carried over the stakes a whole shoal of dead and +tipsy fish. Then the Dyaks, darting about in little boats, speared the +big fishes, and caught the small ones in landing-nets. + +Hundreds of fish were caught, and the Dyaks had a grand feast; also, +they salted quantities, in their nasty way--pounding the fish up, +letting it turn sour, and then packing it into bamboos with salt, as a +relish to eat with their rice. Certainly it has a strong flavour! They +all camped two nights in the jungle, then returned to Lundu, and reached +Sarawak in the yacht _Fanny_, after an absence of ten days. We had a +visit from H.M.S. _Scout_ about this time, and one day sat down sixteen +to dinner in the mission-house, some of the officers having come up to +spend the day. It is difficult to improvise a dinner in a country where +no joints of meat are to be had, unless you kill an ox for the purpose. +Sheep there are none. A capon or goose, or a sucking pig, are the only +big dishes, and not always to be had. However, we did very well, and our +visitors were delighted with Sarawak, and with the schoolboys' singing; +for I had them up to sing glees and rounds, and "Rule Britannia," after +dinner. Captain Corbett was so pleased with the little fellows that he +invited them all to see the ship the next morning. Accordingly our +largest boat took the choir down very early to Morotabas, where the +_Scout_ lay, and Captain Corbett took them all over it himself, even +down to the screw chamber. The boys had never seen so large a man-of-war +before (1600 tons), so they were delighted. Some Dyaks who went with +them were much terrified lest they should be carried off to sea, for the +captain ordered "up anchor," that the boys might see how it was done, +and then sent them off the last minute. They came home in high glee. +Only those who live at the ends of the earth can tell what a pleasure +and refreshment is a little visit from her Majesty's ships from time to +time. The whiff of English air they bring with them, and the hearty +English enthusiasm which has not had time to evaporate, is most +reviving. + +Many Chinese Christians returned to China this summer. I hope they +carried the good seed of the word of life with them. They are only birds +of passage at Sarawak: when they grow rich they prefer to spend their +money in their native country. Our Chinese deacon took his family for a +visit to their Chinese relations. Even the married daughter went with +them; and a few days afterwards, Akiat, her husband, came to tell me +that he was so wretched without his wife, that he should go to Singapore +for the few months of her absence, to while away the time, and he meant +to have a nice new house ready for her on her return. + +Voon Yen Knoon deserved a holiday, certainly, for he worked hard among +his countrymen, besides teaching every day in the school. Three evenings +every week were devoted to the instruction of the Chinese, at the +mission-house. Two distinct languages were spoken by the different +tribes of Chinese who had settled at Sarawak. They could not be taught +together. The people of the Kay tribe came on one evening, the Hokien +another, each having their own interpreter. On the third evening the +interpreters were instructed in the lessons for the following week. On +these nights our long dining-room was full of Chinamen, and a large tray +of tiny cups of tea was carried in, and consumed before the teaching +began. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +LAST YEARS AT SARAWAK. + + +Mr. Chalmers' Merdang Dyaks once said to him, "See how many races of +people there are: Dyaks, Malays, Klings, Chinese, English. They have all +different religions: this is proper, for God has given to each the +religion suited to them." + +I remembered this ingenious remark when I was reading Mr. Helms's +interesting book, just published, "Pioneering in the Far East." He says: +"Like most barbarous and savage nations, the Dyak identifies his gods +and spirits with the great phenomena of nature, and assigns them abodes +on the lofty mountains. Though, in his opinion, all spirits are not +equally malignant, all are more or less to be dreaded. The silent +surroundings of primæval forests in which the Dyak spends most of his +time, the mountains, the gloomy caves, often looming mysteriously +through cloud and mist, predispose him to identify them with +supernatural influences, which in his imagination take the form of +monsters and genii. With no better guide than the untutored imagination +of a mind which in religious matters is a blank, who shall wonder that +this is so? I have myself often felt the influences of such +surroundings, when dark clouds deepened the forest gloom, and the +approaching storm set the trees whispering: if, at such a moment, the +shaggy red-haired and goblin form of the orang-outang, with which some +of the Dyaks identify their genii, should appear among the branches, it +requires little imagination to people the mystic gloom with unearthly +beings." + +Mr. Helms is quite right--the religion which springs from circumstance +and surrounding nature is always one of fear; evil is so close to the +heart of man that the very elements and mysteries of nature seem his +enemies, so long as he is ignorant of the love of God. The great +creating Spirit, whose existence is acknowledged by all Dyaks, inspires +them with neither love nor trust; it is only malign spirits who are +active, who concern themselves with his affairs, and threaten his +happiness and prosperity, and who must therefore be propitiated. What a +different aspect his native woods must present to the Christian Dyak, +who can look around without fear, and believe that his Heavenly Father +made all these things! You would imagine that Christianity would be +welcomed as a deliverance from such superstition; but here the apathy of +long habit raises a barrier. The Dyak who professed to think his dismal +religion was given him by God, was probably too intellectually idle to +think at all. "What you say is most likely true, but we have received +our belief from our forefathers, and it is good enough for us," is the +common remark of the Land Dyak. This listlessness was perhaps originally +caused by oppression and misery, a hard life and cruel masters. In the +days we knew these people they had a sad and patient expression in their +faces, as if they could not forget the time when they were ground down +by Malay extortion, and despoiled by stronger, more warlike tribes. The +present generation may have more spirit, more independence, and the +blessings of peace and liberty may leave their minds more open to the +light of truth. It is, however, interesting to note how different races +of men develop different religious beliefs, and how these Dyaks +intuitively perceive spirit through matter, and are governed, however +blindly and ignorantly, by the powers of the unseen world. + +The orang-outang, or wild man, in not very commonly met in the jungle. I +have seen the trees alive with monkeys, but never met an orang-outang at +liberty. The Dyaks may well be afraid of them if it is true, as they +say, that if one of these monsters attacks a man, he picks his flesh off +his bones like a cook plucking a chicken. They are immensely powerful, +but once caged are gentle enough. Their one desire in confinement is +clothing, why I cannot tell; large-sized monkeys always wrapped +themselves in any bit of cloth they could find, partly in imitation of +their keepers, and perhaps also because they are very chilly creatures, +and, deprived of their usual violent gymnastics, suffered from cold. A +Chinaman had a female orang in his shop while we were at Sarawak, who +took a violent liking to the Bishop, and always expected to be noticed +when he passed the shop. Then she would kiss and fondle his hand; but if +he forgot to speak to "Jemima," she went into a passion, screamed, and +dashed about her cage. + +I never allowed any kind of monkey to be kept at the mission-house. We +had too many children on the premises, and they are jealous and +uncertain in their behaviour to children. Indeed I always regretted +their being either shot or caged--they enjoy life so intensely in the +jungle, and are so amusing, swinging themselves from the branches of +tall trees, leaping, flying almost, in pursuit of one another for mere +fun, that it was sad to put them in prison, where they never lived long, +and where they only exhibited a ludicrous and humiliating parody on the +habits of mankind. + +There was a race of monkeys at Sarawak called by the natives "Unkah," +from the noise they made, but which we called Noseys, for they had long +noses which fell over their mouths, so that the large males had to lift +their noses with one hand, while they put food into their mouths with +the other. When we first lived in the country, and were anxious to send +specimens of every new and curious thing to England, my husband shot one +of these large monkeys for the sake of his skin, but he was so +distressed at the look the beast gave him when he felt himself hit, he +was so like his own uncle in England, who had rather a red face and long +nose, that he resolved never again to shoot a monkey. This ape was +clothed in long brown fur, while his legs were encased in much shorter +hair of a tan colour, which gave the idea of leather breeches. I once +saw a monkey's nest in a high tree. The tree was very bare of leaf or +the nest might have escaped notice. It was formed of big sticks laid in +a strong fork of the branches; and whether it was lined with anything +softer could not be seen from below, but the sticks stuck out, covering +a large space, which had no appearance of comfort or snugness. + +The one monkey I liked, and that at a distance, was the wa-wa, whose +voice was very sweet and melodious, like the soft bubbling of water; but +it was a very melancholy animal, and never seemed to possess the fun and +trickishness of the more common sorts of ape. They are all delicate and +difficult to rear, and invariably die of over-eating, or rather eating +what is unwholesome for them, if they have a chance. It seems as if, in +approaching the form of man, they lost the instinct of the brute. It was +a great addition to the pleasures of life in Sarawak that there were no +wild beasts to be feared in the jungles. When we were once staying at +Malacca, and, for the sake of a natural hot spring, inhabited a little +bungalow in the country, we were always liable to encounter a tiger in +our walks; on Penang Hill, also, there was a large tiger staying in the +woods. During one of our visits, we tracked his footsteps in a cave on +the hill; and he carried off a calf from a gentleman's cow-house near +us--at another time a pony from a neighbour's stable. Tigers do not, +however, live at Penang: they occasionally swim over the strait from +Johore, opposite the island, if driven by hunger. The natives made deep +pits to catch them, with bamboo spears at the bottom to transfix them +when they fall in. On one occasion a French Roman Catholic missionary +fell into one of these tiger-pits, and remained there, starved and +wounded, for three days before he was discovered. He was a very good +man, and gave a wonderful account of his happiness, his visions of +heavenly bliss while dying in that slow torture, for he was too far gone +to be restored. He died rejoicing that he had known what it was to +suffer with Christ. + +The last two years of our life at Sarawak, the Bishop's health failed +and caused me much anxiety. The long jungle walks, which were so +necessary in getting about from one mission to another, became more and +more difficult to him. Often he had to stop and lie down under a tree +till the palpitation of his heart abated; repeated attacks of Labuan +fever affected his liver; and our friends often warned us that we ought +to go home to save his life. The interest of the different missions +increased so much at this time, that it seemed hard to give up a post +in which many trials and disappointments had been lived through, just as +success seemed about to reward the years of patient labour. The peace +and harmony of the mission was greatly promoted, the last three years of +our stay, by an annual meeting of the clergy with their bishop. They +came from their different rivers to spend a week at the mission-house, +and for certain hours of each day met in the church to discuss +missionary operations, Church discipline, religious terms, translations, +etc. It was very desirable there should be no diversity of opinion in +these matters, but that the different missions should have the same +plans, uses, and customs. And these meetings, besides the importance of +the subjects discussed, knit the missionaries to one another and all to +the Bishop, promoting also that _esprit de corps_ which strengthens any +institution, be it school, college, or Church in a heathen country. + +A curious adventure happened to the Bishop in 1865. It was the rainy +season, and the roads were saturated with water and full of holes, +especially a new bit of road towards Pedungan, where sleepers of wood +had been laid down, to steady what would otherwise have been a bog; but +holes here and there could not be avoided. The Bishop always took a ride +early in the morning, before seven o'clock service in church. That +morning I had asked him to go to a house down that road, to inquire +about a servant. He came home late, and covered with mud all down one +side. "Papa has fallen," said little Mildred, playing in the garden. At +her voice her father seemed to wake up out of a deep sleep, and +gradually he became conscious of a severe bruise on his face and pain in +his head; but he could give no account of the matter, which was, +however, explained by a Malay in the course of the day. This man was +walking on the road to Pedungan, when he met the Bishop returning home. +He saw the horse put his foot into a deep hole and come down, the Bishop +also. He did not, however, at once fall off, not until the horse in his +efforts to rise had inflicted a blow with his head on his rider's face. +The Malay helped the horse up, which was not hurt, and the Bishop on his +back; and seeing he was much stunned, he followed them for some way lest +the Bishop should need assistance: but when they reached the town and +seemed all right, he went back. All this time, however, the Bishop was +perfectly unconscious; the horse carried him as he chose, over a ditch, +up a steep bank, under low-hanging trees, and quite safely until he +stopped at our own door. A headache and some stiffness were the only +results of what might have been a fatal accident. We were very thankful +to God for having sent His angel to guard steps as unconscious and +heedless as any little child's could have been. No memory of what had +happened ever came back to the Bishop. + + * * * * * + +In 1866 the _Rifleman_, her Majesty's surveying ship, gave us a passage +to Labuan, where the Bishop wanted to hold a confirmation. This ship +was going to Manilla, and from thence to Hong Kong, before she returned +to Singapore, and, through the kindness of Captain Reed, we accompanied +her. At Labuan I caught the fever of the country, but it did not come +out for ten days, by which time we were at Manilla. We anchored off +Manilla on Christmas-day evening: it had been a very wet day, but +cleared up at night, and we sat on deck watching the lights on shore, +and listening to the constant chimes of the numerous church bells, +whilst the sailors sang songs and did their best to amuse us. It seemed +so strange to be in a Christian country again. + +They have some customs at Manilla which I could not help admiring. When +the Vesper bell rings at six o'clock, all business and pleasure is +suspended for a few minutes, and all the world, man, woman, and child, +say a prayer. The coachmen on the carriages stop their horses, the +pedestrians stand still, friends engaging in animated conversation are +suddenly silent. The setting sun is a signal for the heart to rise to +God; it is a public recognition of His protecting care, and an act of +thanksgiving. When it is over, the children ask their parents' blessing +for the night. This was told me by a native of Manilla, an educated +gentleman, who gave his children every advantage of learning and travel. +The Vesper custom I saw for myself every time I took an evening drive. +We witnessed a very gorgeous procession on the feast of the Epiphany. +All the city functionaries, the military, the priests, bands of music, +and a masquerade of the three kings on horseback, surrounded by troops +of children beautifully dressed in white and scattering flowers, passed +through the streets to a church, into which they all poured, the three +horses riding in too, to attend high mass. I saw but little of Manilla, +being ill nearly all the time. It is a place shaken to pieces by +earthquakes. When we were there the great square, where the Government +offices once stood, was a heap of ruins, and the treasury was too poor +even to clear them away. The bridges were all broken in the middle, and +patched up somehow; and all the rooms in the houses were crooked, the +timbers of the walls being joined loosely together to admit of the +frequent trembling, heaving, and subsidence of the ground, without their +cracking. I believe the country all round was lovely, but I only took +one drive when I was convalescent, and then we steamed away to Hong +Kong. I shall say nothing about Hong Kong, for all the world knows what +a beautiful place it is in winter--how bright and sparkling the blue +sea, how clean and trim the streets, and how stately the buildings; also +what a dream of loveliness is the one drive out of the town to the Happy +Valley, where many an Englishman lies buried in the cemetery. I had a +second bout of fever at Hong Kong. Happily for us, we found kind +relatives both at Manilla and Hong Kong, who nursed me, and who were +very good to us. We found it very cold there after stewing for six +years in Borneo, and the Bishop caught a chill which made him ill all +the rest of the way home. Had we thought when we left Sarawak in '66 +that we should never return there, it would have been a great trial to +bid adieu to our old home, but we had no such intention. We were only +taking Mildred to England, and seeking a necessary change for the +Bishop's failing health. The knowledge that he would not be able to +resume his work in the East dawned upon us by degrees. It was a great +disappointment, but we were thankful that an English vicarage was found +for us, where we could make a home for our children, and where the +duties and pleasures of an English parish remained to us. It is, +however, very pleasant, on a foggy day in November or February, to +return in fancy to that land of sunshine and flowers; to imagine one's +self again sitting in the porch of the mission-house, gazing at the +mountain of Matang, lit up with sunset glories of purple and gold. Then, +when the last gleam of colour has faded, to find the Chinaman lighting +the lamps in the verandah, and little dusky faces peeping out, to know +if you will sing with them "Twinkle, twinkle, little star," or the hymn +about the "Purple-headed mountain and river running by," which must have +surely been written for Sarawak children. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE ISLAND OF BORNEO. + + +Borneo is so little known that a short account of it may be interesting. +If any one will examine a map of Borneo they will see that it is a large +island, in shape something like a box with the lid open. The interior of +the square part of it presents almost a blank on the map, for the coasts +only are known to the civilized world. Its greatest length is eight +hundred miles, and its greatest breadth six hundred and twenty-five +miles. Ranges of mountains through the centre of the island provide the +sources of many fine rivers which are the highways of the country. + +The Dutch claim the south and south-west of the island. They have +settlements at Sambas, at Pontianak, and at Banjermassin; and forts on +the rivers, inhabited by Dutch residents, or Malay chiefs in their pay: +but they have never won the hearts of the aborigines, for the Dutch +maxim is always to get as much money as possible out of native +subjects, consequently they are every now and then obliged to send +European troops to enforce the obedience of the Chinese and Dyaks to +their rule. On the west of Borneo lies the little kingdom of Sarawak, +about three hundred miles of coast line from Cape Datu to Point +Kiderong. + +The Sultan of Bruni, who was the nominal ruler of all the north-west of +Borneo, gave up this province to Sir James Brooke in 1841, "to him and +his heirs for ever," on condition a small sum of money was paid him +annually. The province consisted originally of "about sixty miles of +coast, from Cape Datu to the entrance of the Samarahan River, with an +average breadth of fifty miles inland;"[10] but from time to time the +Sultan entreated Sir James Brooke to take the rule of one river after +another beyond this province towards Borneo Proper, for, owing to his +own weakness, and the rapacity of his nobles who governed in his name, +no revenue came to him from those rivers, nor could he protect native +trade, or secure the lives of his subjects from the extortions and +covetousness of their Malay chiefs. So Sarawak grew, and peace, and +justice, and free trade flourished where before there were only poverty +and oppression. The country is traversed by fine rivers. The Rejang, +four fathoms deep two hundred miles from the mouth, the Batang Lupar, +and the Sarawak are the largest, and the great highways of the country; +along the banks of which are cultivated clearings and Dyak villages, +but beyond these extend dense jungle which even clothes the sides of the +mountains. Besides the before-mentioned rivers are many smaller ones +which are still noble streams--the Sarebas, Samarahan, Sadong, Lundu, +etc. It is indeed a well-watered country, and only requires the industry +of man to develop its riches. + + [Footnote 10: Letter of Sir J. Brooke to J. Gardner, Esq.] + +There are great mountain ranges to the north-west and through the +interior of the island, and the natives speak of lakes of vast extent, +with Dyak villages on their shores. But this is only tradition. There is +a lake commonly reported only two days' journey from the foot of Kini +Balu, a high mountain on the north-west, but no Englishman has yet trod +its shores. The difficulties of exploring such dense jungles and +mountain precipices as bar the way across Borneo are almost insuperable. +I quote from Mr. Hornaday's recent lecture at Rochester. He says, "Owing +to the peculiar and almost impassable nature of the country, Borneo has +never been crossed by the white man. Travelling over some of the +mountains seems to be an absolute impossibility. Many of them consist +almost wholly of huge blocks of basalt, soft, moist, and too slippery to +walk upon. I would rather attempt to cross the continent of Africa than +the island of Borneo. The explorer must carry with him provisions enough +to last both going and returning. The jungle affords nothing fit for +human sustenance, and there are no inhabitants to supply the explorer +with food. Fame awaits the man who will thoroughly explore the interior +of the island."[11] + + [Footnote 11: Mr. Hornaday's lecture before the Young Men's + Christian Association.] + +Sir Spencer St. John, who has had more experience of Borneo jungles than +any other Englishman hitherto, says, "As I have now made many journeys +in Borneo, and seen much of forest walking, I can speak of it with +something like certainty. I have ever found, in recording progress, that +we can seldom allow more than a mile an hour under ordinary +circumstances. Sometimes, when extremely difficult or winding, we do not +make half a mile an hour. On certain occasions, when very hard pressed, +I have seen the men manage a mile and a half; but, with all our +exertions, I have never yet recorded more than ten miles' progress in a +day, through thick pathless forests, and that was after ten hours of +hard work. It requires great experience not to judge distance by the +fatigue we feel."[12] + + [Footnote 12: St. John's Limbong Journal.] + +It seems that the Sultan of Bruni has found out that the best way he can +govern his subjects and gain a revenue without trouble, is by ceding +parts of his territory to others. He has given over the whole of the +north of the island to an English company, on condition they pay twelve +thousand five hundred dollars for it annually. This country, embracing +an area of twenty thousand square miles, has fine harbours on its +coasts very suitable for a commercial settlement. The great mountain of +Kini Balu, nearly fourteen thousand feet high, with its range of lesser +mountains, stands on the north-west, and between it and the sea lies a +very fertile country, thus described some years ago by Sir Spencer St. +John, in his "Forests of the Far East": "We rode over towards Pandusan +in search of plants. From the summit of the first low hill we had a +beautiful view of the lovely plain of Tampusak, extending from the sea +far into the interior. Groves of cocoanuts were interspersed among the +rice-grounds which extended, intermixed with grassy fields, to the +sea-shore, bounded by a long line of Casuarina trees. Little hamlets lie +scattered in all directions, some distinctly visible, other nearly +hidden by the rich green foliage of fruit-trees. The prospect was +bounded on the west by low sandstone hills, whose red colour +occasionally showing through the lately burnt grass, afforded a varied +tint in the otherwise verdant landscape. In the south Kini Balu and its +attendant ranges were hidden by clouds." + +Here is another description after a day's journey towards the +mountain:-- + +"While reclining under the shade of cocoanut palms, we had a beautiful +view of the country beyond. The river Tampusak flowed past us, bubbling +and breaking over its uneven bed, here shallower and therefore broader +than usual. To the left the country was open almost to the base of the +great mountain, to the right the land was more hilly, and Saduk Saduk +showed itself as a high peak, but dwarfed by the neighbourhood of Kini +Balu, whose rocky precipices looked a deep purple colour. The summit was +beautifully clear. The people in this part of the country are called +Idaan. They seem industrious and good agriculturists, even using a rough +plough, and cultivating the whole valley; a rich black soil produces +good crops of rice, and Killadis, an arum root used for food. They also +grow tobacco." + +These people live too far from Bruni to be robbed by the Sultan and his +nobles. The Lanuns who inhabit the north coasts are very warlike, and +have always been pirates within the memory of man. They will not be easy +subjects to deal with, nor will the Sooloos on the east coast, but if +they can be reclaimed they may become an enterprising and fine people, +like the Sarebas pirates of Sarawak. + +I hope the Company will have patience with the natives of this vast +territory. They will probably _not work for wages_. Chinese labour must +be depended upon, and as they are the most industrious people on the +face of the earth, and will do anything for money, they are always +available. But they require a firm government, and great care must be +taken that they do not infringe on the rights of the natives or there +will be quarrels and bloodshed. Tradition says that there was once a +Chinese kingdom at the north of Borneo, whose chiefs married into the +families of the principal Dyak chiefs; but it is the misfortune of the +Chinese character to be both boastful and cowardly, and when they had +irritated the Malays by their big words, they stood no chance of +prevailing against them in war. If their enemies did not run away after +the first attack and discharge of firearms, they were pretty sure to +show them an example by doing so themselves. I speak of the Chinese +fifty years ago; since they have had wars with Europeans they have +learnt better to stand to their arms. But they were gradually +exterminated by the Malays in these petty wars, and now all that remains +of them is a trace of Celestial physiognomy in their Dyak descendants, +and the knowledge of agriculture which they still retain. + +The Bruni Government protects no one. It is wonderful that any Chinese +should still trade at a place where riches, however moderate, are sure +to excite the cupidity of the Malay nobles, and to be transferred, under +some pretext or another, to their own pockets. I rejoice to think that +English rule and justice is now to be offered to the inhabitants of the +North of Borneo. They expect an Englishman to be just and generous, +brave and firm, and they ground this expectation on their knowledge and +experience of Labuan and Sarawak, and the lessons which her Majesty's +ships of war have from time to time impressed on the corrupt and +faithless Bruni people. I trust this experience will never be reversed +by unworthy agents or settlers. The climate is too tropical for +colonization, no families of emigrants can be reared in such heat. +There are, no doubt, more decided seasons in the north of the island +than in the centre: it is hotter at one part of the year, and colder at +another, than in the lands bordering on the equator, which are the rain +nurseries of the world. A less fierce heat, but rain almost every day in +the year, was our lot at Sarawak; and though it was very healthy for +English men and women, it was not so good for crops: pepper and coffee +prefer a drier climate. + +There will be one difficulty in the North Borneo settlement which will +require wise handling. I mean the slaves which are the possession of +every petty chief and every Malay family in the country. All pirates +bring home fresh slaves from every expedition. This can be put an end to +at once. But it will be as impolitic as impossible to put a sudden end +to the state of slavery in which so large a proportion of the +inhabitants will be found. In this respect I hope the North Borneo +Company will take a leaf out of Sarawak experience. Sir James Brooke, as +long ago as 1841, appealed to the English Government "to assist him to +put down piracy and the slave trade, which," he said, "are openly +carried on within a short distance of three European settlements, on a +scale and system revolting to humanity." + +The exertions of Sir James Brooke and his nephews, aided occasionally by +her Majesty's ships, have indeed nearly put a stop to piracy, and +therefore to the kidnapping of slaves. Still the descendants of Dyak +slaves remain the property of their masters. Besides these, there are +slave debtors, whole families who have sold themselves to pay the +accumulations arising from taxes or impositions of the Malays which they +had no hope of repaying. Usury, which was the fountain of this evil, has +been forbidden at Sarawak, and many are the slave debtors whom the +Rajah's purse has freed. + +"Slavery in the East," says Mr. Low,[13] "has always been of a more mild +and gentle character than that which in the West so disgusted the +intelligent natives of Europe. The slaves in Borneo are generally Dyaks +and their descendants, who have been captured by the rulers of the +country to swell the number of their personal attendants. Their duties +consist in helping their master, who always works with them, in his +house or boat building operations, accompanying him in his trading +expeditions, assisting in the navigation of his boats, etc. Their +masters generally allot them wives from amongst their female domestics, +and many of them acquire the affection and confidence of their +superiors. The price of a slave in Sarawak is from thirty to sixty +dollars, but as the trade is being as quickly repressed as possible, +without too much shocking the prejudices of the inhabitants, they have +of late become very scarce, and difficult to be bought. The price of a +girl varies from thirty to one hundred dollars, but at Sarawak they are +even more difficult than men to obtain." Thus wrote Mr. Low in the year +1848. By this time, 1882, slavery is almost nominal at Sarawak. I read, +in a _Sarawak Gazette_, six months ago, that Rajah Brooke had proposed +to his Supreme Council, which consists of four Malays and two +Englishmen, that slavery should be by law abolished in Sarawak +territory. He had proposed this, he said, six months previously, and the +Malay councillors present assented heartily as far as themselves and the +people of Kuching were concerned, but they thought it would be desirable +to give six months' notice to the outlying rivers and coasts, where the +people were not as advanced in civilization as those at the capital. Now +the six months had passed away, were they prepared to assent to the law? +They again expressed their cordial approval of the abolition of slavery, +but recommended three months more delay before it was enforced on the +out-stations. In the same _Gazette_ I noticed a letter from the Resident +at Bintulu, one of the farthest stations from Kuching, in which he +speaks of a Malay noble, warmly attached to the Sarawak Government, who +claimed all the inhabitants of a large district as his slaves. It was +merely a nominal claim, as they did no work for him, but he said they +belonged to him. Still, when he was assured by Mr. De Crespigny[14] that +such a claim would not be allowed by the Rajah, he submitted without +complaint. We may hope that such will be the universal acceptance of +the new law, but it is easy to see that forty years of past repression +and discountenance, and the strong influence of English opinion on the +subject of slavery, has effected what would doubtless have caused strong +opposition and estrangement if attempted hastily. + + [Footnote 13: "Sarawak, its Inhabitants and Productions," by + Hugh Low.] + + [Footnote 14: The Resident.] + +I have just received a _Sarawak Gazette_, dated July 1st, which contains +an account of a further cession of territory from the Sultan of Bruni to +Rajah Brooke of Sarawak. + +This is the passage: + + "On Saturday, the 10th June, his Highness the Sultan signified + his willingness to cede to the Rajah of Sarawak, and his heirs, + all the country and rivers that lie between Points Kadurong and + Barram, including about three miles of coast on the east side of + Barram Point. Negotiations about the sum to be paid for this + hundred miles of coast continued for three days, when the deed + of cession was finally sealed and delivered. This deed of + cession, sealed with the respective seals of his Highness the + Sultan of Bruni and the Rajah of Sarawak, was read out in full + court on the 10th June. After which his Highness the Rajah + addressed a few words to the people, telling them that he + intended going to the river Barram towards the end of this moon, + for the purpose of choosing a site whereon to erect a fort, and + establishing a government there, to be a nucleus of trade. He + added that all those who wished to trade there might now do so + without fear." + +This is an important addition to the country of Sarawak. + +The time may indeed not be far distant when the country of Bruni, now +wedged in between Sarawak and the territory of British North Borneo, may +disappear altogether, and with it the misrule and oppression of that +corrupt Eastern court. Then English people will be responsible for the +whole of the north and north-west of the island of Borneo, and a new era +of peace and happiness will dawn upon its inhabitants. + + +THE END. + + +PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES + + + + +PUBLICATIONS OF THE Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. + + +=All True. 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With Map, and +Eight full-page Illustrations on toned paper, and several Vignettes. +Post 8vo. Cloth boards, 5s. + + +RUSSIA: PAST AND PRESENT. + +Adapted from the German of Lankenau and Oelnitz. By Mrs. CHESTER. With +Map, and Three full-page Woodcuts and Vignettes. Post 8vo. Cloth boards, +5s. + + +Depositories: + +NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS; +43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET; 26, ST. GEORGE'S PLACE, S.W.; +AND 135, NORTH STREET, BRIGHTON. + + + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: + + +Inconsistencies in the hyphenation of words preserved. (cocoanut/s, +cocoa-nut/s; firearms, fire-arms; gunboat, gun-boats; schoolboys, +school-boys; schoolroom, school-room) + +Pg. 32, duplicated word "the" removed. (the coasts and the seas) + +Pg. 42, inserted period after "Mr". (that in 1867 Mr. Chambers) + +Pg. 63, closing double quote inserted at end of what appears to be the +end of a quoted passage.(carried them away over their shoulders.") + +Pg. 95, duplicated period removed at sentence end. (by jet ornaments and +bugle trimmings.) + +Pg. 111, "examition" changed to "examination". (After the examination,) + +Pg. 118, added period at sentence end. (agreeable and uniformly kind.) + +Pg. 138, period changed to comma. (If you must go, some of us will go +with you) + +Pg. 162, unusual construction retained. (a new cook-house and servants' +rooms near, to build;) + +Pg. 243, closing double quote added at end of title of a book. (in his +"Forests of the Far East":) + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak, by +Harriette McDougall + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKETCHES OF OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK *** + +***** This file should be named 27568-8.txt or 27568-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/5/6/27568/ + +Produced by a Project Gutenberg volunteer working with +digital material generously made available by the Internet +Archive + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak + +Author: Harriette McDougall + +Release Date: December 19, 2008 [EBook #27568] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKETCHES OF OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK *** + + + + +Produced by a Project Gutenberg volunteer working with +digital material generously made available by the Internet +Archive + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="cover" id="cover"></a> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="391" height="600" alt="cover" /> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="frontis" id="frontis"></a> +<img src="images/frontis.jpg" width="398" height="600" alt="Bishop McDougall striking a snake with a walking stick" /> +<div class="cap"> +<p class="caption">HAPPILY HE HAD A STOUT WALKING-STICK, AND AT ONCE FELLED +THE REPTILE.</p> +<p class="capleft"><i>Frontispiece.</i></p> +<p class="capright"><i>Page</i> <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</p> +</div> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h1><small>SKETCHES</small><br /> +<span class="tiny">OF</span><br /> +OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK</h1> + +<p> </p> + +<p class="title"><b><small>BY</small><br /> +HARRIETTE McDOUGALL.</b></p> + +<p> </p> + +<p class="title"><small><i><b>WITH MAP.</b></i></small></p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<hr class="hr1" /> +<p class="center"><small>PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE TRACT COMMITTEE.</small></p> +<hr class="hr1" /> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<p class="title" style="line-height: 1.2;">LONDON:<br /> +<small>SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE,<br /> +NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS, W.C.;</small><br /> +<span class="tiny">43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.;<br /> +26, ST. GEORGE'S PLACE, HYDE PARK CORNER, S.W.</span><br /> +<small>BRIGHTON:</small> <span class="tiny">135, NORTH STREET.</span><br /> +<small><span class="smcap">New York:</span> E. & J. B. YOUNG AND CO.</small></p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img class="imgborder" src="images/l-bee.jpg" width="492" height="86" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h2 style="margin-bottom: 0em;">CONTENTS.</h2> +<hr class="hr2" /> + +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="70%" summary="Table of contents"> + +<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="3">PART I.</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt" style="padding-right: 1em;"><span class="tiny">CHAPTER</span></td><td></td><td class="tocpg"><span class="tiny">PAGE</span></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">I.</td><td class="toc">Introductory</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">II.</td><td class="toc">The Court-house</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">III.</td><td class="toc">College Hill</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">IV.</td><td class="toc">Pirates</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">V.</td><td class="toc">The Church and the School</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">VI.</td><td class="toc">The Girls</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">VII.</td><td class="toc">The Lundus</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">VIII.</td><td class="toc">A Boat Journey</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">IX.</td><td class="toc">Continuation of the Trip to Rejang</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="3">PART II.</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">X.</td><td class="toc">Return to Sarawak</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">XI.</td><td class="toc">Chinese Insurrection</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">XII.</td><td class="toc">Chinese Insurrection (<span style="font-variant: normal"><i>Continued</i></span>)</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">XIII.</td><td class="toc">Events of 1857</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">XIV.</td><td class="toc">The Malay Plot</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="3">PART III.</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">XV.</td><td class="toc">The Children's Chapter</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">XVI.</td><td class="toc">Illanun Pirates</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">XVII.</td><td class="toc">A Malay Wedding</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">XVIII.</td><td class="toc">Last Years at Sarawak</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_228">228</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="tdrt">XIX.</td><td class="toc">The Island of Borneo</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td></tr> + +</table> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-fly.jpg" width="150" height="114" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<h2>PART I.</h2> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<p class="center"><small><a href="images/map-big.jpg">View larger image</a></small></p> + +<a name="map" id="map"></a> +<img src="images/map-th.jpg" width="498" height="600" alt="Map of Borneo" /> +<div class="cap"> +<p class="caption" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><small>London: Published by The Society for Promotion of Christian Knowledge.</small></i></p> +</div> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-padi.jpg" width="500" height="113" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + + +<h1><small>SKETCHES OF</small><br /> +OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK.</h1> + +<hr class="hr2" /> + +<h3>CHAPTER I.<br /> +<small>INTRODUCTORY.</small></h3> + + +<p>Nearly thirty years ago I published a little book of "Letters from +Sarawak, addressed to a Child." This book is now out of print, and, on +looking it over with a view to republication, I think it will be better +to extend the story over the twenty years that Sarawak was our home, +which will give some idea of the gradual progress of the mission.</p> + +<p>This progress was often unavoidably impeded by the struggles of the +infant State; for war drowns the voice of the missionary, and though the +Sarawak Government always discouraged the Dyak practice of taking the +heads of their enemies, still it could not at once be checked, and every +expedition<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> against lawless tribes, however righteous in its object, +excited the old superstitions of those wild people. When their warriors +returned from an expedition, the women of the tribe met them with dance +and song, receiving the heads they brought with ancient +ceremonies—"fondling the heads," as it was called; and for months +afterwards keeping up, by frequent feasts, in which these heads were the +chief attraction, the heathen customs which it was the object of the +missionary to discourage.</p> + +<p>I dare say, when we first settled at Sarawak, we thought that twenty +years would plant Christian communities, and build Christian churches +all over the country: but it is as well that we cannot overlook the +future; and perhaps, considering the many difficulties which arose from +time to time, from the missionaries themselves, and the unsettled +country in which they laboured, we ought not to expect more results than +have appeared. At any rate we have much to be thankful for, and as every +year makes Sarawak a more important State, consolidates its Government, +and extends civilization to its subjects, we may look for more success +for the missionaries, who can now point to the peace and prosperity of +the people, and say, "This is the fruit of Christianity and Christian +rulers."</p> + +<p>In giving a short account of our life in Borneo, I shall avoid alike all +political questions, or, as much as possible, individual histories among +the English community. It is already so long ago<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> since we lived in that +lovely place, that events, trials, joys, and the usual vicissitudes of +life, are wrapt in that mellowing haze of the past, which, while it dims +the vividness of feeling, throws a robe of charity over all, and perhaps +causes actors and actions to assume a more true proportion to one +another than when we walked amongst them. I have, however, not depended +on memory alone for the records of twenty years, but have journals and +letters to refer to, which my friends in England have been good enough +to keep for me. Some parts of "Letters from Sarawak" I shall incorporate +into the present little book, for as it treats of the first six years we +lived there, and was written at that time, it is sure to be tolerably +correct.</p> + +<p>In those days, from 1847 to 1853, Sir James Brooke was very popular in +England. The story of his first occupation of Sarawak, published in his +journals, and the cruizes of her Majesty's ships in those eastern +seas—the <i>Dido</i> and the <i>Samarang</i>—were read with avidity, and +furnished the English public with a romance which had all the charm of +novelty. However difficult and inconvenient it might be for the English +Government to recognize a native State under an English rajah, who was +at the same time a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, this question +had not then arisen; and all classes, high and low, could applaud a +brave and noble man, who had stepped out of the beaten track to spend +his fortune and expose his life in the cause of savages. There were many +fluctuations of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> sympathy and opinion in after years towards Sir James +Brooke; but, through evil report and good report, through difficulty and +danger, Sarawak has still advanced, and is as worthy of the interest of +the best and wisest of mankind as it was in 1847. At this time, indeed, +it seems to me to furnish a lesson in the management of native races +which might be useful in our own colonies. English governors always set +out with good intentions towards the natives of savage countries, but +how is it that war almost always follows their occupation? Surely it is +because the settlers go there, not in the interest of the native race, +but their own, and the two interests are sure to clash in the long-run.</p> + +<p>It requires great patience and forbearance to educate natives up to a +rule of justice and righteous laws; but that it may be done, and carry +the co-operation of the people themselves, is evident at Sarawak, where +the Malays and Dyaks are associated in the Government, and have always +stood by their English rajah, even when it was necessary to punish or +exile some of their own chiefs. I am aware that an English colony cannot +be governed in this way; nevertheless, the spectacle of wild natives, +rising by the influence of a few good Englishmen from lawless misrule to +a settled government, where vice is punished without partiality, is very +beautiful to philanthropists, and makes one think better of human nature +and its capabilities. I wish I could portray the hilly and thorny road +by which this has been attained! It would, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>methinks, create a new +interest in Sarawak, if the past and the present could be fairly set +before the discerning world; we should again hear of missionaries +longing to help in the improvement of people who have shown themselves +so open to good influences. I have said that I would not touch upon +politics, but Church and State are so naturally bound together in the +task of civilization, that it is difficult to relate the history of the +mission without mentioning the Government. Of course they do not stand +in the same relation to one another in a Mahometan country, where the +English Church is but a tolerated sect, as they do in a Christian land; +still the Christian Church strengthens the Christian ruler, and he in +his turn protects the Church by good government, although he may not +favour it except by individual preference. For my own part, I have +always thought it an advantage to our Dyak Christians that no favour was +shown them on account of their faith; at any rate, it was for no worldly +interest that they became Christians.</p> + +<p>Although our life in Sarawak extended over a period of twenty years, it +might naturally be divided into three parts—of six, five, and six years +respectively, the intervals being spent in visits to England. These +visits, although absolutely necessary, were a drawback to the mission +work. When the head of a family is absent, the responsibility is apt to +fall upon the younger members, and is sometimes too much for them. +However, they always<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> did their best, and always welcomed us home most +warmly. It was a joyful sight, on our return, to find the missionaries +and school-children waiting for us at the wharf below our houses, the +children's dear little faces glad with smiles, and a warm welcome for +any baby we brought home. The second time, it was our daughter Mab; and +in 1862, our last baby, Mildred,—Mab, Edith, and Herbert being left in +England, for no English child can thrive in that unchangeable climate +after it is six years old.</p> + +<p>The first chapters of this little book will describe the first six years +of our stay at Sarawak; but, in speaking of subjects of interest, I +shall not stop short at the end of those years, but carry on the subject +to the end of our Sarawak experience. It is perhaps necessary to say +this to prevent confusion.</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-plant.jpg" width="150" height="118" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-radish.jpg" width="496" height="113" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER II.<br /> +<small>THE COURT-HOUSE.</small></h3> + + +<p>While Sir James Brooke was in England, in 1847, he asked his friends to +help him in his efforts to civilize the Dyaks, by sending a mission to +live at Sarawak.</p> + +<p>Lord Ellesmere, Admiral Sir H. Keppel, Admiral C. D. Bethune, Canon Ryle +Wood, and the Rev. C. Brereton, formed themselves into a committee, with +the Rev. I. F. Stocks for their honorary secretary, and soon collected +funds for the purpose. The Rev. F. McDougall was chosen as the head of +the mission, and with him were associated the Rev. S. Montgomery and the +Rev. W. Wright; but Mr. Montgomery died very suddenly, of fever caught +when ministering to the poor of his parish, before the time came for us +to embark, so the party was reduced to two clergymen and their wives, +two babies and two nurses. We sailed from London in the barque <i>Mary +Louisa</i>, four hundred tons, the end of December; Mr. Parr<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>, a nephew of +Mrs. Wright's, being also one of the passengers. I had all my life loved +the sea, and longed to take such a voyage as should carry us out of +sight of land, and give us all the experiences which wait on those "who +go down to the sea in ships;" but I little thought how we should all +long for land before we saw it again.</p> + +<p>The barque was a poor sailer; we thought it a good run if she made eight +knots an hour, so no wonder we did not reach Singapore till May 23, +1848. It was a long monotonous voyage, but we were well occupied, and I +do not remember ever finding it dull. The sea was all I ever fancied by +way of a companion, and, like all one's best friends, made me happy or +unhappy, but was never stupid. Then we had to learn Malay and its Arabic +characters, with the help of Marsden's grammar and dictionary, and the +Bible translated into that language by the Dutch. We lived by rule, +apportioning the hours to certain duties, and every one knows how fast +time passes under those conditions. The two clergymen busied themselves +with teaching the sailors, and several of them presented themselves at +Holy Communion in consequence, the last Sunday before we landed. The +most trying time we passed was on the coast of Java, becalmed under a +broiling sun, the very sea dead and slimy with all sorts of creatures +creeping over it. As for ourselves, we were gasping with thirst, for we +had already been on short rations of water for six weeks, one of the +tanks having leaked out. One<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> quart of water a day for each adult, and +none for the babies, so of course they had the lion's share of their +parents' allowance. Our one cup of tea in the evening was looked forward +to for hours; and what a wonderful colour it was, after all!—but that +was the iron of the tank.</p> + +<p>On the 23rd of May we landed at Singapore, and had to wait there for +four weeks before the schooner <i>Julia</i>, then running between that place +and Sarawak, came to fetch us. We reached Sarawak June 29th, entering +the Morotabas mouth of the river, which is twenty-four miles from the +town of Kuching, whither we were bound. The sail up the river, our first +sight of the country and the people, was indeed exciting, and filled us +with delight. The river winds continually, and every new reach had its +interest: a village of palm-leaf houses built close to the water, women +and children standing on the steps with their long bamboo jars, or +peeping out of the slits of windows at the schooner; boats of all sizes +near the houses, fishing-nets hanging up to dry, wicked alligators lying +basking on the mud; trees of many varieties—the nibong palm which +furnishes the posts of the houses, the nipa which makes their mat walls, +and close by the water the light and graceful mangroves, which at night +are all alive and glittering with fire-flies. On the boughs of some +larger trees hanging over the stream parties of monkeys might be seen +eating the fruits, chattering, jumping, flying almost, from bough to +bough. We afterwards made nearer acquaintance with these droll +creatures.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>At last we reached the Fort, a long white building manned by Malays, and +with cannon showing at the port-holes. The <i>Julia</i> was not challenged, +however, but gladly welcomed, as she carried not only the missionaries +but the mail, and stores for the bazaar; for at that time there were not +many native trading-vessels—the fear of pirates was great, and there +was good reason to fear!</p> + +<p>The town of Kuching consisted in those days of a Chinese bazaar and a +Kling bazaar, both very small, and where it was scarcely possible to +find anything an English man or woman could buy. Beyond was the court of +justice, the mosques, and a few native houses. Higher up the river lay +the Malay town, divided into Kampongs, or clusters of houses belonging +to the different chiefs or principal merchants of the place. Opposite +the bazaar, on the other side of the river, stood the rajah's bungalow, +as well as two or three others belonging to Europeans, embosomed in +trees, cocoa-nuts and betel-nut palms, and other fruit-trees. Behind the +rajah's house rose the beautiful mountain of Santubong, wooded to its +summit nearly 3000 feet, with a rock cropping out here and there. At +this bungalow we landed, and were hospitably entertained for a few days +until the upper part of the court-house could be made ready for our +party.</p> + +<p>Shall I ever forget my first impressions of the rajah's bungalow? A +peculiar scent pervaded it. You looked about for the cause till your +eyes fell on two saucers, one filled with green blossoms, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> other +with deep golden ones, much the same shape—the kenanga and the +chimpaka, flowering trees, which grew near the house. Their flowers were +picked every day for the rooms, as the rajah loved the scent, and so did +the Malays. The ladies steeped the blossoms in cocoa-nut oil and +anointed themselves, placing them also in their long black hair, with +wreaths of jessamine flowers threaded on a string. These perfumes were +rather overpowering at first, but I learnt to like them after I had been +some time in Sarawak. The large, bare, cool rooms were very refreshing +after the little cabins of the <i>Julia</i>. And then the library! a treasure +indeed in the jungle; books on all sorts of subjects, bound in enticing +covers, always inviting you to bodily repose and mental activity or +amusement, as you might prefer. This library, so dear to us all because +we were all allowed to share it, was burnt in 1857 by the Chinese +rebels. It took two days to burn. I watched it from our library over the +water, and saw the mass of books glowing dull red like a furnace, long +after the flames had consumed the wooden house. It made one's heart ache +to see it. An old gentleman of our English society watched it too, and I +wondered why his head shook continually as he sat with his eyes fixed on +those sad ruins; but I found afterwards that the sight, and doubtless +its cause, had palsied him from that day. But I must not linger too long +in the rajah's bungalow, though the white pigeons seem to call to me +from the verandahs; we must take boat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> again (for there are no bridges +over the Sarawak river), and cross to the court-house.</p> + +<p>This square wooden house, with latticed verandahs like a big cage, was +built by a German missionary, who purposed having a school on the ground +floor and living in the upper story; but as soon as he had built his +house he was recalled to Germany, and the only trace of him that +remained was a box full of torn Bibles and tracts, which, I am sorry to +say, had been used as waste paper in the bazaar for tying up parcels +since he left, but as the tracts were not in any language the people +could understand they were scarcely to blame. Rajah turned the house +into a court of justice, and we settled ourselves in the upper rooms, +which were divided from one another by mat walls. The river flowed under +this house at spring tides, and then nests of ants would swarm into it: +the rapidity with which these little creatures would carry all their +eggs up the posts and settle the whole family under a box in your +bedroom was marvellous; but as they were not pleasant companions there, +a kettle of hot water had to put an end to the colony.</p> + +<p>These little black ants did not sting, but there was a large red ant, +half an inch long, who was most pugnacious; he stood up on his hind legs +and fought you with amazing courage, and his jaws were formidable. We +made our first acquaintance with white ants while we lived in the +court-house. On unpacking a box of books, which had been our solace +during the voyage, we found them almost<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> glued together by the secretion +of these creatures. The box had been standing on the ground floor of the +hotel. The white ants had eaten through and through the books, and +picked all the surface off the bindings; they were disgusting to look at +and to smell. Some years afterwards, one of our missionaries had a box +of clothes sent her from Singapore. It was necessary clothing, for she +had lost her effects, like the rest of us, during the Chinese rebellion. +I warned Miss Coomes that she must unpack the box directly, on account +of the white ants; but she put it off till the next day, and at night +these wretches ate through the bottom of the box, and munched up the new +linen and stockings. We soon learnt to guard against their attacks by +using no wood except balean, or iron-wood, which is too hard for them to +bite. English oak seemed like a slice of cake to white ants.</p> + +<p>No sooner were we settled at the court-house, than we had visits from +all the principal Malays, and also some Dyaks who happened to be at +Sarawak. My husband opened a dispensary in a little room behind the +store-room, and had plenty of patients. I used to hear continual talking +and laughing going on there, and by this means Mr. McDougall learnt to +talk the Malay language, which he only knew from books when he first +arrived. The pure Malay of books is very different from the colloquial +<i>patois</i> of Kuching. To my sorrow, I learnt this some time after, when I +was trying to prepare two women for baptism: they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> listened to me for +some time, and then one said to the other, "She talks like a book," +which I fear meant that they only half understood me.</p> + +<p>Soon after this we took four little half-caste children to bring up. +They were running about in the bazaar, and their native mothers were +willing to part with them; so Mary, Julia, Peter, and Tommy were housed +in a cottage close by, under the care of a Portuguese Christian woman, +the wife of our cook. Every day I used to spend some hours with them, +that we might become friends. The eldest of these children was only six +years old, Tommy, the youngest, but two and a half; so they wanted a +nurse. They were baptized on Advent Sunday, 1848, and were the beginning +of our native school.</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-beans.jpg" width="150" height="120" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img class="imgborder" src="images/l-peas.jpg" width="487" height="104" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER III.<br /> +<small>COLLEGE HILL.</small></h3> + +<p>We stayed at the court-house a whole year, while our house on the hill +was being prepared. The hill, and the ground beyond it, about forty +acres in all, was given to the mission by Sir James Brooke. It was then +some way out of the town, but as the Chinese population increased, the +town grew quite to the foot of the hill—College Hill, as it was then +called—and a blacksmith's quarter even invaded the mission land. At +first, in order to cultivate the property, nutmegs and spice-trees were +planted, but the soil was not good enough for them; when their roots +pierced through the pit of earth in which they were planted, and reached +the stiff clay of the hill, they died off. It was necessary to do +something to keep the land clear of the coarse lalang grass, which grew +wherever the jungle was cut down. So after a while a herd of cattle was +collected, and they improved the poverty of the land, at the same time +furnishing milk and a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> little butter. I say a <i>little</i>, because even +when seven cows were in milk, as they only gave two quarts a day each, +and there were always plenty of children in and out of the mission to +consume it, but little was left for butter-making. Cocoa-nut trees were +planted in the low ground, and some few grew up; but wild pigs were +great enemies to them, for they liked to eat the cabbage out of the +heart of the young tree, which of course killed it. In that seething +warmth of Sarawak you could almost see plants grow. If you scattered +seeds in the ground, they sprouted above it on the third day. I planted +some of those little coral-looking seeds which are to be found in every +box of Indian shells, the seed of the satin-wood, and they grew up into +beautiful forest trees in twelve years' time. We used to make long +strings of these coral seeds, and use them in Christmas decorations.</p> + +<p>By degrees we had a very bright garden about the house. The Gardenia, +with its strongly scented blossom and evergreen leaves, made a capital +hedge. Great bushes of the Hybiscus, scarlet and buff, glowed in the +sun—they were called shoe-flowers, for they were used instead of +blacking to polish our shoes. The pink one-hundred-leaved rose grew +freely, and blossomed all the year round. Shrubs of the golden +Allamander were a great temptation to the cows, if they strayed into the +garden. The Plumbago was one of the few pale-blue flowers which liked +that blazing heat. Then we had a great variety of creepers—jessamine of +many sorts,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> the scarlet Ipomea, the blue Clitorea, and +passion-flowers, from the huge Grenadilla with its excellent fruit, to +the little white one set in a calyx of moss. The Moon-flower, a large +white convolvulus, tight-shut all day, unfolded itself at six o'clock, +and looked lovely in the flower-vases in the evening. The Jessamine and +Pergolaria odorotissima climbed up the porch, and in the forks of the +trees opposite I had air-plants fastened, which flowered every three +months, and looked like a flight of white butterflies on the wing. The +great mountain of Matang stood in the distance, and when the sun sank +behind it, which it always did in that invariable latitude about six +o'clock, I sat in the porch to watch the glory of earth and sky. How +dear a mountain becomes to you, is only known to those who live in hilly +countries. One gets to think of it as a friend. It seems to carry a +protest against the little frets of life, and, by its strength and +invariableness, to be a visible image of Him who is "the same yesterday, +to-day, and for ever." But I am running on too fast with the garden +before the house is built.</p> + +<p>The hill was first cleared of jungle, and flattened at the top, then the +foundation was dug, and great sleepers were laid ready for the upright +posts. A wooden house is joiner's work, and rather resembles a great +bedstead. All the wood is first squared and cut, which takes a long +time, because the balean-wood is extremely hard, and consumes a great +deal of labour; but once ready, the house rises from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>the earth like +magic, for every beam and post fits into its place.</p> + +<p>We had brought a great box of carpenter's tools with us from England, +among them valuable moulding-planes; we wished the carpenters to learn, +in building the house, how to make the arches and ornamental mouldings +for the church.</p> + +<p>Happily for us, when the <i>Mary Louisa</i> was wrecked in the straits on her +way home, the crew were all saved, and the ship-carpenter came over to +Sarawak to see if my husband would employ him. As he was a capital +joiner, he was set over a gang of workmen at once. All the plans for the +house and church were made by Frank (my husband), and I was set to draw +patterns of the doors and windows, the verandah railings, and the porch. +Stahl was an intelligent German workman, and soon learnt Malay enough to +direct the men. The Malays levelled the hill and dug the foundations; +the Chinese were employed as carpenters, but they, too, could speak +Malay. I remember making great friends with one of them, Johnny Jangot, +John of the Beard, so called on account of a few long hairs at the tip +of his chin, for the Chinese are a beardless race. Johnny used to eat +his breakfast in the court-house to save himself trouble. What a set-out +it was! Rice, of course; then three or four little basins with different +messes—duck, fish, chicken, and plenty of soy-sauce; more basins with +vegetables, all eaten with the help of chop-sticks; and a teapot snugly +covered with a cosy. I asked one day to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> taste the tea, and Johnny +poured me out a tiny cup of hot, sweet, spirits and water! Samchoo is a +spirit made from rice, and very strong, as our poor English sailors used +to find to their cost when her Majesty's ships paid us a visit. The +Chinese said that the English drank the samchoo cold and raw, and +therefore it poisoned them, whereas they always qualified it with hot +water. It did not taste strong, which made it all the more pernicious. +Johnny drank real tea all day long, and smoked a good deal of +tobacco—it seemed to me he did very little else; but he was not a bad +workman, though of course it was not such a day's work as an Englishman +can do.</p> + +<p>In the East you must accept the customs of the country, and be content +with the people: they are not given to change. Stahl made some +wheel-barrows for the men to use instead of little baskets in which they +carried earth, and which held nothing. But it was no use; they laughed +at the wheel-barrows, and said "Eh yaw!" but went on with the baskets.</p> + +<p>Every evening we used to walk up the hill to see how the building was +getting on, all the children with us; then, as we sat on the timber, I +used to draw the letters of the alphabet on the white sand, and the +little ones learnt them. We went home through a piece of ground we +called our garden. In it grew plenty of pine-apples and sugar-cane, and +the gardener always supplied us with pieces of the latter to eat—very +refreshing and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> nice, but the juice ran all over your hands. As for +pine-apples, we soon got tired of them; but they made good tarts, and, +mixed with plantains and lime-juice, a very pleasant and useful jam.</p> + +<p>In clearing the hill our workmen disturbed the haunts of many snakes. We +were a good deal visited by cobras for some years. The natives said that +the Adam and Eve of all the cobras lived in a cave under our hill.</p> + +<p>One day we were having asphalte laid down in the printing-room, to keep +away white ants. The room had been emptied to do this, and Stahl went in +to inspect the work after the men had gone to their breakfast at eleven +o'clock. He saw a large cobra at the end of the room, and hit it with a +stick he had in his hand; but the stick broke in two, and the cobra +reared itself up with inflated hood. Another minute must have seen Stahl +a prey to the monster; but the Bishop, passing by, heard him exclaim +when the stick broke, and going quickly in saw Stahl standing, white, +fascinated, and motionless, before the cobra. Happily he had a stout +walking-stick, and at once felled the reptile; but he took a good deal +of killing. It was ten feet long.</p> + +<p>This was Adam.</p> + +<p>Eve was killed under the verandah of the house almost a year afterwards. +She was eight feet long.</p> + +<p>One night the Bishop had been reading the Rev. F. Robertson's sermon +about St. Paul and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> the viper. It was late, and being rather sleepy he +carried the book in one hand and a candle in the other into his +dressing-room, and was just going to set the candle down, when his eye +fell on a cobra, coiled up on the chair on which he was about to seat +himself. No stick was at hand, but he smote the snake with the book. +Struck in the right place, they are not difficult to kill. So "St. Paul +and the Viper" put an end to the cobra. That the bite of this snake is +not, however, certain death we had a curious instance.</p> + +<p>One of our servants, a very strict Mahometan, believed himself charmed +against poisonous reptiles, and used to bring me centipedes and +scorpions in his hands, saying they never hurt him. He left our service +and was employed by the Borneo Company, about half a mile from our +house. One day, while cutting rattans in a shed, a cobra bit his thumb. +He thought nothing of it, but, putting away his work as usual, went +home, cooked his rice and ate his supper. By this time, however, his arm +began to swell and his head to swim. Instead of going to the doctor, who +then lived close by, he must needs go to the Bishop to cure him; so just +as we were sitting down to dinner, about seven o'clock, he reeled into +the house. The Bishop cauterized the wound, although it seemed too late +to be any use; he was getting cold and faint. However, by dint of being +walked up and down between two men, and having two whole bottles of +brandy administered to him, a glass at a time, besides sal volatile,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> +chloroform, and every stimulant we had, he got through the night. The +Bishop sat up with him all night, and I could hear him, when at last I +went to bed, calling out at intervals, "Oh, Allah! Oh, Lord Bishop!"—so +terrible was the pain he suffered in his arm. His wife, who was my +baby's ayah, appeared in the morning. "Come," said she, "make no more +noise, keeping everybody awake, but take up your bed (mat) and let us go +home." He meekly obeyed; but, poor man, he had abscesses under his arm, +and fell into weak health afterwards; so it is evidently unwise to +despise a cobra.</p> + +<p>There were many other snakes besides cobras, some poisonous, but most of +them harmless.</p> + +<p>The Marquis Doria and Signor Becarri, two distinguished naturalists, who +lived for some months at Sarawak, collecting bird-skins, insects, and +plants, told me that the natives often represented a snake to be +poisonous which was not so. However, we had the mata hari, sun-snake, +black and coral colour, and a metallic green flat-headed creature, +Fortrex trigonocephalus, which were venomous enough. I once had a little +flower-snake for a pet. It was beautifully marked with green and lilac, +and used to catch flies climbing about the room; but one day it mounted +to the top of a high door, the wind blew the door to, and my pretty +snake was thrown to the ground and broke its back.</p> + +<p>The boa-constrictor—sawar, as the Malays called it—lived in the jungle +and rice-swamps. Sometimes it attained an enormous size. An<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> Englishman +told me that he and some Malays were exploring the jungle to find traces +of antimony ore, and came to an opening in the wood, across which they +saw the body of a sawar as thick as his own—he was not very +stout—moving along; but they never saw either the head or tail of that +snake, for, after watching its progress for a long time, they were +seized with a panic at its enormous length, and fled.</p> + +<p>A Malay whom we knew very well, Abong Hassan by name, and a mighty +hunter, told us that once, when he was seeking deer in the forest, +towards evening he sat down to rest, and cook his rice, on what he +thought was a great fallen tree. While thus occupied, he felt his seat +moving from under him, and, starting up, found he had been making use of +a huge sawar lying inert and distended with food. He killed it, and +found a full-grown deer in its stomach. These snakes must live to a +great age, and grow always, to attain such a size.</p> + +<p>Some people kept a small boa in their house to kill rats, but we found +they were equally fond of chickens, and therefore not desirable inmates; +for at Sarawak chickens were the principal animal food to be had, and it +was necessary to keep a stock of them.</p> + +<p>After some years we built up the lower story of the mission-house with +bricks, to make it more substantial and cooler. The ground floor was at +first wholly occupied with the school, the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>dormitory on one side, the +matron's and girls' room on the other, and a large schoolroom through +the centre of the house. A similar room over it was our dining-room, and +was used for divine service until the church was finished. The library +and our bedroom were over the boys' dormitory, and bedrooms for +missionaries on the other side. There were also three rooms in the roof, +which made good bedrooms, but were too hot for use in the daytime. The +roof was covered with shingles of balean-wood, which only grows harder +and darker coloured from rain and use. They were blown off sometimes in +the storms to which we were subject, but were otherwise more lasting +than any other kind of roofing. We used to call this house Noah's Ark, +from the variety of its occupants. A bell hung in the porch roof, and +rung at different hours to call the workmen and regulate the school. The +people in the town got so used to it that, when we discontinued it for a +time, they sent a petition that it might begin again, for without it +they never knew what o'clock it was. When the school outgrew this house +we built another for the boys, their master, and the matron, close by; +but I always kept the girls with us until Julia married, when they were +sent to the Quop, in charge of the missionary's wife there.</p> + +<p>Long before we left the court-house, Mr. and Mrs. Wright decided to give +up the Sarawak mission, and went to Singapore, where Mr. Wright became +master to the Raffles Institution for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> education of boys. We were +therefore quite alone until February, 1851, when the Bishop of Calcutta +paid us a visit to consecrate the church, and brought with him Mr. Fox +from Bishop's College, to be catechist, with a view to his future +ordination. Very soon after him came the Rev. Walter Chambers from +England, and about the same time Mr. Nicholls also arrived from Bishop's +College; but, as he only wished to stay for two years in the country, he +had scarcely time to learn the language before he returned to Calcutta.</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-sun.jpg" width="150" height="115" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img class="imgborder" src="images/l-bee.jpg" width="492" height="86" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + + +<h3>CHAPTER IV.<br /> +<small>PIRATES.</small></h3> + +<p>When we first lived at Sarawak, the coasts and the seas from +Singapore to China were infested with pirates. "It is in the Malay's +nature," says a Dutch writer, "to rove the seas in his prahu, as it is +in the Arab to wander with his steed on the sands of the desert." Before +the English and Dutch Governments exerted themselves to put down piracy +in the Eastern seas, there were communities of these Malays settled in +various parts of the coast of Borneo, who made it the business of their +lives to rob and destroy all the vessels they could meet with, either +killing the crews or reducing them to slavery. For this purpose they +went out in fleets of from ten to thirty war-boats or prahus. These +boats were about ninety feet long; they carried a large gun in the bow +and three or four lelahs, small brass guns, in each broadside, besides +twenty or thirty muskets. Each prahu was rowed by sixty or eighty oars +in two tiers, and carried from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> eighty to a hundred men. Over the +rowers, and extending the whole length of the vessel, was a light flat +roof, made of split bamboo, and covered with mats. This protected the +ammunition and provisions from rain, and served as a platform on which +they mounted to fight, from which they fired their muskets and hurled +their spears. These formidable boats skulked about in the sheltered bays +of the coast, at the season of the year when they knew that +merchant-vessels would be passing with rich cargoes for the ports of +Singapore, Penang, or to and from China. A scout-boat, with but few men +in it, which would not excite suspicion, went out to spy for sails. They +did not generally attack large or armed ships, although many a +good-sized Dutch or English craft, which had been becalmed or enticed by +them into dangerous or shallow water, was overpowered by their numbers. +But it was usually the small unarmed vessels they fell upon, with +fearful yells, binding those they did not kill, and burning the vessel +after robbing it, to avoid detection. While the south-west monsoon +lasted, the pirates lurked about in uninhabited creeks and bays until +the trading season was over. But when the north-east monsoon set in, +they returned to their settlements, often rich in booty, and with blood +on their hands, only to rejoice over the past, and prepare for next +year's expedition. There are still some nests of pirates in the north of +Borneo, although of late the Spaniards have done much to exterminate +them. But when Sir James<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> Brooke first visited Sarawak, the nobles +there, and their sultan at Bruni, used to permit, nay, encourage, +piratical raids against their own subjects at a little distance, +provided they shared in the profits of the expedition, thus +impoverishing the country they ruled, and putting a stop to all native +trade—a short-sighted and wicked policy. It took a good many years of +stern resistance on Sir James Brooke's part before the Bruni nobles +could be cured of their connivance of pirates, whether Malay or Dyak.</p> + +<p>The Dyaks of Sarebas and Sakarran, a brave and noble people, were taught +piracy by the Malays who dwelt among them. These Dyaks were always +head-hunters, and used to pull the oars in the Malay prahus for the sake +of the heads of the slain, which they alone cared for. But, in course of +time, the Dyaks became expert seamen. They built boats which they called +bangkongs, and went out with the Malays, devastating the coast and +killing Malays, Chinese, Dyaks, whoever they met with. The Dyak bangkong +draws very little water, and is both lighter and faster than the Malay +prahu; it is a hundred feet long, and nine or ten broad. Sixty or eighty +men with paddles make her skim through the water as swiftly as a London +race-boat. She moves without noise, and surprises her victims with +showers of spears at dead of night; neither can any vessel, except a +steamer, catch a Dyak bangkong, if the crew deem it necessary to fly. +These boats can be easily<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> taken to pieces; for the planks, which extend +the whole length of the boat, are not fastened with nails, but lashed +together with rattans, and calked with bark, which swells when wet; so +that, if they wish to hide their retreat into the jungle, they can +quickly unlace their boats, carry them on their shoulders into the +woods, and put them together again when they want them. When we first +lived at Sarawak no merchant-boat dared go out of the river alone and +unarmed. We were constantly shocked with dreadful accounts of villages +on the coast, or boats at the entrance, being surprised, and men, women, +and children barbarously murdered by these wretches. I remember once a +boat being found with only three fingers of a man in it, and a bloody +mark at the side, where the heads of those in the boat had been cut off. +Sometimes the pirates would wait until they knew the men of a village +were away at their paddy farms, then they would fall suddenly upon the +defenceless old men, women, and children, kill some, make slaves of the +young ones, and rob the houses.</p> + +<p>Sometimes, having destroyed a village and its inhabitants, they would +dress themselves in the clothes of the slain, and, proceeding to another +place, would call out to the women, "The Sarebas are coming, but, if you +bring down your valuables to us, we will defend you and your property." +And many fell into the snare, and were carried off. If they attacked a +house when the men were at home, it was by night. They pulled stealthily +up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> the river in their boats, and landing under cover of their shields, +crept under the long house where many families lived together. These +houses stand on high poles. The pirates then set fire to dry wood and a +quantity of chillies which they carried with them for the purpose. This +made a suffocating smoke, which hindered the inmates from coming out to +defend themselves. Then they cut down the posts of the house, which +fell, with all it contained, into their ruthless hands.</p> + +<p>In the year 1849, the atrocities of the piratical Dyaks were so +frequent, that the rajah applied to the English Admiral in the straits +for some men-of-war to assist him in destroying them. Remonstrances and +threats had been tried again and again. The pirates would always promise +good behaviour for the future to avert a present danger; but they never +kept these promises when an opportunity offered for breaking them with +impunity. In consequence of Sir James Brooke's application, H.M.S. +<i>Albatross</i>, commanded by Captain Farquhar; H.M.'s sloop <i>Royalist</i>, +commander, Lieutenant Everest; and H.E.I.C.'s steamer <i>Nemesis</i>, +commander, Captain Wallage, were sent by Admiral Collyer to Sarawak. +Then the rajah had all his war-boats got ready to join the English +force. There was the <i>Lion King</i>, the <i>Royal Eagle</i>, the <i>Tiger</i>, the +<i>Big Snake</i>, the <i>Little Snake</i>, the <i>Frog</i>, the <i>Alligator</i>, and many +others belonging to the Datus, who, on occasions like these, are bound +to call on their servants, and a certain number of able-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>bodied men +living in their kampongs, to man and fight in their boats. This is their +service to the Government. The rajah supplies the whole force with rice +for the expedition, and a certain number of muskets. The English ships +were left, the <i>Albatross</i> at Sarawak, and the <i>Royalist</i> to guard the +entrance of the Batang Lupar River, into which the Sakarran and Sarebas +Rivers <i>débouche</i>; but their boats, and nearly all the officers, +accompanied the fleet, and the steamer <i>Nemesis</i> went also. On the 24th +of July they left us, as many as eighteen Malay prahus, manned by from +twenty to seventy men in each, and decorated with flags and streamers +innumerable, of the brightest colours,—the Sarawak flag, a red and +black cross on a yellow ground, always at the stern. For the <i>Tiger</i> I +made a flag, as it was Mr. Brereton's boat, with a tiger's head painted +on it, looking wonderfully ferocious. It was an exciting time, with +gongs and drums, Malay yells and English hurrahs; and our fervent +prayers for their safety and success accompanied them that night, as +they dropped down the river in gay procession. They were afterwards +joined by bangkongs of friendly Dyaks, three hundred men from Lundu, +eight hundred from Linga, some from Samarahan, Sadong, and various +places which had suffered from the pirates, and were anxious to assist +in giving them a lesson. We heard nothing of the fleet until the 2nd of +August, when I received a little note from the rajah, written in pencil, +on a scrap of paper, on the night of the 31st of July,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> and giving an +account of how they fell in with a great balla (war fleet) of Sarebas +and Sakarran pirates, consisting of one hundred and fifty bangkongs, +returning to their homes with plunder and captives in their boats. The +pirates found all the entrances of the river occupied by their enemies, +the English, Malay, and Dyak forces being placed in three detachments, +and the <i>Nemesis</i> all ready to help whenever the attack began. The <i>Lion +King</i> sent up a rocket when she espied the pirate fleet, to apprise the +rest. Then there was a dead silence, broken only by three strokes of a +gong, which called the pirates to a council of war. A few minutes +afterwards a fearful yell gave notice of their advance, and the fleet +approached in two divisions. But when they sighted the steamer they +became aware of the odds against them, and again called a council by +beat of gong. After another pause, a second yell of defiance showed they +had decided on giving battle. Then, in the dead of the night, ensued a +fearful scene. The pirates fought bravely, but could not withstand the +superior forces of their enemies. Their boats were upset by the paddles +of the steamer; they were hemmed in on every side, and five hundred men +were killed, sword in hand; while two thousand five hundred escaped to +the jungle. The boats were broken to pieces, or deserted on the beach by +their crews; and the morning light showed a sad spectacle of ruin and +defeat. Upwards of eighty prahus and bangkongs were captured, many from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> +sixty to eighty feet long, with nine or ten feet beam.</p> + +<p>The English officers on that night offered prizes to all who should +bring in captives alive: but the pirates would take no quarter; in the +water they still fought without surrender, for they could not understand +a mercy they never accorded to their enemies. Consequently the prisoners +were very few, and the darkness of the night favoured escape.</p> + +<p>The peninsula to which they fled could easily have been so surrounded by +the Dyak and Malay forces that not one man of that pirate fleet could +have left it alive. This blockade the Malays entreated the rajah to +make; but he refused, saying that he hoped they had already received a +sufficient lesson, and would return to their homes humbled and +corrected. He therefore ordered his fleet to proceed up the river, and +the pirates went back to Sarebas and Sakarran. This severe punishment +cured the Dyaks of those rivers once and for all of piracy, and was the +greatest blessing which could have been conferred on those fine tribes. +They allowed forts to be built on their rivers, and submitted to English +residents, who ruled them with the counsel of their own chiefs. In 1857, +when the Chinese rebelled and burnt the town of Kuching, these Dyaks +sent their warriors to assist the Sarawak Government; in doing so they +joined other tribes whose hereditary enemies they had been for many +generations. Some of us felt anxious when we saw the fleet of Sakarrans +and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> Balows lying side by side at the Linga Fort; but they all kept +their good faith, and in fighting a common enemy became friends for +evermore.</p> + +<p>In 1852 Sir James Brooke placed Mr. Brereton in a fort at Sakarran, +built at the entrance of the river. He threw himself heartily into the +work of improving the people, and gained a good influence over many. One +of the most important chiefs, Gassim, attached himself to him, and even +gave up the practice of head-taking to please him.</p> + +<p>There were certain paddy farms in the country which by ancient custom +could only be cultivated by heroes who had taken many heads. One of +Gassim's people, however, who had never taken a single head, presumed to +clear and plant some of this ground; whereupon the other chiefs +complained, and one sent a message to Gassim, that if he did not put a +stop to this breach of law, he would fight him. Gassim answered that he +was ready to fight with swords if necessary, but first he begged a +conference with all the other chiefs to discuss the matter. To this they +agreed, and by the force of his eloquence and the justice of his cause, +Gassim proved to them that the old custom was bad and ought to be +repealed. About that time Brereton brought Gassim and a number of his +people to visit Kuching, and the chief breakfasted with us. When all the +school-children came in to prayers—for the church was not yet +finished—and Gassim heard them repeat the responses and say the Lord's +Prayer, he was delighted, and said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> that he and his people would also +like to be Christians.</p> + +<p>We used to like the Sakarrans much better than their neighbours, the +Sarebas, in those days. They were fine, tall, handsome men, with +straight noses and pleasant manners. The Sarebas were coarser-looking +people, who disfigured themselves by wearing brass rings all along the +lobes of their ears: the one at the bottom was as large as a +curtain-ring in circumference, though of slender make; it lay on the +chest, and by its weight dragged a great hole in the ear. These rings +were inserted when the children were quite young, and pulled their +little faces out of shape, giving an uncomfortable expression. Sarawak +Malays always said, "A Sakarran Dyak may be trusted, but a Sarebas is +deceitful." It is a curious fact, however, that the Sakarrans, with all +their fair words and sleek prepossessing looks, did not embrace the +gospel as the Sarebas did. The Rev. Walter Chambers lived at Sakarran +for some time, but gathered no converts. He then settled himself among +the Balows of the Batang Lupar and Linga, and when there was a community +of Christians from these rivers, at Banting, where Mr. Chambers had +built his church and house, a Sarebas chief, Buda by name, the son of a +notorious old pirate, happened to meet some of these Christian Dyaks, +and came himself to be taught. He brought his wife, sister, and child. +They walked upwards of eighty miles, partly through the mud of the +sea-shore, carrying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> their mats and cooking-pots with them, and +established themselves in the mission-house, where they were kindly +welcomed, and stayed six weeks, during which time they were so diligent +that they learnt to read and made some progress in writing. This was in +the rainy season, when all farming operations are in abeyance. The next +year they returned at the same time, but, meanwhile, they had not been +idle, but had taught all they knew to their countrymen. Shortly +afterwards Buda was made a catechist, and he excited so much interest, +that in 1867 Mr. Chambers baptized one hundred and eighty of these +people, who were once the most dangerous enemies of the English and the +most notorious pirates of Borneo. Then Buda proceeded to the village of +Seruai, and Mr. Chambers had soon to visit there, for the people were so +earnest they would scarcely let him sleep, nor seemed to require any +sleep themselves, but day and night learnt the hymns and catechism, +which they must know by heart to be baptized. Nearly two hundred were +baptized on the Kryan River. A catechist had been placed there, called +Belabut. He married Buda's sister, who walked to Banting for +instruction. She had much influence over the women of the tribe, and Mr. +Chambers said it was delightful to hear her read "her beloved gospel" +with the correct pronunciation of an English lady.</p> + +<p>The Christians of the Kryan did not keep the good news to themselves, +but proceeded to teach the next village of Sinambo. In these villages<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> +there are now school-chapels, built by the Dyaks themselves. In 1873, +Mr. Chambers, who was then bishop, wrote: "These Sea Dyaks have made the +greatest advances in civilization and Christianity. Looking back even +five years, there is a great difference. They have abandoned +superstitious habits." "They no longer listen to the voices of birds to +tell them when to sow their seeds, undertake a journey, or build a +house; they never consult a manang<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> in sickness or difficulty; above +all, they set no store by the blackened skulls which used to hang from +their roofs, but which they have either buried or given away to any +people from a distance who cared for them, assuring them at the same +time that they 'were no use.'"</p> + +<p>Thus we see what a just punishment and a fostering Government, added to +the sweet influences of Christianity, have done for these people; but it +took years of patience and faith to effect so great a change.</p> + +<p>After the pirate fight of 1849, the evil disposed and turbulent, both of +the Sakarrans and Sarebas, found a leader in Rentab, a Sarebas chief. He +braved the Government for years. In 1852 his war-boats appeared above +the Sakarran Fort, and the two young Englishmen there, Mr. Brereton and +Mr. Lee, too confident in their strength, attacked the boats with a +small force. In this engagement Mr. Lee was killed, and Mr. Brereton +escaped with difficulty. Several expeditions were taken into the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> +interior against Rentab; but he was so clever, that even when Captain +Brooke battered his stronghold to pieces by having guns dragged up the +steep hill on which his fort was built, Rentab managed to escape, and +was never taken. His followers, however, fell away from him by degrees, +and there are now no pirates in those rivers.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"> +<p class="center"><b>Footnotes:</b></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Heathen doctor.</p></div> + +</div> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-fly.jpg" width="150" height="114" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-sunflo.jpg" width="500" height="112" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + + +<h3>CHAPTER V.<br /> +<small>THE CHURCH AND THE SCHOOL.</small></h3> + + +<p>As soon as we removed to College Hill, the building of the church began. +On the 28th August, 1850, a few days after the return of the expedition +against the pirates, the summit of a rising ground about two hundred +yards from the house having been cleared and levelled, a large shed was +built over the ground, which the sailors of H.M.S. <i>Albatross</i>, and our +workmen, adorned with gay flags and green boughs.</p> + +<p>A little procession left our house, the rajah walking first, dressed in +full uniform as Governor of Labuan, and Suboo, the Malay executioner, +holding a large yellow satin umbrella over his head, as is the custom on +all state occasions, for yellow is the royal colour in Borneo; then my +husband, in surplice and hood, the English residents, naval officers, +and, last, a crowd of Malays and Chinese followed, to witness the +ceremony of laying the first great block of wood in the foundation of +St. Thomas's Church. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>After prayers had been read, the rajah lowered the +great sleeper into its place, and we all returned home. From that day +the church began to rise out of the earth with the same seeming magic as +the house had done. It was entirely built of wood—all the beams, +rafters, and posts of the hard balean-wood, and the roof covered with +balean shingles, like the house. The planking was a cedar-coloured wood, +and all the arches and mouldings were finished like cabinet-work, so +that it was both handsome and durable. The ornamental pillars were first +made of polished nibong palms; but in a few years these had to be cut +away, as they were full of white ants, and hard wood substituted. The +building of this little church was most interesting to us. When my +husband was at Singapore for a short time in 1849, he had the pulpit, +reading-desk, a carved wooden eagle, and the chairs made there; also a +coloured glass east window was contrived, with the Sarawak flag for a +centre light. This pleased the Malays; indeed, they admired the house +and church immensely, and always assured us that they knew we could not +have built either, unless inspired by good antoos (spirits).</p> + +<p>The baptismal font was a huge clam-shell, large enough to dip an infant +in, if desired; and this natural font was adopted in all the churches +afterwards built at Dyak stations—at Lundu, at Banting, Quop River.</p> + +<p>The church bell was a difficult matter. Nothing larger than a ship bell +could be found in the straits.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> At last, a Javanese at Sarawak said he +could cast a bell large enough if he had the metal; so Frank bought a +hundredweight of broken gongs—there is a great deal of silver in gong +metal—and with these the bell was cast. Then an inscription had to be +put round the rim—"Gloria in excelsis Deo," in large letters; and the +date, Sir James Brooke's name on one side, and F. T. McDougall on the +other. It was a great success, and was safe in the little belfry before +the church was consecrated, in February, 1851. I do not know whether +this bell is now cracked, but it has worked very hard from that day—two +services every week-day, and four on Sunday, to say nothing of extra +occasions. Before long, we found a gilder who could adorn the reredos. +There were seven compartments at the east end: in the centre one was a +gilt cross, and in the others, the Lord's Prayer and the Creed, in +English, Malay, and Chinese. The gilder was a Chinese catechumen, and +was very anxious to do it well; but he knew nothing of English letters, +so each letter had to be cut in paper, and he traced it on the wooden +panel. It was necessary to watch him narrowly, or he put the letters +upside down! Such are the difficulties of making churches in the jungle. +All this took some time to complete. I had a very severe illness in +November, 1850; and when, about Christmas, I was able to sit in the +verandah, the progress of the church was my great amusement, for it was +quite near enough to watch from the house.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>In August, 1850, a great influx of Chinese came to Sarawak. There was a +war at Sambas, the principal Dutch settlement in Borneo, between the +Chinese, who were friendly to the Dutch, and who were living at +Pernankat, and the Montrado Chinese, who, with the Dyaks of the country, +rebelled against the Dutch. The Montrados beat the Pernankat Chinese, +and they fled from the place, carrying with them their wives and +children, and as much property as they could cram into their boats. The +boats were overladen, and many of them perished at sea, but some reached +Tangong Datu. On the 26th of August, four hundred of these poor +creatures arrived at Sarawak, saying there were three thousand more +starving on the sands at Datu, who would follow as fast as they could; +and, in course of time, most of them did find their way up the river, +although those in charge of the Government (the rajah was at Labuan) +tried to persuade them to make a town for themselves at Santubong (one +of the mouths of the river). A few of them did settle at Santubong, but +every day brought boats full of Chinamen into the place. The rajah fed +these poor people for months with rice, and gave them tools that they +might clear the ground and make gardens in the jungle. At first, before +they could build themselves houses, the whole place seemed upset by +them. Many lived in their boats on the river; every shed and workshop in +the town was full. One night Frank walked into the church, to see no one +was stealing planks <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>from the unfinished building. All was quiet, but by +a stray moonbeam he perceived that one end of the church, already +boarded, was full of mosquito curtains, and they as full of sleeping +Chinamen. Such a thing could not be allowed—nails knocked into the +polished walls to tie up the curtains, tobacco perfuming the place, to +say nothing of sparks to light the pipes, and a considerable allowance +of bugs which Chinese people always carry about with them. Frank jumped +straight into the middle of the muslin curtains, with a shout; and +amidst a hubbub of tongues, "yaw-yaw" and laughter, bundled them all out +into the workmen's shed close by, where they might sleep in peace. It +occurred to my husband that some of these Chinese would be glad to have +their children brought up with the seven little orphans we had already, +so he went to Aboo, the Chinese magistrate, and offered to take ten +children into our house to be brought up as Christians, baptized, and +educated for ten years. The Chinese value education, and were very glad +to give them to us. I shall never forget sitting in the porch one +morning to receive my new family. Neither parents nor children could +speak Malay. They walked up the stairs, bringing a little boy or girl, +nodded and smiled and put the child's hand into mine, as much as to say, +"There, take it." One of our Chinese servants then explained to them +what we could do for the child, and that it must remain with us until +grown up. That day we took Salion, Sunfoon, Chinzu, Queyfat, Assin, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>Umque, Achin, boys; Achong, Moukmoy, Poingzu, girls. The English nurse +we had brought with us to Sarawak had married Stahl, the carpenter, of +whom I spoke before, and Mrs. Stahl became the matron of the school when +we moved to College Hill, and had these ten Chinese children as well as +the orphans to care for. We were very busy sewing for them, with a +Chinese tailor to help. Blue jackets and trousers for week-days, and +black trousers and white jackets for Sundays, had to be made at once. +The girls wore trousers as well as the boys, only wider, and their +jackets reached to the knee.</p> + +<p>At the end of a week they were all clean and neat. Their heads were +shaved every Saturday, and their long tails freshly plaited up with +skeins of black or red strong silk, made on purpose. At first a barber +came to do this, but soon the elder boys learnt to do it, and it was a +regular Saturday business. These ten children soon learnt to speak +Malay. Then we took five more, and after that one or two as +circumstances threw them in our way. The school at last numbered +forty-five, but there was not room in the mission-house for so many; we +did not get beyond thirty the first year of the school.</p> + +<p>I scarcely think thirty English children could have been so easily +reduced to order as these little Chinese. School must have been paradise +to them after the hardships they had undergone, and that perhaps made it +easier to please them; besides, the Chinese readily submit to rule and +method. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>day was laid out for them. They rose at half-past five when +the day dawned; after a bath in a pond in the grounds, they had a slice +of rice-pudding with treacle on it, and then went to church for morning +prayers. By seven o'clock they were all at lessons in the big room—such +a buzzing and curious singsong of Chinese words—until nine, when the +breakfast took place; rice, of course, and a sort of curry of +vegetables, also a great dish of fish, either salt or fresh; a little +tea for the elder children, no milk or sugar, and water for the rest. +They soon learnt to sing their grace before and after meals.</p> + +<p>The same kind of meal was repeated at five o'clock, but on Sunday they +had pork curried instead of fish, and on festivals chickens. I taught +these children to sing from the first. The Chinese are not musical +generally, and some of them found the sounds of <i>do</i>, <i>re</i>, <i>mi</i>, very +difficult to master, but we had very nice singing in church in time; and +when a schoolmaster came who knew plenty of songs, glees, and rounds, +the children learnt them quickly, and were often sent for to sing to the +rajah and other guests when they came to dinner.</p> + +<p>It used to startle strangers to hear "The Hardy Norseman," "The Cuckoo," +and such-like songs from the lips of little Chinese boys. Every Saturday +evening they came to the house to practise the hymns and chants for +Sunday; I had an harmonium in the dining-room. On these occasions they +all had a cup of tea and slice of cake, and used to look at the picture +newspapers which had come from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>England the last mail. They were very +intelligent boys. It was necessary they should learn Malay and English +as well as Chinese, and of course arithmetic, geography, and the usual +rudiments of learning. I have often watched the Chinese writing-lesson: +it seemed the most difficult branch of their education—one complicated +character, something like a five-barred gate, representing a variety of +sounds as well as meanings; but our little fellows learnt it all. They +had a Chinese master as well as an English, and they soon spoke English +as well as we could desire. My husband took the greatest interest in +this school. When the children first came he taught them games and made +them playthings, and they were always about him. Whenever we went +anywhere by boat a crew of boys was added to the rowers. They soon +learnt to use their paddles well, and at the public boat-races, on New +Year's Day, pulled their own boat in the race and sometimes won it. When +my husband became Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak, he always took some of +the schoolboys with him in his visits to the different stations. They +helped the church services by their singing, and had their especial +chums among the Dyak Christian boys in the different tribes. So many +boys passed through the school during the twenty years we took an +interest in it, that I cannot even remember all of them. Some are now +catechists among the Dyak tribes; many entered the service of the +Government or the Merchant Company as clerks; some went to Singapore and +found <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>employment there. I know of only one who has as yet been +ordained, but perhaps that time has scarcely yet arrived in Sarawak. It +is difficult for Malays or Dyaks to look up to a Chinaman sufficiently +to make him their minister: they are less clever than the Chinese, but +look down upon them nevertheless—the Malays, because the Chinese are +the workers, and they the gentlemen; the Dyaks, I suppose, because they +gave them such a thrashing in 1857. One good consequence of the Chinese +school was, that it attracted the attention of the parents towards +Christianity, and they presented themselves as catechumens. There were +many difficulties with the languages, for the Chinese at Sarawak were +not all of the same tribe, and could not understand one another. +However, after a while a Chinese professor arrived at Sarawak, bringing +his wife and family with him. In those days the women were forbidden to +emigrate with their husbands, but Sing Sing put his wife into a large +chest with air-holes at the top, and brought her safely from China. The +Bishop employed this man, who was well educated, to make translations, +and to interpret what he said to the Chinese, so there were soon Bible +classes at our house every Wednesday evening. Sing Sing became an +inquirer himself while translating the gospel to others. He was soon +able to hold cottage lectures in the town, and after some years the +Bishop had the happiness to ordain him as minister to his people. There +was a large congregation of Chinese at the Sunday <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>services before we +left, and it was a good proof of the sincerity of these converts, that +while all their heathen countrymen worked at their trades on Sunday as +well as other days, our Christians spent their Sunday in worship and +rest, which no doubt was an advantage to their health as well as their +growth in grace.</p> + +<p>At Christmas they always shared in our feasting. We killed an ox, and +all the Christians had beef for their dinner, as well as all the queer +things they delight in.</p> + +<p>In January, 1851, the Church of St. Thomas at Kuching was consecrated by +Bishop Wilson, of Calcutta. On the afternoon of the 18th, I was +returning from church, and mounting the flight of steps which led to the +porch of the house, I saw a large steamer turn the corner of the +Pedungen Reach and anchor above the fort. It was the <i>Semiramis</i> +bringing the Bishop, Archdeacon Pratt and Mrs. Pratt, the Rev. H. Moule +from Singapore, Dr. Beale, the Bishop's physician, and Mr. Fox from +Bishop's College. This party, escorted by Frank, who rushed home to +dress himself in black (his usual attire being grey flannels and a white +muslin cassock), very soon marched into the house, exclaiming with +pleasure at the wreaths of white jessamine growing over the stairs, and +the fresh air of the hill. We had so lately settled in the house that it +was not half furnished, but we gave up our rooms to our guests and +stowed ourselves in an empty corner. I remember the satisfaction with +which <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>Mrs. Stahl produced the remains of the Christmas plum-pudding, +and the comfort it was to have a joint of venison in the house. Dinner +was soon on the table, and immediately afterwards the Bishop read +prayers and retired to his room. We all went into the library, where we +had tea and talk. It was very refreshing to have an English lady to +speak to, and Mrs. Pratt was so tall and fair that everybody admired +her, especially the Malays, who used to say that it was sufficient +pleasure to look at her throat only.</p> + +<p>The natives used to flock into the house every evening to see the Tuan +Padre besar (the great priest), and all the new-comers. At half-past +five a.m. the Bishop's bell used to ring for his servants to dress him, +and bring his tea. The whole house was astir then. The Indian servants +of the party slept in the verandahs, and seemed to me to talk all night.</p> + +<p>The next day was Sunday, but the church was not cleared out for +consecration, and most of the fittings had come from Singapore in the +<i>Semiramis</i>, and could not be got out on Saturday night. So morning and +evening prayers were as usual in the dining-room, and what with the +officers of the <i>Semiramis</i>, the English of the place, the school and +our home party, the room was very full. The children sang with all their +might, and were much interested with the visitors. The Bishop and +Archdeacon Pratt preached morning and afternoon. On Wednesday the church +was ready. Mrs. Stahl and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>I were up before dawn, covering hassocks with +Turkey red cotton. The church was tiled, but platforms of wood, covered +with mats, which were a present from Mr. and Mrs. Stahl, were placed on +the tiles, and the chairs just arrived by <i>Semiramis</i> stood on them. We +afterwards had to clear the platforms away—they became full of white +ants; but they looked very well at first.</p> + +<p>When all was ready, Captain Brooke and all the principal English +inhabitants met the Bishop at the church door, and presented a petition +that he would consecrate the building. He then entered, and walked up +and down the church repeating psalms, etc. Then came morning service; +afterwards, the Bishop preached, and as he was very energetic and struck +the desk with his hand, our gentle Datu Bandar thought he was angry, and +slipped quickly out of church. There was a confirmation of a Chinese +teacher and my little maid Susan after the celebration of Holy +Communion, and then, after three hours and a half service, we returned +home. The next morning, early, the Bishop consecrated the burial-ground. +He was carried round it in a chair, for he was unable to walk much; and +though he was a hale old man of seventy-two, his many years' residence +at Calcutta had, I imagine, spoilt his walking powers.</p> + +<p>He was very kind and friendly to us all, and admired the church very +much. His visit was a boon to the mission. It impressed the native mind +with the importance Christians attach to their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>churches and to public +worship. When our church bell called us to prayers twice every day, the +Mahometans revived the daily muezzin at the mosque; and the sight of the +public practice of religion amongst us quickened the Malays in the +performance of their own religious rites, and from that time there were +many more pilgrims to Mecca from Sarawak.</p> + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-plant.jpg" width="150" height="118" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-radis2.jpg" width="496" height="113" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER VI.<br /> +<small>THE GIRLS.</small></h3> + + +<p>Having said so much about the schoolboys, it would be unfair not to +mention the girls. Mary, Julia, and Phoebe, the half-caste children, +grew up beside us, and so did Polly, who was a Dyak baby brought to me +after the pirate expedition of 1849. Her mother fled, and dropped her +baby in the long grass, where it was found by an English sailor, who +carried it to the boats and gave it to one of the women captives to +bring to me—a poor little, skinny thing, with long yellow hair, like a +fairy changeling. I got a wet nurse for her and fed her with baby food, +but she got thinner and more elfish-looking. One day her nurse was +standing by while the other children were eating their dinner, and Polly +stretched out her arms to the rice and salt fish, and began to cry. +"Oh," said I, "perhaps she can eat;" and from that day the little one +ate her rice and discarded the nurse, growing fat and merry like the +rest.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>Polly had a great talent for languages. Of course she learnt English and +Malay at once, hearing both languages from her earliest years. But how +she learnt Chinese as well used to surprise me. In 1866 I took Polly to +Hongkong. She was then nurse to our youngest child. The lady of the +house where we were staying accosted Polly in the pigeon English of the +place—a jargon mysterious to unaccustomed ears. It must be allowed that +Polly was not unlike a Chinese in appearance. She stared at the lady, +and then at me, upon hearing directions she could not understand. I +laughed. "Speak to Polly in English," I said, "and she will understand +what you mean." "Impossible," answered Mrs. M——; "my servants tell me +she must be Chinese, for she can talk in two dialects."</p> + +<p>Polly married a Christian Chinaman afterwards, so her taste lay in that +direction. When I last heard of her, she was teaching in the day-schools +at Sarawak.</p> + +<p>Mary married the schoolmaster, Mr. Owen. We brought Julia home with us +in 1869, and put her into a training-school for teachers in Dublin, +where she was much beloved. When we returned to Sarawak, in 1861, she +became the schoolmistress to the girls I then had in the house, and +others who came as day-scholars. She was a thoroughly good girl, and a +great comfort to me, but of course she married, a young man employed as +mate in the <i>Rainbow</i>, a Government vessel running between <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>Sarawak and +Singapore. Some years afterwards Forrest died, and Julia married again, +an older man very well off. I have no doubt she is bringing up her +family in the fear of God, but I have not heard of her lately. I had +many trials with the girls, more than I like to recount. All the first +little family of Chinese girls we received in 1850 belonged to the tribe +who rebelled in 1857, and their relations carried them off when we were +driven from the mission-house. They were taken to Bau where their +relations lived, but what became of them in the terrible flight to the +Dutch country, when many were killed, and still more died of the +privations of the jungle, we never could hear.</p> + +<p>Sarah and Fanny came to us in 1856. They were little orphans, half +Chinese, half Dyak, whom, with two more girls and four boys, the +Government had redeemed from slavery and gave to the mission. Some of +these children stayed at Lundu with Mr. Gomez and his family; some came +to me—Sarah, Fanny, and Betsy, a baby whom I gave out to nurse. Poor +little Sarah had a very scarred face from a burn, but she was a bright, +clever child. Fanny was better-looking, but more heavy and less +impressible. These two girls married native catechists in course of +time. I trust they are doing some good among their own people.</p> + +<p>In the year 1862 some little captives fell into the hands of Captain +Brooke, then ruling at Sarawak. They came from Sarebas, and one of them +had been wounded by a spear, though he was only a tiny <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>boy of four +years old. Captain Brooke wrote to me to know if I would take this +family of children into the school—two girls, Limo and Ambat, and two +boys, Esau and Nigo. If I could not take them, he said, they must be +sent back to their own country immediately, as there was a boat +departing the next day. The Bishop was away from Sarawak, so I had to +decide; nor would there have been any doubt in my mind about it, but +Esau the eldest boy was covered with kurap, from head to foot. This is a +skin disease to which Dyaks are subject, and which suggests the leprosy +of the Old Testament, for the outer skin peels off in flakes, and gives +almost a "white as snow" appearance to the surface. I doubted whether I +ought to take a pupil so afflicted, for it is decidedly catching. I +found that Ambat and Nigo had both patches of it here and there from +contact with Esau, whereas Limo, who was older, more clothed, and who +slept apart, was quite free.</p> + +<p>Still, the alternative was nothing less than sending these four children +to their heathen relations, and to a place at that time beyond the reach +of Christ's gospel—a terrible idea which could not be entertained for a +moment. So at last I sent for them, resolving to keep them in our house, +and not allow them to go down to the school until the Bishop returned. +Shortly afterwards a Chinese doctor came to the Bishop, and said, "If +you will give me fifteen dollars I will cure that boy of kurap. I have a +wonderful medicine for it, made at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>the Natunas Islands." So he had the +money on condition of the cure. The medicine was an ointment as black as +pitch—indeed, I believe there was a good portion of tar in it. With +this the doctor smeared Esau all over. He was to wear no clothes, and +not to be washed or touched. I used to see him, poor child, skipping +about exactly like the little black imps depicted in <i>Punch</i>.</p> + +<p>The ointment did not hurt him, but every third day the doctor came and +washed it all off with hot water: this was rather a painful operation, +but it was worth while undergoing some discomfort, for at the end of a +month the disease had vanished, and "his skin came again like the flesh +of a child." Esau grew up to be a good man and catechist to his own +countrymen, so it was well I ventured to keep him at Sarawak. The other +children soon got well when separated from him. Kurap arises, I believe, +from poor food and exposure to weather. A Dyak wears no clothes except a +long sash wound round him and the ends hanging down before and behind; +and when we consider the hot sun and frequent rains which beat upon him, +for he lives mostly out of doors, it is no wonder his skin suffers. Limo +and Ambat were clever children. In a letter, written about a year after +they came to us, I find this passage: "I have only four girls who can +read English and understand it. My two little Dyaks, Limo and Ambat, are +very fond of learning English hymns, and say them in such a plaintive, +touching voice, pronouncing each syllable <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>so clearly, but they don't +understand it until it has been explained to them in Malay. Limo's +brother and uncle came this week from Sarebas—two fine, tall men, with +only chawats<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> and earrings by way of clothes. Limo was delighted; she +would have gone away with them in their great boat if I had allowed her. +No doubt they told her how much they would do for her at Sarebas. +However, I drew a little picture of the women setting her to draw large +bamboos full of water, and to beat out the paddy with a long pole—very +hard work, and always done by the young girls,—a more truthful and less +delightful view of things; so Limo said she would stay with me until she +was grown up. I gave her a pair of trousers for each of the men, a +present generally much esteemed. But these two were very wild folk; they +laughed very much at the trousers, and carried them away over their +shoulders."</p> + +<p>I must not forget to tell the story of my dear child Nietfong, although +it is a very sad one. She was the daughter of the Chinese baker who +lived in the lane which led from our garden to the town. I used to +befriend her mother, a delicate little woman, very roughly treated by +her husband. She twice ran to me for shelter when her husband beat her, +and though of course I always had to give her up to him when he came +begging for her the next day, he knew what I thought of him, and had a +sort <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>of respect for me in consequence. This poor woman died young, and +left one little girl about four years old. Nietfong used to come up to +day-school when she was old enough, and in 1858, when I was so happy as +to have an English governess for my Mab, I took the little Chinese girl +to live with us and join Mab in her lessons. She was quite a little +lady, so gentle, teachable, and well mannered. In 1860 we took our +children to England: Mab was six years old, and could not with any +safety remain longer in a hot climate. Little Nietfong went home, for +her father would not allow her to go to the school in my absence. We +returned in 1861, leaving three children in England, and brought a baby +girl out with us. As I walked up the lane to the mission-house, Nietfong +stood watching for me at the gate. "Take me home with you; oh, I am so +glad you are come back!" So I took her home, and Nietfong told me that +her father had married again, and that her step-mother was unkind to +her, and beat her when she said the prayers I had taught her night and +morning; "but," said the child, "I always prayed, nevertheless." She +lived with us till she was about thirteen, perhaps not so much; then her +father came to the Bishop and said he had sold Nietfong for a good sum +of money to a man in China, and must send her there to stay with her +grandmother.</p> + +<p>In vain I entreated Acheck not to be so wicked. "Tell me how much you +would get for your daughter," I said, "and we will give you the money." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>He laughed, and said I could not afford it, mentioning a large sum, but +I do not remember what it was; so I had to break the sad news to +Nietfong. We wept and prayed together that she might remain steadfast in +her Christian faith. As she then knew English very well, I gave her an +English Prayer-book, which she promised to use. Soon after, Acheck +himself took her to China; and when he came back, he would only say, "Oh +yes, of course she is happy—she is married and well off." I have always +felt sure that this dear girl was kept by God's grace from sin and evil, +for I believe she truly loved and desired to serve God. There was +something especially pure about her. Nietfong was never wilfully +naughty; she was one of those blameless ones who seem untouched by the +evil around them. We shall not know the sequel of her history until by +God's mercy we meet her in the heavenly home.</p> + +<p>As I have spoken about the Dyak kurap, I may as well here mention the +real leprosy of the East, which was a terrible but not frequent scourge +among the Chinese. The Rajah had a small house built out of the town for +any men who were so afflicted, and they were fed by Government. The +Bishop or his chaplain used to go and teach these poor creatures, but +there were not more than three or four of them at a time. We knew one +Chinese woman who had leprosy. She became a Christian, and liked to have +a cottage lecture at her house. I often went to see her. Her toes +gradually dropped <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>off, and her fingers. I never heard her complain. One +day I went to see her and found her very ill, constantly sick. She said +she had been poisoned; and it seemed probable, for no medicine gave her +any relief, and in a few hours she died. The natives have such a horror +of leprosy that they do not like to touch the body of any one who has +died of it, so the Bishop and Owen, the schoolmaster, laid poor Acheen +in her coffin; and this charitable act they performed for any +unfortunate who died of this terrible disease.</p> + +<p>Acheen had adopted a little boy, Sifok by name. She must have been very +kind to the child, for he seemed wild with grief when she died, and was +very anxious that whoever had poisoned his mother, as he called her, +should be punished. But the case was not clear, and no one was punished. +We took Sifok into the school, and I taught him to play the harmonium, +which at last he accomplished very fairly.</p> + +<p>Amongst our schoolboys was one particularly steady and religious. Tung +Fa was so good a Malay and Chinese scholar that he could interpret at +the Chinese Bible class, and also the sermon at the Chinese service at +church on Sunday. I think he knew his Bible almost by heart. He was +never very strong in health; then his feet began to swell, and leprosy +declared itself. For a long time he was carried to and from the church +in a chair, but at last he was so diseased that he was removed from the +school-house, and a little hut was built for <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>him close to us. The boys +brought him his food, and of course he had anything he fancied from our +kitchen. I think the servants were very kind to him, and he exhibited a +beautiful example of patience and resignation until the disease affected +his brain; even then he was quite gentle, only he was always begging to +be baptized over again that he might die free from sin. This mistake +arose entirely from his illness. We were quite thankful when one morning +he was found dead in his bed. What a blissful waking, after so much +suffering!</p> + +<div class="footnotes"> + +<p class="center"><b>Footnotes:</b></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> A chawat is a long strip of cotton or bark cloth wound +round the body.</p></div> + +</div> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-leaf.jpg" width="150" height="117" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-weeds.jpg" width="500" height="114" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + + +<h3>CHAPTER VII.<br /> +<small>THE LUNDUS.</small></h3> + + +<p>The beginning of the year 1851 brought us much sorrow. After my illness +in November, 1850, we were persuaded by Sir James Brooke to accompany +him to Penang Hill, where the Government bungalow had been placed at his +disposal; consequently, after Christmas, we sailed in H.M.S. <i>Amazon</i>, +through the kindness of Captain Troubridge, for Singapore, taking our +child Harry with us. We had to wait some weeks at Singapore for the +Rajah, and soon after our arrival our little boy died of diptheria, +leaving us childless, for we had already lost two infants at Sarawak. +This grief threw a veil of sadness over the remaining years of our first +sojourn in the East. Perhaps it urged us to a deeper interest in the +native people than we might have felt had there been any little ones of +our own to care for; but those six years "the flowers all died along our +way," one infant after another being laid in God's acre.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>We stayed six weeks amid the lovely scenery and in the cooler air of +Penang Hill, and returned to Sarawak in May, Admiral Austin giving us a +passage in H.M.S. <i>Fury</i>. The admiral gave me his cabin to sleep in, all +the gentlemen sleeping in the cuddy. I woke in the night, hearing a +rushing sound in the air, then, patter, patter, all over the bed. I +jumped up, and called Frank to bring a light and see what was the +matter. "Oh," said a voice from the cuddy, "better not: it is only +cockroaches, and if you saw them you would not go to sleep again." This +swarm of cockroaches came out several times before daylight. The next +night I put up a mosquito-net to protect my face and hands from these +disgusting creatures. When a steamer has been nearly three years in +these hot latitudes it becomes horribly full of rats and cockroaches. My +husband, taking a trip in H.M.S. <i>Contest</i>, in 1858, woke one morning +unable to open one eye. Presently he felt a sharp prick, and found a +large cockroach sitting on his eyelid and biting the corner of his eye. +They also bite all round the nails of your fingers and toes, unless they +are closely covered. It must be said that insects are a great discomfort +at Sarawak. Mosquitoes, and sand-flies, and stinging flies which turn +your hands into the likeness of boxing-gloves, infest the banks of the +rivers, and the sea-shore. Flying bugs sometimes scent the air +unpleasantly, and there are hornets in the woods whose sting is +dangerous. When we look back upon the happy <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>days we spent in that +lovely country, these drawbacks are forgotten; the past is always +beautiful, and shadows, even of sorrow and sickness, only enhance the +interest of the picture. Sin alone, in ourselves and those about us, can +make the past hateful, and the great charm of the future is that it is +untouched by sin. Happy, then, are those who are able to look back on +the past with smiles of thankfulness, while they stretch out their arms +hopefully to the future.</p> + +<p>Sarawak looked very peaceful on our return; and now began the interest +of the Dyak missions. From our first arrival at Kuching my husband had +taken every opportunity of visiting the Dyak tribes, and sometimes a +chief would come to the town with a number of his people, to pay their +rice tax, or purchase clothes, tobacco, gongs, gunpowder, whatever the +bazaar possessed which they valued. They brought with them beeswax, +damar, honey, or rattans to exchange for those things. On these +occasions the whole party came up to the mission-house to hear the +harmonium, see the magic-lantern, and beg presents. At first they would +ask for arrack, but finding nothing but claret to be had with us, soon +left off that request. Plates and cups were always valued, and they used +to say we had <i>so many</i> more than we could possibly want in the pantry, +that of course we would give them some. To their honour be it said, they +never stole one, and were invariably refused, for we had not any more +than we wanted. The Dyaks hung their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>plates in loops of rattan very +ingeniously against the walls of their houses; but a plantain-leaf +folded up is more often used by them in lieu of plates, and they could +not have a better substitute. I never enjoyed a meal so much as some +cold rice and sardines eaten off a plantain-leaf in the jungle at Lundu, +after a long walk to the waterfall. The servant with the provision +basket had lost his way, and as we sat hungry under the great trees at +the foot of the fall, a Dyak friend produced a box of sardines and a +parcel of cold rice, and divided it amongst us. When at last the basket +of cold chickens arrived we handed them over to the Dyaks, feeling quite +superior to such civilized food.</p> + +<p>The Lundu Dyak chief was a great friend and admirer of Sir James Brooke +from his first arrival in the country. He and his tribe were the +determined enemies of the pirates, and with the Balows of the Batang +Lupar braved the Sarebas and Sakarrans, even when they were most +powerful. At the pirate fight of 1849 the Lundu chief lost two of his +sons: they were killed by an ambush set by Lingi the Sarebas chief. Only +one son, Callon, remained, and he was not his father's favourite. Poor +old Orang Kaya! it was a terrible trial, and nearly brought him to his +grave. Some time afterwards, he and Callon were at Sarawak to pay their +tax. Lingi, who had then submitted to the Rajah, had been in Sarawak for +some days, professedly to trade, but really to see if he could not take +Sir James Brooke's head. This was prevented by the watchfulness of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>the +Malays, who, suspecting Lingi, never let him get near the Rajah when +they sat talking after dinner, as was the custom in those days. So Lingi +went away foiled, and the day they dropped down the river the Lundus +heard of it. Revenge seemed ready at hand: they had a fast boat, were a +large party, and brave to a man. They entreated the Rajah to let them +follow Lingi and take his head—never again would they take a head, only +Lingi's, the Rajah's enemy and their own. Of course they were refused, +and it must have been a terrible strain on their affection and fealty to +the Rajah, not in this instance to follow the traditions of their +ancestors, and gratify their personal revenge by killing a traitor. But +they obeyed, and Lingi got safely back to Sarebas, little knowing how +narrowly he escaped. The old Lundu chief was a Christian before he died. +He always professed a desire to be of the same religion and brother to +the white man, but when, after due instruction, his son and grandson +came to Kuching to be baptized, he was not well enough to accompany +them, Mr. Gomes promised to baptize him on their return; but when that +event took place Orang Kaya was dead, gone where, no doubt, the will was +taken for the deed, as he was a Christian at heart. Mr. Gomes was from +Bishop's College, Calcutta. Soon after he came to us, in 1852, he went +to Lundu and remained there until 1867, when his children requiring more +education than he could give them at a Dyak station, he went to +Singapore, and accepted the post of missionary priest there.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>Mr. Grant was Government resident at Lundu, and the ruler and missionary +devoted themselves to the improvement of the people. In 1855, when we +returned to our home after our first visit to England, we received a +delightful visit from Mr. Gomes and twelve Dyaks, whom he brought to be +baptized at St. Thomas's Church. Callon's son Langi, and half a dozen +other boys, lived with Mr. Gomes, and ran after him all day—nice little +fellows, who fraternized with our boys at the school-house. There were +also five men, the chief of whom was Bulan (Moon), one of the manangs, +or witch-doctors, of the tribe. These manangs, being as it were the +priests of Dyak superstitions, and getting their living by pretended +cures, interpretations of omens and the voices of birds, were of course +the natural enemies of truth and enlightenment. Bulan, however, had +tried to be an honest manang, and finding it impossible had turned with +all his heart to Christianity. His brother Bugai, also a Christian, was +a very intelligent person, and became catechist at Lundu.</p> + +<p>There was also a very rich old man, Simoulin by name, who was baptized +at this time. His wife had opposed his conversion with all her might; +indeed, she declared she would leave him and carry half the property +with her. Simoulin said quietly, "If she will she must: she is only a +woman, and her judgment in the matter is not likely to be good." +Christianity had strong opponents in the women of all the Dyak tribes. +They held important <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>parts in all the feasts, incantations, and +superstitions, which could not be called religion, but were based on the +dread of evil spirits and a desire to propitiate them. The women +encouraged head-taking by preferring to marry the man who had some of +those ghastly tokens of his prowess. When Sir James Brooke forbad +head-taking among the tribes in his dominions, it was the women who +would row their lovers out of the rivers in their boats, and set them +down on the sea-coast to find the head of a stranger. When heads were +brought in, it was the women who took possession of them, decked them +with flowers, put food into their mouths, sang to them, mocked them, and +instituted feasts in honour of the slayers. The young Dyak woman works +hard; she helps in all the labours of sowing, planting out, weeding, and +reaping the paddy. She beats out the rice in a wooden trough, with a +long pole, or pestle. She grows the cotton for clothing, dyes and weaves +it. She carries heavy burdens, and paddles her boat on the river. All +these are her duties, and in performing them she quickly loses her +smooth skin, bright eyes, and slender figure. It is only the young girls +who can boast of any beauty, but the old women are very important +personages at a seed-time or harvest festival. They dress themselves in +long garments embroidered with tiny white shells, representing lizards +and crocodiles. With long wands in their hands, they dance, singing wild +incantations. They have already prepared the food for the +feast—chickens <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>roasted in their feathers; cakes of rice, spun like +vermicelli and fried in cocoa-nut oil; curries, and salads of bitter and +acid leaves; sticks of small bamboo filled with pulut rice and boiled, +when it turns to a jelly and is agreeably flavoured with the young +bamboo. It is the women also who serve out the tuak, a spirit prepared +from rice and spiced with various ingredients, tobacco being one. The +men must drink at these feasts; they are very temperate generally, but +on this occasion they are rather proud of being drunk and boasting the +next day of a bad headache! The women urge them to drink, but do not +join in the orgies, and disappear when the intoxicating stage begins. I +trust that this description belongs only to the past; at any rate, we +know that in those places where the missionaries have long taught, their +people follow a more excellent way of rejoicing in the joy of harvest, +and, after their thanksgiving service in church, pour out their +offerings of rice before the altar to maintain the services, and +minister to the sick and needy.</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="girl" id="girl"></a> +<img src="images/girl.jpg" width="399" height="600" alt="Dyak girl" /> +<div class="cap"> +<p class="caption">A DYAK GIRL.</p> +<p class="capright"><i>Page</i> <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p>For many years, however, the women were opposed to a religion which +cleared away the superstitious customs which were the delight of their +lives, their chief amusement and dissipation, and a means of influencing +the men. It was not until the year 1864 that Mr. Gomes asked us to visit +Lundu and welcome a little party of women, the first converts to the +faith which their fathers and husbands had long professed. This is a +long <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>digression from the history of the Lundus' visit to Kuching in +1855, which was at the time a great event. I find the following passage +in my journal: "Every evening, before late dinner, the Lundus go up to +Mr. Gomes's room to say their prayers, and sing, or rather chant, their +hymns. There is something very affecting in this little service—the +Dyak voices singing of Christ's second coming with His holy angels, and +rejoicing that He came once before for their salvation; then praying for +holy, gentle hearts to receive Him. I always feel on these occasions as +if I heard these precious truths afresh when they are spoken in a tongue +till lately ignorant of them. Indeed, there can scarcely be a more +joyful excitement than such passages in the life of a missionary; they +are worth any sacrifice. After English morning service, Mr. Gomes has +prayers in church for his Dyaks. He then instructs them in the baptismal +service. This makes five daily services in church, two English, two +Chinese, and one Dyak. We clothed all the candidates in a new suit of +cotton garments with a bright-coloured handkerchief for their heads. It +would be considered very irreverent for Easterns to uncover their heads +in church. I taught the school-children to sing 'Veni, Creator Spiritus' +at this baptism, while the clergy were arranging the candidates and +sponsors round the font. The font was wreathed with flowers by my +children. There was quite a full church, for the Chinese Christians all +came to see the Dyaks baptized, and all the English of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>the place were +present. Mr. Gomes baptized, and my husband signed them with the cross. +They all spoke up bravely in answering to their vows: may God give them +grace to keep them."</p> + +<p>This baptism took place on Whit Sunday. On Thursday of that week, Mr. +Gomes, his Dyaks, and Frank, went off to Linga for a week to visit Mr. +Chambers, and Mr. Horsburgh at Banting, that the converts of both tribes +might become friends. The Balows and Lundus had always been united in +their efforts against the pirate tribes, and in their fealty to the +Rajah's Government. On this account they had a right to the services of +the first missionaries who came from England to teach Dyaks. The visit +to Banting had another object besides the mutual friendship of the +converts. A controversy had arisen in the mission about the right word +to be used in translations for <i>Jesus</i>. Isa is the name the Malays use, +and the Dutch translations of the Bible employ this name; but there +happened to be a bad Malay man owning the name of Isa, well known to the +Balows, and Mr. Chambers feared some confusion would arise in the minds +of converts in applying the same name to our Lord. It was therefore +necessary to have a meeting of the clergy to decide this and many other +religious terms to be used in hymns, catechisms, and in general +teaching, that there might be unity in the mission: it would not do to +have any divisions in the camp on such a subject. There are fifty miles +of sea to cross from the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>Sarawak River to the Batang Lupar, then a long +pull from the fort at Linga up to Banting. The journey took three nights +and two days.</p> + +<p>The mission-house at Banting is most romantically placed on the crest of +a hill overhanging the river about three hundred feet, and stands in a +grove of beautiful fruit-trees. The view from it is enchanting. The +river branches at the foot of the hill, and each branch seems to vie +with the other in the tortuousness of its course through the bright +green paddy-fields. About a mile off rises Mount Lesong<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> with a +graceful slope, about three thousand feet, and then terminates abruptly +in a rugged top. The four clergymen who met at Banting looked almost as +wild as their people—wide shady hats, long staffs, long beards, not a +shirt among the party, and but one pair of shoes, belonging to my +husband, who never could walk barefooted. They spent several days +together, and had much consultation about religious terms. The most +intelligent of the Dyak Christians were present, as it was necessary, +not only to choose words they could understand, but such as they could +easily pronounce. On Trinity Sunday there were several services in the +large room of the house, for the church was not yet built. The Lingas +sang their hymns with great energy to one of their own wild strains, but +when they heard the Lundus' melodious chant they were ashamed to sing +after them, and begged them to teach them. The Dyaks love <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>music and +verse. Mr. Gomes and Mr. Chambers wrote them hymns, and the Creed in +verse, which they readily commit to memory and understand better than +prose. Pictures are also used in their instruction: a parable or miracle +is read, then a picture of it produced and explained, the Dyaks +repeating each sentence after the teacher, to keep their attention.</p> + +<p>The baptized alone join in the Litany and Holy Communion. The afternoon +was spent in visiting the sick and giving medicine. Several women came +to the house for instruction, and seemed to take great interest in Mr. +Chambers, teaching; but it was not until Mr. Chambers was married that +any women were baptized. At breakfast the next morning came an old +chief, called Tongkat Langit—the Staff of Heaven. His son Lingire was +one of the most pleasing converts, and Tongkat was wavering—had not +leisure at present! The necessity of forswearing the practise of +head-taking deters the old men from becoming Christians: they fear to +lose influence with their tribe. The little party then fixed upon the +spot where the church should be built, a permanent bilian chancel to +which a nave could be added when the additional room was required. +Twenty-five pounds from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge +was all the money then in hand to begin with; but very soon more was +collected, and when I visited Banting in 1857 there was a lovely little +church standing on the hill overlooking the village, and surrounded by +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>beautiful trees. The walk to it from the mission-house was just like a +gentleman's park, the green sward and groups of trees with lovely peeps +of hill and valleys and winding streams between. Again in 1864 we went +to Banting, that the Bishop might consecrate the church. The nave was +then built. Every stick in the church was bilian. The white ants walked +in as soon as the workmen left. In one night they carried their covered +ways all over the inside of the roof, the walls, the beams, and rafters; +and finding nothing they could bite, they walked out again, leaving +their traces plainly marked. Since then a coloured-glass window, +representing our Lord's Resurrection, has been added at the east end of +the church; and, what is better far, the church is full of Dyak +Christians every Sunday, and from this living Church many branches have +been planted, so that the Banting Mission now includes seven stations, +where there are school-churches built by the natives themselves, and +many hundreds of Christian worshippers.</p> + +<p>In 1854, six years having passed away since a little band of Sir James +Brooke's friends founded the Borneo Church Mission, the funds of the +Society came to an end; and the mission would have collapsed also, had +not the venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign +Parts consented to become responsible for it. As the missionaries and +catechists increased in number, and fresh stations were added to the +church, they opened their arms wider to receive them, until they <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>set +apart £3000 a year for Borneo. Under their fostering care the mission +flourished, as it could not have done under the management of any +private society.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"> +<p class="center"><b>Footnotes:</b></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> <i>Lesong</i>, mortar, being mortar-shaped.</p></div> + +</div> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p> +<img src="images/l-padi2.jpg" width="500" height="113" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> +<small>A BOAT JOURNEY.</small></h3> + + +<p>Throughout the year 1852 and part of '53 my husband was much tried with +rheumatism in his knee, which made him quite lame, though he would +hobble to church on crutches, and to hospital to look after his poor +patients. Meanwhile he taught the young missionaries something of the +art of healing, dressing wounds and broken bones, and physicking the +ailments to which natives are most subject—fever, dysentery, etc. It +was quite necessary they should know something of these subjects before +they could be any use in the jungle. The first question the Dyaks asked, +if told a new missionary was coming, would always be, "Is he clever at +physic?" Medicines and simple remedies were always furnished to every +mission-station, and the Rajah supplied all the stores that were needed +for Kuching or elsewhere. We had taken a good stock with us at first, +and all sorts of surgical instruments, but the Government kept it +replenished.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>The hospital was set up when the great influx of Chinese brought numbers +of sick people to the place. A long shed was built, and twenty beds +immediately filled; but the next day, one of the patients having died, +all the others who could move ran away. They have so great a horror of a +dead body that they never suffered any one to die in their houses if +they could help it, but built a little shed for the sick man, and +visited him twice a day with food and opium while life lasted. A +separate room was therefore added for the dead. This hospital furnished +good instruction to the missionaries. It was also their duty to teach +the sick every day, and the result was that several Chinese were +baptized on their recovery. This shed was afterwards exchanged for a +long room above the fort, which was both more airy and substantial. A +dispensary was attached to it.</p> + +<p>When Mr. Chambers came from England and was able to undertake the duties +at Kuching, my husband accompanied Captain Brooke and some of the +Government officers in a tour up the Batang Lupar and Rejang Rivers. He +was very lame at the time, but had no walking to do, only now and then +to get out of his large boat and scramble up into a Dyak house. How he +managed it under the circumstances I never could imagine, for the +staircase from the water to a high Dyak house is only the trunk of a +tree with a few notches in it, and, at low tide, a case of slippery mud; +this, placed at a steep angle, without any rail, is not easy <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>climbing +for any one, but a stiff knee made it still more difficult.</p> + +<p>The object of the expedition was to make peace between certain Dyak +tribes who had long been enemies, and to build a fort on the Rejang +River, similar to Mr. Brereton's fort at Sakarran, and for the same +purpose. An Englishman named Steele was to occupy the fort with some +Malays. Captain Brooke took the <i>Jolly Bachelor</i> gunboat, and Frank +moved into it to cross the sea from the mouth of the Sarawak to the +Linga River, for the waves were high and wetted the smaller boats. When +they reached the Linga River, he was sitting one Sunday night on the +boom of the <i>Jolly</i>, enjoying the moonlight, and watching the swift rush +of the tide, which is very rapid in that river. Suddenly, the piece of +wood he was trusting to broke, and he was precipitated over the stern. +Had he fallen into the water he must have been dragged under the vessel +by the tide and drowned, but, through God's mercy, the ship's boat +(<i>Dingy</i>), which only a few minutes before was the whole length of its +painter away from the <i>Jolly</i>, swept up to it from the swing of the +vessel, and, as he fell, he caught hold of the boat and pulled himself +into it, escaping with only a bruise, when a watery bed, or the jaws of +an alligator or shark, might have received him. A shark had been +swimming round the gun-boat during Divine service that day, and an +alligator had taken a man only the day before from a boat close by. My +dear husband's comment on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>this narrow escape is, "Praise the Lord, O my +soul, and forget not all His benefits; who redeemeth thy life from +destruction, and crowneth thee with mercy and lovingkindness."</p> + +<p>The fleet waited for some days in the Linga River, while the Balow Dyaks +fetched the jars which they were to exchange with the Sakarrans as a +pledge of peace. These jars, of which every Dyak tribe possessed some, +are of unknown antiquity. There is nothing very particular in their +appearance. They are brown in colour, have handles at the sides, and +sometimes figures of dragons on them. They vary in value, but though the +Chinese have tried to imitate them, hoping to sell them to the Dyaks, +they have never deceived them: they detect a difference where no +European or Chinese eye can, and at once pronounce the Chinese jars of +no value. Yet they will not sell their own rusas or tajows for any +money, and they fancy that some of them have the property of keeping +water always sweet. If a Dyak tribe offends the law, Government fines +them so many jars, which are brought to Kuching and kept, or returned on +their good behaviour. This reminds me of the story of a little Dyak boy +who was taken prisoner in 1849. His father was killed, and the boy, +about eight years old, was brought to the Rajah. For some days the child +seemed quite happy, then he begged to speak to "Tuan Rajah," and told +him confidentially that he knew a place in the jungle where some +valuable tajows were secreted, and if he would land him <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>with some +Malays or the bank of the river, he would point out the place. The Rajah +believed the child, and the jars were found, and taken on board the +boat. Then the little boy went again to the Rajah, and bursting into +tears, said, "I have given you the riches of my tribe; in return give me +my liberty. Set me down in the jungle path, give me some food, and in +two days I shall reach my home and my mother." So the child was laden +with all he took a fancy to—a china cup, a glass tumbler, and a gay +sarong (waist-cloth), and as much food as he could carry—and we heard +afterwards that he rejoined his friends in safety.</p> + +<p>I must now return to my husband's journal. He says: "While at breakfast +this morning, one of the men told us he had seen the people with tails, +of whom we have often heard.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> They live fifteen days up a river, in +the interior of the Bruni country. It is a large river, but in some +places runs through caverns, where they can only pass on small rafts. He +was sent there by Pangeran Mumeim to get goats, as these tailed gentry +keep a great many of them. He says their tails are as long as the two +joints of the middle finger, fleshy and stiff. They must be very +inconvenient, for they are obliged to sit on logs of wood made on +purpose, or to make a hole in the earth, to accommodate their tails +before they can sit down. These people do not eat rice, but sago made +into cakes and baked in a pot. In their country, he said, was a great +stone fort, with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>nine large iron guns, of which the people can give no +account, not knowing when or by whom it was built.</p> + +<p>"After dinner, when the men sit round me and smoke my cigars, they soon +enter into conversation. We spoke a good deal to-day on the subject of +religion, the difference between Christianity and Mahometanism, and, +above all, the absurdity of their repeating the Koran, like so many +parrots, without understanding one word of what they say; and the +irreverence of addressing God in words they do not understand, so that +their hearts can take no part in their prayers. They agreed that it +would be better to learn God's law, instead of trusting merely to their +hadjis, who are often as ignorant as themselves. A respectable old Bruni +man, speaking of different races of men of various colours, said he had +visited a tribe of white people, who lived on a high hill in the +interior of the country; they were very white, and the women beautiful, +with light hair. The men dress like Dyaks, but the women wear a long +black robe, tight at the waist, and puffed out on the shoulders. The +tradition of their origin, he said, was as follows: A long, long time +ago, an old man who lived on this mountain lost himself in the jungle at +its foot, and at night, being tired, and afraid of snakes and the evil +spirits of the wood, he climbed into a tree and fell asleep. He was woke +by a noise of ravishing music, the sweetest gongs and chanangs mingling +with voices over his head. The music came <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>nearer and nearer to the +place where he was, until he heard the sweet voices under the tree, and, +looking down, beheld a large clear fountain opened, and seven beautiful +females bathing. They were all of different sizes, like the fingers on a +man's hand, and they sung as they sported in the water. The old man +watched them for some time, and thought how much he should like one of +them as a wife for his only son; but as he was afraid of descending +among them, he made a noose with a long piece of rattan, lowered it +gently, and slipping it over one of them, drew her up into the tree. She +cried out, and they all disappeared with a whirring noise. The girl he +caught was very young, and she cried sadly because she had no clothes +on; so he rolled her in a chawat (long sash), and immediately heard the +gongs at his own house, which he had thought was a long way off. He took +the child home, and she was brought up by his wife, until she was old +enough to marry their son. She was very good and sweet-tempered, and +everybody loved her. In course of time she had a son, as white as +herself. One day her husband was in a violent rage and beat her. She +implored him not to make her cry, or she should be taken away from him +and her child. But he did not heed, and at last pulled her jacket off to +beat her. Immediately another jacket was dropped with a great noise from +the sky, upon the house. She put it on, and vanished upwards, leaving +her son, who was the ancestor of the present tribe."</p> + +<p>Who would have thought of a Dyak Undine?</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>While the Malay was telling this story, the boat was waiting in a +sheltered nook of the Sakarran River for the bore to pass, before the +crew dare venture up to the fort. The bore is a great wave, twelve feet +high, which rushes up with the tide, and is succeeded by two smaller +waves. It is very dangerous to boats; but happily the natives know where +to hide while it sweeps past.</p> + +<p>When they reached Sakarran Fort it took several days to hear all the +claims the Lingas and Sakarrans had against each other. Six years +before, the Rajah had persuaded them to make peace, but they had broken +it the same day, and laid the blame upon one another. At last matters +were arranged, and a platform being made under a wide-spreading +banyan-tree, the chiefs sat round; and Captain Brooke made them a +speech, describing the evils of piracy and war, and the determination of +the Rajah that his subjects should live at peace with one another.</p> + +<p>"He then presented each chief with a jar, a spear, and a Sarawak flag, +and desired them to use the flag in their boats for the purposes of +trade. Nothing could be more picturesque than the scene. The surface of +the water was dotted over with the long serpent-like bangkongs, gaily +painted and adorned with flags and streamers of many colours, which +looked all the brighter against the solemn jungle background. Then +Gassim and Gila Brani (madly brave), on the part of the Sakarrans, and +Tongkat Langit (Staff of Heaven), the Linga chief, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>joined hands; and +each tribe killed a pig with great ceremony, and inspected the entrails +to see if the peace was good. Then they feasted and rejoiced together. +This ended, they proceeded up the Rejang River in the boats, and paddled +for four days, from twenty-five to thirty miles a day, until they came +to the Kenowit, on the banks of which the fort was to be built."</p> + +<p>The Rejang is a glorious river. It is not visited by a bore, and eighty +miles from the sea it is half a mile broad, and deep to the banks. The +flowers and fruits which grow there are a continual surprise and +pleasure—but how shall I describe the flowers of those great +woods?—not only up the Rejang, but everywhere in the old jungle. They +seldom grow on the ground, though you may sometimes come upon a huge bed +of ground orchids, but mostly climb up the trees, and hang in festoons +from the branches. One plant, the Ixora, for instance, propagating +itself undisturbed, will become a garden itself, trailing its red or +orange blossoms from bough to bough till the forest glows with colour.</p> + +<p>The Rhododendron, growing in the forks of the great branches, takes +possession of the tall trees, making them blush all over with delicate +pinks and lilacs, or deepest rose clusters. Then the orchideous plants +fix themselves in the branches, and send out long sprays of blossom of +many colours and sweetest perfume. Here the voice of the Burong boya +(crocodile-bird) may be heard, singing like an English thrush. He shakes +his wings as he sings, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>and the Malays say that from time immemorial he +has owed a large sum of money to the crocodile, who comes every year to +ask payment; then the bird, perched on a high bough out of reach of the +monster, sings, "How can I pay? I have nothing but my feathers, nothing +but my feathers!" So the crocodile goes away till next year. There are +not many singing birds in Borneo besides this thrush. The soft voices of +many doves and pigeons may always be heard, and often the curious +creaking noise made by the wings of rhinoceros hornbills as they fly +past. More musical is the voice of the Wawa monkey, a bubbling like +water running out of a narrow-necked bottle, always to be heard at early +dawn, and the sweetest of alarums. A dead stillness reigns in the jungle +by day, but at sunset every leaf almost becomes instinct with life. You +might almost fancy yourself beset by Gideon's army, when all the lamps +in the pitchers rattled and broke, and every man blew his trumpet into +your ear. It is an astounding noise certainly, and difficult to believe +that so many pipes and rattles, whirring machines and trumpets, belong +to good-sized beetles or flies, singing their evening song to the +setting sun. As the light dies away all becomes still again, unless any +marshy ground shelters frogs. But to hear all this you must go to the +old jungle, where the tall trees stand near together and shut out the +light of day, and almost the air, for there is a painful sense of +suffocation in the dense wood.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"> +<p class="center"><b>Footnotes:</b></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> This legend, though commonly reported, has never been +proved.</p></div> + +</div> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p> +<img src="images/l-radish.jpg" width="496" height="113" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER IX.<br /> +<small>CONTINUATION OF THE TRIP TO REJANG.</small></h3> + + +<p>After two days' paddling from the mouth of the Rejang, the boats arrived +at Sibou, where there is a manufactory for nepa salt. The nepa palm +grows down to the edge of the banks, which are washed by a salt tide, +and furnishes the Dyak with many necessaries.</p> + +<p>The leaves make the thatch to cover the roofs of the houses, or shelter +over their boats. Neatly fastened together with split rattans, they form +the walls of the house. From the juice of the tree they make a fermented +drink something like sweet beer, also brown sugar. The young shoots are +eaten in curries and salads. The fruit is salted or pickled. When they +have got all these good things out of it, they burn the stem of the palm +with some of the leaves, and wash the burnt ashes in water. This water +is then boiled until it is evaporated, and some black salt remains at +the bottom of the pot. It <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>tastes bitter as well as salt; but the Dyaks +prefer it to common salt, and if you ask why, they say, "It is a fat +salt." I must now return to my husband's journal. "Arrived at Kenowit. A +tribe of Milanows have been induced to settle here lately by the Rajah. +Within the last few weeks they have built two long and substantial +houses, raised thirty feet from the ground on trunks of trees, some two +feet in diameter. There are in all sixty doors, or families. The tribe +furnishes three hundred fighting men, and numbers from fifteen hundred +to two thousand.</p> + +<p>"The bachelors, as with the Dyaks, have a separate dwelling.</p> + +<p>"Tanee's tribe, who are returning to Sibou on the Rajah's promise to +build a fort at Kenowit, are of the same tribe, and number about three +hundred men. They speak the Milanow language, and have the same customs +of burial. The men and some of the women are tattooed in the most +grotesque patterns. When you look at them closely the invention +displayed is truly remarkable; but at a distance they give a dingy, +dusky appearance to the men, as if they were daubed with an inky sponge. +Nature having denied them beards, they tattoo curly locks along their +faces, always bordered by a vandyke fringe, which must task their utmost +ingenuity. Tanee, who has followed us with some of his warriors, is the +very exquisite of a Kenowit. He is made like a Hercules, and is proud of +showing his strength and agility. He piques himself <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>upon having the +best sword, of fine Kayan make and native metal, and the strongest arm +in his tribe. He sits most of the day sharpening one or another of these +swords, feeling and looking along its edge to see that the weapon is in +perfect order: then, to prove it, he seeks for a suitable block of wood, +as thick as his arm, severs it at a blow, gives a yell, and with a grin +of delight returns the weapon to its sheath. His jacket is of scarlet +satin; his long hair is confined by a gold-embroidered handkerchief; his +chawat is of fine white cloth, very long, and richly embroidered—the +ends hang down to his knees, he wears behind an apron of panther's skin, +trimmed with red cloth and alligator's teeth, and other charms; this +hangs from his loins to his knees, and always affords him a dry seat. +Tanee's boat is long, made out of one tree, like our river canoes, but +much lighter and faster. His cabin is a raised platform in the centre of +the boat, covered with a mat, and hung all round with weapons and +trophies of war—Kyan fighting-coats of bear and buffalo hides, having +head-pieces adorned with beads or shells, shields and spears all gaily +decked with Argus' feathers, or human hair dyed red.</p> + +<p>"On Sunday we moved from the boats into Palabun's house, and settled +ourselves in part of the verandah. After breakfast I doctored the sick, +and then we had the morning service, much to the surprise of the +natives, who, however, did not disturb us. They sit round us all day, +hearing and asking us questions.... Meanwhile the seven hundred men <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>who +came in the flotilla of twenty boats, were busy building the fort. First +they pulled down a temporary fort already set up by the Kenowits, and +then cut wood to erect a substantial building. Four guns were mounted on +the parapet, and there was a house inside for the Malay commandant, and +a powder magazine. All the chiefs near Kenowit were assembled when the +fort was finished, and had the same kind of address made them as at +Sakarran, praising the benefits of peaceful trade instead of the +miseries of wasteful war. They all listened with respect. That same +afternoon, dismal howlings issued from Palabun's house. His brother, who +had left him two years ago with a party of fourteen, to visit a friendly +tribe at a distance, had been treacherously murdered. He and his party +had been kindly received by their friends, and they had all gone out +together on the war-path to seek heads. It is supposed that when they +met no one, the hosts had turned on their visitors and taken their +heads, rather than return home without any. Palabun vowed vengeance, and +the whole tribe go into mourning for three months." (Bishop's Journal.)</p> + +<p>A Dyak mourning is not a becoming black costume, made "cheerful," as the +dressmakers say, by jet ornaments and bugle trimmings. It consists in +the abandonment of all ornament and their usual clothing, and the +substitution of a kind of a brown cloth made of the inside bark of +trees, which must be as rough and uncomfortable as it is ugly. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>These +people, being Milanows, have peculiar burial customs. They lay the dead +in a boat, with all his property and belongings, and send it out to sea; +for they imagine that in some way a man's possessions may be of use to +him in another world, if no one claims them on earth.</p> + +<p>"In this case there was no corpse to bury. The clothes were so disposed +on the bier as to represent a figure, and laid beside it were handsome +gold cloths and ornaments, gold buttons, krises,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> and breastplates, +and weapons of Javanese manufacture, representing some hundreds of +dollars. There were also gongs and two brass guns. Of course the fate of +such boat-loads, sent adrift in a tidal river, is generally to be +capsized and lost in the water. But if Malays encounter them they do not +hesitate to appropriate the effects. Palabun knew this, so he did not +send his brother's boat away until our fleet had departed." (Bishop's +Journal.)</p> + +<p>I remember our once meeting one of these boats. It had been caught by +branches from the bank, and swayed idly to and fro in the stream. We +could only see a heap of coloured clothes inside it, but there was a +weird, ghastly look about the boat which made us shudder. An unburied +corpse, left to the winds and waves, without a prayer or a blessing! how +could it be otherwise? Even if we could delude ourselves into fancying +the Dyaks happy during their lives without Christianity, there can be no +doubt of their being miserable when <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>death comes. They all believe dimly +in a future state, but their dread of spirits is so great that they can +have no ideas of happiness unconnected with their bodies. "Having no +hope, and without God in the world," describes the mental state of a +heathen Dyak. In 1856, we were living for a few weeks on a hill called +Peninjauh, some miles from Kuching, where the Rajah had built a cottage +as a sanitarium after illness. The cool freshness of the mountain air, +and the glorious view from See-afar Cottage, were indeed conducive to +health. On the hillsides lived several villages of Land Dyaks, and I had +a woman as nurse to my baby who belonged to one of these villages. The +cholera was in the country at that time, and three men had died of the +Sebumban Dyaks. Every night the most mournful wailing arose above the +trees—a sad sound indeed, rising and falling on the wind as the friends +of the dead walked all through the jungle paths near their homes, now +near to our cottage, now far off. One night I found my little ayah +seated in the nursery when she ought to have been in the cook-house +getting her supper. "What is the matter, Nina? Are you ill, that you are +eating no supper?" "No, I am not ill, but I dare not go to the +cook-house to-night." "Why?" "I fear to meet the spirits who are abroad +to-night in the jungle." "The spirits of the dead men?" "No, the spirits +who come to fetch them." After three days the bodies of these Dyaks were +burnt, for this was the custom of the Sebumbans. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>dead man is laid +on a pile of wood, and they all sit round watching. Nina said, that when +the fire has burnt some time the dead man sits up for a moment, +whereupon they all burst into renewed waitings of sorrow and farewell. I +am told that the heat swelling the sinews of the dead body may cause +this curious phenomenon; but could there be a more mournful, hopeless +story of death?</p> + +<p>It is a relief to return to the party on the Rejang River. They were +much entertained one day with a war-dance between two warriors, which +was a graphic pantomime of their customs. "The two men appeared fully +armed, and were supposed to be each alone on the war-path, looking out +for a head. They moved to the beat of native drums, and seemed to be +going through all the motions of looking out for an enemy, pulling out +the ranjows (sharp pieces of cane stuck in the earth, point upwards, to +lame an enemy). At length they descried one another, danced defiance, +and, flourishing swords and shields, commenced the attack. The +nimbleness with which they parried every stroke of the sword, and +covered their bodies with their shields, was remarkable. In real combat, +to strike the shield is certain death, because the sword sticks in the +wood and cannot be withdrawn in time to prevent the other man from using +his sword. After a time, one of the combatants fell wounded, and covered +his body with his shield. The other danced round him triumphantly, and +with one blow pretended to cut off his head; then, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>head in hand, he +capered with the wildest gestures, expressive of the very ecstasy of +savage delight But, on looking at his trophy closely, he recognized the +features of a friend, and, smitten with remorse, he replaced the head +with much solicitude. Then, moving with a slow, measured tread, he wept, +and with many sighs of grief adjusted the head with much care, caught +rain in his shield and poured it over the body; then rubbed and shook +the limbs, which by degrees became alive by his mesmeric-like passings +and chafings from the feet upwards. Each limb as it revived beat time to +the music, first faintly, then with more vigour, till it came to the +head; and when that nodded satisfactorily, and the whole body of his +friend was in motion, he gave him a few extra shakes, lifted him on his +legs, and the scene concluded by their dancing merrily together." +(Bishop's Journal.)</p> + +<p>Captain Brooke and my husband were a month away on this expedition. They +would have liked to pay a visit to Kum Nepa, a Kyan chief, who lived +much farther up the river,—six days in a fast Kyan boat, said the +Dyaks, ten days in the boats our friends had with them. But Kum Nepa had +just lost two children from small-pox, and, according to their custom, +he and all his tribe had left their houses and taken to the jungle. The +Dyaks dread small-pox to such a degree that, when it appears, they +neglect all their usual occupation. The seed is left unsown, the paddy +unreaped; they leave the sick to die untended, and support <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>themselves +in the jungle upon wild fruits and roots, until the scourge has passed +away.</p> + +<p>From the time we lived at Sarawak a continual effort was made to +introduce vaccination. It was difficult to get lymph in good order at so +distant a place; the sea voyage often rendered it useless. The other +difficulty was made by the Malays, who inoculated for small-pox; and, as +they charged the Dyaks a rupee a head for inoculating them, made it +answer pecuniarily. Some who were adepts in the art went about the +country inoculating until they caused quite an epidemic of small-pox. +Now, I believe, the Dyaks have learnt from experience the superior +advantages of vaccination, and, by a late <i>Sarawak Gazette</i>, I gather +that it is one of the duties of a Resident among the tribes up country +to vaccinate his people as well as to judge them wisely.</p> + +<p>When the guns were mounted at the fort, and a garrison of seventy men, +under Abong Duraup, settled there to guard it, the fleet left the Rejang +to return to Sarawak. Captain Brooke had persuaded Palabun to give up +his ideas of retaliation for his brother's death, on condition that the +Kapuas people who killed him should give satisfaction. The last +afternoon was devoted to doctoring the sick and giving them a stock of +remedies. One poor man had nearly recovered his eyesight during the week +he had been under treatment. So the Sarawak flag was hoisted at the fort +and saluted, and after some good advice and renewed promises <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>from the +Sakarrans and Kenowits, the boats pulled away to the <i>Jolly Bachelor</i>, +which had been left at the Serikei River; and a few days afterwards we +heard gongs and boat music on the river, and my servant Quangho running +into my room called out, "Our Tuan is coming," so we all went down to +the stone wharf and welcomed them home. The lameness which had so long +hindered my husband from moving about, did not yield to any remedies we +applied, and at last we went to Singapore for medical advice. The +doctors there sent their patient to China for a cold season, and he +spent six weeks at Hongkong with the Bishop of Victoria, and at Canton +with other friends, to the advantage of his knee. Afterwards we went +together to Malacca, where there was a hot spring bubbling up in a +field. Into this spring we put a large tub; and there, in the early +morning, Frank used to sit, with no neighbours but the snipe feeding in +the field, and, as he had his gun by his side, he occasionally shot some +game for breakfast.</p> + +<p>In 1853 we went home. My health was very much broken, and my husband was +called to England by the necessary transfer of the mission from the +Borneo Mission Society, whose funds came to an end, to the venerable +Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, who kindly adopted us. We +arrived at Southampton one grey November day. I wondered to see the sky +so near the earth, and the trees almost like shrubs in height compared +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>to our Eastern forests. But it was sweet to hear the children speaking +English in the streets, and their fair rosy faces were refreshing +indeed. I never thought our school-children plain when we were at +Sarawak, but the contrast was certainly very great when we looked about +us in England.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"> +<p class="center"><b>Footnotes:</b></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> A kris is a Malay dagger.</p></div> + +</div> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-sun.jpg" width="150" height="115" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<h2>PART II.</h2> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-loops.jpg" width="500" height="94" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER X.<br /> +<small>RETURN TO SARAWAK.</small></h3> + + +<p>In 1854, after eighteen months' stay in England, during which time my +husband worked as deputation for the Society for the Propagation of the +Gospel, we returned to Sarawak, <i>via</i> Calcutta, in one of Green's sailing +vessels, for we were too large a party to afford the overland route.</p> + +<p>Besides ourselves and our baby, we had two young ladies who wished to +try and teach the Malay women in their homes, and to help with the +day-scholars at the mission-house. Only one of these ladies reached +Sarawak; the other left us at Calcutta, and married there eventually. +The Rev. J. Grayling and Mr. Owen, a schoolmaster, also went with us, +and a young friend who was put under my charge, and lived with us for +some years on account of his health.</p> + +<p>For nurse I had an old Malay woman who had taken some children to +England from Singapore, and wanted to return. She was a capital sailor,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> +and always able to carry Mab about however rough the sea was. Nothing +could exceed her devotion to the child, but she had contracted a bad +habit of always sharing the sailor's grog by day, and requiring a +tumbler of hot gin and water before she went to bed. This was a great +trouble to me, but I never saw her tipsy till we were staying at the +Bishop's palace at Calcutta. Ayah, having been in the bazaar buying +presents for her children, was brought back lying senseless in a +palanquin. The Bishop, who was in the hall when the bearers set the +palanquin down, exclaimed, "Oh! that woman has cholera! take her away."</p> + +<p>However, she was kindly cared for by the servants, and appeared the next +day without any shame, bringing "a toy for missy." All my lecture was +quite thrown away—she "had only taken a glass of grog in the bazaar, and +they had put bang into it, so of course it made her insensible; but it +was no fault of hers." This curious old woman was a Mahometan, therefore +her tipsiness was inexcusable. She practised the habit of alms-giving, +however, not only with her own money but mine. She used to say I did +nothing in that way for the salvation of my soul, and, as she loved me, +she must do it for me. I remember seeing a beggar-woman with twin +babies, who used to sit in the streets of Kensington with Mab's bonnets +on the babies' heads. Ayah gave them for my sake. Indeed, she was +notorious in Kensington, because she could not resist treating boys to +ginger-beer,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> and I sometimes had the mortification of seeing Ayah with +a small crowd at her heels, and my baby kissing her little hands to them +as Ayah desired her.</p> + +<p>We only spent a week in Calcutta. The object of our going there was that +the Bishop, in conjunction with Bishop Dealtry of Madras, and Bishop +Smith of Victoria, should consecrate my husband Bishop of Labuan; but +the Bishops had not reached Calcutta, and their arrival was uncertain. +We were anxious to get to Sarawak, and could not wait for them; so it +was decided that Frank should return by himself in the autumn, and we +should proceed as quickly as we could. Sad news reached us from Kuching. +Our dear friend Willie Brereton, who had done so much for the Sakarran +Dyaks, was dead of dysentery. There was no medical man when my husband +was away.</p> + +<p>Our Rajah had been very dangerously ill of small-pox, and had only a +Malay doctor, who was devoted but ignorant. Happily Mr. Horsburgh, with +medical books to aid him, came to the rescue in time, but the return of +the physician of soul and body was much desired. I see, by my journal, +that after a weary passage of twenty-four days in a sailing vessel from +Singapore, we reached Sarawak on the 25th of April. Mr. Horsburgh came +to fetch us from the mouth of the river in the Siam boat, a long boat +with a house in it, which the Rajah brought with him from Siam after his +embassy to that country. Mr. Horsburgh told us that all the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> chief +Government officers were away, looking for Lanun pirates on the coast; +but we had plenty of kind greetings from the Christian Chinese, who came +about us in the bazaar, and all the school-children came running down +the hill with Mrs. Stahl, who almost screamed for joy at our return. The +house looked nicer than ever, for the trees had grown up about it, and I +felt most vividly that this was our chosen home, endeared to us by many +sorrows, but the place where we had received much blessing from God, and +where our work lay, and perhaps some day its reward, in the Church +gathered from the heathen into Christ's fold. We were not long alone; +the next day Mr. Chambers arrived from Banting with a party of seven +baptized Dyaks.</p> + +<p>We had brought all sorts of beautiful things from England for the +Church. A carpet to lay before the altar, a new altar-cloth, also +painted shields for the roof. Our friends in England had furnished us +with a box of clothes for the Dyaks, cotton trousers and jackets, and +gay handkerchiefs for their heads. We always dressed the Christians for +baptism—it was a sign of the new life they professed at the font; but +we did not expect them to wear clothes generally, except their own +chawats, nor was it to be desired until they knew how to wash them. We +had also brought a beautiful magic lantern with a dissolving-view +apparatus for our people's amusement and instruction, for some of the +slides were painted by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> Miss Rigaud to illustrate the life of our Lord, +and there were many astronomical slides also. All these treasures +brought us numerous visitors. The Chinese Christians were all invited to +a feast at our house, after which the magic lantern was exhibited, and +we were glad to find that our school-children could explain all the +Scripture slides quite correctly.</p> + +<p>Mr. Horsburgh accompanied Mr. Chambers to Banting that day, to assist +him in his work for the Balow Dyaks; and soon after, Mr. Gomes arrived +from Lundu with a large party of men and boys; but I have already +described their visit. My dear husband went off to Calcutta again in +September, and was consecrated Bishop of Labuan on St. Luke's Day, +October 18, 1855. Sir James Brooke added Sarawak to his diocese and +title on his return; indeed, the small island of Labuan, no larger than +the Isle of Wight, was only the English title to a bishopric which was +then almost entirely a missionary one. The Straits Settlements, +including Singapore, Penang, and Malacca, were then under the Government +of India, and Labuan was the only spot of land under the immediate +control of the Colonial Office. The Bishop of Calcutta would, from the +first, have been glad to part with so distant a portion of his then +unwieldy diocese, but it could not at that time be effected. As soon as +the Straits Settlements were passed over to the Queen's Government, the +Bishop of Labuan became virtually the Bishop of the Straits,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> and, even +long before that, performed all episcopal functions in those +settlements; but the title has only lately been altered.</p> + +<p>As I was not present at my husband's consecration, I cannot do better +than transcribe good Bishop Wilson's letter to the venerable society +(S.P.G.), describing the ceremony.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p class="sigblock"><small>Calcutta, Bishop's Palace, October 22, 1855.</small></p> + +<p>Thank God, the consecration took place with complete success on +Thursday, October 18th, St. Luke's Day. The Bishop elect +arrived some days before, the Bishop of Victoria on the 16th, +and Bishop Dealtry (of Madras) on the 17th. The crowded +cathedral marked the interest which was excited. We sent out +two hundred printed invitations to gentry, besides requesting +the clergy to attend in their robes. There were more than eight +hundred jammed into the cathedral, and hundreds could not gain +admittance. The clergy were thirty. After morning prayer the +assistant bishops conducted the elect Bishop to the vestry, +where, having attired himself in his rochet, he was presented +to me when seated near the Communion table. Her Majesty's +mandate was then read, and the commission of his Grace the +Archbishop of Canterbury. The several oaths were next duly +administered by the registrar of the diocese. The Litany was +devoutly read by the Bishop of Madras, and afterwards the +examination of the candidate took place. I should have said +that the sermon followed<span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> the Nicene Creed. It was by the +Bishop of Madras, the text being taken from 2 Tim. i. 6, 7:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot" style="font-size: 100%;"><p>"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift +of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God +hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of +love, and of a sound mind."</p></div> + +<p>The Bishop has consented at my request to print the discourse, which I +shall have the pleasure of sending copies of for the Archbishop and +yourself, I was gratified at observing that the text is taken from the +solemn words used at the very act itself of consecration. After the +examination, the Bishop returned to the vestry to put on the rest of the +episcopal dress; and as the vestry in the cathedral is at the west end +of the building, he had to pass down the one hundred and twenty feet +conducting to it, with the eyes and hearts of the congregation fixed +upon him with wonder and pleasure. On his return, the "Veni, Creator +Spiritus" was sung, each alternate line being answered by the Bishops +and clergy, with the accompaniment of our fine organ. After the +appointed prayers, which are directed to follow this hymn, the +imposition of hands took place, and the words of the consecration +pronounced by myself as presiding metropolitan. The Bible was next +placed in his hands, with the admirable exhortation prescribed—an +exhortation which I think incomparable and almost inspired, as indeed +the whole service is. The collection at the offertory was made for the<span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> +Sarawak Mission, and above five hundred C. rupees collected. The whole +service concluded with the Holy Communion of the body and blood of +Christ.</p> + +<p>The new Bishop preached at St. Thomas's Church on Sunday, the 21st, for +his mission; and a single gentleman contributed one thousand C. rupees. +He will preach at the cathedral on the 28th, when something more will be +gathered. The Bishop of Madras has presented the four hundred rupees of +his voyage expenses, from Madras to Calcutta and back, to the same +blessed cause. I have had three breakfast parties (for I don't give +dinners) to meet the Bishop, of about forty each, on the day after the +consecration, and on Saturday, and this morning, and the addresses made +by Bishops Dealtry and Smith were most warmly received. Thus has this +great occasion passed off—the first consecration, I believe, that has +ever taken place out of England since the glorious Reformation, and +perhaps the first missionary Bishop sent out by our Church; unless the +Bishop of Mauritius may be considered as having preceded him.</p> + +<p>It was, indeed, a singular event that four Protestant Bishops should +meet in the heart of heathen India, amidst one hundred and fifty +millions of idolaters and worshippers of the false Prophet.</p> + +<p>God be praised for this completion of episcopal functions in India!</p> + +<p class="sigblock"><span class="smcap">Daniel Calcutta.</span></p></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>I must add to this graphic letter a note which the venerable Bishop +wrote to my husband, November 6th of the same year.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p class="sigblock"><small>Tennasarim, Bishop's Cabin.</small></p> + +<p><span class="smcap">My Beloved Rev. Bishop of Labuan,</span></p> + +<p>Whether to write to you by the pilot or not I can hardly tell. +However, I am so anxious for your beginning well at Singapore +and Sarawak, and so responsible also from having consecrated +you to the Lord, that I must write. I have taken the liberty +with you which Mr. Cecil took with me in 1801, to caution you, +now you are a chief pastor and a father in God, against +excessive hilarity of spirits. There is a mild gravity, with +occasional tokens of delight and pleasure, becoming your sacred +character, not noisy mirth.</p> + +<p>I met with a letter of a minister, now with God, to a brother +minister, who was about to take his duty for a time, which I +think will give you pleasure. "Take heed to <i>thyself</i>; your own +soul is your first and greatest concern. You know that a sound +body alone can work with power; much more a healthy soul. Keep +a clear conscience through the blood of the Lamb. Keep up close +communion with God. Study likeness to Him in all things. Read +the Bible for your own growth first, then for your people. +Expound much; it is through the truth that souls are to be +sanctified, not through essays upon the truth. You will not +find many companions; be the more with God. Be of good<span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> +courage, there remaineth much land to be possessed. Be not +dismayed, for Christ shall be with you to deliver you. I am +often sore cast down; but the Eternal God is my refuge. Now +farewell; the Lord make you a faithful steward." If we do not +meet again in the flesh, may we meet, never to part, before the +throne of the Great Redeemer!</p> + +<p class="sigblock" style="margin-right: 15%">I am your affectionate</p> + +<p class="sigblock" style="margin-top: 0.75em;"><span class="smcap">D. Calcutta.</span></p></div> + +<p>After my husband's consecration, he undertook a confirmation tour for +Bishop Wilson, at the mission stations around Calcutta. He also +consecrated a church at Midnapore in South Bengal. In December, after +four month's absence, he returned to Sarawak.</p> + +<p>Our party in the mission-house during his absence consisted of a +chaplain, a missionary lady learning Malay and teaching the girls' +school, our young friend Mr. Grant, myself, and baby Mab. The days ran +along a smooth groove, although we had all plenty to do. Up early in the +morning, then a walk, and service in church at seven. After prayers some +hours' teaching and learning before midday bath and breakfast. The +afternoon was a more lazy time, though the hum of school went on +continuously, while we did our sewing and reading in the coolest corners +we could find. The new school-house, in which all the boys, the Stahls, +and Mr. Owen, the schoolmaster, lived, was near enough to the +mission-house for us to know the hour<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> of the day by the lesson going on +at the time; for all the younger boys repeated their multiplication +tables in a loud voice together (in Malay), also their Chinese reading; +then came the singing, rounds and part-songs, the most popular lesson of +all. At four o'clock the school broke up. The children amused themselves +as English boys do. There was a season for marbles, for hop-scotch, for +tops, and for kites. Above all, do Chinese children love kites, and are +most ingenious in making them. They cut thin paper into the shapes of +birds, fish, or butterflies, and stretch it over thin slips of the spine +of the cocoa-nut leaf, then they ornament it with bits of red or blue +paper, and fasten it together with a pinch of boiled rice. The string is +the most expensive part, and two pennyworth lasts many kites, for they +are very frail affairs, and in that land of trees do not long escape +being caught, though they fly beautifully. Miss J—— had a cockatoo +which amused her and the little girls during sewing-class. He was a +beautiful bird with a rosy crest, but extremely mischievous. To sharpen +his beak he notched all the Venetian shutters in the verandahs; and if +he spied a looking-glass, flew at it in a rage and broke it: fortunately +there were no large mirrors in the house. These birds look very pretty +perching in the trees, and this one became tame enough to be trusted out +of doors, but they are bad inmates.</p> + +<p>We had also a chicken-yard for Alan's amusement, and great were our +difficulties in preserving the nests from rats, who ate the eggs. If we +placed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> the nests on a high shelf, these creatures managed to shove the +eggs out of the nests so that they fell broken on the floor all ready +for their supper. At last we circumvented them by slinging the nests by +long rattans from the roof.</p> + +<p>At five o'clock another short service took place in church. In the +evening we read aloud to one another, while the rest sewed or drew.</p> + +<p>This tranquil, even monotonous life was very much to my taste in my +husband's absence, but after a few weeks it was disturbed by sad trials. +First, the chaplain had a sunstroke, and fell out with the climate, the +place, and some members of our little society; so he went to Singapore, +and from thence to England. When we were recovering from this blow, and +had again settled down into our usual ways, a worse trial befell me.</p> + +<p>One morning Miss J—— did not appear at early breakfast, and little +Mary, who waited upon her in her room, said she was sound asleep and did +not wake when she opened the shutters. I thought nothing of it at first, +for Miss J—— sometimes sat up late at night; but an hour afterwards, I +went into her room and looked at her. Her breathing was so laboured I +thought she was in a fit; and first I tried to put leeches on her +temples, but they would not bite, and we resolved to carry her into the +fresh breeze in the verandah, for the air of the room seemed laden with +something close and stifling. When I threw back the covering of the bed, +I perceived that the veins of both arms had been cut,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> and a few drops +of blood stained her night-dress; also there was a small empty bottle in +the bed with "Laudanum" on its label. The terrible truth was +evident—she had taken poison and tried to bleed herself to death! +Probably the action of the laudanum prevented any flow of blood, yet the +few drops may have relieved the brain. The horror of this discovery +nearly deprived me of my senses; but there was no time for +lamentation—she was not dead, thank God, and all our efforts must be +used to restore her to life. We were very ignorant, but we did all we +could think of. There was no doctor to apply to, only the chemist who +served the dispensary. He gave medicine which was certainly very strong, +and we put mustard plasters on her legs. By the evening she was sensible +enough to take some food, but for a week there was serious illness, and +it was a long time before I could ask my poor friend why she had done +this thing. She had left me a letter to read in the event of her death, +but of course I never read it. We were very much together, but I had not +thought her unhappy; indeed the only reason she ever gave me for so +hating her life was, that she could not learn Malay, and did not think +she should be any use as a missionary. This despondency was known to me, +but I had no idea it cut so deep. Miss J—— had a great deal of quiet +fun—she often amused us by her clever and somewhat caustic remarks. But +Sarawak was too monotonous a life for her. When, some weeks afterwards, +she had quite regained<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> the balance of her mind, she went to Singapore, +and became a very useful member of society for many years before she +died. I never felt that I could judge her, for I had so much more to +occupy my mind and interest my heart than my companion. There was baby +in the first place, and the responsibilities of the school and mission +naturally fell to my share. No doubt it requires an even temperament to +live contentedly without society, and with only such excitement as daily +duties and the beauties of nature afford. Yet these are full of infinite +happiness, and we were not without friends, although we had no company: +the little party at Government House, as it was then called, were very +agreeable and uniformly kind. It is, however, a common mistake to +imagine that the life of a missionary is an exciting one. On the +contrary, its trial lies in its monotony. The uneventful day, mapped out +into hours of teaching and study, sleep, exercise, and religious duties; +the constant society of natives whose minds are like those of children, +and who do not sympathize with your English ideas; the sameness of the +climate, which even precludes discourse about the weather,—all this, +added to the distance from relations and friends at home, combined with +the enervating effects of a hot climate, causes heaviness of spirits and +despondency to single men and women. Married people have not the same +excuse; for besides duty and nature, they have "one friend who loves +them best," and that ought to be enough for the most<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> exacting +temperament. I say nothing about the comforts of religion—they are the +portion of all, married or single; still some spirits become so +sensitive in solitude that they are not able to take the cheerful side, +even of their relation to their Heavenly Father, and these are generally +the most reserved to their companions. I am glad to find that +missionaries are now seldom sent alone to any station, and women are +more often associated in sisterhoods for mission work under our colonial +Bishops, so that they have the society and sympathy of English ladies +after the toils of the day. I felt much discouraged after Miss J—— +left me, and afraid of urging any one to follow in her place; but at +last a cousin of my husband's came out to us, and as she enjoyed the +climate, and delighted in the place and people, declaring that she had +never been more happy in her life than with us, I consoled myself that +it was not all the fault of Sarawak and the mission-house that poor Miss +J—— could not live there.</p> + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span></p> +<img src="images/l-ferns.jpg" width="500" height="93" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3 style="margin-bottom: 0em;">CHAPTER XI.<br /> +<small>CHINESE INSURRECTION.</small></h3> + +<div class="poem" style="margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 2.4em;"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poem"> +<tr><td class="tdstanza"> +<span class="i0">"Mortal! if life smile on thee, and thou find<br /></span> +<span class="i4">All to thy mind,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Think, Who did once to earth from heaven descend<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Thee to befriend;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So shalt thou dare forego, at His dear call,<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Thy life, thine all."<br /></span> +</td></tr> +</table> +</div> + +<p>These lines were most applicable to us during the year 1856. It was such +rest and peace when our Bishop returned from Calcutta and soothed all +the griefs and heartburnings we had suffered the four months he was +away. Then ensued the performance of his new episcopal duties. Mr. Gomes +was ordained priest in March. Confirmations took place, of our elder +school-children, who were all baptized when they first came to us; also +many Chinese Christians too, who had long attended the Bible classes at +the mission-house and stood firm to their baptismal vows. In April we +had another baby girl; and soon after, the Bishop went to Labuan, to +arrange about a church being built there. Unfortunately<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> he caught fever +at Labuan; which declared itself at Singapore on his return. We were +both very ill, and glad of doctors' advice at Singapore; but Labuan +fever returns again and again, though in a slighter form after a while, +and was for years a constant trial to the Bishop's strength. When we +returned to Sarawak in October, our party was increased. Mr. and Mrs. +Crookshank had come out from England—she a bride, and quite a new +element of youth and beauty for Sarawak. A lady friend and her child and +nurse also came on a long visit to us, the air of Sarawak being +considered quite a tonic compared to the sea-breeze at Singapore, which +was at times visited by a hot wind from Java. Very pleasant days +followed our return home. Mrs. Harvey and I, with our children, went for +a month to "See-afar" Cottage on the hill of Serambo. I have already +mentioned this little house, built by Sir James Brooke as a sanitarium +after his attack of small-pox. The only objection to it was, that it was +built in the region of clouds: had the hill been five hundred feet +higher we should have had the clouds below us, as they are on Penang +Hill. The path up the mountain—if path it can be called—is almost a +staircase of tumbled rocks, and requires both strength and agility to +climb. It was quite beyond me; but I was carried on a man's back, +sitting on a bit of plank, with a strip of cloth fastened round my waist +and across the man's forehead, my back to his back. The Dyaks are famous +mountaineers,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> their bare feet cling to the stones, or notched trunks of +trees thrown from one rock to another. I never felt unsafe on my Dyak +friend's back, and he used to laugh when I proposed his setting me down +and taking a rest, and say, "You are not as heavy as a basket of durian +fruit." These Dyaks have beautiful groves of fruit-trees, and make a +good purse in the fruit season by bringing down durians, mangosteen and +lansat fruit to sell at Kuching. They also carry all their harvest of +paddy up the mountain to their rice-stores in the villages, so they are +used to heavy weights.</p> + +<p>We took a stock of provisions up with us, fowls and ducks, a goat and +her kid, etc., and all the bedding we wanted, for of course there was +not much furniture in the cottage. Our first night was unfortunate. We +had settled ourselves in the rooms, had our supper, and were about to go +to bed, when the servants ran out of the cook-house, which was a +stone's-throw from the cottage, crying out, "Fire!" and in a few minutes +we saw it wrapped in flames. Of course a house built of sticks and +leaves does not take long to burn down to the ground, but we were +distressed to hear the bleatings of the little kid which could not be +got out in time. The ducks, too, were still in the long basket coop in +which they were carried up, and were literally roasted in their feathers +before anybody remembered them. A large party of Dyaks were on the spot +directly they saw the flames, and they did good service by throwing +water on the roof of the cottage, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> watching lest the thatch should +catch. In the morning they discovered the burnt ducks, and ate them up +with much relish, for a Dyak likes the flavour of burnt feathers. The +next day the cook-house was rebuilt. These native huts look so clean and +fresh when first put up, the straw-coloured attap<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> walls and green +leaf roofs are so agreeable to the eye. They quickly turn hay colour and +then get discoloured by the wood smoke. Except that we were at times +rather short of food, we enjoyed our mountain retreat very much. The +bath was a remarkable feature—a natural stone basin, under the shadow +of a great rock, fed by the clearest streamlet and sheltered from view +by a heavy bit of curtain, was our bathing-place. We carried a little +leaf bucket and our towels in our hands, and while we poured the fresh +water over our heads we could now and then stop to look at the great +expanse of plain and forest, with silver rivers winding amidst them, and +blue smoke stealing up here and there to mark a Dyak village. There was, +however, a particular rock on the spur of the mountain from whence we +always watched the sun set; there was a much wider view from thence. The +sea lay on the horizon, and the pointed mountain of Santubong stood on +the plain, with other ranges of hills far away. I fear we did little +else but watch the glories of earth and sky at that time, and look after +our children, who could not be trusted alone a minute on those steep +paths.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>Meanwhile the Bishop was paying a visit to Lundu in his new life-boat, a +boat of about twenty-eight feet, with a little covered house in it, and +water-tight compartments in the bow and stern to keep her afloat. She +was well named, for even in this first voyage she saved the lives of her +passengers. From the coast at Santubong you see blue hills far away to +the west, which lie in the Lundu country. The sea runs very high, in the +north-cast monsoon, between the mouths of these two rivers, the Sarawak +and Lundu; and on this occasion the waves on their return from Lundu +were fearful. Seven great waves like green hills advanced one after +another. The Malay crew prayed aloud with terror. Stahl and the Bishop +steered the boat and held their breaths. It looked like rushing into the +jaws of death, but the life-boat mounted the big waves one after +another, sometimes shuddering with the strain, but buoyant and stiff. +The danger past, the crew praised Allah and the good boat; and they, as +well as Stahl who had behaved so well at the time of danger, fell into a +fit of ague from the nervous shock. We knew on the top of the hill that +a fearful storm was raging, but we did not see the white boat flying +like a bird over the seven great rollers, or there would have been no +sleep for us that night. The crew never forgot it, nor the calm pluck of +their steersman the Bishop. I must confess that an attack of fever was +the result of all this exertion when he joined us on the hill.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>The rest of the year 1856 passed away quietly. We were all looking +forward to an event which was to improve the English society of the +place very much. The Rajah's nephew, Captain Brooke, was bringing out a +bride; and her brother, Mr. Charles Grant, another. These four young +people were expected in the early spring of 1857, and the Rajah was +refurnishing his bungalow to receive these additions to his family. A +new piano had arrived, and all sorts of pretty things, to brighten up +the cool dark rooms of Government House. Mr. and Mrs. Crookshank were +preparing a house for themselves also; and all their boxes, which had +remained unopened while they lived with the Rajah, were moved up to +their bungalow. Little did we think that all these treasures would be +burnt before they were even unpacked!</p> + +<p>The Chinese gold-workers of Bau and Seniawan had long given more or less +trouble to the Sarawak Government. They were governed by their own +self-elected kunsi (magistrates), and recognized their fealty to Sarawak +only by the payment of a small tax on the gold they washed from the +soil. They sent the gold away to China, and habitually cheated as to the +quantity obtained. They also smuggled opium from the Dutch settlement of +Sambas, thus defrauding Government of revenue. Worse than all this, they +introduced secret societies, or hui, among themselves, and threatened to +rebel if any of their kunsi were punished for breaking the laws of the +country. At Christmas, 1856, they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> boasted they could demolish Kuching +in one night, if they chose; and that a new Joss House they were +building there should furnish them with a pretext to gather by hundreds +to set the Joss in his temple, and possess themselves of the place and +the Europeans who lived there. These uncomfortable rumours seemed to +have some foundation when a new road was discovered which the Chinese +had made between Bau and Seniawan, another settlement nearer to Kuching. +Mr. Crookshank, who was in charge of the Government, sent word to Mr. +Johnson, who immediately came from Sakarran with a fleet of Dyaks, +delighted to have a chance of fighting the Chinese, and carrying plenty +of heads back to their homes. At the same time a gun-boat was stationed +on the river to prevent any communication between Bau and Kuching. Upon +this the kunsi came very humbly and begged pardon, declared the whole +story was a fabrication, and that they never intended mischief. We only +half believed them, but the Dyaks were dismissed, and unfortunately the +gun-boat no longer kept watch on the river. Our Christian Chinese +teacher "Sing-Song," was of the Kay tribe, the same as the Bau people, +and once a month he went there to teach his countrymen. There were a few +Christians among them. One, a goldsmith, did his best to let us know +that danger was impending, but the kunsi suspected him, and put him in +prison; we were therefore quite unprepared for what took place. On the +17th of February, three Chinese kunsi were flogged by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> order of the +court at Kuching, for taking the law into their own hands, and seizing a +runaway prisoner, as well as the captain of the boat in which she +absconded, although he was not guilty of hiding her. This seems to have +put the finishing touch to the factious state of feeling at Bau. The +Rajah and the Bishop had determined to take a trip together on the 15th, +in the life-boat, to Sadong, and from thence to Linga and Sakarran. The +Rajah had been ailing for some time, and we hoped this little voyage +would do him good. We prepared all the provisions for this trip: bread +and rusks were made, salt meat was cooked, and everything was ready +packed in the provision baskets (this was of great importance to us +afterwards). That evening we all met out walking, on the only +riding-road there was in those days. Rajah spoke to the school-children, +and we all amused ourselves with the little Middletons, boys of four and +five, strutting along with turbaned hats and long walking-sticks. It was +a dull evening, and we all felt unaccountably gloomy. We fancied it was +because Rajah was not well enough to come and dine with us, as he had +purposed in the morning; but during dinner I remembered afterwards that +the Bishop said, "If any sudden alarm were to take place to-night it +would rouse him and make him all right."</p> + +<p>We certainly went to bed without expecting anything to happen, but, +about twelve o'clock, we were roused by shouts and screams, and the +firing of guns. We got up and looked out. The Rajah's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> bungalow was in +flames across the river. On our side the Middletons' house was burning, +and Mr. Crookshank's new house, a little way up the road, was soon after +on fire. The most horrid noises filled the air, there was evidently +fighting going on at the two forts at either end of the town by the +river's side. We knew there were very few defenders at either of these +two forts, and that they would soon be taken; for by this time we were +sure it must be the Chinese miners who had fulfilled their threat to +take the town. We thought, "When the forts are taken they will come to +us." Presently the brothers, William and John Channon, who lived near +us, came to our house, bringing their wives and children for shelter. +They brought news that the fort near their houses was taken and burnt, +and they dare not stay in their own cottages, as they were Government +servants, and would be obnoxious to the rebels.</p> + +<p>We took our children out of bed and dressed them, and then we all went +down to the school-house, from whence we could see the burning houses +and hear what was going on in the town. A Chinaman came up from the +bazaar, begging us not to go to them for shelter, for they had been +warned by the kunsi not to harbour any English people, and they dared +not take us in. Poor creatures, they were in terror for themselves, as +they were not of the same tribe of Chinese as the Bau people. What +should we do?</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="burning" id="burning"></a> +<img src="images/burning.jpg" width="398" height="600" alt="houses burning" /> +<div class="cap"> +<p class="caption">WE ALL WENT DOWN TO THE SCHOOL-HOUSE, FROM WHENCE WE +COULD SEE THE BURNING HOUSES.</p> +<p class="capright"><i>Page</i> <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p>We were so large a party, and had so many <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>children amongst us, that we +did not venture to hide in the jungle: the night was quite dark and we +might lose one another. Then the Bishop said, "We cannot make any +resistance: we will hide away the guns we have in the house, and unite +in prayer to God." So we all knelt round him while he commended us to +the mercy of our Heavenly Father, and prayed for all our dear friends +who were exposed to the fury of the Chinese. Then we sat and waited. +Miss Woolley, who had only been three months in Sarawak, read aloud a +psalm from time to time to comfort us; but the hours seemed very long. +At five o'clock in the morning the kunsi, having possessed themselves of +the Chinese town, sent us word that they did not mean to harm us—"the +Bishop was a good man and cared for the Chinese," but he must go down to +the hospital and attend to their wounded. Then came the welcome news +that the Rajah had escaped, and Mr. Crookshank and Middleton—the three +people whom the Chinese most desired to kill, for the one was chief +constable and the other police magistrate, who carried out the Rajah's +sentence on the kunsi. A price was set on their heads, but the Malays' +love of their English Rajah made that only an idle threat. We were told +that Mrs. Crookshank was dead, and the little Middletons, as well as Mr. +Wellington, who lodged in their house, and Mr. Nicholetts, who was +staying at the Rajah's house. Mrs. Crookshank, however, was not dead, +but lying wounded in a ditch near the ashes of her house. When the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> +Bishop knew this he demanded her of the kunsi. They said no, at first, +for they were angry that her husband had escaped; but Bishop refused to +attend to the wounded unless they gave her up, so at last they gave +leave to have her carried to our house.</p> + +<p>It was about ten o'clock when she was brought in—a pitiful sight, her +dress covered with blood, her hair matted with grass and dust, her +fingers bleeding. It did not seem possible she could live after +remaining all night in this dreadful state. She told us that she and her +husband did not awake until the house was full of men. They had only +time to jump up and run down their bath-room stairs, he catching up a +spear for their defence. Opening the bath-room door it creaked, and a +man came running round the house shouting, "Assie Moy," the name of the +woman-prisoner they had seized. He struck down Mrs. Crookshank with a +sword he had in his hand, and Mr. Crookshank attacked him with the +spear. They struggled together till the Chinaman cut his right arm to +the bone, and the spear fell from his hand; then, seeing his wife lying +dead, as he thought, in the grass, he managed to get away to the edge of +the jungle, and sitting down, faint with loss of blood, saw his house +burn to the ground. As morning dawned he found his way to the Datu +Bandar's house, where the Rajah had already arrived, and Middleton. +Meanwhile the Chinese, chasing the fowls from the burning fowl-house, +came upon Mrs. Crookshank lying on her face, and one of them, seizing +her by her hair,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> desired her to follow him. She could not walk a step, +so he carried her in his arms; but when she groaned with the pain, he +laid her in a ditch near the road. Many Chinese came and stood by her: +they covered her with their jackets, one held an umbrella over her head, +another offered her some tobacco, but they would not let any of our +people touch her until an order came from the kunsi. We had sent our +eldest school-boy to reassure her, and he stood beside her until our +servants could bring her away safely. As soon as the Bishop had dressed +the wounded in the town, he came home for some breakfast. When I saw him +I called out, for his pith hat was covered with blood. "It is only +fowl's blood," said he, "don't be frightened: they killed a chicken over +my head as a sign of friend ship." The Middletons' servants came to us +early in the morning, and said that they did not know what had become of +their mistress, but the two little boys were killed by the Chinese, +their heads cut off, and their bodies thrown into the burning. Later on, +we heard that Mrs. Middleton, after seeing Mr. Wellington killed in +trying to defend her, had escaped into the bath-room and hidden herself +in one of the big water-jars; but, the door being open, she had seen her +children murdered, and then had got out of the jar and run into the +jungle, where she concealed herself in a little pool of water, much +hidden by overhanging boughs. There this poor mother remained for some +hours, until a Chinaman from the town came to the spring, carrying a +drawn<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> sword in his hand. "Oh, sir, pray don't kill me!" she called out. +"Oh no!" answered the man, "I am a friend of Mr. Peter" (her husband), +"and will take care of you." So he took her to his house, and dressed +her in Chinese clothes. It was almost a wonder to me that this poor +young woman lived through that dreadful time. As the day wore on, Mr. +Ruppell, the banker of the place, and a great friend of the Chinese, +came and took up his abode with us. Then he, the Bishop, and Mr. Helms, +the manager of the English Merchant Company, were ordered to meet the +kunsi at the court-house; also the Datu Bandar, the chief Malay +magistrate. There a very trying scene took place. The kunsi sat in the +seats of the magistrates, smoking, their principal in the Rajah's own +chair. They stated that they did not wish to make war with the English, +or the Malays, only with the Rajah's government, and they desired those +present to assist them in the government of the country. This they had +drawn up in writing, and desired the English and Datu Bandar to sign. +The Bishop pointed out to them that the best thing they could do would +be to return to Bau and defend their town; that the Dyaks would +certainly come in fleets of boats directly they heard of what had +happened at Kuching, and they would as certainly be killed if they +remained in the place. This was true enough, but they were afraid of the +Malays attacking them on the water. The Chinese are bad boatmen. They +could not therefore make up their minds to go, and much fierce +discussion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> arose. The thieves and rogues of the place, being under no +restraint, robbed all the houses, on this afternoon, whose inmates had +taken refuge at the mission-house. The Christian Chinese, being afraid +of their countrymen, rushed into our house, carrying all sorts of goods +and chattels, and caused me much distress on Mrs. Crookshank's account, +who was very sensitive to fresh alarms. However, we settled our Chinese +friends in some of the lower rooms. The Channons and their babies were +in the attics. Night came at last, and a dead silence fell upon the town +and the crowded mission-house. Not even the usual sounds in the bazaar +or on the river were heard; only an occasional gun broke the stillness +of the night. Friends and foes were alike weary. We did not venture to +undress, but lay down all ready for flight if necessary, with our hats +and little bundles beside us. The Bishop and Mr. Ruppell watched all +night in the porch. Friday morning the Chinese, continually urged by the +Bishop, determined to return to Bau. Later on they heard a rumour that +the Malays would attack them on the river; then they made the Datu +Bandar sign a promise not to follow them. Still they felt no confidence +that he would not, so they said they would take Mr. Helms with them as a +hostage for the Datu's good faith. Poor Mr. Helms did not like this idea +at all, and having a fast boat lying in the creek near his house, he +slipped away early in the afternoon, down the river, and hid himself in +the jungle. No one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> in Sarawak could imagine what had become of him.</p> + +<p>About midday the Bishop told me he wished me, Miss Woolley, and the +children, including Alan Grant, to go to Singapore in a trading schooner +which Mr. Ruppell had detained at the mouth of the river in case of +emergency.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Stahl and Miss Coomes were to remain and nurse Mrs. Crookshank, but +it would be a great relief to him to think of us in safety. The Chinese +kunsi also wished us to go, "that the people at Singapore might see that +they did not desire our death." It seemed very hard to me to leave my +husband in such danger, for that morning the kunsi had flourished swords +in his face and threatened him, knowing very well that he wished to +bring the Rajah back. Still I knew he could more easily provide for the +safety of those left behind if we were already out of the way. So I +packed up some clothes and provisions for the voyage. While I was doing +this a Chinaman came from the <i>Good Luck</i> schooner to say I must only +take one box for our party, as the schooner was very full of Chinese +passengers, fleeing for fear of the kunsi. With this we had to be +content. At three o'clock we went to the shop of Amoo, the Chinese owner +of the <i>Good Luck</i>. There I found my husband writing to Mr. Johnson at +Linga, to tell him what had happened. Then Datu Bandar came in to say +that the kunsi had gone up the river, and had taken some of the fort +guns<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> with them; that they were very crowded in the boats, and that he +should follow after them with a Malay force at night. They did nothing, +however, when the time came; for until the Malays had got their families +safe out of the place they were not willing to fight. They were brave +enough when the women and children were moved to Samarahan on Saturday. +There were many Chinese women collected at Amoo's, belonging to the +shopkeepers in the bazaar. The wife of the court scribe, whom I knew, +told me in a whisper that she managed to get some bread to the Rajah and +his party, and had told Mr. Crookshank that his wife was alive and with +us. At last the life-boat was ready. Stahl went with us to steer, and +said there were plenty of Chinese to row the boat. When we got down to +it, we found it not only fully manned by Chinese, but full of their +women, children, and boxes, so that we could scarcely find room to +squeeze ourselves into the stern, and we were so heavily laden that we +made very slow progress. It was no use protesting, however: we were only +English folk, and the Chinese had it all their own way in those days. +About eight o'clock we got down to the mouth of the Morotabas, where the +schooner lay. Pitch dark and very wet it was, but it was a relief when +all the Chinese passengers climbed up the schooner ladder, and the men +hauled the boxes up one after another, last of all a very heavy one +which it took six men to lift, full of dollars,—so no wonder we were +overladen. Last<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> of all I climbed into the <i>Good Luck</i>, leaving the +children still in the boat with Stahl and Kimchack, one of our +school-boys whose family were moving away in the schooner. I found the +deck covered with Chinese, and when I said to the little Portuguese +captain, "Where is the little cabin Mr. Ruppell promised me I should +have?" he answered, "Oh, ma'am, pray go back to your boat. I have +neither water nor fuel for the people who are already on board. The +cabin is filled with the family and friends of the Chinese owner of the +schooner, and I cannot give you even room to sit down anywhere." It was +indeed true. My friend, the court scribe's wife, said, "Come and sit by +me on the deck." "But the children, they cannot be exposed day and night +on deck." "Oh well, there is no other place for them." So I jumped into +the life-boat again, and reclaimed my treasures. "Rather," said Miss +Woolley and I, "die on shore than in that horrid boat." Indeed we felt +quite cheerful now we had the boat to ourselves; and Kimchack said he +had already been two nights on board the <i>Good Luck</i> and had had no room +to lie down. There we were, however, in the middle of the river, with no +one to row the boat. Stahl could not move it by himself. At this moment +a small boat pulled alongside, and Mr. Helms' face appeared in the +darkness. How glad we were to see him! and he, faint and exhausted with +wandering all day in the jungle, was glad of a glass of wine, which was +soon got out of the provision basket. Then we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> opened a tin of soup, and +fed our tired and hungry children, who behaved all through those +terrible days as if it was a picnic excursion got up for their +amusement. They enjoyed everything, and were no trouble at all, either +Alan or Mab. Edith was a baby, and suffered very much from want of +proper food—but that was later on. Mr. Helms and his crew rowed our +boat into Jernang Creek, where there were some Malay houses. In one of +these he and Alan went to sleep, but he advised us to remain in the boat +until the morning. We laid Mab and Edith on one of the seats; Miss +Woolley lay on the other; and I sat at the bottom of the boat to prevent +the children from falling off. The mosquitoes were numerous on that mud +bank, and I was very glad when the morning dawned. At six o'clock Mr. +Helms came to say we could have an empty Malay house on shore for a few +days, so we gladly mounted up the landing-place and found a kind and +hospitable reception from our Malay friends. They had put up some mat +partitions in a large room, that we might sleep in private, and +presented us with a nice curry for breakfast. We then unpacked our box +and dried the clothes in it, which were wet through from the overlading +of the life-boat. About midday two Englishmen arrived from the Quop +River, nearer to Kuching, where they had been with the Rajah. They only +stayed a short time, but told us that the Kunsi Chinese had really gone +to Bau, and that the Bishop was with the Rajah at Quop. Late at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> night I +had a note from my husband, saying he thought we might return to +Sarawak, for all was quiet, and he hoped the Rajah would come back early +on Sunday morning. The next morning, therefore, we prepared to set off +again in the life-boat, but first I went to pay a visit to Inchi Bouyang +the Malay writer, who lived in one of the houses near, and who was too +stout to venture out of his own house into a less strongly built one. +This seems absurd enough, but the Malay houses were certainly very +slight; they seemed to sway in the mud of the creek, and the floors of +the rooms were made of very open strips of nibong palm, so that you had +to walk turning your feet well out in order not to slip through the +lantiles. I found many Malays gathered in the writer's house, all to +entreat me not to go to Kuching, because it was "not a lucky day." "If +the Malays fight the Chinese to-day," they said, "they will be beaten." +"What reason have you for saying so?" "No reason exactly, but the day is +unlucky; it is like Friday to the English, they never go to sea on that +day." "Oh," said I, "that was long ago: they often go to sea on Friday +now they know better, and no sensible person thinks anything of lucky or +unlucky days." "Well, we have told you what we think. If you must go, +some of us will go with you, and we shall tell the Tuan Padre it was not +our fault that you would not wait until to-morrow." So Lulut, a servant +of the Rajah's, and another Malay got into the boat with us, and we set +off up the river.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"> +<p class="center"><b>Footnotes:</b></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Palm leaf.</p></div> + +</div> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> +<img src="images/l-vines.jpg" width="500" height="93" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER XII.<br /> +<small>CHINESE INSURRECTION (<i>Continued</i>).</small></h3> + + +<p>As we proceeded up the river we agreed we would ask news of any boat we +met. Presently we noticed smoke rising above the trees. "The Malays are +burning the Chinese town," said the men; but as we drew nearer it was +evidently the Malay town which was burning. At last we met a boat. "Yes; +the Chinese had returned, and had set fire to the Malay town; they were +also firing at the Sarawak Chinese in the bazaar." On Saturday the +Bishop and the Channons and Stahl had unspiked two of the guns left in +the fort, and had hoisted the Sarawak flag again on the flag-staff. The +Bishop then went to the Rajah's war boat at the Quop, and told him that +the Malays had sent away their women, and were ready to fight should the +Chinese return; and he begged him to come to our house early the next +morning, where breakfast should be ready for him, and take the command. +But the Chinese heard of this, and returned in the morning,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> some by +river, some by road. As soon as the Malays saw their boats rounding the +corner near the Malay town, they attacked them bravely, drove them +ashore, and though suffering much loss from their superior fire, +captured ten of their boats, and secured them to a Malay prahu in the +river. While this struggle was going on, a large party of Chinese, who +walked from Seniawan, were ransacking the town. Enraged with the Bishop +for trying to bring the Rajah back, they rushed into our house to find +him; but he, having sent off all our belongings, English and native, ran +down the back stairs while the Chinese rushed up into the porch in +front, and escaped to the Chinese town, where shots were flying about in +plenty, but did not hit him. He got into a little boat passing by, with +two Malays in it, and they paddled him to the Rajah's war boat, then +retreating down the river. When they reached the Quop he found a little +boat, which brought him quickly to Jernang.</p> + +<p>We lay off the town in the life-boat, and saw one boat after another +rowing fast towards us. In one, Mr. Koch, the missionary, with a number +of school-boys; in another, Mrs. Crookshank, laid on a mattress, Mrs. +Stahl, and Miss Coomes, and the school-girls; then the Channons' +families and some Chinese; then the Sing-Song's family, and more boys. +"Where is the Bishop?" I shouted. "In the Rajah's war boat. We had the +greatest difficulty in getting boats enough for us; the Chinese were +running up to the house when he sent us off, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> firing had already +begun in the streets when Mrs. Crookshank was got into the boat."</p> + +<p>This was an anxious moment; but before long our servant James appeared +with a message to me from my husband, to return to Jernang, and stay +there until he appeared. Our Malay friends here left us, to join their +families anchored in boats by the banks, and I filled the life-boat with +the school-children to lighten the other boats. Then we pulled slowly +back against the tide to Jernang. The little landing-place was crowded +when we arrived, for the smaller boats had got there first. I had the +greatest difficulty in persuading the Malays to give shelter to the +Chinese Christians and children. I answered for their good behaviour; +but all Chinese, whether rebels or no, were in sufficiently bad odour in +those days. At last I got them part of a house to themselves. No sooner +was all arranged than the Bishop arrived in his little boat; it was like +receiving him from the dead.</p> + +<p>Presently appeared the Rajah's war boat, he standing at the stern. We +all ran down to meet him and Mr. Crookshank, and take them to Bertha, +who had been carried into a house. While we were all standing on the +little wharf, built on tall piles into the water, the Malays cried out +that it was giving way, and we must all go into the houses. The Bishop +then decided what to do with his large party. Mr. Helms had a schooner +close by, in which he was going to Sambas, to seek assistance from the +Dutch, our nearest neighbours. He kindly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> offered to take Miss Woolley, +Miss Coomes, and two of our eldest school-boys with him. The rest of us +could go to Linga, where there was a fort, as a little pinnace belonging +to Mr. Steele lay handy at the mouth of the river. The Chinese, however, +implored to go with us; and indeed it would have been cruel to leave +them a prey to the Malays, or the bad Chinese, or the Dyaks. When we +were lodged in the pinnace, therefore, the Bishop went back to Jernang, +and packed all our Chinese into the life-boat, which was attached by a +rope to the pinnace; so we were all together. It was nearly dark when we +weighed anchor, and left the mouth of the river. There was a tiny cabin, +just large enough to hold Bertha on her mattress; a fowl-house, into +which our native children crept; an open hold, where we women sat down +on our bundles, with our children in our arms; and there was a place for +cargo forward, where the men settled themselves. The Rajah in his war +boat also proceeded to Linga, and we expected him to arrive long before +our slow boat; he would meet Mr. Johnson, his nephew, there, and +organize a force of Dyaks from the great rivers, Sakarran and Batang +Lupar, to drive away the Chinese rebels. We never had any doubt of their +doing this eventually, though we feared the remedy might be almost as +bad as the disease, if the Dyaks proved unmanageable and quarrelled with +one another. The night was very dark and wet, and the deck leaked upon +us, so that we and our bags and bundles were soon wet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> through. But we +neither heeded the rain nor felt the cold. We had eaten nothing since +early morning, but were not hungry; and although for several nights we +could scarcely be said to have slept, we were not sleepy. A deep +thankfulness took possession of my soul; all our dear ones were spared +to us. My children were in my arms, my husband paced the deck over my +head. I seemed to have no cares, and to be able to trust to God for the +future, who had been so merciful to us hitherto. I remember, too, when +Mrs. Stahl opened the provision basket, and gave us each a slice of +bread and meat, how very good it was, although we had not thought about +wanting it. We lit a little fire, and made some hot tea, but soon had a +message from the Rajah's boat to put out the fire lest we should be +seen. The only thing that troubled me was a nasty faint smell, for which +I could not account; but next morning we found a Chinaman's head in a +basket close by my corner, which was reason enough! We had taken a fine +young man on board to help pull the sweeps, a Dyak, and this ghastly +possession was his. He said he was at Kuching, looking about for a +<i>head</i>, and went into the court-house. Hearing some one in a little side +room, he peeped in, and saw a Chinaman gazing at himself in a bit of +looking-glass, which was stuck against the wall. He drew his sword, and +in one moment, stepping close behind him, cut off his head: and having +obtained this prize, was naturally desirous of getting away from the +place; so he came<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> off as boatman in one of the flying boats, bringing +the head in a basket, which he stowed in the side of the boat. It +entirely spoilt my hand-bag, which lay near it; I had to throw it away, +and everything in it which could not be washed in hot water.</p> + +<p>Towards morning the sea made us all sick, added to the wet, and cold of +dawn; yet, when the day cleared a little, and we got a fire on deck, and +some hot tea and biscuits, and the children seemed none the worse for +their bad night and the swarms of mosquitoes which had feasted upon +them, we could not repine. In the evening we passed the island of +Burong, at the mouth of the Batang Lupar River, and Mr. Crookshank tried +to stimulate the men pulling the sweeps to reach a Sebuyan village +farther on, before the tide left us and it grew dark. By dint of hard +pulling we made the village, and its little fort, standing close beside +the water and washed by its strong tide. A little boat came off from the +fort, with some Malays, of whom we inquired for the Rajah, thinking his +boat was far ahead of us, but they said they had seen nothing of him. +Mr. Crookshank then begged them to bring a boat in which he could take +Bertha up to Linga Fort that evening, instead of her remaining another +night in the pinnace. We went on as long as the tide lasted, and then +anchored in the Batang Lupar. Again we made a fire on deck, and after +taking some food, settled ourselves for the night. At eleven o'clock the +promised boat came for Bertha and Mr. Crookshank, and Mrs. Stahl went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> +with them as nurse; they thought nothing could be worse than spending +another night on board the pinnace, but I fear the little boat journey +was still more painful. When they reached Linga, they found only Malays +in the fort, and the dwelling-house shut up, for Mr. Johnson was at +Sakarran. They had to carry Mrs. Crookshank up a ladder into the fort, +and lay her on a table; but happily Mr. Chambers arrived that night from +Banting, and furnished a curtain as a screen, and pillows from his boat +to make a more comfortable couch. As we were setting off again next +morning, we met Mr. Johnson in a long boat, going straight off to +Kuching. He was lying ill of fever at Sakarran, when his Malays roused +him by saying, without preface—"The news is bad, Tuan: the Rajah is +killed and Kuching in the hands of the rebel Chinese." Upon this he +jumped up, called together the chiefs, and bidding them follow him with +a strong force of Dyaks, he set off himself without calling at Linga by +the way. When we told him that Rajah was alive and on his way to Linga, +he turned back with us, and taking me, my ayah, and the children into +his boat, soon landed us at his house. This was Tuesday, but we heard +nothing of the Rajah until Friday. Mr. Johnson, after breakfasting with +us at his house, went on to Kuching, and found that, after we lost sight +of the Rajah's war boat, they had fallen in with the steamer belonging +to the Borneo Company, the <i>Sir James Brooke</i>, just entering the river. +Mr. Helms' schooner also came<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> across her, so all the passengers in the +schooner and the war boat had moved into the steamer, and they +immediately proceeded up the river, preparing the guns on board to +attack as soon as they reached the town. What must have been the +feelings of the Chinese in the fort when they saw the smoke of the +steamer curling above the trees, and then received one ten-pounder shot +after another into their midst! They fired one round of grape shot at +the steamer, and shouts of "Run!" rose on all sides. The steamer then +proceeded up to the Malay town, where the Malays still held out against +the Chinese; but as they were getting very short of ammunition, and +their enemies were bringing some large guns to bear on their position, +they greeted the steamer with shouts of welcome. The Chinese fled in +every direction. Cut off from their boats, they ran into the jungle; and +while many no doubt reached Bau in safety, many fell into the hands of +the Dyaks, who, following their usual course of warfare, spread +themselves through the jungle, and took the head of every man they met. +The town was quite clear of the rebels in a few hours, and the <i>Sir +James Brooke</i>, anchored in the river, furnished the base of operations +which the Rajah required: from thence he could direct the Malay and Dyak +forces, which were immediately at his disposal, to drive the rebels out +of the country. The day before, the Chinese had filled our house and +looted it completely, except the books in the library, for which they +seem to have had some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> respect; but we had reason to believe that on +Monday the house would have been burnt, for gunpowder and inflammable +materials were found strewed about after they left. They took everything +they could carry away, and destroyed the rest, cutting long slits in the +gauze of the mosquito-rooms, and pouring all the chemicals and medicines +of the dispensary over the contents of the drawers, clothes, and papers +they did not wish for. They found a long table set out ready for +breakfast, and had only to gather up the small plate, which, with a +house full of people, was all in requisition. The church, too, was +emptied of all its furniture, and the harmonium smashed; but the +opportune arrival of the steamer prevented these buildings from sharing +the fate of the other houses.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, we were settling ourselves with our large party in Mr. +Johnson's house, which he kindly placed at our disposal. This house was +surrounded by a latticed verandah, the ground immediately about it was +cleared of jungle and drained by deep ditches. From the fort you looked +over the wide stretch of water of the Batang Lupar, but it was a lonely +and monotonous look-out. As the fort men were taken away to fight at +Kuching, the gentlemen had to form themselves into watches day and +night, with the few Malays who remained to guard the fort. Boats full of +Dyaks continually arrived, to join the Rajah's force—Balows, Sarebas, +and Sakarrans lay side by side on the river, all excited by the +prospects of war, and frequently<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> causing silly panics among the Malays +of Linga, lest these warriors, from tribes so long enemies, should fall +out with one another before they got to Kuching. There were, of course, +no books or newspapers to read; our Bibles and Prayer-books alone were +among our luggage. We women were the best off, for we got some +unbleached calico from Sakarran, and cut out some under-clothing, of +which we had but little; this gave us occupation. We also had every day +to wash our linen and towels after bathing. The bath was a clear running +stream, covered in near the house, very pretty and romantic, but the +water was of a light brown colour, like toast and water, and had a +slightly acid taste, very agreeable but not very wholesome. Probably the +spring forced its way through dead leaves in the jungle; at any rate, it +did not wash the clothes white. It was very difficult to procure food +for us all. Rice and gourds made into a kind of curry stew was our daily +meal; if a chicken was got it was devoted to the children and the sick. +We were very anxious for some time on account of Mrs. Crookshank. Had +she remained quiet at Kuching, her wounds would have healed quickly, for +she was young and perfectly healthy; but all the moving into boats, and +carrying up ladders and steps, had broken open the wounds, and it was a +struggle of strength and youth against adverse circumstances. She was so +patient and cheerful that we never heard a complaint, which was in her +favour no doubt; still there were some days when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> her life was in great +danger in that hot climate. Twice during the month we received a box +from Kuching, sent by a native boat. Once it contained our mail—an +immense pleasure; also some bread and biscuits, but they were wet with +salt water, and mouldy besides. However, Mab and Alan could eat them. I +used to look with thankful astonishment at those children, both so +delicate generally, but who throve all the time we were without proper +food or shelter. But baby Edith shrank and pined, and at last my husband +said, "We shall lose this child if you stay here any longer: better go +and live among the Dyaks, who have plenty of fowls."</p> + +<p>So Mr. Chambers kindly took us in at his house at Banting, where we had +a most loving welcome, and saw something of the Dyak women and children. +The men were mostly gone to the war, and great excitement prevailed +among the tribe with the prospect of acquiring heads again, for the +Sarawak Government had quite stopped that hunting in the country. Boats +were continually arriving, gay with streamers, and noisy with gongs and +drums beating, with heads of Chinese on board. One day we were invited +to a feast in one of the long houses. I said, "I hope we shall see no +heads," and was told I need not see any; so, taking Mab in my hand, I +went with Mr. Chambers, and we climbed up into the long verandah room +where all the work of the tribe goes on. This long house was surrounded +with fruit-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>trees, and very comfortable. There were plenty of pigs under +the house, and fowls perching in every direction. About thirty families +lived in the house, the married people having each their little room, +the girls a room to themselves, and the long room I spoke of being used +for cooking, mat-making, paddy-beating, and all the usual occupations of +their lives. We were seated on white mats, and welcomed by the chief +people present. The feast was laid on a raised platform along the side +of the room. There were a good many ornaments of the betel-nut palm, +plaited into ingenious shapes, standing about the table, so that I did +not at first remark anything else. As we English folks could not eat +fowls roasted in their feathers, nor cakes fried in cocoa-nut oil, they +brought us fine joints of bamboo filled with pulut rice, which turns to +a jelly in cooking and is fragrant with the scent of the young cane. I +was just going to eat this delicacy when my eyes fell upon three human +heads standing on a large dish, freshly killed and slightly smoked, with +food and sirih leaves in their mouths. Had I known them when alive I +must have recognized them, for they looked quite natural. I looked with +alarm at Mab, lest she should see them too; then we made our retreat as +soon as possible. But I dared say nothing. These Dyaks had killed our +enemies, and were only following their own customs by rejoicing over +their dead victims. But the fact seemed to part them from us by +centuries of feeling—our disgust, and their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> complacency. Some of them +told us that afterwards, when they brought home some of the children +belonging to the slain, and treated them very kindly, wishing to adopt +them as their own, they were annoyed at the little ones standing looking +up at their parents' heads hanging from the roof, and crying all day, as +if it were strange they should do so! Yet the Dyaks are very fond of +children, and extremely indulgent to them. Our school was recruited +after the war by the children of Chinese, bought by Government from +their captors. This was my first and last visit to a Dyak feast. I used +to go and see the women in the early morning sometimes, and they +constantly came up to the mission-house to see my children. Of course +the war had an evil influence on them, increasing their interest in +heads, and all the heathen ceremonies connected with their possession.</p> + +<p>We stayed about ten days at Banting, walking every afternoon to the +little church through a long avenue of fruit-trees—great forest trees +which threw a grateful shade over the path, charming for the children's +walks. They could have chicken broth too for their dinners; and Edith +revived, but it was a whole year after this before she grew any taller, +so that when she began to run about, three months later, it looked a +surprising feat for a baby who should be in long clothes, yet she was +then sixteen months old. This life at Banting was a kind of dream, after +all the hurry and anxiety we had gone through. At last we heard that we +might go back<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> to Kuching, the Chinese had all been driven out of the +country, or killed. Our house was purified, and the dead bodies lying +about in the jungle had been buried, so that the air was sweet again. We +returned to Linga, and all embarked in a little schooner for home. It +was not a much better boat than the one we had fled in, and we suffered +two very trying days' voyage; but when we walked into the mission-house +and found Miss Woolley to welcome us, and our house, though dismantled, +uninjured, and most of the books in the library, we were very thankful. +The Sunday after, we had a thanksgiving service in the church, in which +all joined very heartily.</p> + +<p>I must return, however, to the history of the war, from the time the +Rajah steamed up the river in the <i>Sir James Brooke</i>.</p> + +<p>At Bau there were supposed to be from three to four thousand Chinese +rebels, who had lately been strengthened by many malcontents from the +Dutch country. The Chinese held Bau, Seniawan, the government fort of +Baleda, and a fort at Peninjauh opposite to Baleda. They boasted that +they had rice and gunpowder enough to last out six months in these +places; but they were gradually surrounded on all sides by Malays and +Dyaks, so that they could get no fresh stores. On the 10th of March a +body of Chinese came down the river to Leda Tanah (Tongue of Land) about +halfway to Kuching. They built a breast-work by the river-side, dug a +trench behind it, placed some brass guns in position,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> and then retired +to eat their dinners in comfort behind their defences. There was a +little house and garden belonging to the Rajah at Leda Tanah. The Datu +Tumangong and Abang Boujong hearing of this, went up the river with a +Malay force and attacked the breast-work in front. The Chinese fired one +volley and ran. The Malays entered, sword in hand, but only killed two +men; all the rest fled into the arms of the Dyaks, who lay in wait in +the jungle behind, and took a hundred heads, some say two hundred, but +stories do not lose in the telling. The Chinese begged hard for their +lives, wrung their hands, wept, prayed the Dyaks to be friends with +them; but Dyaks know nothing about prisoners. One of the principal kunsi +was killed in this affair, and some say that Kamang, the leader of the +attack on the 18th of February, lost his head to the Sakarran Dyaks.</p> + +<p>This success was matter of great rejoicing at Kuching. Two days +afterwards they heard that Baleda Fort was deserted by the Chinese. Mr. +Johnson went up and found it quite empty; Seniawan too, and soon after +Bau also. All had fled towards the Dutch territory. A dreadful march +they had, poor creatures; carrying their sacred stone Tai pekong with +them. Nearly a thousand women and children delayed their progress. They +were harassed all the way by parties of Malays, and Dyaks cutting off +the stragglers. The party dwindled by degrees, until nearly all the +kunsi were killed, either by the enemy or their incensed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> countrymen, +who found themselves driven from their peaceful homes for the sins of +these rebels. It is so painful to think of the many innocent who +suffered with the guilty on this occasion, of the miseries they endured, +and the relentlessness of their foes, that I cannot detail it. War +naturally brines such evils in its train; even civilized warfare is not +without its horrors and its injustice: but when revenge falls into the +hands of savages these ills are multiplied. The Malays both hated and +despised the Chinese. That <i>such</i> people should have taken their forts, +burnt their dwellings, compelling them to seek safety for their families +by flight, was so great an insult that their most violent passions were +aroused, and only the blood of all the Kay tribe could wipe out the +disgrace they had incurred. It was indeed wonderful that these Chinese +should imagine for a moment that they could remain rulers in a country +whose inhabitants regarded them as the natural hewers of wood and +drawers of water to the community; but no doubt they were intoxicated by +their unlooked-for success on the 18th of February, and a Chinaman seems +destitute of any appreciation of people who are not Celestials! A +remnant of these people got safely into the Dutch territory, where the +authorities took what arms and ammunition they had, and, very properly, +returned them to the Sarawak Government. They also offered to send a war +steamer and soldiers if desired. So our misfortunes called out the +goodwill of our neighbours. Soon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> after we returned home, H.M.S. +<i>Spartan</i>, Captain Hoste, arrived to protect British interests in +Sarawak. They stayed with us for a while, but the troubles were over, +and the only difficulty was how to make any visitors comfortable or to +feed them. We had to pass round a knife and fork at table for some days, +and there were only a few spoons left to us. On the beds there were hard +mattresses, but no pillows, sheets, or in fact any bed-furniture. Our +guests being travellers and full of resources, slept on their pith hats +for pillows, and used their pocket-knives. A good deal of fun was made +of our privations, and indeed, as no beloved friend was missing, we +could afford to laugh.</p> + +<p>We had all great reason to be thankful for the good behaviour of the +Dyaks during the war. There were no intertribal quarrels, and Mr. +Chambers told me that his Christians among the Balows were in the first +boats which went off to succour the Rajah, when they knew nothing of the +arrival of the steamer, and believed themselves to be facing a great +danger, and fire-arms, which they do not like. This was not the only +time that the Christians were among the bravest when all behaved well—a +fact which recommended their religion to their countrymen, with whom +courage is the first virtue. It was some years after this, however, that +Dyak Christians learnt to fight without taking the heads of their +enemies.</p> + +<p>When we left our house, our servants generally, except James a +Portuguese, and my Bengalee<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> Ayah, fled from the place. But we had an +old Hindoo Syce, who was much attached to us and to the creatures under +his charge. He drove the two ponies we rode into the jungle, where they +looked after themselves, and, living in his cottage next to the stable, +did what he could for the cow and calves. When the rebels filled our +house and appropriated our effects, they broke open the plate-chest, and +melted the silver they found. Then Syce came forward and claimed a +portion of the spoil They gave him a lump of silver with some alloy in +it, the produce of some plated salvers, as his share. He pretended to +help them, but this lump he hid in the earth near his cottage, and, on +our return, triumphantly produced it as what he had saved for us from +the wreck. Some years after, this old man was very ill with an abscess +in his thigh, which he was sure would kill him. Bishop doctored and +nursed him through it, but he had given him a good-sized bag of dollars, +his savings, saying he wished Bishop to be his heir. When he got well +and the money was returned to him, he spent it in paying a visit to his +relations at Trichinopoli. I believe this faithful creature worshipped +the bull of our herd, and it was a great trouble to him that the Chinese +cruelly cut off the tail of the poor animal, thereby depriving him of +the means of whisking off the flies which sting so vehemently in that +climate.</p> + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p> + +<img src="images/l-weeds.jpg" width="500" height="114" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> +<small>EVENTS OF 1857.</small></h3> + + +<p>When we were once more at home we found it would be better to go to +Singapore, and from thence to Penang, for a little quiet. We were both +ill, the Bishop seriously so. We wanted for everything, and the bazaar +in Sarawak could not supply us: besides, ours was the only English +dwelling-house left in the place, except the Borneo Company's premises. +Captain Brooke and Mr. Grant with their brides were immediately +expected, and must be housed at the mission while a bungalow was being +built across the water. We left Miss Woolley to take care of the +expected visitors, the children and I went to Singapore in the <i>Sir +James Brooke</i> steamer, and Sir William Hoste gave a passage in H.M.S. +<i>Spartan</i> to the Bishop and Alan Grant.</p> + +<p>I was glad of an opportunity to get my baby vaccinated, which could only +happen at Singapore in those days. We were two months away, and the cool +quiet of Penang Hill was a great <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>refreshment. The first news I heard +there was that Miss Woolley was to be married to Mr. Chambers. This +wedding took place immediately on our return home, the end of July. It +was a great benefit to the Banting Dyaks, for Mrs. Chambers devoted +herself to the women and young girls, and was a true friend to them. She +taught them to sew, and instructed them in morals and religion. When I +went to Banting some years afterwards, I found a set of modest young +women who were much pleased with gifts of needles, thread, and thimbles; +they also enjoyed a game of croquet after the lessons were done, and it +was wonderful to see what smart taps of the mallet were fearlessly given +under their bare feet; for of course the Dyaks do not wear shoes.</p> + +<p>About a month after our return to Sarawak, Captain Brooke's baby boy was +born. No one can tell what a care and anxiety this event was, in a place +where there was no doctor except the Bishop. The well-being of so +important a person as the Rajah mudah's wife, and the birth of the heir +of Sarawak, called forth much sympathy from everybody. Thank God, all +went well; but we said it ought never to happen again—there should be a +medical man whose sole duty it was to care for the bodies of the +community, while the Bishop was free to minister to their spiritual +wants. Soon after there was a public baptism of this boy Basil Brooke, +and his cousin Blanche Grant, in the church, which was full of Malays as +well as English to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>witness the ceremony. This was the day before the +Rajah set off for England.</p> + +<p>There were many happy days during the next few months, for there were +several English ladies in the place and we were all friends. In October +the Bishop went to Labuan, and while he was away the cholera made its +first appearance at Sarawak, among the Malays. The Rajah muda and I +consulted together what physic should be made ready for those who would +take it. A short time before, a little pamphlet had been sent to us +about the virtues of camphor, and especially its value in cholera. We +made a saturated solution of camphor in brandy, and gave a teaspoonful +of it on moist sugar for a dose, adding three drops of Kayu Puteh oil, +extracted from a Borneon wood and called cajeput oil in England, a very +strong aromatic medicine. This mixture proved itself very useful. If the +patients applied in good time it invariably gave relief to the cramp and +pain in the stomach; if the disease had gone on to sickness it was more +difficult to administer. Sometimes we followed it up with laudanum and +castor oil.</p> + +<p>The Malays suffered very much from this epidemic. Constant funerals were +to be seen on the river, and there was much praying at the mosque. Then +the Chinese were attacked, but not so fatally. Two dead men were, +however, found on our premises; they were strangers to us, but we +supposed they came late at night to the mission for medicine, and, lying +down in the stable or <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>cow-house, died without reaching the house. It +was an anxious time. I used to hang little bags of camphor round the +children's necks, and was very careful of the diet for the household. +Thank God, we had no case either in the school or the house.</p> + +<p>Seven years afterwards the cholera returned much more violently. An +English gun-boat, lying off the town, lost several of her crew; and at +last the Bishop advised them to go to sea and let the sea air blow +through the ship, to carry off the infection. He went on board himself +to see them off, and while they were going down the river two more men +were seized with cholera, and died in half an hour.</p> + +<p>This time the cholera was very fatal among the Dyaks up some of the +rivers. The poor creatures were so terrified that they left their +houses, as in small-pox, and scarcely dared bury their dead. In one +instance they paid a very strong man to carry the dead on his back to a +steep hill, and throw them into the ravine at the bottom. The food +enjoyed by the Dyaks, rotten fish and vegetables, no doubt inclined them +to get cholera. The first time of its visitation was after a great fruit +season when durian, that rich and luscious fruit, had been particularly +abundant. A durian is somewhat larger than a cocoa-nut in its inner +husk; it has a hard prickly rind, but inside lie the seeds, enclosed in +a pulp which might be made of cream, garlic, sugar, and green almonds. +It is very <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>heating to the blood, for when there are plenty of durians +the people always suffer more from boils and skin disease than usual. We +never permitted them to enter our house, for we could not bear the smell +of them. But many English people liked them; and they were so much +esteemed by the Dyaks, that when the fruit was ripe they encamped for +the night under the trees. When a durian fell to the ground with a great +thud, they all jumped up to look for it, as the fallen fruit belongs to +the finder, and they loved it so that they willingly sacrificed their +sleep for it. Woe be to the man, however, on whose head the fruit falls, +for it is so hard and heavy it may kill him.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> + +<p>In February three new missionaries came from England—Mr. Hacket, Mr. +Glover, and Mr. Chalmers. The two last came straight to Sarawak on their +arrival at Singapore, Mr. Hacket and his wife about a month afterwards. +They were all from St. Augustine's College, Canterbury, thoroughly good +people, and a great happiness to us. Mr. Chalmers was settled among the +Land Dyaks at Peninjauh, afterwards at the Quop. Mr. Glover went to +Banting, to work among the Balows. The Hackets stayed at Sarawak: indeed +they all remained with us until Easter, when their ordination took +place. The Easter services that year, 1858, were very delightful. All +these missionaries were more or less musical, and Mr. Hacket adorned the +church as <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>it had never been decked before. Flowers and ferns, and +lycopodium moss, were always to be had in abundance; and the polished +wooden walls were brightened by some beautiful scroll texts, printed by +a friend in England. We had full choral service on Easter Sunday, and +the school-children sang their part beautifully; indeed, our new comers +were astonished to find such good material for a choir in little native +boys.</p> + +<p>I had been fully occupied with preparations for these missionaries while +the bishop was at Labuan; some additions to the comfort of the house for +the Hackets; a new cook-house and servants' rooms near, to build; and +the church to reroof. The balean attaps were as good as ever, but the +strips of wood on which they hung were attacked by white ants, and had +to be renewed or the shingles would have fallen through. Such +responsibilities fell to my share when the Bishop was away, and heavy +cares they were when money was not abundant. The prospect of three new +missionaries was, however, worth any trouble. They came to teach the +Dyaks, who had so long waited for teachers, and we hoped they would +settle themselves among them for many years. In this hope we were to be +disappointed. Mr. Glover fell ill of dysentery at Banting, and before +two years had passed away was obliged to remove to a cold climate. He +went to Australia, and has been doing good work there ever since. Mr. +Chalmers was a very valuable missionary, and his labours among <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>the Quop +and Merdang Dyaks bore much fruit in after years; but he also fell ill +from the climate, and the food which was attainable up country. In 1860, +he also made up his mind to follow Mr. Glover to Australia. There are no +doubt many difficulties for Englishmen living in Sarawak jungles. Some +become acclimatized to them, others cannot bear the low diet, the +loneliness, the apathy and indifference of the Dyaks. The Bishop was +once accused, by a person who ought to have known better, that he was +too apt to gather his clergy at Sarawak and keep them from their Dyak +parishes: but it was a necessary part of the Bishop's work to keep a +home where the missionaries could come for change and refreshment; where +they could enjoy a more generous diet, and the society of English +friends; where they could consult a medical man, and get some hints how +to treat the maladies of the Dyaks—for they expected all the +missionaries to know the art of healing, having had more or less +experience of the Bishop's skill. Mr. Hacket was consumptive, but +Sarawak is the best climate in the world for that disease: he got much +stronger with us, and might have lived many years there, but he was too +nervous for so unsettled a country. We were often subjected to panics +for many months after the Chinese insurrection, and though we old +inhabitants took it very easily, Mr. Hacket always thought his wife and +child in danger. I remember, one day a Malay was being tried in the +court-house, when he, by a sudden <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>spring, escaped from the police, and +snatching a sword from a bystander, ran amuck through the bazaar, +wounding two or three people he met. The hue and cry in the town fired +the imaginations of the timid. People came running to the house for +shelter, bringing their goods and chattels, and all sorts of tales—"The +Chinese were coming from Sambas," and all sorts of nonsense. Then, Mrs. +Hacket fainting on the sofa, and the servants all leaving their work to +listen, and look out of the verandah, provoked us extremely: we +administered sal volatile and a good scolding, and sent everybody off to +their business again. But those scenes were very trying to the nerves. +That a Malay should run amuck (amok, in Malay) with anger or jealousy, +or a fit of madness arising from both these passions, was an occasional +event all through our Sarawak life, but it was no more alarming in 1858 +than in former years. It was the breach in the general feeling of +security under the Sarawak Government, which for a time magnified every +little disturbance of the peace into a public danger.</p> + +<p>Our school was enriched this year by, first, seven new Chinese boys, +then four more and four girls, the captives of the Lundu Dyaks, ransomed +by Captain Brooke. Those children were, some of them, miserable objects, +covered with sores from neglect. One boy had been set to carry red wood +which blisters the skin, another was badly burnt. Mrs. Stahl took them +in hand, dressed their wounds, nursed them, clothed them, and soon they +looked <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>quite nice, sitting on a bench at the end of the church with a +monitor to take charge of them, for they were still unbaptized—they +were old enough to be instructed first, except two of the little girls +who were immediately received into the Church. About this time a little +Dyak boy, Nigo by name, was paying a visit to the school, and was +baptized in church, answering for himself. He was about six years old, +and as he stood at the font his face was lit up with so sweet a smile it +touched us all. Mab begged him to stay at Sarawak; but the Dyaks never +part with their children, and in this case it was not necessary, for +Nigo's father was a Christian. It was a great happiness to us that none +of our boys were killed in the insurrection; three got away to Sambas, +the rest came back to the school one by one, having all escaped the +Dyaks. The Christian goldsmith, too, who was put in prison by the kunsi +for trying to warn us of the attack on the 18th of February, got to +Sambas safe, and afterwards returned to us at Sarawak.</p> + +<p>This summer a doctor came out to Sarawak with his family. I heard of +their proposed arrival some months before, and wrote to Mrs. C—— to +beg they would leave their elder children in England, and only bring the +babies with them, for the little ones thrive well enough at Sarawak. I +also gave a plain unvarnished account of the place. But Mr. C——, +having made up his mind to bring all his family out, put the letter in +his pocket; and we were very sorry when they arrived, a party of nine, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>having lost one child at Singapore. They only stayed one month; the +lady was so disgusted with the place—"no shops, no amusements, always +hot weather, and food so dear!"—that she persuaded her husband to take +advantage of some difference he had with the Government, and return in +the same steamer by which they came out. I, however, gained by their +departure, for they brought a sweet young girl with them as governess, +and as she did not wish to return so soon, she remained with me, and +became Mab's governess and friend. We liked her very much, and I cannot +help mentioning an incident of her spirit and courage. One of our +children being ill, I had taken her down to Santubong, where we had a +seaside cottage; but as the house was full of clergy preparing for +ordination, I left Miss McKee to do the housekeeping and take care of +our guests for a few days. She slept at the top of the house, and little +Edith in a cot beside her. It was late at night, and the moon shining +into Miss McKee's room, when she woke and saw a Chinaman standing at the +foot of her bed with a great knife in his hand. She felt under her +pillow if the keys were safe, for the box of silver was put in her room +while I was absent; then she jumped up, shouting "Thieves!" with all her +might. The man ran and she after him, down a long passage, down the +staircase, out of the house, by which time her cries had roused the +gentlemen—the Bishop was nursing a sick man in fever, and was not in +the house that night. They looked out of their doors, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>asking what was +the matter? However, Miss McKee had by this time made up her mind that +the thief was our own cook; she had seen enough of him by her courageous +pursuit to be sure of it. No doubt he thought she would be fast asleep, +and he should carry off the silver and the keys without discovery. Only +a servant of the house would have known where they were kept. This young +lady afterwards married Mr. Koch, one of the missionaries. He came from +Ceylon, and eventually returned to his native country, where I hope they +are still.</p> + +<p>Now we were again without a doctor, and in the autumn Mrs. Brooke +expected her second confinement. This brings me to what we always called +the sad, dark time at Sarawak. The weather was rainy beyond any former +experience. We always had heavy rains in November, but this year they +began in October, and the sky scarcely seemed to clear. In October, God +gave us a little son, and in a usual way I should have been quite well +at the end of three weeks, and across the water to see Mrs. Brooke many +times before her confinement. But a long influenza cold kept me at home, +and the weather being always wet, there was no prospect of getting over +in a boat without a drenching, so only notes passed between us.</p> + +<p>On November 15th, Mrs. Brooke had another boy, and though there was some +anxiety at the time, she seemed pretty well until the fourth day, when +inflammation set in with puerperal fever, and at the end of ten days our +much-loved friend was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>gone to her home in heaven, leaving her husband +and children desolate. It seemed so impossible that so bright a creature +should pass away from us, that to the last day we believed she would +recover. That afternoon she called her husband and brothers and sisters +to her bedside, and said, "I have tried hard to live for your sakes, but +I cannot;" then she calmly and sweetly bade them good-bye, and no +earthly cares touched her afterwards. Very sad hearts were left behind, +but her example remained to us and called us upwards. Her short life had +been continual self-sacrifice. She gave up her beautiful home in +Scotland for love, and the prospect of doing good to Sarawak. On her +arrival there the most rigid economy was practised, on account of the +losses in the Chinese insurrection. A mat house, called "The Refuge," +neither airy nor comfortable, was her only home; but it was always +bright with Annie's good taste and cheerful spirits. Then came the last +sacrifice, her husband and children. These, too, she laid at her Lord's +feet with a willing heart. Everybody went into mourning; for in so small +a place it was quite a calamity to lose the head of our little society. +But to the Bishop this event was a great trial. He had spent most of his +time, day and night, striving to save this precious life. He was very +fond of her; he ministered to her as her priest; from his hands she +received the Blessed Sacrament a few hours before she died, and he heard +her say with almost her last breath, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;" +but he had also to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>witness agony which he could not relieve, and no +effort could prolong her life. It made him quite ill for some time, and +all the happy holiday days passed away with Annie Brooke. Government +House was never again, in our time, a bright and cheerful home: it +returned to its bachelor ways; and business, not social pleasure, +presided there. On Christmas Day, exactly a month after Mrs. Brooke died +and was laid in the churchyard, we placed a bouquet of flowers from her +garden on the altar, but there could be no festivities. The Chinese +Christians had their feast, and the school-children; but we who had lost +our companion and friend could not rejoice. It was sad enough to go over +the water and see Annie's empty room, kept just as she had left it, and +no sound in the house except the wails of the motherless baby, who we +feared would soon follow his mother to the grave. Captain Brooke was +obliged to go to England very soon after his wife's death; the Rajah was +struck with paralysis, and it was at first doubtful whether he would +recover. In the midst of all this sorrow I had the trouble of losing my +faithful servant, Mrs. Stahl, who took all the care of the +school-children off my hands. Her husband had found more lucrative work +at Singapore, and sent for her to join him. It was a grief to both of +us, and a great addition to my responsibilities. Mrs. William Channon, +then a widow, was installed matron of the school, but she had neither +knowledge nor experience. She did as well as she could, with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>continual +supervision. The sick children now came to me to be doctored early every +morning. I also had a large sewing-class of boys, and a tailor to teach +us how to cut out and make their peculiar-shaped clothes: however, we +soon learnt to do without the tailor. Mrs. Hacket taught the little ones +to sew, and I had the elder ones from seven to ten every morning. +Sometimes I gave a music lesson between whiles; sometimes I had to leave +them for a while, first to see what the cook had brought from the bazaar +for their day's food, and to give out the rice which was kept in my +store-room; also the cocoa-nut oil, which trimmed the lamps of both +house and school. Sometimes I read aloud to my boys, stories from +history. They could understand English quite well.</p> + +<p>While our spirits were at their lowest ebb, and the rain still pouring +with little intermission, we had a visit from H.M.S. <i>Esk</i>, Sir Robert +J. McClure captain. He did his best to cheer us. How kind and bright he +was I shall never forget, nor how he used to sit patiently under a tree +in the rain to be photographed, simply to amuse us. There are certainly +some people who have more of the wine of life than others, and who are a +wonderful refreshment to their friends. It was during this year, 1858, +that we built our seaside cottage at Santubong—Sandrock Cottage, as we +called it, which sounds rather cockney; but as it stood on the sand, +with great boulders of granite rock scattered about, it seemed the most +appropriate name. Santubong <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>is the most beautiful of the two mouths of +the Sarawak River, but not as safe as the Morotabas for ships to enter. +The Bishop had a mission yacht this year; consequently he was away, +visiting the mission stations. The next year he sailed the <i>Sarawak +Cross</i> to Labuan. The voyage took only one week either way, whereas in +other years he had to go to Singapore, more than four hundred miles off, +in order to get to Labuan by P. and O. steamer, or any man-of-war +chancing to go there. Months instead of weeks were consumed by this +means.</p> + +<p>Our cottage took three weeks to build. We sent three men down with a +thousand palm-leaf attaps for the outside walls and roof, and thirty +mats to make inner walls. The men went into the jungle and felled wood +for posts and rafters, then nibong palms were split into strips for the +floors. The whole building was tied together with rattans, like all +Malay houses. There were three rooms, twelve feet by fifteen each, and +two little bath-rooms. A verandah ran along the whole length of the +front, and this was planked to prevent little feet from slipping +through. But the rooms were covered with thick mats, and the floor was +so springy it danced as you moved. We put very little furniture into +these rooms, and the inside walls were only eight feet high, so that +though you could not see into the next room, you could hear all that +went on in all three rooms. The cook-house and servants' room were +separate.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>As early as the year 1848, the Rajah had a little Dyak house built on +high poles, under the mountain of Santubong. It was an inconvenient +little place, into which you climbed up a steep ladder—only one room, in +fact, with a verandah; but we spent some happy days there, for the +beauty of that shore made the house a secondary consideration. A small +Malay village nestled in cocoa-nut palms at the foot of Santubong; in +front lay a smooth stretch of sand, and a belt of casuarina-trees always +whispering, without any apparent wind to move their slender spines. The +deer in those days stole out of the jungle at night to eat the sea-foam +which lay in flakes along the sand, and wild pigs could often be shot in +a moonlight stroll under the trees. In the morning, we used to set off +as soon as it was light to a fresh spring in the jungle, where we took +our bath. Dawdling along the edge of the waves, then quite warm to our +bare feet, with towels and leaf buckets in our hands, we reached the +little stream, running under the shade of tall trees in which the +wood-pigeons were cooing. How delicious and fresh that water was! and +every sense was charmed at the same time, unless some stinging ants +walked over our feet, which was not uncommon.</p> + +<p>Then we trudged home again, with the wet towels folded on our heads to +shield us from the sun, who by that time was an enemy to be shunned.</p> + +<p>A little colony of Chinese were settled here in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>1852, but they never +took to the place; the soil was perhaps not good enough for their +gardens. In 1857 the Malays fell upon them and killed them all, because +they were of the same tribe as the rebels, although they had nothing +whatever to do with the insurrection. When we were building our cottage +on the sands two Chinese skulls were dug up. We were all indignant at +this wanton cruelty, but unable to resent it, except by the expression +of our opinion, for the English were a mere handful of individuals in +Sarawak.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"> +<p class="center"><b>Footnotes"</b></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> The Dyaks believe there is a special place in the other +world, after death, for those who are killed by the fall of a durian.</p></div> + +</div> + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-plant.jpg" width="150" height="118" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-radish.jpg" width="496" height="113" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> +<small>THE MALAY PLOT.</small></h3> + +<p>Our cottage at Santubong was a source of much pleasure to many people. +We often lent it to invalids, sometimes to newly married couples, who +certainly had a good opportunity of studying each other's characters and +tastes in that lonely solitude.</p> + +<p>Sometimes we sent down all the children from the school, who wanted +sea-air and a holiday. Indeed, when we were staying there, we always had +relays of children to play on the sands and enjoy themselves. We had a +place staked round with strong hurdles, where we could bathe in safety +from sharks and alligators, who both infested the coast. I have often +seen quantities of jelly-fish and octopus sticking on the outside of the +hurdles: they sting dreadfully, so they were quite welcome to stay +there.</p> + +<p>During one of our visits to Santubong I remember a timber-ship lying off +the mouth of the river, to lade planks from a saw-mill which was on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>the +other side. One day three sailors came ashore to fill a cask with fresh +water; there was a spring among the rocks close to the water's edge. As +they neared the shore, the three men jumped into the sea for a swim; but +suddenly, one of them threw up his arms and disappeared. In vain his +comrades searched for him, but the next day his body, partly devoured by +a shark, was thrown upon the rocks. No doubt he was seized and dragged +under water. His comrades were much distressed, for he was a favourite +among the crew. Frank buried him, and helped the men to put a wooden +cross on the grave.</p> + +<p>In the north-west monsoon we sometimes went to Buntal, a bay on the +other side of the mountain of Santubong. No soul resided there, but it +was the resort of great flocks of wild-fowl at that season. We rowed +into the bay while it was still high tide, then left the boat; and our +men made little huts of boughs some distance from the shore, where we +could sit without being perceived. As the tide ebbed the birds +arrived—tall storks, fishing eagles, gulls, curlew, plover, godwits, +and many others we did not know. They flew in long lines, till they +seemed to vanish and reappear, circling round and round, then swooping +down upon the sand where the receding waves were leaving their supper. I +never saw a prettier sight. The tall storks seemed to act like +sentinels, watching while the others fed. At a note of alarm they all +rose in the air, flew about screaming, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>then settled again on the +sands in long lines, the smaller birds together, the larger ones in +ascending rows. At last, alas! a gun fired into their midst caused death +and dismay. A few fell dead, and the rest fled to some happier shore, +where no destroying man could mar their happiness. And there are many +such spots in Borneo where no human foot ever trod, and where trees, +flowers, and insects flourish exceedingly; where the birds sing songs of +praise which are only heard by their Maker, and where the wild animals +of the forest live and die unmolested. There is always something +delightful to me in this idea. We are apt to think that this earth is +made for man, but, after many ages, there are still some parts of his +domain unconquered, some fair lands where the axe, the fire, and the +plough are still unknown.</p> + +<p>While we were at Santubong, in 1859, we were distressed to hear that Mr. +Fox and Mr. Steele, two Government officers in charge of a fort at +Kenowit, had been murdered by some Dyaks, whom they were judging in the +court-house. We were very grieved for our friends, especially for Mr. +Fox, who was for two years with us as catechist in the mission, and only +left because he could not make up his mind to be ordained. However, he +was most faithful in the performance of his duties at that lonely fort, +and most blameless in his life; we could only regret the loss of so good +a young man. We did not at that time connect this event with any general +enmity to Englishmen among the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>natives, but only thought that +particular tribe of Kenowits were not to be trusted.</p> + +<p>It was really a much more serious matter. Mr. Charles Johnson went up to +Kenowit directly, taking the Bishop's yacht, the <i>Sarawak Cross</i>, as his +floating fortress. He sent a thousand Dyaks to attack the fortified +village of the Kenowits, who were engaged in the murders. These Dyaks +were repulsed, but he led them on again himself with two hundred Sarawak +Malays, good men and true. They took a brass gun overland to the +village, and pounded them for a day; then the Malays and Dyaks attacked +and fired the place, and took it.</p> + +<p>There were many killed, but it was their own fault; for, before +attacking, a flag of truce had been hoisted, and all who would were +invited to submit, and promised their lives, but only a few women and +children availed themselves of it and were saved. Tanee the brave was +killed, and Hadji Mahomet. It was found that these traitors had spread a +report that all the English at Sarawak and at Labuan, as well as at +Bunjermassin, had been killed, and this was so thoroughly believed that +the Kenowits thought they had only to kill Mr. Fox and Mr. Steele, in +order to possess themselves of the arms and goods in the fort with +impunity. It was true that the Malays at Bunjermassin had risen upon the +Europeans there, and killed twenty Dutch officials and their families; +also four of the German missionaries living among the Dyaks, and a Mr. +Mattley, with his wife and three children, who used <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>to live at Labuan. +The Dutch took summary vengeance for this massacre, but in spite of that +the Malays at Coti killed the Europeans who lived there; so that +neighbouring countries showed a bad example to our people, and we were +afraid that religious fanaticism might have something to do with the +hatred to Christians, whether Dutch or English.</p> + +<p>In every country there are unfortunately some bad men, who are +irreclaimable by kindness or severity. Such were the two who instigated +a plot to murder all the English in the Sarawak territory, and take the +Government to themselves. The oldest and most shameless of these men was +the Datu Patinghi of Sarawak, and to tell his story I must go back to +the early days of Sarawak. When Sir James Brooke first visited Mudah +Hassim, the Malay Rajah, he found him endeavouring to put down a +rebellion among his subjects. After a time Sir James Brooke helped him +with the guns of his yacht and the services of his blue jackets. The +enemy submitted, and then he begged their lives of Mudah Hassim. It was +with very great difficulty this unprecedented favour was granted.</p> + +<p>Gapoor and his followers were pardoned, and when Sarawak was given over +to Sir James Brooke by the Sultan of Bruni, it was naturally supposed +that this man who owed his life to the English Rajah would remain his +faithful friend and follower. He was made the chief datu, or magistrate, +of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>whom there were three—the Datu Patinghi, the Tumangong, and the +Bandhar. These Malay chiefs were members of the Council, and represented +Home Department, War Office, and Treasury in the State. For some time +all seemed to go well, but the Rajah soon found that the Datu Patinghi +could not be restrained from oppressing the Dyaks under his charge, +levying more than the proper tax, or obliging them to buy whatever he +wished to sell, at exorbitant prices. His power over the Dyaks was +therefore taken away, and a fixed income given him to preclude +temptation. When the Rajah was in England, in 1851, this Datu intrigued +with the Bruni Malays to upset the Government; he mounted yellow +umbrellas, a sign of royalty, and arrogated power to himself which might +have been mischievous had he been more popular with the natives. But he +had many relations among the high Malays of the place, and it was a +question whether they would resent his being publicly disgraced. Captain +Brooke told them plainly that he must be exiled, but that it should be +done in the most cautious way, and appearances should be saved. Datu +Patinghi was therefore advised to go a pilgrimage to Mecca. Money and +servants were supplied him, but he had no choice about it. We all hoped +he would never return.</p> + +<p>About a year afterwards Sir James Brooke said to me, "Did you ever feel +pleasure at hearing of the death of an old friend?" Before I could +consider this knotty question, he added Gapoor had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>died of small-pox at +Mecca. It was only a report, and proved untrue. Datu came back a hadji, +but was desired to go and live at Malacca the rest of his days. In 1859 +he begged to be allowed to return to Sarawak, and, as it was hoped he +could not be ungrateful for so much kindness and forbearance, he was +permitted; but he was only biding his time. After his return to Sarawak +he married his daughter to Seriff Bujang, the brother of Seriff +Messahore, whose rascality and bad faith were on a par with his own. +Bujang was a quiet creature enough, drawn into the wicked plots of his +brother and father-in-law, but they were bad to the core. A Seriff is +supposed to be a descendant of the Prophet Mahomet, at any rate he is an +Arab, and Messahore was said to be invulnerable and sacred in his +person. He was a fine, handsome creature, with insinuating manners, but +there was nothing more to say in his favour. He was at the bottom of +every disturbance in the country, but was cunning enough to keep himself +in the background. Directly a plot miscarried, he came forward zealously +to punish the wrong-doers.</p> + +<p>He instigated the murder of Mr. Fox and Mr. Steele; nay, it was intended +to be a general massacre of all the English in Sarawak territory; but by +a mistake of the Kenowits these two unfortunates were killed +prematurely. The day had not arrived, and this led to the discovery of +the plot. When Mr. C. Johnson went with an armed force to Kenowit, +Seriff Messahore had already killed the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>fort men, who had only executed +his own orders. For some time he, the guilty one, escaped detection. At +last some Christian Dyaks of Lundu and Banting disclosed to their +missionaries that Malays had visited them to say they had better turn +Mahometans, for soon there would be no English left in the country. +These stories being communicated by the Bishop to Mr. Johnson, he +consulted the Malay members of the council and other trustworthy native +friends, and it was evident they knew there was good reason for anxiety, +as they advised all the English to wear firearms, even the ladies.</p> + +<p>At last the rumours of threats were traced to old Gapoor, the +ex-Patinghi, and he was again banished the country by order of the +council. Seriffs Messahore and Bujang, being connected with him by +marriage, were also suspected. Messahore was warned that if he came to +Kuching he would be treated as an enemy. Nevertheless he advanced up the +river; his boat was greeted by a shower of balls, and he ignominiously +fled. When the glamour was thus taken from him everybody was ready to +divulge what they knew of the plot, and that a pension of six hundred +rupees a year was promised to any one who would kill Mr. C. Johnson. The +Rajah was in England, and known to be in bad health. Very few English +men-of-war visited Sarawak at that time. Rumours were got up at Bruni +that the Rajah was in disgrace with his own queen. This was the +consequence of the commission of inquiry about piracy, which had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>taken +place in 1858, by order of the English Parliament; for though the +results of that commission thoroughly exculpated Sir James Brooke from +any blame, there was never any <i>amende honourable</i> made for subjecting +him to such an indignity. It was never understood by the natives as +anything but a slur on the Rajah's character, and was a terrible injury +to his prestige for a time. Indeed, it was the seed of the Malay plot; +and if we had all been killed, our own English Government would have +been the remote cause of our death. It is no doubt difficult for +Englishmen to understand the feelings of Malays and Dyaks. We are +accustomed in England to find fault with our rulers, and submit to them +all the same. But in the East it is different: no breath of blame must +touch the Rajah, nor can he be arraigned before any court, except the +throne of God.</p> + +<p>Fatima, Seriff Bujang's wife, was an old friend of mine. She had always +visited me from the time of our first arrival at Sarawak, and was then a +very handsome girl, with a pale, clear complexion, and fine hair and +eyes. We took a great interest in her marriage, and Seriff Bujang +frequently came to our house. He was apparently fond of Mab, and liked +to hear her tell fairy tales. Mab spoke Malay very well, and was always +popular with the natives, to whom she would sing, dance, or relate +Cinderella, the White Cat, or the Three Bears, etc. It was curious to +see a grave-looking Malay sitting to listen to fairy stories; still more +so when all the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>time he was party to a plot for the destruction of the +household he visited. He was more weak than wicked; and two years after +that he died. I had occasion to visit some Malays in his kampong after +his death, and found poor Fatima bereft of all her ornaments and gay +dresses, and working as a drudge in the house. Widows are little +accounted of in Eastern households.</p> + +<p>To return to the events of October, 1859.</p> + +<p>A timber-ship, the <i>Planet</i>, was lying in the river, and Mr. Johnson +requested that the women and children of the mission should be sent on +board until the panic passed away, and the old Datu was got safely out +of the place. The fort and Government House were manned and armed, and +the rest of the Europeans sheltered there. The Hacket family went down +at once, and in the evening we sent Miss McKee and the two youngest +children with her; but Mab was ill of fever, and could not be moved. So +the Bishop and I stayed with her, and ten Chinamen guarded our house.</p> + +<p>Mr. Chalmers had come from Merdang with news that some of those Dyaks +had joined the Datu Hadji, and also some bad Lundus, who had been +punished for sedition four years before. We all sat up that night; but I +was too much occupied with my sick child to be nervous about anything +else. The night passed over without any rising of the disaffected, and +the next day Gapoor consented to leave the country quietly, finding no +chief Malays would stand by him, and to be taken in a Government +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>gunboat to a brig just leaving the river. Thus, through God's mercy and +the loyalty of the people, no harm came of this plot, except that Mr. +and Mrs. Hacket decided to leave the mission, not being strong enough to +stand such alarms. They went to Malacca, where he became Government +chaplain, and died there of consumption, after some years' service.</p> + +<p>The heat of Sarawak climate was so injurious to our child Mab, who had +frequent attacks of fever, that as soon as the place was quiet again, we +resolved to pay another visit to England. The Bishop's health was much +shaken, and the doctors at Singapore ordered him home at once. But it +was winter, and we were afraid of taking our children too quickly into +the rigorous cold of England; therefore we took a passage in the +<i>Bahiana</i>, a steamer which had brought out a telegraph cable to lay +between Singapore and Batavia, and having accomplished her purpose, was +returning empty to England. The Bishop went with us as far as Bombay, +and then took P. and O. boat to England; whilst we called first at +Mauritius, then at the Cape of Good Hope, staying some days at each +place, and at the latter adding several passengers to our small party. +We proceeded very happily until we were within a day's steam of the +Island of St. Vincent, off the coast of Africa; then the great crank of +the steam-engine snapped in two, and we had to sail. It took us ten days +to beat up to the island, for a large screw <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>steamer was never intended +to be propelled by sails.</p> + +<p>We began to have gloomy forebodings of the time which must elapse before +we could reach England, sailing at this rate, when we saw, lying in the +roads at St. Vincent, a very large West Indian steamer on her way home. +It was difficult to communicate with this ship, because she lay in +quarantine, yellow flag flying; and we did not know whether she had +yellow fever on board or not. Our captain, however, called us all +together, and said, "I hoped to have found some provisions in this +island, to add to our stores; but I find there is nothing." The island +seemed just a bare rock, with one solitary palm-tree growing by the +office door, and not a blade of grass. It was difficult to imagine what +provisions there could be, except the coal left by ships to supply +passing steamers. "It will be necessary," added Captain Grenfell, "that +some of you should go home in the <i>Magnolia</i>, West Indian steamer, for +we have not food on board for all, and cannot expect to be less than +another month reaching England under sail: therefore you must each of +you decide to-night what you will do; and if you choose to go home in +the <i>Magnolia</i>, I will pay your passage. But I ought to tell you that +probably there are cases of yellow fever on board that ship; for it is +the time of year when it is rife at the South American stations."</p> + +<p>Here was a problem to solve in the night! Should I take my children on +board a ship where <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>there was probable infection, or should I subject my +husband to harassing anxiety about us for a whole month? In the morning +I decided to go home in the <i>Magnolia</i>; and I was rewarded when we +climbed up into that great ship, with two hundred passengers on board, +by finding that there was not a single case of yellow fever, or anything +infectious. We had a delightful ten days' passage, stopping a few hours +at Lisbon, but not allowed to land, and then straight to Southampton. My +only regret was leaving Captain Grenfell, who had been so kind to the +children all the way.</p> + +<p>The <i>Bahiana</i> took just a month to get to England from St. Vincent.</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-vase.jpg" width="150" height="116" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<h2>PART III.</h2> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-weeds.jpg" width="500" height="114" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER XV.<br /> +<small>THE CHILDREN'S CHAPTER.</small></h3> + + +<p>In 1861 we again returned to our Eastern home, leaving our three +children behind, and taking only our baby girl for companion. What a +difference it makes in India, to "leave the children behind!"—a common +fate indeed for parents, but not the less to be deplored. We used to +think and speak of Sarawak as home until 1861; but ever after, we spoke +of going home to our children, for where the treasure is there must the +heart be also. To do the work so that the time might pass quickly and +peacefully, to live upon the mails from England, to carry on two lives +as it were, one in the present, the other in the pictures our English +letters presented—such at any rate was my fate, though my husband was +too true a missionary to feel as I did.</p> + +<p>Most of our old Sarawak friends had either died or gone away when we +returned in '61, but the mission grew more and more interesting as +Christian Churches sprang up on the Dyak rivers. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>Four new missionaries +came out soon after our arrival. Mr. and Mrs. Abè, Mr. Zehnder, Mr. +Mesney, and Mr. Crossland, the two latter from St. Augustine's College, +Canterbury, from whence had formerly come those two good men, Mr. +Chalmers and Mr. Glover. They had both gone to Australia on account of +their health, but the teaching of Mr. Chalmers had left its mark among +the land Dyaks of Murdang and the Quop, so that Mr. Abè, who was +afterwards placed on that station, reaped the harvest which had been +sown with many prayers two years before. Mr. Mesney succeeded Mr. Glover +at Banting, and its many branch missions; and Mr. Crossland went farther +off, to the Dyaks, on the Undop, where he eventually built a church and +gathered a little flock of Christians about him. Mr. Richardson came as +catechist about the same time, and after staying a short time at Lundu, +built himself a house among the Selaku Dyaks at Sedemac, in the country +towards Sambas. He was much beloved by those simple people, who speak +quite a different language to the Lundus. They exerted themselves to +build their own church of substantial balean-wood, and their women +learnt to pray as well as the men. "To learn to pray" is the Dyak +description of a Christian. "What will you do," asked a missionary, "to +bring those around you to Christ?" "I will teach them to pray," was the +answer. And surely this is the great distinction between the Christian +and the heathen—the one has communion with his Father in heaven, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>an +all-powerful, wise, and loving Friend; the other may cherish some vague +belief and worship of an unknown God, but has neither love nor trust to +carry him above this world's troubles and trials.</p> + +<p>Another baby was added to our family in May, 1862, whose mother died at +her birth. This little one stayed with us only seventeen months, and was +a great happiness to me; then Sir James Brooke took her to England. +However, it was a pleasant chapter as long as it lasted.</p> + +<p>Julia, one of our original school-girls, became very useful to me at +this time. We had taken her home with us in '59, and sent her to a +training-school for teachers in Dublin, so that she was quite competent +on our return to take the management of the girls' school. We had eight +girls in the house, and a few day-scholars from the town. Lessons used +to go on in a room on the basement, where of course I was +superintendent, and they learnt sewing in the afternoon. Julia was a +very gentle mistress, and I was feeling very happy about my girls, when +I found to my sorrow that Julia had an admirer, and I must make up my +mind to part with my child who had lived with us since she was four +years old. Such natural events must not be considered trials, but the +difficulty of replacing her was insuperable. I was obliged at last to +send my girls to Mrs. Abè, at the Quop Station, for I was too often away +in the mission-boat with the Bishop to keep them at the mission-house. +This was not until 1865, however. Poor <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>Mildred felt parting with "her +girls," as she called them, very much, and often said, "Mamma, if Sarah +and Fanny might come back we would never, never quarrel any more." Are +not such pricks of conscience common to us all when our dear ones leave +us? But the past never returns!</p> + +<p>In 1863, the Bishop built a charming little yawl for mission work. The +<i>Fanny</i> was just suited, from her light draught of water, to cross the +bars of the rivers, and she was a very good sea-boat too. Not only was +she wanted to take the Bishop on his missionary, tours, but she brought +the missionaries to Sarawak when, they came for ordinations, or the +annual synod; also when they were sick, and required medical aid or +change. Very few clergymen know much about the management of boats, and +native crafts are very unsafe, so that until the Bishop had a yacht many +accidents used to occur, not actually dangerous, for the natives swim +like fishes, but drenchings and loss of goods from the upsetting of +boats. In the north-east monsoon <i>Fanny</i> was thatched over and laid +snugly up a creek, but all the south-west monsoon she was very useful; +and no one wanted to travel about, if they could help it, during the wet +tempestuous weather which prevailed from November to March.</p> + +<p>The Bishop paid his annual visit to Labuan in any steamer which happened +to be going. We had the great advantage of frequent visits from an +English gunboat, for the admiral of the Chinese seas had orders from +England to tell off one gun<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>-boat for the two stations of Labuan and +Sarawak. This arose from our being also blest with the presence of an +English consul. But after he and his wife had remained two years at +Sarawak, they were heartily tired of the dulness of their lives, and did +their best to get removed to a more stirring station. However, the +recognition of England gave confidence to native traders and security to +the well disposed, so that there ensued a time of peace such as we had +not experienced during our former sojourns in the country.</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="school" id="school"></a> +<img src="images/school.jpg" width="600" height="393" alt="group of school children" /> +<div class="cap" style="width: 600px; margin-top: 0.75em;"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="names of school children"> +<tr> +<td class="tdc" style="width: 50px;"> </td> +<td class="tdc" style="width: 100px;">Tommy.</td> +<td class="tdc" style="width: 75px;">Fanny.</td> +<td class="tdc" style="width: 75px;">Mary.</td> +<td class="tdc" style="width: 75px;">Mab.</td> +<td class="tdc" style="width: 70px;">Sarah.</td> +<td class="tdc" style="width: 75px;">Nietfong.</td> +<td class="tdc" style="width: 80px;"> </td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="capright"><i>Page</i> <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p>I think the history of our life during these years may be partly told by +the letters I wrote to my children at home, or extracts from them; so +that this may be called the children's chapter.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p class="sigblock"><small>Sunday before Easter, 1862.</small></p> + +<p><span class="smcap">My darling Mab</span>,</p> + +<p>I am glad you are not here, for it is very, very hot, and you +would probably have a bad headache. Julia is sitting in the +verandah teaching Polly, Sarah, Fanny, and Phoebe the Easter +hymn for next Sunday. Ayah is walking up and down with Mildred, +and Louis Koch is running about, making her laugh. I must tell +you how we spend the day. Papa gets up at five, and takes a +ride on his pony. I make the tea at six, and cut bread and +butter for Ayah and Julia, and Samchoon, one of the boys who +has had fever and wants feeding up. The bell calls us to church +at seven, but I don't go till the afternoon. The gardener +brings <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>me a tray of flowers, and I make the nosegays for the +day. Then I go downstairs and see the butter made. The boy +brings in a great jar of milk, with which he mixes some warm +water; into this he puts a long piece of bamboo, with cross +pieces fixed in it like the spokes of a wheel. This he twirls +round and round in the jar till the butter comes. Then he takes +it out with his black hands, and I carry it off and wash and +salt it. We only get five ounces now at a time, though there +are six cows in milk; but the calves are such miserable little +things they have to be helped first, and fed with rice-gruel +also. The butter finished, I go up to the sewing-class, who are +very busy making their Easter clothes, both boys and girls; and +I help them with my sewing-machine until half-past ten, only +running away twice—once to see what the school cook has +brought for their breakfast, and then to order our own. Then we +all bathe and breakfast, and Ayah goes away for two hours for +her breakfast and midday nap; and I take care of Mildred, which +is, I own, the hardest part of my day's work, for the little +restless thing will never let me sit down, and is up to all +sorts of mischief. At two o'clock Ayah comes and sings Mildred +to sleep, with the same old tune of "Doo doo baby" which you +used to sing to your dolls. I think in the next box I have from +home you might send your old friends Sarah and Fanny a doll +each, and dress them yourself. Our Malay Tuan Ku was here the +other day and asked after you; he remembered your Malay fairy +tales.</p></div> + +<hr class="hr1" /> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p><span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span><span class="smcap">My beloved Child</span>,</p> + +<p>Our letters were very welcome last Sunday, <i>Easter Sunday</i>, +telling us good news of you all. Our church was very gay with +flowers and moss ferns; and the font was filled with large pink +water-lilies, whose beautiful round green leaves, a foot wide +at least, looked quite lovely round the white shell font. All +holy week and Easter Monday and Tuesday we had full service at +seven o'clock in the morning, papa preaching a short sermon +from the altar. It was delightfully cool at that hour, and +began the day so pleasantly. I always love Easter, when all our +dear ones seem to be gathered to us in Christ our Lord, whether +those in Heaven or those far away—all one family, and Christ's +children through God the Father's love and mercy. I have been +very busy. The school-children had all new clothes for Easter. +We worked diligently for three hours every morning. The jackets +were made of the Irish gingham I brought from home. This week +is holiday, and Julia and I have had a fine wash, and have +clear-starched the Bishop's sleeves and ruffles—such a +business! My hand aches to-day with lifting the heavy +smoothing-iron, which is not iron, but a large brass box, +hollow and filled with hot charcoal. We shall get more used to +it in time. Mrs. Stahl used to do it. Now she is gone it is +quite impossible to let the Kling Dobie touch papa's sleeves; +they would soon be torn to ribbons. I gave the school a treat +on Easter Tuesday. They had two soup-tureens full <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>of syllabub, +plum cake, and pine-apple puffs. My cook stared when I said, +"Make forty large pine-apple puffs." However, they were for his +own countrymen—he is Chinese. I thought at first he understood +English, for he always said "Yes" to my orders; but it was his +one word. After the school-children had finished off with fruit +and native cakes, they had, what they like best of all, +quantities of crackers, which filled the house with the smell +of gunpowder, and frightened baby Mildred out of her sleep. +Good-bye.</p></div> + +<hr class="hr1" /> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p class="sigblock"><small>July, 1862.</small></p> + +<p><span class="smcap">My precious Mab</span>,</p> + +<p>Thank you for your note, written on the 4th of May, which I +received the other day. I always rejoice to think of you in the +springtime, because, like other young things, you enjoy the +opening buds, flowers, and sunshine after the long grave +winter. But winter is a good friend, although he has a grave +face; we should be all the better for a visit from him out +here. My garden is now as full of flowers as it will hold; Mrs. +Little brought me so many new ones from Singapore. I have a +very gay nosegay every morning, and still, leave flowers to +adorn the beds outside. We have turned out some of the +fruit-trees to make more room for flowers. This morning I have +sown a quantity of blue and purple convolvulus, which only +display their beauties to those who rise early before the sun +closes their blossoms; but we have <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>flowers which only open at +night, the moon-flower, and night-blowing cereus, both white +and fragrant. Dr. Little has been travelling about the country +looking for new plants. He and Mr. Koch went to the top of the +mountain of Poè near Lundu. It was so cold six thousand feet +above the level of the sea, that they had to supply the natives +who went with them with blankets. At the very top of the +mountain they found a new orchid growing on the ground, a +bright yellow flower, with streaks of magenta colour inside. +Dr. Little picked some of the blossoms, and dug up one hundred +roots, two of which he gave me; but they will not live in my +garden, they want mountain air. He also gave me the dead +flowers, and asked me to paint a picture of one from his +description and the faded blossom. I did it as well as I could, +but I fear it was not very good, and, after all, the flower was +not nearly as pretty as a bunch of laburnum in England. They +also found growing on the roots of a tree that strange fungus +flower described by Sir Stamford Raffles in his book on Java +and Sumatra—a yard wide across the petals, brilliantly +coloured red, purple, yellow and white, and, in the hollow of +the flower (nectarium), capable of holding twelve pints of +water, the whole weighing from fifteen to twenty pounds; for it +is a thick fleshy flower, not frail and delicate as one likes a +flower to be. It is very curious and gorgeous, but as soon as +it is fully expanded it begins to decay and smells putrid. Sir +James Brooke once found a <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>specimen of this gigantic flower in +the jungle, and sent it to me to look at; but it had lost all +its beauty in the journey, and I held my nose as I looked at +it. The Dyaks said, "It is an auton" (spirit), which is their +explanation of anything they never saw before. The natives of +Sumatra call it "The Devil's sirih-box."<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> Are you as fond of +frogs as you used to be? Last week, some people were dining +with us. I had just helped the soup, and, letting my hand fall +upon my lap, picked up one of your friends who had settled +himself there. Not knowing at first what the cold clammy thing +was, I jumped up, and everybody else jumped up too, to see what +was the matter; for it might have been a snake, you know! +Good-bye.</p></div> + +<hr class="hr1" /> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p class="sigblock"><small>December 1, 1862.</small></p> + +<p><span class="smcap">My dearest Mab</span>,</p> + +<p>Uncle told me of your walk with him to West Hyde Church, and +how you made believe to get to Sarawak and see mamma walking in +the verandah. You are much better off in the cold December air +of England, than you would be in this sultry place, for all its +green beauty and never-failing flowers. I had rather you +carried the roses in your cheeks than have them in the garden +all the year round. Last month papa went to visit the Quop +Mission, where Mr. and Mrs. Abi and their little baby, and your +old Ayah Fatima, live.<span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> To get there he goes down the Sarawak +River and up the Quop River, then lands at a Malay village, +from whence there is a walk of three or four miles, up and down +pretty hills and across Dyak bridges, and over paths made of +two bamboos tied together, with a muddy swamp on either side. +Then you come to the mission-house which papa has built, and to +Mr. Chalmers' old house, which at present serves as the church, +and to some long Dyak houses. Papa baptized twenty-four men, +women, and girls, and confirmed nineteen people who had been +baptized by Mr. Chalmers. The old Pangara, one of the principal +chiefs, was baptized, and three of his grown-up sons, and one +little grandson whom the old man held in his arms. We had made +white jackets for the baptized, but the old Pangara had not +quite made up his mind, fearing the ridicule of the other +elders of the tribe, till papa talked to him; so there was no +jacket for him, and papa gave him a clean white shirt, round +the skirt of which we tied his chawat, a very long waist-band +which wraps round and round the body, and that was all! no +trousers, and very funny he looked; but papa was too rejoiced +at his becoming a Christian, to laugh at him. These people will +all be Christians soon. They come to Mr. and Mrs. Abi, morning, +noon, and night, to be taught, and there are two daily +services; so the missionaries have plenty to do. Two of our old +school-boys, now grown up, are catechists there, Semirum and +Aloch. There is much love between the people and their +<span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>teachers; they are so happy at the Quop they never want to +come away. However, I have asked the Abis to come for a +fortnight at Christmas, and bring their poor little baby to be +fattened on cow's milk. There are no cows at the Quop.</p></div> + +<hr class="hr1" /> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p class="sigblock"><small>January, 1863.</small></p> + +<p><span class="smcap">My beloved Children</span>,</p> + +<p>As I cannot have you with me this Christmas and new year, I +must comfort myself as best I may by writing you an account of +all we have been doing, and how we have tried to fancy +ourselves in old England amidst the frost and snow, +notwithstanding the bright sunshine and perpetual green of our +Eastern home. When we woke before daylight on Christmas morning +the school boys were singing under our windows, "When Joseph +was a-walking he heard an angel sing," so we got up and looked +out, wishing the children a happy Christmas. Then we dressed, +for there was a great deal to do. Papa had many services in +church, Chinese, English, and Dyak. I had the wreaths to make. +The church had been decked with moss fern the day before, but +the flowers must be added in the morning, or they would be +faded. So Julia and I made a crown of French marigolds to hang +on the cross over the altar, two large wreaths for either side, +and one at the west end made entirely of the golden allamanda, +in the buds of which you used to imprison fire-flies when you +lived here. The font was <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>adorned all over, in preparation for +the baptisms to take place in the morning service. At half-past +eleven we all went to church, and after the Litany there were +sixteen Dyaks from Murdang, six Chinamen, and six little +children baptized. Mr. Koch read the service in Malay, and papa +baptized. It was a beautiful sight. The children, four of my +little girls, and two small boys from the school behaved very +well, and looked pretty in their new clothes. But they all +understood something of why they were sprinkled with the +blessed water, for we had been teaching them for some time, and +Limo told me on Christmas Eve, that "our Saviour came into this +world a little child, to teach us to be good; and when He had +blessed them in their baptism, they must take pains to do all +He desired them." I thought this pretty well for a beginning. +Ambat always repeats what Limo says, so I do not know how much +is her own: she is Limo's sister. Ango and Llan, the other two +girls, have been taught by Miss Rocke, who has given them to +me; they know but little, but are gentle children. The school +had a feast at five o'clock, beef curry (papa had an ox +killed), salt pork, rice, and a huge plum-pudding. They had +newly white-washed their dining-room the week before, and +decked it with boughs, so that it looked very nice with six +lanterns hanging from the roof. They played there while we were +at dinner, and the Christian Chinese feasted at Sing Song's +house. Julia had her little party in her school-room, and +dinner from our table: <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>some of the grown-up schoolboys and +Polly. We had Mr. and Mrs. Koch, Mr. and Mrs. Owen, Mr. +Zehnder, and Mrs. Crookshank at our table. Papa counted that +ninety-seven people were fed on the mission premises on +Christmas Day. After dinner we had a bonfire in the hollow +below our hill, between the house and the church. Quantities of +dry bamboo had been collected there, which threw up columns of +sparks, and lit up all the under leaves of the trees, making +the dark sky and the young moon look so far far away. Then the +boys began with crackers and rockets. Baby Agnes was not +frightened, but poor Mildred could not sleep for terror. Every +rocket made her call out "Bumah," and hide her face on my +shoulder; however, she got used to it at last. Christmas is the +time of year which belongs especially to children, because our +Lord Jesus Christ then deigned to become a little child. We +forget what happened to us when we were very young—even a +mother does not know all the feelings, little troubles, ardent +wishes and desires of her little ones—but it is impossible +that our Saviour can ever forget. He knows exactly all that +belongs to the daily life of a child, not only because He is +God and knows everything, but because He was once a child +Himself, and remembers all the joys and sorrows of His +child-life in the cottage at Nazareth; and so children are very +dear to Him—He listens to their prayers, accepts their +praises, and watches over them always. Remember, my darling, +that He is <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>your best friend; to Him you may tell all your +little troubles and confess all your faults, for He is very +pitiful and of tender mercy.</p> + +<p>I gave my school-girls a box of dominoes and a set of +draughtsmen with a board for their Christmas present. They play +very well. All the sewing-class boys, too, had each a +present—either a knife, or belt, or box or basket to keep +their treasures in, or a head-handkerchief; but the Sarawak +bazaar does not furnish many desirable things, even for +school-boys. H.M.S. <i>Renard</i> has arrived since I wrote thus +far, and we have had the boat races, which always take place in +January. Eleven of our school-boys won the boys' race, pulling +against Inchi Boyangs' school, the Mahometan school, and some +other boats. We dressed our boys in white and blue, and they +pulled beautifully. Papa had taught them to pull all together, +when they went to mission stations with him, and they are +really good paddlers. They disdained the short course marked +out for the boys, and pulled all the way out to the +winning-post, a boat anchored near the wharf, round it, and +back again, winning by two boats' lengths. They won five +dollars, and papa added two more; they gave some of the money +to their school-fellows, and celebrated their victory by +singing all the evening so nicely, and hurrahing at the end of +each song. They are good boys, and much happiness to us. +Good-bye.</p></div> + +<div class="footnotes"> +<p class="center"><b>Footnote:</b></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> The real name is <i>Rafflesia Arnoldi</i>. See page 343, vol. +i., "Raffles' Life and Journals."</p></div> + +</div> + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p> +<img src="images/l-mint.jpg" width="500" height="105" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> +<small>ILLANUN PIRATES.</small></h3> + + +<p>I have described in a former chapter the habits of the Dyak pirates of +Sakarran and Sarebas, and how, after being punished by Sir James Brooke +when they were caught at the entrance of their river, with captives and +plunder in their boats, they were required to live at one with their +neighbours, and to study the arts of peace. Happily for them, they had a +wise and paternal Government to repress their vices, and, after a time, +Christian missionaries to teach them the fear and love of God. But the +Malay pirates who lived on the islands and coasts of North Borneo were +governed by sultans who encouraged piracy, and insisted on sharing their +spoils; moreover, they are Mahometans by religion, and that is not a +faith which teaches mercy or respects life. To this day, therefore, +these Illanuns remain pirates. They have larger prahus and carry heavier +guns than the Dyaks, and nothing can exceed their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>cruelty. When we +lived at Kuching there was scarcely a Malay family there who had not +suffered from them, either by the loss of relations or property; for +they are naturally a trading people.</p> + +<p>It is a common practice for a party of men to join together in hiring a +boat in which to venture goods or gold-dust by trading on the coast, or +even to Singapore three hundred and sixty miles away, These small and +comparatively unarmed boats fell an easy prey to the pirate prahus, who +went out in fleets.</p> + +<p>The Spaniards and the Dutch were every now and then roused to search the +seas for these pests of the human race, but they were so cunning they +generally evaded them. At last they had a signal lesson. In the year +1862, Captain Brooke, then governing Sarawak in his uncle's absence, +decided to go to Bintulu on the north-west coast of Borneo, a territory +which had lately been ceded to the Rajah by the Sultan, and build a fort +on the river, to check piracy and protect the peaceable inhabitants who +were settling there on the promise of such protection. For this purpose +he took the <i>Rainbow</i>, a small screw steamer of eighty-nine tons and +thirty-five horse power; and the <i>Jolly Bachelor</i>, a Government +gun-boat. The Bishop accompanied him, to see what missionary prospects +there were in that distant spot, also because he was at that time +anxious about Captain Brooke's health. Mr. Helms, the manager of the +Borneo mercantile company, accompanied them as far as Muka, where <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>was +an establishment to collect sago for exportation. On the second day +after his arrival, a piratical fleet of Ilanuns, consisting of six +large, and as many smaller vessels, appeared on the coast, and blockaded +the town. For two days they remained off Muka, capturing there, and on +the coast southwards, thirty-two persons.</p> + +<p>Mr. Helms persuaded Hadji Mataim and a few natives to start in a fast +boat and apprize Captain Brooke; and this boat, though chased by the +pirates, got safe to Bintulu. Hadji Mataim got alongside the steamer +early on Thursday morning, while it was still dark, and the Bishop, +recognizing his voice, called him on board. He delivered a letter from +Mr. Helms, asking for help. Steam was got up directly, the Chinese +carpenters who were to build the fort were landed, and the guns which +had been brought to protect it were put on board, as well as the fort +men who were to man the fort, that they might strengthen the crew. With +the first dawn of light the <i>Rainbow</i> steamed over the bar taking the +<i>Jolly Bachelor</i> in tow, and steered for Muka.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile all preparation was made for fighting. Planks were hung over +the railing to raise the sides of the poop where there were no bulwarks, +and mattresses were laid inside to receive the shot and spears of the +enemy; this doubtless saved the lives of several of the crew. There were +eight Europeans on board, including the captain of the <i>Rainbow</i> and his +mate, the engineer, Captain Brooke, Mr. Stuart Johnson, Mr. Hay, Mr. +Walters, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>and the Bishop. As soon as there were any wounded, Mr. Walters +assisted the Bishop in his work of mercy. The Bishop always carried a +medicine chest and case of surgical instruments wherever he went; and, +happily, a large sheet had been packed among his things this voyage, +which was speedily torn up into bandages. Now all was ready, but it was +not until Friday morning that they sighted what looked like three large +palm drifts to seaward off Tanjong Kidorong, to the north-east of the +British River. They proved to be three large prahus, with their masts +struck, and bristling with men, who were rowing like the Maltese, +standing, and pushing for shore, casting off their sampans<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> one by one +to make better way. Hadji Mataim recognized the sampan which chased and +fired at him when he slipped away from Muka. Brooke then asked one of +the chief officers of the Sarawak Government, who was on board, and +Pangeran Matussim of Muka, if they were perfectly sure that these prahus +were Illanuns? "Not a shadow of doubt," they said. So they loaded their +guns and prepared for action. The leading prahu was going almost as fast +as the steamer herself, and though steam was put on, and every effort +made to get between her and the Point, the prahu won the race, and got +into shallow water where the steamer could not follow; then she opened +fire on the steamer, which was returned with interest. This prahu had +three long brass <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>swivel guns, and plenty of rifles and muskets. As she +was beyond the reach of the steamer, Captain Brooke turned to the second +prahu, which was now fast nearing the shore. His plan was to silence the +brass guns by the fire of the rifles on board the steamer, and shake the +rowers at their oars by a discharge of grape and round shot; then to put +on all steam and run at them with the stem of the <i>Rainbow</i>. This was +done with great coolness by Captain Hewat when Captain Brooke gave the +order; the steamer struck the prahu amid-ships and went over her. Those +on board called to the slaves, and all who would surrender, to hold on +by the wreck until the boats could take them off; then they steamed away +after the third prahu, which had already got into two-fathom water and +was struck too far forward to sink. All the pirates in her jumped +overboard and swam for shore, leaving their own wounded, the slaves, and +captives, who were also bid to remain by their vessel till they were +rescued.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the first prahu, seeing the fate of the others, ran ashore +among the rocks inside Tanjong Kidorong; and all the crew, pirates, and +slaves ran into the jungle. Had the captives known better they would not +have run away. The <i>Jolly Bachelor</i> was left to look after these +runaways, and then the captives of the other two prahus were helped on +board the steamer. Several of the crew of the <i>Rainbow</i> recognized +friends and acquaintances among the saved; and the joyous, thankful look +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>of the captives, as they came on board and found themselves among +friends, was indeed a compensation for the awful destruction of the +pirates. Many were wounded, either with shot or the fearful cuts of the +Illanun swords of the pirates, who tried to murder their captives when +they saw all was lost. The Bishop was dressing one man who was shot +through the wrist, when he spoke to him in English, and after pouring +out his gratitude for his wonderful escape, said he was a Singapore +policeman, and was going to see his friends in Java when he was +captured. There were also two Singapore women, and a child, and two +British-born Bencoolen Malays, who were taken in their own trading boat +going to Tringanau. The husband of the younger woman had been killed by +the pirates, and she, like all women who fall into their hands, had +suffered every outrage and insult which could be offered her. They were +almost living skeletons. One was shot through the thigh, and after the +Bishop had dressed her wound, Mr. Walters said quaintly, "Poor thing, +she has not meat enough on her bones to bait a rat-trap." It is a wonder +how the poor creatures lived at all, under the treatment to which they +were subjected. When the Bishop asked some of the men whether their +wounds hurt much, they answered, "Nothing hurts so much as the salt +water the Illanuns gave us to drink. We never had fresh water; they +mixed three parts of fresh with four of salt water: and all we had to +eat was a handful of rice or raw sago twice a day." Very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> few of the +pirates who were not wounded surrendered. They are marvellous swimmers: +took their arms with them into the water, and fought the men in the +boats who were trying to pick up the captives. The Bishop and Mr. +Walters were fully occupied doctoring friends and foes, arresting +hemorrhage, extracting balls, and closing frightful sword or chopper +wounds. One man came on board with the top of his skull as cleanly +lifted up by a Sooloo knife, as if a surgeon had desired to take a peep +at the brain inside! It took considerable force to close it in the right +place. This man had also two cuts in his back, yet the next morning he +was discovered eating a large plate of rice, and he ultimately +recovered. Another poor fellow could not be got up the ladder because he +had a long-handled three-barbed spear sticking in his back: the Bishop +had to go down and cut it out before he could be moved.</p> + +<p>While all this was going on, the captives told Captain Brooke that there +were three more pirate vessels out at sea, waiting for those near shore +to rejoin them; as soon, therefore, as the steamer had picked up as many +captives as she could find, she steamed out to sea in search of them. +After an hour, the look-out from the mast-head reported three vessels in +sight. It was then a dead calm, and they were using their long sweeps, +when they were seen from the deck, to arrange themselves side by side, +with their bows towards the steamer; but, a breeze springing up, they +hoisted sail, spread <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>themselves out broadside on, and opened fire on +the <i>Rainbow</i> as soon as she was within range, so that there was no +question as to whether these were pirate prahus or not. The same plan +was followed as in the case of the other boats, and with more success, +as there was no shore to escape to.</p> + +<p>The pirates had secured their captives below the decks of the prahus, +but when the steamer struck them and opened their sides, they were +liberated. But few of them were drowned, being all good swimmers; but +some were killed by the pirates in their rage and despair, and some had +been lashed to the vessel and could not therefore escape.</p> + +<p>One poor Chinaman came swimming along, holding up his long tail of hair +lest he should be suspected to be a pirate; other men held up the ropes +round their necks, to show they were captives. The deck of the steamer +was soon covered with those who had been picked out of the water, men of +every nation and race in the Archipelago, who had been captured during +this cruise, which had lasted seven months. These vessels left +Tawi-Tawi, an island to the south-west of Sooloo, in October. The Sultan +of Sooloo is in league with the pirates, and receives part of the +plunder and slaves. In the only boat boarded by Captain Brooke was found +the Sultan's flag, which is only given to people of high rank; also the +usual Illanun flag, six Dutch, and one Spanish flag, which no doubt +belonged to vessels they had captured. The men who were saved gave +details of the taking of two <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>large vessels—one a Singapore prahu +trading to Tringanau; the other a Dutch tope, of one hundred and fifty +tons, on the coast of Borneo to the south of Pontianak. There they fell +in with five other Illanun boats, which had come down from the +northward—they themselves were going up from the southward. The +new-comers told them of a merchant vessel near at hand, and proposed +they should join them in capturing her, which they did. She had a +valuable cargo, worth ten thousand dollars. They killed everybody on +board, plundered and burnt the vessel. Only the one Chinaman escaped who +told this tale. The captives stated that this was the usual proceeding +if resistance was made. When they spare their captives' lives, they beat +them with a flat piece of bamboo over the elbows and knees, and the +muscles of arms and legs, until they are unable to move; then a halter +is put round their necks, and, when they are sufficiently tamed, they +are put to the oars and made to row in gangs, with one of their own +fellow-captives as overseer to keep them at work. If he does not do it +effectually, he is krissed and thrown overboard. If these miserable +creatures jump into the sea they spear them in the water. They row in +relays, night and day; and to keep them awake, cayenne pepper is rubbed +into their eyes or into cuts dealt them on their arms.</p> + +<p>The masts of these prahus are very small, so that they may not be seen +at a distance. They go very fast. Those encountered by the <i>Rainbow</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> +were seen off Datu on Monday night, and on Friday morning they were near +Bintulu, a distance of two hundred and forty miles, although they had +delayed nearly two days at Muka, picking up thirty people on the coast. +Most of these were recaptured and returned to Muka. On reckoning up, it +was found that one hundred and sixty-five people had been rescued, and +perhaps one hundred and fifty or two hundred had got away from the +vessels sunk on shore. In every pirate prahu were from forty to fifty +Illanuns, and from sixty to seventy captives, many of whom were killed +by the pirates when they found themselves beaten, among them two women. +Nine women and six children were saved; seven of the women belonged to +Muka or Oya. Of the Illanuns, thirty-two were taken alive; ten of these +were boys. Some died afterwards of their wounds; some were taken to +Kuching in irons, there tried, and some of them executed. They died the +death of murderers; but Captain Brooke gave the boys to respectable +people to bring up, hoping they might be reformed. We had one young +fellow, about fourteen years old, when he had been cured of his wounds +in the hospital. I kept him about me, and used to teach him; but he +could not be tamed. He turned Mahometan, and left us to be employed at +the fort; but there he stole money, and had to be sent elsewhere. The +nature of an Illanun pirate seems almost unmixed evil, because they are +taught to be cruel from their childhood.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>There were two circumstances in this affray with the Illanuns which +called for thankfulness on the part of the victors. First, that they met +the pirates in two detachments, which enabled them to attack them +successfully, without the danger of their boarding the steamer, which, +from their numbers, would have been fatal to the little party on board +the <i>Rainbow</i>. Secondly, that their ammunition lasted through the two +engagements. It was quite finished; only a little loose powder in a +barrel, and a few broken cartridges, remained when the last prahus were +taken. Had they fallen in with another fleet, they would have been at +their mercy. Almost while I write these last words, we have received a +letter from the present Rajah of Sarawak—Charles Johnson Brooke. He +says, "I have heard this morning that one of our schooners has been +captured by the Sooloo pirates, and the crew murdered." The last twenty +years have not therefore altered the character of these people, and +their extermination seems the only remedy for the misery they inflict on +their fellow creatures.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"> +<p class="center"><b>Footnotes:</b></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Small boats.</p></div> + +</div> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-leaf.jpg" width="150" height="117" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-padi.jpg" width="500" height="113" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + + +<h3>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> +<small>A MALAY WEDDING.</small></h3> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p><span class="smcap">My darling Mab,</span></p> + +<p>I am sitting in a darkened room, while Mildred is having her day sleep; +and as I am thinking of you, I may as well begin a letter for next mail. +Last week I went to a Malay wedding, the first I ever attended, although +I have been here so many years. It amused me very much; so I shall try +to describe it to you.</p> + +<p>Early in the morning the bridegroom's friends came to beg flowers from +our garden. Then papa told them I would go to the wedding, and they +said, "Be sure not to be later than twelve o'clock." Accordingly, Mr. +and Mrs. Ricketts, the British Consul and his wife, Mr. Zehnder, and I +set off in two boats, after eleven o'clock breakfast; but we need not +have got there before two o'clock.</p> + +<p>Eastern people set little value on time. They would just as soon sit +cross-legged on the floor smoking for three hours as for one. The bride +is <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>the daughter of one of the first merchants in the place, Nakodah +Sadum, and the bridegroom is the grandson of the old Datu Tumangong, +whom you may remember. A handsome young man is Matussim, and +enlightened, for a Malay. He made his betrothed a present of his +photograph last year. Formerly Malays objected to having their portraits +taken, fancying it a breach of the second commandment.</p> + +<p>The bride's father's house was gay with flags and streamers, and in +front of it lay, by the river's brink, four small cannon, which had been +busy, for days before and all that morning, saluting the occasion. We +walked up into the house, which was full of guests. A long verandah, +lined with hadjis and elders, all smoking and talking, led to the +principal room, which, unlike any Malay house before built in Sarawak, +had large Venetian-shuttered doors all round, and was therefore cool and +airy. There was a little round table, and some armchairs covered with +white mats for the expected guests, in the middle of the room. Sadum and +his wife came forward and greeted us very cordially, and then we were +told to sit down on the chairs. I looked about for the bride, and saw a +crowd of women in one corner, and a boy holding a gilt umbrella over the +young lady, who was being shaved. A woman with a razor was shearing her +eyebrows into a delicate line, and all round her forehead trimming +disorderly hairs. Four women, seated on their heels in front of her, +were fidgeting over her <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>face; she, impassive as a log in their hands. A +vast deal of singing and drumming went on all the time, a row of +musicians keeping it up all round the room. The girl was washed; then +her hair, magnificent black hair down to her heels, knotted in two great +bows on either side of her head. Over these, gold ornaments like wings +were fixed, and a little tower of gold bells above them. Then the women +painted a black band round her forehead, and added a silver edge to it, +also painted. Her eyebrows were likewise touched up, and her skin rubbed +all over with yellow powder. Poor child! she was a curious figure by the +time it was all finished, and her skin must have felt painfully stiff. +She was then attired in very handsome silk robes, ornamented with solid +gold, and the attendants carried her to a raised dais or bed-place at +one end of the room. There she sat, not daring to lift her eyes until +the bridegroom's arrival.</p> + +<p>The divan was gorgeous with silk curtains and cushions embroidered with +gold thread and embossed with tinsel ornaments, the work of the bride +herself. The seat for the bridegroom was somewhat higher and larger than +the bride's. At last the bridegroom approached in a large barge, which +held about two hundred people. A small boat preceded it with three guns, +which kept up a deafening noise as he drew near. He was carried up the +steps, and the house door was shut to in his face, according to the +Malay custom. Then he begged admittance very humbly, and after paying a +fee of <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>five dollars, was admitted. His followers rush in first—such a +clatter! Greetings, welcomes, jokes, and laughter, make a Babel of +noise; everybody speaking at once. Then a cloth was laid down for the +bridegroom to pass over, and he was pulled with apparent reluctance into +the room, panting and shutting his eyes as if exhausted. His head was +wreathed with Indian jessamine. He was naked to the waist, except a gold +scarf over one shoulder; otherwise he had plenty of gold and red silk +about him. He was pulled up to the bride, turning his head away as if he +was ashamed to look at her, and dropped a red silk handkerchief over her +face for a moment. Then he sat down on the divan, and all the old women +of both houses sprinkled the couple with yellow rice, and rubbed their +foreheads with some charm, which looked like a bit of stone and a +nutmeg-grater, and wished them all kinds of luck—but especially that +they might be the parents of <i>sons</i> only. After the young people had +endured this long enough, the curtains were let down round the dais, and +only two or three old women kept going in and out. We found they were +taking off all the finery, and dressing the bride and bridegroom in +their usual clothes; for while we were drinking coffee and eating Malay +cakes at the little table, they came out from the curtains, looking +quite pleasant and natural. So we shook hands, made our congratulations, +and bade them adieu. We got home at four o'clock, very hot and tired, +and papa laughed <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>at us for going; but I was glad I did for once in a +way.</p> + +<p>A wedding is a very serious expense to Malays of any rank. The +bridegroom has to make settlements on the bride, and the bride's father +has to keep open house for weeks, besides fees to the hadjis, and +gunpowder <i>ad libitum</i>. The religious part of the ceremony is enacted +some days before the marriage. One day papa was calling at a Malay +house, where a wedding was about to take place, and found the bridegroom +learning a passage in the Koran, in Arabic, which he could not +translate, but which it was necessary he should repeat. A hadji was +standing by, driving the words into his head. The hadji could not +translate it either; but the Koran may only be read in Arabic, lest it +should be desecrated. Sometimes papa would read a chapter to any Malay +who desired to understand the meaning of his sacred book; but they were +generally content with learning it as a charm, or certain parts of it.</p> + +<p>The Rajah often made a present of an ox for a great man's wedding. This +was a great help, for many dishes of curry could be made out of so much +meat. When we wished for some meat at Christmas and Easter, we sent for +the Mahometan butcher to kill the animal. He turned its head towards +Mecca, repeated prayers over him, and then cut his throat in such a way +that no drop of blood was left in the flesh; for the Malays hold to the +Jewish law in that as well as many other <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>particulars. Then the people +would buy whatever beef we did not want ourselves; but not otherwise.</p> + +<p>This is a long letter, but as I am on the subject of weddings, I may as +well tell you about a Chinese wedding we had the other day at our house. +The bridegroom was Akiat, a carpenter, about six feet two inches high. +He was dressed in whity-brown silk, which made him look like a tall +spectre; and the bride was Quey Ginn, a fat, dumpy little girl of +sixteen, the Chinese deacon's daughter, and one of my scholars. She did +not choose her old husband of fifty years, but her parents arranged it, +and Akiat paid one hundred dollars for his wife. I went to see her the +day before the wedding, and she showed me all her clothes and ornaments; +but I thought she did not look as if she cared for them. So I whispered, +"Are you happy, child?" "No, not at all," burst out Quey Ginn. "I don't +want to be married and leave my parents." Whereupon I could not help +taking her in my arms and comforting her, telling her to be a good wife, +and she would soon learn to be content. She has been to visit me since +her marriage, and I am amused to see that she is quite a little woman, +instead of the shy girl she used to be; and, whereas as a girl she was +never allowed to be seen in the streets, or even to go to church, she +now does exactly as she likes, and, I am happy to say, comes regularly +to church. These people were all sincere Christians. Akiat was the +Chinese churchwarden, and, as papa <span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>esteemed them very highly, he +allowed the breakfast to take place at our house.</p> + +<p>I had a cake made for the occasion, which Quey Ginn cut up with much +pleasure. The ring in it fell to Mr. Zehnder's share, which amused him +also. Good-bye. </p></div> + +<p>It was this year, 1865, that Mr. Waterhouse, the chaplain of Singapore, +came to visit us. The doctors often sent us a patient or friend to be +under the Bishop's care, and for rest and change; the latter was the +cause of Mr. Waterhouse's visit, and six weeks of jungle life did him +good, while his society and sympathy were a great pleasure to us, the +Bishop especially. The Bishop took him to visit the different mission +stations, and he often spoke to me with satisfaction of the "real +mission work" he witnessed at Banting, Lundu, and the Quop. At each of +these stations he found a consecrated church and a community of +Christian people; whilst the missionaries set over them, not only +instructed and ministered to the tribe among whom they lived, but +journeyed to outlying places, founding branch missions and setting +catechists to work under them. I find in one of my letters, when Mr. +Waterhouse returned from Banting, he said, "I cannot but admire the +patience with which Mr. Chambers talks all day, morning, noon, and +night, to every party of Dyaks, who march into the house whenever they +like, making it quite their home: it is what very few people could do +day after <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>day." This is the trial of Dyak teaching. You cannot appoint +specific hours for instruction. People come when they can, sometimes +long distances. They can never be denied, except you are actually at +meals, and then they sit down and wait till the eating is over. Here is +a programme of a day at Banting:—</p> + +<p>By seven in the morning Mr. Chambers goes to one or another Dyak house +to teach. These houses contain many families under one roof. The people +understand now that teaching is the sole object of Mr. Chambers' visit, +so, when he enters, all who are at leisure gather round him. He returns +home to eleven o'clock breakfast. After breakfast his school of boys +occupies him for the afternoon; but every party of Dyaks who come in +must be listened to, and, if they are willing, instructed, taught a +prayer, a hymn, a parable, or some Scripture lesson. This goes on till +five o'clock, when the bell calls them to daily prayers, and they all +walk together down the beautiful jungle avenue to the pretty church. A +short service, in which the Dyaks respond heartily, and a catechizing +follows, during which they are allowed to ask questions of their +teacher. Then an hour's rest before dinner. But immediately after dinner +more Dyaks, sometimes a whole house, <i>i.e.</i> forty or fifty persons, come +in, and have coffee, and pictures, and a lecture. All this does not +happen every day, but most days during what we call the working season, +from March till October, and no doubt so much talking and so <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>little +leisure is very fatiguing. But then comes the harvest, and afterwards +the wet monsoon, and the schools fall off, and the Dyaks no longer come +from a distance to be taught. It is sufficiently dull and lonely then in +the jungle stations. The sea runs too high for boats to bring mails, or +books, or provisions; the rain falls heavily, and with little +intermission, and food becomes scarce. Mrs. Chambers told me that the +prayer for daily bread, which seems to us to relate to the daily needs +of our souls for the bread and water of life, bore a literal meaning to +them in the north-east monsoon, when the day's food was by no means +certain. Rice they had, it is true; but English people get nearly +starved upon rice alone, without fish, meat, or bread. It was therefore +with sincere thankfulness that they welcomed a chicken, however skinny, +in that season.</p> + +<p>After the Banting expedition, the Bishop took Mr. Waterhouse to Lundu, +and Mr. Hawkins, a missionary lately come out, went with them. They +arrived on a Saturday. On Sunday there was a great gathering of +Christian Dyaks: fifty-two people were confirmed, eighty received the +Holy Communion, so that they were more than three hours in church, the +Bishop preaching to them in Malay. On Monday Mr. Waterhouse and Mr. +Hawkins paid a visit to a beautiful waterfall, about two miles from the +town; and on Tuesday all the party, Mr. Gomez included, went in boats +forty miles up the river Lundu, with three hundred Dyaks, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>to tuba fish. +The Bishop had paid the Dyaks to collect tuba the week before. It is a +plant found in the jungle, the root of which washed in water makes a +milky-looking poison. It does not make the fish unwholesome to eat, only +intoxicates them for the time, so that they rise floundering about on +the surface of the water, but it destroys human life, and is the poison +chosen by Dyaks who commit suicide, though I do not believe that this +crime is common among them.</p> + +<p>When the party had ascended the river far enough, the Dyaks built a hut +for the English to sleep in. They made a floor of logs of wood, spread +over with the bark of trees, which, beaten down hard, made a capital +mattress on which to lay their mats and pillows. The kajangs (leaf mats) +off the boat made some shelter from the weather, although it takes a +good deal to keep Borneo rain out! The Dyaks were much too busy to go to +sleep at all: they drove stakes all across the river to secure their +fish, then they beat out the tuba in the bottom of their boats. It took +all night, by the light of torches, to do this; and a wild sight it was, +in the midst of the solemn old jungle. Very early in the morning, when +the tide was at its lowest ebb, they put the tuba into the river; the +flood coming up, and bringing plenty of fish, encountered this +intoxicating milk, and carried over the stakes a whole shoal of dead and +tipsy fish. Then the Dyaks, darting about in little boats, speared the +big fishes, and caught the small ones in landing-nets.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>Hundreds of fish were caught, and the Dyaks had a grand feast; also, +they salted quantities, in their nasty way—pounding the fish up, +letting it turn sour, and then packing it into bamboos with salt, as a +relish to eat with their rice. Certainly it has a strong flavour! They +all camped two nights in the jungle, then returned to Lundu, and reached +Sarawak in the yacht <i>Fanny</i>, after an absence of ten days. We had a +visit from H.M.S. <i>Scout</i> about this time, and one day sat down sixteen +to dinner in the mission-house, some of the officers having come up to +spend the day. It is difficult to improvise a dinner in a country where +no joints of meat are to be had, unless you kill an ox for the purpose. +Sheep there are none. A capon or goose, or a sucking pig, are the only +big dishes, and not always to be had. However, we did very well, and our +visitors were delighted with Sarawak, and with the schoolboys' singing; +for I had them up to sing glees and rounds, and "Rule Britannia," after +dinner. Captain Corbett was so pleased with the little fellows that he +invited them all to see the ship the next morning. Accordingly our +largest boat took the choir down very early to Morotabas, where the +<i>Scout</i> lay, and Captain Corbett took them all over it himself, even +down to the screw chamber. The boys had never seen so large a man-of-war +before (1600 tons), so they were delighted. Some Dyaks who went with +them were much terrified lest they should be carried off to sea, for the +captain ordered "up anchor," that the boys <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>might see how it was done, +and then sent them off the last minute. They came home in high glee. +Only those who live at the ends of the earth can tell what a pleasure +and refreshment is a little visit from her Majesty's ships from time to +time. The whiff of English air they bring with them, and the hearty +English enthusiasm which has not had time to evaporate, is most +reviving.</p> + +<p>Many Chinese Christians returned to China this summer. I hope they +carried the good seed of the word of life with them. They are only birds +of passage at Sarawak: when they grow rich they prefer to spend their +money in their native country. Our Chinese deacon took his family for a +visit to their Chinese relations. Even the married daughter went with +them; and a few days afterwards, Akiat, her husband, came to tell me +that he was so wretched without his wife, that he should go to Singapore +for the few months of her absence, to while away the time, and he meant +to have a nice new house ready for her on her return.</p> + +<p>Voon Yen Knoon deserved a holiday, certainly, for he worked hard among +his countrymen, besides teaching every day in the school. Three evenings +every week were devoted to the instruction of the Chinese, at the +mission-house. Two distinct languages were spoken by the different +tribes of Chinese who had settled at Sarawak. They could not be taught +together. The people of the Kay tribe came on one evening, the Hokien +another, each having their own interpreter. On the third <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>evening the +interpreters were instructed in the lessons for the following week. On +these nights our long dining-room was full of Chinamen, and a large tray +of tiny cups of tea was carried in, and consumed before the teaching +began.</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/t-sun.jpg" width="150" height="115" alt="decorative triangle" /> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-sunflo.jpg" width="500" height="112" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h3>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> +<small>LAST YEARS AT SARAWAK.</small></h3> + + +<p>Mr. Chalmers' Merdang Dyaks once said to him, "See how many races of +people there are: Dyaks, Malays, Klings, Chinese, English. They have all +different religions: this is proper, for God has given to each the +religion suited to them."</p> + +<p>I remembered this ingenious remark when I was reading Mr. Helms's +interesting book, just published, "Pioneering in the Far East." He says: +"Like most barbarous and savage nations, the Dyak identifies his gods +and spirits with the great phenomena of nature, and assigns them abodes +on the lofty mountains. Though, in his opinion, all spirits are not +equally malignant, all are more or less to be dreaded. The silent +surroundings of primæval forests in which the Dyak spends most of his +time, the mountains, the gloomy caves, often looming mysteriously +through cloud and mist, predispose him to identify them with +supernatural influences, which in his imagination take the form of +monsters <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>and genii. With no better guide than the untutored imagination +of a mind which in religious matters is a blank, who shall wonder that +this is so? I have myself often felt the influences of such +surroundings, when dark clouds deepened the forest gloom, and the +approaching storm set the trees whispering: if, at such a moment, the +shaggy red-haired and goblin form of the orang-outang, with which some +of the Dyaks identify their genii, should appear among the branches, it +requires little imagination to people the mystic gloom with unearthly +beings."</p> + +<p>Mr. Helms is quite right—the religion which springs from circumstance +and surrounding nature is always one of fear; evil is so close to the +heart of man that the very elements and mysteries of nature seem his +enemies, so long as he is ignorant of the love of God. The great +creating Spirit, whose existence is acknowledged by all Dyaks, inspires +them with neither love nor trust; it is only malign spirits who are +active, who concern themselves with his affairs, and threaten his +happiness and prosperity, and who must therefore be propitiated. What a +different aspect his native woods must present to the Christian Dyak, +who can look around without fear, and believe that his Heavenly Father +made all these things! You would imagine that Christianity would be +welcomed as a deliverance from such superstition; but here the apathy of +long habit raises a barrier. The Dyak who professed to think his dismal +religion was given <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>him by God, was probably too intellectually idle to +think at all. "What you say is most likely true, but we have received +our belief from our forefathers, and it is good enough for us," is the +common remark of the Land Dyak. This listlessness was perhaps originally +caused by oppression and misery, a hard life and cruel masters. In the +days we knew these people they had a sad and patient expression in their +faces, as if they could not forget the time when they were ground down +by Malay extortion, and despoiled by stronger, more warlike tribes. The +present generation may have more spirit, more independence, and the +blessings of peace and liberty may leave their minds more open to the +light of truth. It is, however, interesting to note how different races +of men develop different religious beliefs, and how these Dyaks +intuitively perceive spirit through matter, and are governed, however +blindly and ignorantly, by the powers of the unseen world.</p> + +<p>The orang-outang, or wild man, in not very commonly met in the jungle. I +have seen the trees alive with monkeys, but never met an orang-outang at +liberty. The Dyaks may well be afraid of them if it is true, as they +say, that if one of these monsters attacks a man, he picks his flesh off +his bones like a cook plucking a chicken. They are immensely powerful, +but once caged are gentle enough. Their one desire in confinement is +clothing, why I cannot tell; large-sized monkeys always wrapped +themselves in any bit of cloth they <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>could find, partly in imitation of +their keepers, and perhaps also because they are very chilly creatures, +and, deprived of their usual violent gymnastics, suffered from cold. A +Chinaman had a female orang in his shop while we were at Sarawak, who +took a violent liking to the Bishop, and always expected to be noticed +when he passed the shop. Then she would kiss and fondle his hand; but if +he forgot to speak to "Jemima," she went into a passion, screamed, and +dashed about her cage.</p> + +<p>I never allowed any kind of monkey to be kept at the mission-house. We +had too many children on the premises, and they are jealous and +uncertain in their behaviour to children. Indeed I always regretted +their being either shot or caged—they enjoy life so intensely in the +jungle, and are so amusing, swinging themselves from the branches of +tall trees, leaping, flying almost, in pursuit of one another for mere +fun, that it was sad to put them in prison, where they never lived long, +and where they only exhibited a ludicrous and humiliating parody on the +habits of mankind.</p> + +<p>There was a race of monkeys at Sarawak called by the natives "Unkah," +from the noise they made, but which we called Noseys, for they had long +noses which fell over their mouths, so that the large males had to lift +their noses with one hand, while they put food into their mouths with +the other. When we first lived in the country, and were anxious to send +specimens of every new and curious thing to England, my husband shot one +of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>these large monkeys for the sake of his skin, but he was so +distressed at the look the beast gave him when he felt himself hit, he +was so like his own uncle in England, who had rather a red face and long +nose, that he resolved never again to shoot a monkey. This ape was +clothed in long brown fur, while his legs were encased in much shorter +hair of a tan colour, which gave the idea of leather breeches. I once +saw a monkey's nest in a high tree. The tree was very bare of leaf or +the nest might have escaped notice. It was formed of big sticks laid in +a strong fork of the branches; and whether it was lined with anything +softer could not be seen from below, but the sticks stuck out, covering +a large space, which had no appearance of comfort or snugness.</p> + +<p>The one monkey I liked, and that at a distance, was the wa-wa, whose +voice was very sweet and melodious, like the soft bubbling of water; but +it was a very melancholy animal, and never seemed to possess the fun and +trickishness of the more common sorts of ape. They are all delicate and +difficult to rear, and invariably die of over-eating, or rather eating +what is unwholesome for them, if they have a chance. It seems as if, in +approaching the form of man, they lost the instinct of the brute. It was +a great addition to the pleasures of life in Sarawak that there were no +wild beasts to be feared in the jungles. When we were once staying at +Malacca, and, for the sake of a natural hot spring, inhabited a little +bungalow in the country, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>we were always liable to encounter a tiger in +our walks; on Penang Hill, also, there was a large tiger staying in the +woods. During one of our visits, we tracked his footsteps in a cave on +the hill; and he carried off a calf from a gentleman's cow-house near +us—at another time a pony from a neighbour's stable. Tigers do not, +however, live at Penang: they occasionally swim over the strait from +Johore, opposite the island, if driven by hunger. The natives made deep +pits to catch them, with bamboo spears at the bottom to transfix them +when they fall in. On one occasion a French Roman Catholic missionary +fell into one of these tiger-pits, and remained there, starved and +wounded, for three days before he was discovered. He was a very good +man, and gave a wonderful account of his happiness, his visions of +heavenly bliss while dying in that slow torture, for he was too far gone +to be restored. He died rejoicing that he had known what it was to +suffer with Christ.</p> + +<p>The last two years of our life at Sarawak, the Bishop's health failed +and caused me much anxiety. The long jungle walks, which were so +necessary in getting about from one mission to another, became more and +more difficult to him. Often he had to stop and lie down under a tree +till the palpitation of his heart abated; repeated attacks of Labuan +fever affected his liver; and our friends often warned us that we ought +to go home to save his life. The interest of the different missions +increased so much at this time, that it seemed hard <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>to give up a post +in which many trials and disappointments had been lived through, just as +success seemed about to reward the years of patient labour. The peace +and harmony of the mission was greatly promoted, the last three years of +our stay, by an annual meeting of the clergy with their bishop. They +came from their different rivers to spend a week at the mission-house, +and for certain hours of each day met in the church to discuss +missionary operations, Church discipline, religious terms, translations, +etc. It was very desirable there should be no diversity of opinion in +these matters, but that the different missions should have the same +plans, uses, and customs. And these meetings, besides the importance of +the subjects discussed, knit the missionaries to one another and all to +the Bishop, promoting also that <i>esprit de corps</i> which strengthens any +institution, be it school, college, or Church in a heathen country.</p> + +<p>A curious adventure happened to the Bishop in 1865. It was the rainy +season, and the roads were saturated with water and full of holes, +especially a new bit of road towards Pedungan, where sleepers of wood +had been laid down, to steady what would otherwise have been a bog; but +holes here and there could not be avoided. The Bishop always took a ride +early in the morning, before seven o'clock service in church. That +morning I had asked him to go to a house down that road, to inquire +about a servant. He came home late, and covered with mud all down one +side. "Papa has fallen," said <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>little Mildred, playing in the garden. At +her voice her father seemed to wake up out of a deep sleep, and +gradually he became conscious of a severe bruise on his face and pain in +his head; but he could give no account of the matter, which was, +however, explained by a Malay in the course of the day. This man was +walking on the road to Pedungan, when he met the Bishop returning home. +He saw the horse put his foot into a deep hole and come down, the Bishop +also. He did not, however, at once fall off, not until the horse in his +efforts to rise had inflicted a blow with his head on his rider's face. +The Malay helped the horse up, which was not hurt, and the Bishop on his +back; and seeing he was much stunned, he followed them for some way lest +the Bishop should need assistance: but when they reached the town and +seemed all right, he went back. All this time, however, the Bishop was +perfectly unconscious; the horse carried him as he chose, over a ditch, +up a steep bank, under low-hanging trees, and quite safely until he +stopped at our own door. A headache and some stiffness were the only +results of what might have been a fatal accident. We were very thankful +to God for having sent His angel to guard steps as unconscious and +heedless as any little child's could have been. No memory of what had +happened ever came back to the Bishop.</p> + +<hr class="hr1" /> + +<p>In 1866 the <i>Rifleman</i>, her Majesty's surveying ship, gave us a passage +to Labuan, where the Bishop <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>wanted to hold a confirmation. This ship +was going to Manilla, and from thence to Hong Kong, before she returned +to Singapore, and, through the kindness of Captain Reed, we accompanied +her. At Labuan I caught the fever of the country, but it did not come +out for ten days, by which time we were at Manilla. We anchored off +Manilla on Christmas-day evening: it had been a very wet day, but +cleared up at night, and we sat on deck watching the lights on shore, +and listening to the constant chimes of the numerous church bells, +whilst the sailors sang songs and did their best to amuse us. It seemed +so strange to be in a Christian country again.</p> + +<p>They have some customs at Manilla which I could not help admiring. When +the Vesper bell rings at six o'clock, all business and pleasure is +suspended for a few minutes, and all the world, man, woman, and child, +say a prayer. The coachmen on the carriages stop their horses, the +pedestrians stand still, friends engaging in animated conversation are +suddenly silent. The setting sun is a signal for the heart to rise to +God; it is a public recognition of His protecting care, and an act of +thanksgiving. When it is over, the children ask their parents' blessing +for the night. This was told me by a native of Manilla, an educated +gentleman, who gave his children every advantage of learning and travel. +The Vesper custom I saw for myself every time I took an evening drive. +We witnessed a very gorgeous procession on the feast of the Epiphany.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> +All the city functionaries, the military, the priests, bands of music, +and a masquerade of the three kings on horseback, surrounded by troops +of children beautifully dressed in white and scattering flowers, passed +through the streets to a church, into which they all poured, the three +horses riding in too, to attend high mass. I saw but little of Manilla, +being ill nearly all the time. It is a place shaken to pieces by +earthquakes. When we were there the great square, where the Government +offices once stood, was a heap of ruins, and the treasury was too poor +even to clear them away. The bridges were all broken in the middle, and +patched up somehow; and all the rooms in the houses were crooked, the +timbers of the walls being joined loosely together to admit of the +frequent trembling, heaving, and subsidence of the ground, without their +cracking. I believe the country all round was lovely, but I only took +one drive when I was convalescent, and then we steamed away to Hong +Kong. I shall say nothing about Hong Kong, for all the world knows what +a beautiful place it is in winter—how bright and sparkling the blue +sea, how clean and trim the streets, and how stately the buildings; also +what a dream of loveliness is the one drive out of the town to the Happy +Valley, where many an Englishman lies buried in the cemetery. I had a +second bout of fever at Hong Kong. Happily for us, we found kind +relatives both at Manilla and Hong Kong, who nursed me, and who were +very good to us. We found it very cold there after stewing for <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>six +years in Borneo, and the Bishop caught a chill which made him ill all +the rest of the way home. Had we thought when we left Sarawak in '66 +that we should never return there, it would have been a great trial to +bid adieu to our old home, but we had no such intention. We were only +taking Mildred to England, and seeking a necessary change for the +Bishop's failing health. The knowledge that he would not be able to +resume his work in the East dawned upon us by degrees. It was a great +disappointment, but we were thankful that an English vicarage was found +for us, where we could make a home for our children, and where the +duties and pleasures of an English parish remained to us. It is, +however, very pleasant, on a foggy day in November or February, to +return in fancy to that land of sunshine and flowers; to imagine one's +self again sitting in the porch of the mission-house, gazing at the +mountain of Matang, lit up with sunset glories of purple and gold. Then, +when the last gleam of colour has faded, to find the Chinaman lighting +the lamps in the verandah, and little dusky faces peeping out, to know +if you will sing with them "Twinkle, twinkle, little star," or the hymn +about the "Purple-headed mountain and river running by," which must have +surely been written for Sarawak children.</p> + + + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p> +<img src="images/l-radish.jpg" width="496" height="113" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> +<h3>CHAPTER XIX.<br /> +<small>THE ISLAND OF BORNEO.</small></h3> + + +<p>Borneo is so little known that a short account of it may be interesting. +If any one will examine a map of Borneo they will see that it is a large +island, in shape something like a box with the lid open. The interior of +the square part of it presents almost a blank on the map, for the coasts +only are known to the civilized world. Its greatest length is eight +hundred miles, and its greatest breadth six hundred and twenty-five +miles. Ranges of mountains through the centre of the island provide the +sources of many fine rivers which are the highways of the country.</p> + +<p>The Dutch claim the south and south-west of the island. They have +settlements at Sambas, at Pontianak, and at Banjermassin; and forts on +the rivers, inhabited by Dutch residents, or Malay chiefs in their pay: +but they have never won the hearts of the aborigines, for the Dutch +maxim is always to get as much money as possible out of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> native +subjects, consequently they are every now and then obliged to send +European troops to enforce the obedience of the Chinese and Dyaks to +their rule. On the west of Borneo lies the little kingdom of Sarawak, +about three hundred miles of coast line from Cape Datu to Point +Kiderong.</p> + +<p>The Sultan of Bruni, who was the nominal ruler of all the north-west of +Borneo, gave up this province to Sir James Brooke in 1841, "to him and +his heirs for ever," on condition a small sum of money was paid him +annually. The province consisted originally of "about sixty miles of +coast, from Cape Datu to the entrance of the Samarahan River, with an +average breadth of fifty miles inland;"<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> but from time to time the +Sultan entreated Sir James Brooke to take the rule of one river after +another beyond this province towards Borneo Proper, for, owing to his +own weakness, and the rapacity of his nobles who governed in his name, +no revenue came to him from those rivers, nor could he protect native +trade, or secure the lives of his subjects from the extortions and +covetousness of their Malay chiefs. So Sarawak grew, and peace, and +justice, and free trade flourished where before there were only poverty +and oppression. The country is traversed by fine rivers. The Rejang, +four fathoms deep two hundred miles from the mouth, the Batang Lupar, +and the Sarawak are the largest, and the great highways of the country; +along the banks of which are <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>cultivated clearings and Dyak villages, +but beyond these extend dense jungle which even clothes the sides of the +mountains. Besides the before-mentioned rivers are many smaller ones +which are still noble streams—the Sarebas, Samarahan, Sadong, Lundu, +etc. It is indeed a well-watered country, and only requires the industry +of man to develop its riches.</p> + +<p>There are great mountain ranges to the north-west and through the +interior of the island, and the natives speak of lakes of vast extent, +with Dyak villages on their shores. But this is only tradition. There is +a lake commonly reported only two days' journey from the foot of Kini +Balu, a high mountain on the north-west, but no Englishman has yet trod +its shores. The difficulties of exploring such dense jungles and +mountain precipices as bar the way across Borneo are almost insuperable. +I quote from Mr. Hornaday's recent lecture at Rochester. He says, "Owing +to the peculiar and almost impassable nature of the country, Borneo has +never been crossed by the white man. Travelling over some of the +mountains seems to be an absolute impossibility. Many of them consist +almost wholly of huge blocks of basalt, soft, moist, and too slippery to +walk upon. I would rather attempt to cross the continent of Africa than +the island of Borneo. The explorer must carry with him provisions enough +to last both going and returning. The jungle affords nothing fit for +human sustenance, and there are no <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>inhabitants to supply the explorer +with food. Fame awaits the man who will thoroughly explore the interior +of the island."<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> + +<p>Sir Spencer St. John, who has had more experience of Borneo jungles than +any other Englishman hitherto, says, "As I have now made many journeys +in Borneo, and seen much of forest walking, I can speak of it with +something like certainty. I have ever found, in recording progress, that +we can seldom allow more than a mile an hour under ordinary +circumstances. Sometimes, when extremely difficult or winding, we do not +make half a mile an hour. On certain occasions, when very hard pressed, +I have seen the men manage a mile and a half; but, with all our +exertions, I have never yet recorded more than ten miles' progress in a +day, through thick pathless forests, and that was after ten hours of +hard work. It requires great experience not to judge distance by the +fatigue we feel."<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> + +<p>It seems that the Sultan of Bruni has found out that the best way he can +govern his subjects and gain a revenue without trouble, is by ceding +parts of his territory to others. He has given over the whole of the +north of the island to an English company, on condition they pay twelve +thousand five hundred dollars for it annually. This country, embracing +an area of twenty thousand square <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>miles, has fine harbours on its +coasts very suitable for a commercial settlement. The great mountain of +Kini Balu, nearly fourteen thousand feet high, with its range of lesser +mountains, stands on the north-west, and between it and the sea lies a +very fertile country, thus described some years ago by Sir Spencer St. +John, in his "Forests of the Far East": "We rode over towards Pandusan +in search of plants. From the summit of the first low hill we had a +beautiful view of the lovely plain of Tampusak, extending from the sea +far into the interior. Groves of cocoanuts were interspersed among the +rice-grounds which extended, intermixed with grassy fields, to the +sea-shore, bounded by a long line of Casuarina trees. Little hamlets lie +scattered in all directions, some distinctly visible, other nearly +hidden by the rich green foliage of fruit-trees. The prospect was +bounded on the west by low sandstone hills, whose red colour +occasionally showing through the lately burnt grass, afforded a varied +tint in the otherwise verdant landscape. In the south Kini Balu and its +attendant ranges were hidden by clouds."</p> + +<p>Here is another description after a day's journey towards the mountain:—</p> + +<p>"While reclining under the shade of cocoanut palms, we had a beautiful +view of the country beyond. The river Tampusak flowed past us, bubbling +and breaking over its uneven bed, here shallower and therefore broader +than usual. To the left the country was open almost to the base<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> of the +great mountain, to the right the land was more hilly, and Saduk Saduk +showed itself as a high peak, but dwarfed by the neighbourhood of Kini +Balu, whose rocky precipices looked a deep purple colour. The summit was +beautifully clear. The people in this part of the country are called +Idaan. They seem industrious and good agriculturists, even using a rough +plough, and cultivating the whole valley; a rich black soil produces +good crops of rice, and Killadis, an arum root used for food. They also +grow tobacco."</p> + +<p>These people live too far from Bruni to be robbed by the Sultan and his +nobles. The Lanuns who inhabit the north coasts are very warlike, and +have always been pirates within the memory of man. They will not be easy +subjects to deal with, nor will the Sooloos on the east coast, but if +they can be reclaimed they may become an enterprising and fine people, +like the Sarebas pirates of Sarawak.</p> + +<p>I hope the Company will have patience with the natives of this vast +territory. They will probably <i>not work for wages</i>. Chinese labour must +be depended upon, and as they are the most industrious people on the +face of the earth, and will do anything for money, they are always +available. But they require a firm government, and great care must be +taken that they do not infringe on the rights of the natives or there +will be quarrels and bloodshed. Tradition says that there was once a +Chinese kingdom at the north of Borneo, whose chiefs married into the +families of the principal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> Dyak chiefs; but it is the misfortune of the +Chinese character to be both boastful and cowardly, and when they had +irritated the Malays by their big words, they stood no chance of +prevailing against them in war. If their enemies did not run away after +the first attack and discharge of firearms, they were pretty sure to +show them an example by doing so themselves. I speak of the Chinese +fifty years ago; since they have had wars with Europeans they have +learnt better to stand to their arms. But they were gradually +exterminated by the Malays in these petty wars, and now all that remains +of them is a trace of Celestial physiognomy in their Dyak descendants, +and the knowledge of agriculture which they still retain.</p> + +<p>The Bruni Government protects no one. It is wonderful that any Chinese +should still trade at a place where riches, however moderate, are sure +to excite the cupidity of the Malay nobles, and to be transferred, under +some pretext or another, to their own pockets. I rejoice to think that +English rule and justice is now to be offered to the inhabitants of the +North of Borneo. They expect an Englishman to be just and generous, +brave and firm, and they ground this expectation on their knowledge and +experience of Labuan and Sarawak, and the lessons which her Majesty's +ships of war have from time to time impressed on the corrupt and +faithless Bruni people. I trust this experience will never be reversed +by unworthy agents or settlers. The climate is too tropical for +colonization,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> no families of emigrants can be reared in such heat. +There are, no doubt, more decided seasons in the north of the island +than in the centre: it is hotter at one part of the year, and colder at +another, than in the lands bordering on the equator, which are the rain +nurseries of the world. A less fierce heat, but rain almost every day in +the year, was our lot at Sarawak; and though it was very healthy for +English men and women, it was not so good for crops: pepper and coffee +prefer a drier climate.</p> + +<p>There will be one difficulty in the North Borneo settlement which will +require wise handling. I mean the slaves which are the possession of +every petty chief and every Malay family in the country. All pirates +bring home fresh slaves from every expedition. This can be put an end to +at once. But it will be as impolitic as impossible to put a sudden end +to the state of slavery in which so large a proportion of the +inhabitants will be found. In this respect I hope the North Borneo +Company will take a leaf out of Sarawak experience. Sir James Brooke, as +long ago as 1841, appealed to the English Government "to assist him to +put down piracy and the slave trade, which," he said, "are openly +carried on within a short distance of three European settlements, on a +scale and system revolting to humanity."</p> + +<p>The exertions of Sir James Brooke and his nephews, aided occasionally by +her Majesty's ships, have indeed nearly put a stop to piracy, and +therefore to the kidnapping of slaves. Still<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> the descendants of Dyak +slaves remain the property of their masters. Besides these, there are +slave debtors, whole families who have sold themselves to pay the +accumulations arising from taxes or impositions of the Malays which they +had no hope of repaying. Usury, which was the fountain of this evil, has +been forbidden at Sarawak, and many are the slave debtors whom the +Rajah's purse has freed.</p> + +<p>"Slavery in the East," says Mr. Low,<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> "has always been of a more mild +and gentle character than that which in the West so disgusted the +intelligent natives of Europe. The slaves in Borneo are generally Dyaks +and their descendants, who have been captured by the rulers of the +country to swell the number of their personal attendants. Their duties +consist in helping their master, who always works with them, in his +house or boat building operations, accompanying him in his trading +expeditions, assisting in the navigation of his boats, etc. Their +masters generally allot them wives from amongst their female domestics, +and many of them acquire the affection and confidence of their +superiors. The price of a slave in Sarawak is from thirty to sixty +dollars, but as the trade is being as quickly repressed as possible, +without too much shocking the prejudices of the inhabitants, they have +of late become very scarce, and difficult to be bought. The price of a +girl varies from thirty to one hundred dollars, but at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>Sarawak they are +even more difficult than men to obtain." Thus wrote Mr. Low in the year +1848. By this time, 1882, slavery is almost nominal at Sarawak. I read, +in a <i>Sarawak Gazette</i>, six months ago, that Rajah Brooke had proposed +to his Supreme Council, which consists of four Malays and two +Englishmen, that slavery should be by law abolished in Sarawak +territory. He had proposed this, he said, six months previously, and the +Malay councillors present assented heartily as far as themselves and the +people of Kuching were concerned, but they thought it would be desirable +to give six months' notice to the outlying rivers and coasts, where the +people were not as advanced in civilization as those at the capital. Now +the six months had passed away, were they prepared to assent to the law? +They again expressed their cordial approval of the abolition of slavery, +but recommended three months more delay before it was enforced on the +out-stations. In the same <i>Gazette</i> I noticed a letter from the Resident +at Bintulu, one of the farthest stations from Kuching, in which he +speaks of a Malay noble, warmly attached to the Sarawak Government, who +claimed all the inhabitants of a large district as his slaves. It was +merely a nominal claim, as they did no work for him, but he said they +belonged to him. Still, when he was assured by Mr. De Crespigny<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> that +such a claim would not be allowed by the Rajah, he submitted without +complaint. We may hope <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>that such will be the universal acceptance of +the new law, but it is easy to see that forty years of past repression +and discountenance, and the strong influence of English opinion on the +subject of slavery, has effected what would doubtless have caused strong +opposition and estrangement if attempted hastily.</p> + +<p>I have just received a <i>Sarawak Gazette</i>, dated July 1st, which contains +an account of a further cession of territory from the Sultan of Bruni to +Rajah Brooke of Sarawak.</p> + +<p>This is the passage:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"On Saturday, the 10th June, his Highness the Sultan signified +his willingness to cede to the Rajah of Sarawak, and his heirs, +all the country and rivers that lie between Points Kadurong and +Barram, including about three miles of coast on the east side +of Barram Point. Negotiations about the sum to be paid for this +hundred miles of coast continued for three days, when the deed +of cession was finally sealed and delivered. This deed of +cession, sealed with the respective seals of his Highness the +Sultan of Bruni and the Rajah of Sarawak, was read out in full +court on the 10th June. After which his Highness the Rajah +addressed a few words to the people, telling them that he +intended going to the river Barram towards the end of this +moon, for the purpose of choosing a site whereon to erect a +fort, and establishing a government there, to be a nucleus of +trade. He added that all those who wished to trade there might +now do so without fear."<span class='pagenumbq'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> </p></div> + +<p>This is an important addition to the country of Sarawak.</p> + +<p>The time may indeed not be far distant when the country of Bruni, now +wedged in between Sarawak and the territory of British North Borneo, may +disappear altogether, and with it the misrule and oppression of that +corrupt Eastern court. Then English people will be responsible for the +whole of the north and north-west of the island of Borneo, and a new era +of peace and happiness will dawn upon its inhabitants.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"> +<p class="center"><b>Footnotes:</b></p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Letter of Sir J. Brooke to J. Gardner, Esq.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Mr. Hornaday's lecture before the Young Men's Christian +Association.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> St. John's Limbong Journal.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> "Sarawak, its Inhabitants and Productions," by Hugh Low.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> The Resident.</p></div> + +</div> + +<p> </p> + +<p class="center"><b>THE END.</b></p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<p class="center"><small>PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES</small></p> + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-birds.jpg" width="500" height="134" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h2>PUBLICATIONS<br /> +OF THE<br /> +Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.</h2> + +<p class="book"><b>All True. 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Walrond</span>, +M.A. Post 8vo, with Four Illustrations on toned paper, <i>cloth boards</i>, +2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Distant Brethren of Low Degree; or, Missionary Gleanings in Southern +Africa.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">John Widdicombe</span>, of the South Becoanaland Mission. +18mo, <i>paper cover</i>, 4<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Klatsassan, and other Reminiscences of Missionary Life in British +Columbia.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">R. C. Lundin Brown</span>, M.A. Post 8vo, with Map, and +Three Illustrations on toned paper, <i>cloth boards</i>, 2<i>s.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Mission Work among the Indian Tribes in the Forest of Guiana.</b> By the +Rev. <span class="smcap">W. H. Brett</span>, B.D. With Map and several Illustrations, crown 8vo, +<i>cloth boards</i>, 3<i>s.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Mrs. Poynter's Missionary Box. A Tale.</b> With an Illustration. 18mo, +<i>paper cover</i>, 3<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Patteson, Bishop; Sketches of the Life of.</b> Crown 8vo, with Twenty-eight +Illustrations and Woodcuts, <i>cloth boards</i>, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Promadeni.</b> A Biographical Sketch connected with the Indian Mission among +Women. By <span class="smcap">Eugenia Von Mizlaff</span>. 18mo, with Three Illustrations, <i>cloth +boards</i>, 1<i>s.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Stranger than Fiction.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">T. J. Halcombe</span>, M.A. Post 8vo, with +Eight Illustrations, <i>cloth boards</i>, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Tales for Mission Rooms.</b> By a <span class="smcap">Lady Superintendent</span>. With Illustrations. +18mo, <i>cloth boards</i>, 2<i>s.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Tales of Mission Work in Verse.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">F. W. Mant</span>, B.A. With +several Illustrations. Fcap. 8vo, <i>paper cover</i>, 4<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Ten Years of Mission Life in British Guiana:</b> Being a Memoir of the Rev. +Thomas Youd. By the Rev. <span class="smcap">W. T. Veness</span>. With Map. Fcap. 8vo, <i>limp +cloth</i>, 1<i>s.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>The Missionary Church of England.</b> A Course of Six Sermons preached on +the Afternoons of the Six Sundays after Easter, 1877, at St. James's, +Westminster. Post 8vo, <i>cloth boards</i>, 1<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Under His Banner.</b> Papers on the Missionary Work of Modern Times. By the +Rev. <span class="smcap">H. W. Tucker</span>, Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the +Gospel in Foreign Parts. (<i>Seventh Thousand</i>.) Crown 8vo, with Map, +<i>cloth boards</i>, 5<i>s.</i></p> + +<hr class="hr3" /> + +<p class="center"><b>THE HOME LIBRARY.</b><br /> +<i>Crown 8vo, cloth boards, 3s. 6d. each.</i></p> + +<p class="p2 book"><b>Black and White. Mission Stories.</b> By <span class="smcap">H. Forde</span>.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Charlemagne.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">E. L. Cutts</span>, B.A. With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Church in Roman Gaul (The).</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">R. Travers Smith</span>, B.D. With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Constantine the Great: The Union of the Church and State.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">E. +L. Cutts</span>, B.A.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Great English Churchmen; or, Famous Names in English Church History and +Literature.</b> By <span class="smcap">W. H. Davenport Adams</span>.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>John Hus.</b> The Commencement of Resistance to Papal Authority on the part +of the Inferior Clergy. By the Rev. <span class="smcap">A. H. Wratislaw</span>, M.A.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Judæa and her Rulers, from Nebuchadnezzar to Vespasian.</b> By <span class="smcap">M. Bramston</span>. +With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Military Religious Orders of the Middle Ages; the Hospitallers, the +Templars, the Teutonic Knights, and others.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">F. C. Woodhouse</span>, +M.A.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Mitslav; or, The Conversion of Pomerania.</b> By the Right Rev. <span class="smcap">Robert +Milman</span>, D.D. With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Narcissus: a Tale of Early Christian Times.</b> By the Rev. Canon <span class="smcap">Boyd +Carpenter</span>, M.A.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Sketches of the Women of Christendom.</b> Dedicated to the Women of India. +By the author of "The Chronicles of the Schönberg-Cotta Family."</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The Churchman's Life of Wesley.</b> By <span class="smcap">R. Denny Urlin</span>, Esq.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The House of God the Home of Man.</b> By the Rev. Canon <span class="smcap">Jelf</span>.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The Inner Life, as Revealed in the Correspondence of Celebrated +Christians.</b> Edited by the late Rev. <span class="smcap">T. Erskine</span>.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The Life of the Soul in the World: its Nature, Needs, Dangers, Sorrows, +Aids, and Joys.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">F. C. Woodhouse</span>, M.A.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The North-African Church.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">Julius Lloyd</span>, M.A. With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Thoughts and Characters.</b> Being Selections from the Writing of the author +of "The Chronicles of the Schönberg-Cotta Family."</p> + +<hr class="hr3" /> + +<p class="center"><b>THE FATHERS FOR ENGLISH READERS.</b><br /> +<i>Fcap. 8vo, cloth boards, 2s. each.</i></p> + +<p class="p2 book"><b>Leo the Great.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">Charles Gore</span>, M.A.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Gregory the Great.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">J. Barmby</span>, B.D.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Saint Ambrose: his Life, Times, and Teaching.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">Robinson +Thornton</span>, D.D.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Saint Augustine.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">E. L. Cutts</span>, B.A.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Saint Basil the Great.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">Richard T. Smith</span>, B.D.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Saint Hilary of Poitiers and Saint Martin of Tours.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">Gibson +Cazenove</span>, D.D.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Saint Jerome.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">E. L. Cutts</span>, B.A.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Saint John of Damascus.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">J. H. Lupton</span>, M.A.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The Apostolic Fathers.</b> By the Rev. Canon <span class="smcap">Holland.</span></p> + +<p class="book"><b>The Defenders of the Faith; or, The Christian Apologists of the Second +and Third Centuries.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">F. Watson</span>, M.A.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The Venerable Bede.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">G. F. Browne</span>.</p> + +<hr class="hr3" /> + +<p class="center"><b>CONVERSION OF THE WEST.</b><br /> +<i>Fcap. 8vo, cloth boards, 2s. each.</i></p> + +<p class="p2 book"><b>The Celts.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">G. F. Maclear</span>, D.D. With Two Maps.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The English.</b> By the above Author. With Two Maps.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The Northmen.</b> By the above Author. With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The Slavs.</b> By the above Author. With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The Continental Teutons.</b> By the Very Rev. <span class="smcap">Charles Merivale</span>, D.D., +D.C.L., Dean of Ely. With Map.</p> + +<hr class="hr3" /> + +<p class="center"><b>NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS.</b><br /> +<i>Fcap. 8vo, cloth boards, 2s. 6d. each.</i></p> + +<p class="p2 book"><b>Buddhism: being a Sketch, of the Life and Teachings of Gautama the +Buddha.</b> By <span class="smcap">T. W. Rhys Davids</span>. With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Buddhism in China.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">S. Beal</span>. With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Confucianism and Taouism.</b> By <span class="smcap">Robert K. Douglas</span>, of the British Museum. +With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Hinduism.</b> By Professor <span class="smcap">Monier Williams</span>. With Map</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Islam and its Founder.</b> By <span class="smcap">J. W. H. Stobart</span>. With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>The Corân: its Composition and Teaching, and the Testimony it bears to +the Holy Scriptures.</b> By Sir <span class="smcap">William Muir</span>, K.C.S.I., LL.D.</p> + +<hr class="hr3" /> + +<p class="center"><b>ANCIENT HISTORY FROM THE MONUMENTS.</b><br /> +<i>Fcap. 8vo, cloth boards, 2s. each.</i></p> + +<p class="p2 book"><b>Sinai: from the Fourth Egyptian Dynasty to the Present Day.</b> By <span class="smcap">Henry S. +Palmer</span>, Major R.E., F.R.A.S. With Map.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Babylonia (The History of).</b> By the late <span class="smcap">George Smith</span>, Esq. Edited by the +Rev. <span class="smcap">A. H. Sayce</span>.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Greek Cities and Islands of Asia Minor.</b> By <span class="smcap">W. S. W. Vaux</span>, M.A., F.R.S.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Assyria, from the Earliest Times to the Fall of Nineveh.</b> By the late +<span class="smcap">George Smith</span>, Esq.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Egypt, from the Earliest Times to B.C. 300.</b> By <span class="smcap">S. Birch</span>, LL.D., etc.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>Persia, from the Earliest Period to the Arab Conquest.</b> By <span class="smcap">W. S. W. Vaux</span>, +M.A., F.R.S.</p> + +<hr class="hr3" /> + +<p class="center"><b>THE HEATHEN WORLD AND ST. PAUL.</b><br /> +<i>Fcap. 8vo, with Map, cloth boards, 2s. each.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>St. Paul in Greece.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">G. S. Davies</span>, M.A., Charterhouse, +Godalming.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>St. Paul in Damascus and Arabia.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">George Rawlinson</span>, M.A., +Canon of Canterbury.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>St. Paul at Rome.</b> By the Very Rev. <span class="smcap">Charles Merivale</span>, D. D., D.C.L., Dean +of Ely.</p> + +<p class="book"><b>St. Paul in Asia Minor and at the Syrian Antioch.</b> By the Very Rev. <span class="smcap">E. H. +Plumptre</span>, D.D.</p> + +<hr class="hr3" /> + +<p class="center"><b>DIOCESAN HISTORIES.</b></p> + +<p class="p2 book"><b>Canterbury.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">R. C. Jenkins</span>. With Map. Fcap. 8vo, <i>cloth +boards</i>, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Chichester.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">W. R. W. Stephens</span>. With Map and Plan. Fcap. 8vo, +<i>cloth boards</i>, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Durham.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">J. L. Low</span>. With Map and Plan. Fcap. 8vo, <i>cloth +boards</i>, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Lichfield.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">W. Beresford</span>. With Map. Fcap. 8vo. <i>cloth +boards</i>, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Oxford.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">E. Marshall</span>. With Map. Fcap. 8vo. <i>cloth boards</i>, +2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Peterborough.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">G. A. Poole</span>, M.A. With Map. Fcap. 8vo, <i>cloth +boards</i>, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Salisbury.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">W. H. Jones</span>. With Map and Plan. Fcap. 8vo, <i>cloth +boards</i>, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>Worcester.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">I. Gregory Smith</span> and the Rev. <span class="smcap">Phipps Onslow</span>. With +Map. Fcap. 8vo, <i>cloth boards</i>, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p class="book"><b>York.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">George Ornsby</span>, M.A. With Map. Fcap. 8vo, <i>cloth +boards</i>, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><span class="smcap">London:</span><br /> +NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS, W.C.;<br /> +<span class="smcap">43, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.; 26, St. George's Place, S.W.<br /> +Brighton: 135, North Street.</span></p> + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-owl.jpg" width="500" height="105" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Publications</span><br /> +<small>OF THE</small><br /> +Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.</h2> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>HISTORY OF INDIA.</b></p> + +<p>From the Earliest Times to the Present Day. By Captain <span class="smcap">L. J. Trotter</span>, +Author of "Sequel to Thornton's History of India." With eight full-page +Woodcuts on toned paper, and numerous smaller Woodcuts. Post 8vo. Cloth +boards, 10<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>STUDIES AMONG THE PAINTERS.</b></p> + +<p>By <span class="smcap">J. B. Atkinson</span>, Esq. With seventeen full-page Illustrations. Small +Post 4to. Cloth boards, 7<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>BEAUTY IN COMMON THINGS.</b></p> + +<p>Illustrated by twelve Drawings from Nature, by Mrs. <span class="smcap">J. W. Whymper</span>; +Printed in Colours, by <span class="smcap">William Dickes</span>. With descriptive Letterpress, by +the Author of "Life in the Walls," "Robin the Bold," &c. Demy 4to. Cloth +boards, 10<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>SCENES IN THE EAST.</b></p> + +<p>Consisting of twelve Coloured Photographic Views of Places mentioned in +the Bible, beautifully executed, with Descriptive Letterpress. By the +Rev. <span class="smcap">Canon Tristram</span>, Author of "Bible Places," "The Land of Israel," &c. +4to. Cloth, bevelled boards, gilt edges, 7<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>SINAI AND JERUSALEM; OR, SCENES FROM BIBLE LANDS.</b></p> + +<p>Consisting of Coloured Photographic Views of Places mentioned in the +Bible, including a Panoramic View of Jerusalem with Descriptive +Letterpress. By the Rev. <span class="smcap">F. W. Holland</span>, M.A., Honorary Secretary to the +Palestine Exploration Fund. Demy 4to. Cloth, bevelled boards, gilt +edges, 7<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>BIBLE PLACES; OR, THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY LAND.</b></p> + +<p>A succinct account of all the Places, Rivers, and Mountains of the Land +of Israel mentioned in the Bible, so far as they have been identified; +together with their modern names and historical references. By the Rev. +<span class="smcap">Canon Tristram</span>. With Map. A new and revised edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth +boards, 4<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>THE LAND OF ISRAEL.</b></p> + +<p>A Journal of Travel in Palestine, undertaken with special reference to +its Physical Character. By the Rev. <span class="smcap">Canon Tristram</span>. Fourth edition, +revised. With Maps and numerous Illustrations. Large post 8vo. Cloth +boards, 10<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>NARRATIVE OF A MODERN PILGRIMAGE THROUGH PALESTINE ON HORSEBACK, AND +WITH TENTS.</b></p> + +<p>By the Rev. <span class="smcap">Alfred Charles Smith</span>, M.A., Rector of Yatesbury, Wilts, +Author of "The Attractions of the Nile," &c. Numerous Illustrations and +four Coloured Plates. Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, 5<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BIBLE.</b></p> + +<p>By the Rev. <span class="smcap">Canon Tristram</span>, Author of "Bible Places," &c. With numerous +Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, 7<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>A HISTORY OF THE JEWISH NATION.</b></p> + +<p>From the Earliest Times to the Present Day. By the late <span class="smcap">E. H. Palmer</span>, +Esq., M.A., Fellow of St. John's College, Author of "The Desert of the +Exodus," &c. With Map of Palestine and numerous Illustrations. Crown +8vo. Cloth boards, 4<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>BRITISH BIRDS IN THEIR HAUNTS.</b></p> + +<p>Being a Popular Account of the Birds which have been observed in the +British Isles; their Haunts and Habits; their systematic, common, and +provincial Names; together with a Synopsis of Genera; and a brief +Summary of Specific characters. By the late Rev. <span class="smcap">C. A. Johns</span>, B.A., +F.L.S. Post 8vo. Cloth boards, 10<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>THE CYCLE OF LIFE.</b></p> + +<p>A Book of Poems for Young and Old, Town and Country. Printed on toned +paper. Illustrated with eighteen Woodcuts. Fcap. 4to. Handsomely bound +in cloth, gilt edges, bevelled boards, 5<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>THE ART TEACHING OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH.</b></p> + +<p>With an Index of Subjects, Historical and Emblematic. By the Rev. <span class="smcap">R. St. +John Tyrwhitt</span>. 7<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>AFRICA, SEEN THROUGH ITS EXPLORERS.</b></p> + +<p>By <span class="smcap">Charles H. Eden</span>, Esq. With Map and several Illustrations. Crown 8vo. +Satteen cloth boards, 5<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>AFRICA UNVEILED.</b></p> + +<p>By the Rev. <span class="smcap">H. Rowley</span>. With Map, and eight full-page Illustrations on +toned paper. Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, 5<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>AUSTRALIA'S HEROES:</b></p> + +<p>Being a slight Sketch of the most prominent amongst the band of gallant +men who devoted their lives and energies to the cause of Science, and +the development of the Fifth Continent. By <span class="smcap">C. H. Eden</span>, Esq., Author of +"Fortunes of the Fletchers," &c. With Map. Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, 5<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>SOME HEROES OF TRAVEL; OR, CHAPTERS FROM THE HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHICAL +DISCOVERY & ENTERPRISE.</b></p> + +<p>Compiled and re-written by <span class="smcap">W. H. Davenport Adams</span>, Author of "Great +English Churchmen," &c. With Map. Crown 8vo. Satteen cloth boards, 5<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>CHRISTIANS UNDER THE CRESCENT IN ASIA.</b></p> + +<p>By the Rev. <span class="smcap">Edward L. Cutts</span>, B.A., Author of "Turning Points of Church +History," &c. With numerous Illustrations. Post 8vo. Cloth boards, 5<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>THE FIFTH CONTINENT, WITH THE ADJACENT ISLANDS.</b></p> + +<p>Being an Account of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea, with +Statistical Information to the latest date. By <span class="smcap">C. H. Eden</span>, Author of +"Australia's Heroes," &c. With Map. Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, 5<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>FROZEN ASIA: A SKETCH OF MODERN SIBERIA.</b></p> + +<p>By <span class="smcap">Charles H. Eden</span>, Esq., Author of "Australia's Heroes," &c. With Map. +Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, 5<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>HEROES OF THE ARCTIC AND THEIR ADVENTURES.</b></p> + +<p>By <span class="smcap">Frederick Whymper</span>, Esq., Author of "Travels in Alaska," &c. With Map, +eight full-page and numerous small Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, +3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>CHINA.</b></p> + +<p>By Professor <span class="smcap">Robert K. Douglas</span>, of the British Museum. With Map, and +Eight full-page Illustrations on toned paper, and several Vignettes. +Post 8vo. Cloth boards, 5<i>s.</i></p> + + +<p class="center p2"><b>RUSSIA: PAST AND PRESENT.</b></p> + +<p>Adapted from the German of Lankenau and Oelnitz. By Mrs. <span class="smcap">Chester</span>. With +Map, and Three full-page Woodcuts and Vignettes. Post 8vo. Cloth boards, +5<i>s.</i></p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/l-deco.jpg" width="300" height="49" alt="decorative panel" /> +</div> + +<p class="center" style="margin-top: -1em;"><b><big>Depositories:</big></b></p> + + +<p class="center" > +NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS;<br /> +<span class="smcap">43, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.; 26, St. George's Place, S.W.;<br /> +and 135, North Street, Brighton</span></p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<div class="tnote"> + +<p>Inconsistencies in the hyphenation of words preserved. (cocoanut/s, +cocoa-nut/s; firearms, fire-arms; gunboat, gun-boats; schoolboys, +school-boys; schoolroom, school-room)</p> + +<p>Pg. 32, duplicated word "the" removed. (the coasts and the seas)</p> + +<p>Pg. 42, inserted period after "Mr". (that in 1867 Mr. Chambers)</p> + +<p>Pg. 63, closing double quote inserted at end of what appears to be the +end of a quoted passage.(carried them away over their shoulders.")</p> + +<p>Pg. 95, duplicated period removed at sentence end. (by jet ornaments and +bugle trimmings.)</p> + +<p>Pg. 111, "examition" changed to "examination". (After the examination,)</p> + +<p>Pg. 118, added period at sentence end. (agreeable and uniformly kind.)</p> + +<p>Pg. 138, period changed to comma. (If you must go, some of us will go +with you)</p> + +<p>Pg. 162, unusual construction retained. (a new cook-house and servants' +rooms near, to build;)</p> + +<p>Pg. 243, closing double quote added at end of title of a book. (in his +"Forests of the Far East":)</p> + +</div> + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak, by +Harriette McDougall + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKETCHES OF OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK *** + +***** This file should be named 27568-h.htm or 27568-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/5/6/27568/ + +Produced by a Project Gutenberg volunteer working with +digital material generously made available by the Internet +Archive + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak + +Author: Harriette McDougall + +Release Date: December 19, 2008 [EBook #27568] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKETCHES OF OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK *** + + + + +Produced by a Project Gutenberg volunteer working with +digital material generously made available by the Internet +Archive + + + + + + + + + +[Cover] + +[Illustration: HAPPILY HE HAD A STOUT WALKING-STICK, AND AT ONCE FELLED +THE REPTILE. + +_Frontispiece._ _Page_ 26.] + + + + + SKETCHES + OF + OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK + + + BY + HARRIETTE McDOUGALL. + + + _WITH MAP._ + + + PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE TRACT COMMITTEE. + + + LONDON: + SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, + NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS, W.C.; + 43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.; + 26, ST. GEORGE'S PLACE, HYDE PARK CORNER, S.W. + BRIGHTON: 135, NORTH STREET. + NEW YORK: E. & J. B. YOUNG AND CO. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + PART I. + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. INTRODUCTORY 7 + + II. THE COURT-HOUSE 13 + + III. COLLEGE HILL 21 + + IV. PIRATES 32 + + V. THE CHURCH AND THE SCHOOL 45 + + VI. THE GIRLS 58 + + VII. THE LUNDUS 68 + + VIII. A BOAT JOURNEY 82 + + IX. CONTINUATION OF THE TRIP TO REJANG 92 + + + PART II. + + X. RETURN TO SARAWAK 105 + + XI. CHINESE INSURRECTION 120 + + XII. CHINESE INSURRECTION (_Continued_) 139 + + XIII. EVENTS OF 1857 157 + + XIV. THE MALAY PLOT 174 + + + PART III. + + XV. THE CHILDREN'S CHAPTER 189 + + XVI. ILLANUN PIRATES 204 + + XVII. A MALAY WEDDING 215 + + XVIII. LAST YEARS AT SARAWAK 228 + + XIX. THE ISLAND OF BORNEO 239 + + + + +PART I. + +[Map: BORNEO] + + + + +SKETCHES OF OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +INTRODUCTORY. + + +Nearly thirty years ago I published a little book of "Letters from +Sarawak, addressed to a Child." This book is now out of print, and, on +looking it over with a view to republication, I think it will be better +to extend the story over the twenty years that Sarawak was our home, +which will give some idea of the gradual progress of the mission. + +This progress was often unavoidably impeded by the struggles of the +infant State; for war drowns the voice of the missionary, and though the +Sarawak Government always discouraged the Dyak practice of taking the +heads of their enemies, still it could not at once be checked, and every +expedition against lawless tribes, however righteous in its object, +excited the old superstitions of those wild people. When their warriors +returned from an expedition, the women of the tribe met them with dance +and song, receiving the heads they brought with ancient +ceremonies--"fondling the heads," as it was called; and for months +afterwards keeping up, by frequent feasts, in which these heads were the +chief attraction, the heathen customs which it was the object of the +missionary to discourage. + +I dare say, when we first settled at Sarawak, we thought that twenty +years would plant Christian communities, and build Christian churches +all over the country: but it is as well that we cannot overlook the +future; and perhaps, considering the many difficulties which arose from +time to time, from the missionaries themselves, and the unsettled +country in which they laboured, we ought not to expect more results than +have appeared. At any rate we have much to be thankful for, and as every +year makes Sarawak a more important State, consolidates its Government, +and extends civilization to its subjects, we may look for more success +for the missionaries, who can now point to the peace and prosperity of +the people, and say, "This is the fruit of Christianity and Christian +rulers." + +In giving a short account of our life in Borneo, I shall avoid alike all +political questions, or, as much as possible, individual histories among +the English community. It is already so long ago since we lived in that +lovely place, that events, trials, joys, and the usual vicissitudes of +life, are wrapt in that mellowing haze of the past, which, while it dims +the vividness of feeling, throws a robe of charity over all, and perhaps +causes actors and actions to assume a more true proportion to one +another than when we walked amongst them. I have, however, not depended +on memory alone for the records of twenty years, but have journals and +letters to refer to, which my friends in England have been good enough +to keep for me. Some parts of "Letters from Sarawak" I shall incorporate +into the present little book, for as it treats of the first six years we +lived there, and was written at that time, it is sure to be tolerably +correct. + +In those days, from 1847 to 1853, Sir James Brooke was very popular in +England. The story of his first occupation of Sarawak, published in his +journals, and the cruizes of her Majesty's ships in those eastern +seas--the _Dido_ and the _Samarang_--were read with avidity, and +furnished the English public with a romance which had all the charm of +novelty. However difficult and inconvenient it might be for the English +Government to recognize a native State under an English rajah, who was +at the same time a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, this question +had not then arisen; and all classes, high and low, could applaud a +brave and noble man, who had stepped out of the beaten track to spend +his fortune and expose his life in the cause of savages. There were many +fluctuations of sympathy and opinion in after years towards Sir James +Brooke; but, through evil report and good report, through difficulty and +danger, Sarawak has still advanced, and is as worthy of the interest of +the best and wisest of mankind as it was in 1847. At this time, indeed, +it seems to me to furnish a lesson in the management of native races +which might be useful in our own colonies. English governors always set +out with good intentions towards the natives of savage countries, but +how is it that war almost always follows their occupation? Surely it is +because the settlers go there, not in the interest of the native race, +but their own, and the two interests are sure to clash in the long-run. + +It requires great patience and forbearance to educate natives up to a +rule of justice and righteous laws; but that it may be done, and carry +the co-operation of the people themselves, is evident at Sarawak, where +the Malays and Dyaks are associated in the Government, and have always +stood by their English rajah, even when it was necessary to punish or +exile some of their own chiefs. I am aware that an English colony cannot +be governed in this way; nevertheless, the spectacle of wild natives, +rising by the influence of a few good Englishmen from lawless misrule to +a settled government, where vice is punished without partiality, is very +beautiful to philanthropists, and makes one think better of human nature +and its capabilities. I wish I could portray the hilly and thorny road +by which this has been attained! It would, methinks, create a new +interest in Sarawak, if the past and the present could be fairly set +before the discerning world; we should again hear of missionaries +longing to help in the improvement of people who have shown themselves +so open to good influences. I have said that I would not touch upon +politics, but Church and State are so naturally bound together in the +task of civilization, that it is difficult to relate the history of the +mission without mentioning the Government. Of course they do not stand +in the same relation to one another in a Mahometan country, where the +English Church is but a tolerated sect, as they do in a Christian land; +still the Christian Church strengthens the Christian ruler, and he in +his turn protects the Church by good government, although he may not +favour it except by individual preference. For my own part, I have +always thought it an advantage to our Dyak Christians that no favour was +shown them on account of their faith; at any rate, it was for no worldly +interest that they became Christians. + +Although our life in Sarawak extended over a period of twenty years, it +might naturally be divided into three parts--of six, five, and six years +respectively, the intervals being spent in visits to England. These +visits, although absolutely necessary, were a drawback to the mission +work. When the head of a family is absent, the responsibility is apt to +fall upon the younger members, and is sometimes too much for them. +However, they always did their best, and always welcomed us home most +warmly. It was a joyful sight, on our return, to find the missionaries +and school-children waiting for us at the wharf below our houses, the +children's dear little faces glad with smiles, and a warm welcome for +any baby we brought home. The second time, it was our daughter Mab; and +in 1862, our last baby, Mildred,--Mab, Edith, and Herbert being left in +England, for no English child can thrive in that unchangeable climate +after it is six years old. + +The first chapters of this little book will describe the first six years +of our stay at Sarawak; but, in speaking of subjects of interest, I +shall not stop short at the end of those years, but carry on the subject +to the end of our Sarawak experience. It is perhaps necessary to say +this to prevent confusion. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE COURT-HOUSE. + + +While Sir James Brooke was in England, in 1847, he asked his friends to +help him in his efforts to civilize the Dyaks, by sending a mission to +live at Sarawak. + +Lord Ellesmere, Admiral Sir H. Keppel, Admiral C. D. Bethune, Canon Ryle +Wood, and the Rev. C. Brereton, formed themselves into a committee, with +the Rev. I. F. Stocks for their honorary secretary, and soon collected +funds for the purpose. The Rev. F. McDougall was chosen as the head of +the mission, and with him were associated the Rev. S. Montgomery and the +Rev. W. Wright; but Mr. Montgomery died very suddenly, of fever caught +when ministering to the poor of his parish, before the time came for us +to embark, so the party was reduced to two clergymen and their wives, +two babies and two nurses. We sailed from London in the barque _Mary +Louisa_, four hundred tons, the end of December; Mr. Parr, a nephew of +Mrs. Wright's, being also one of the passengers. I had all my life loved +the sea, and longed to take such a voyage as should carry us out of +sight of land, and give us all the experiences which wait on those "who +go down to the sea in ships;" but I little thought how we should all +long for land before we saw it again. + +The barque was a poor sailer; we thought it a good run if she made eight +knots an hour, so no wonder we did not reach Singapore till May 23, +1848. It was a long monotonous voyage, but we were well occupied, and I +do not remember ever finding it dull. The sea was all I ever fancied by +way of a companion, and, like all one's best friends, made me happy or +unhappy, but was never stupid. Then we had to learn Malay and its Arabic +characters, with the help of Marsden's grammar and dictionary, and the +Bible translated into that language by the Dutch. We lived by rule, +apportioning the hours to certain duties, and every one knows how fast +time passes under those conditions. The two clergymen busied themselves +with teaching the sailors, and several of them presented themselves at +Holy Communion in consequence, the last Sunday before we landed. The +most trying time we passed was on the coast of Java, becalmed under a +broiling sun, the very sea dead and slimy with all sorts of creatures +creeping over it. As for ourselves, we were gasping with thirst, for we +had already been on short rations of water for six weeks, one of the +tanks having leaked out. One quart of water a day for each adult, and +none for the babies, so of course they had the lion's share of their +parents' allowance. Our one cup of tea in the evening was looked forward +to for hours; and what a wonderful colour it was, after all!--but that +was the iron of the tank. + +On the 23rd of May we landed at Singapore, and had to wait there for +four weeks before the schooner _Julia_, then running between that place +and Sarawak, came to fetch us. We reached Sarawak June 29th, entering +the Morotabas mouth of the river, which is twenty-four miles from the +town of Kuching, whither we were bound. The sail up the river, our first +sight of the country and the people, was indeed exciting, and filled us +with delight. The river winds continually, and every new reach had its +interest: a village of palm-leaf houses built close to the water, women +and children standing on the steps with their long bamboo jars, or +peeping out of the slits of windows at the schooner; boats of all sizes +near the houses, fishing-nets hanging up to dry, wicked alligators lying +basking on the mud; trees of many varieties--the nibong palm which +furnishes the posts of the houses, the nipa which makes their mat walls, +and close by the water the light and graceful mangroves, which at night +are all alive and glittering with fire-flies. On the boughs of some +larger trees hanging over the stream parties of monkeys might be seen +eating the fruits, chattering, jumping, flying almost, from bough to +bough. We afterwards made nearer acquaintance with these droll +creatures. + +At last we reached the Fort, a long white building manned by Malays, and +with cannon showing at the port-holes. The _Julia_ was not challenged, +however, but gladly welcomed, as she carried not only the missionaries +but the mail, and stores for the bazaar; for at that time there were not +many native trading-vessels--the fear of pirates was great, and there +was good reason to fear! + +The town of Kuching consisted in those days of a Chinese bazaar and a +Kling bazaar, both very small, and where it was scarcely possible to +find anything an English man or woman could buy. Beyond was the court of +justice, the mosques, and a few native houses. Higher up the river lay +the Malay town, divided into Kampongs, or clusters of houses belonging +to the different chiefs or principal merchants of the place. Opposite +the bazaar, on the other side of the river, stood the rajah's bungalow, +as well as two or three others belonging to Europeans, embosomed in +trees, cocoa-nuts and betel-nut palms, and other fruit-trees. Behind the +rajah's house rose the beautiful mountain of Santubong, wooded to its +summit nearly 3000 feet, with a rock cropping out here and there. At +this bungalow we landed, and were hospitably entertained for a few days +until the upper part of the court-house could be made ready for our +party. + +Shall I ever forget my first impressions of the rajah's bungalow? A +peculiar scent pervaded it. You looked about for the cause till your +eyes fell on two saucers, one filled with green blossoms, the other +with deep golden ones, much the same shape--the kenanga and the +chimpaka, flowering trees, which grew near the house. Their flowers were +picked every day for the rooms, as the rajah loved the scent, and so did +the Malays. The ladies steeped the blossoms in cocoa-nut oil and +anointed themselves, placing them also in their long black hair, with +wreaths of jessamine flowers threaded on a string. These perfumes were +rather overpowering at first, but I learnt to like them after I had been +some time in Sarawak. The large, bare, cool rooms were very refreshing +after the little cabins of the _Julia_. And then the library! a treasure +indeed in the jungle; books on all sorts of subjects, bound in enticing +covers, always inviting you to bodily repose and mental activity or +amusement, as you might prefer. This library, so dear to us all because +we were all allowed to share it, was burnt in 1857 by the Chinese +rebels. It took two days to burn. I watched it from our library over the +water, and saw the mass of books glowing dull red like a furnace, long +after the flames had consumed the wooden house. It made one's heart ache +to see it. An old gentleman of our English society watched it too, and I +wondered why his head shook continually as he sat with his eyes fixed on +those sad ruins; but I found afterwards that the sight, and doubtless +its cause, had palsied him from that day. But I must not linger too long +in the rajah's bungalow, though the white pigeons seem to call to me +from the verandahs; we must take boat again (for there are no bridges +over the Sarawak river), and cross to the court-house. + +This square wooden house, with latticed verandahs like a big cage, was +built by a German missionary, who purposed having a school on the ground +floor and living in the upper story; but as soon as he had built his +house he was recalled to Germany, and the only trace of him that +remained was a box full of torn Bibles and tracts, which, I am sorry to +say, had been used as waste paper in the bazaar for tying up parcels +since he left, but as the tracts were not in any language the people +could understand they were scarcely to blame. Rajah turned the house +into a court of justice, and we settled ourselves in the upper rooms, +which were divided from one another by mat walls. The river flowed under +this house at spring tides, and then nests of ants would swarm into it: +the rapidity with which these little creatures would carry all their +eggs up the posts and settle the whole family under a box in your +bedroom was marvellous; but as they were not pleasant companions there, +a kettle of hot water had to put an end to the colony. + +These little black ants did not sting, but there was a large red ant, +half an inch long, who was most pugnacious; he stood up on his hind legs +and fought you with amazing courage, and his jaws were formidable. We +made our first acquaintance with white ants while we lived in the +court-house. On unpacking a box of books, which had been our solace +during the voyage, we found them almost glued together by the secretion +of these creatures. The box had been standing on the ground floor of the +hotel. The white ants had eaten through and through the books, and +picked all the surface off the bindings; they were disgusting to look at +and to smell. Some years afterwards, one of our missionaries had a box +of clothes sent her from Singapore. It was necessary clothing, for she +had lost her effects, like the rest of us, during the Chinese rebellion. +I warned Miss Coomes that she must unpack the box directly, on account +of the white ants; but she put it off till the next day, and at night +these wretches ate through the bottom of the box, and munched up the new +linen and stockings. We soon learnt to guard against their attacks by +using no wood except balean, or iron-wood, which is too hard for them to +bite. English oak seemed like a slice of cake to white ants. + +No sooner were we settled at the court-house, than we had visits from +all the principal Malays, and also some Dyaks who happened to be at +Sarawak. My husband opened a dispensary in a little room behind the +store-room, and had plenty of patients. I used to hear continual talking +and laughing going on there, and by this means Mr. McDougall learnt to +talk the Malay language, which he only knew from books when he first +arrived. The pure Malay of books is very different from the colloquial +_patois_ of Kuching. To my sorrow, I learnt this some time after, when I +was trying to prepare two women for baptism: they listened to me for +some time, and then one said to the other, "She talks like a book," +which I fear meant that they only half understood me. + +Soon after this we took four little half-caste children to bring up. +They were running about in the bazaar, and their native mothers were +willing to part with them; so Mary, Julia, Peter, and Tommy were housed +in a cottage close by, under the care of a Portuguese Christian woman, +the wife of our cook. Every day I used to spend some hours with them, +that we might become friends. The eldest of these children was only six +years old, Tommy, the youngest, but two and a half; so they wanted a +nurse. They were baptized on Advent Sunday, 1848, and were the beginning +of our native school. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +COLLEGE HILL. + + +We stayed at the court-house a whole year, while our house on the hill +was being prepared. The hill, and the ground beyond it, about forty +acres in all, was given to the mission by Sir James Brooke. It was then +some way out of the town, but as the Chinese population increased, the +town grew quite to the foot of the hill--College Hill, as it was then +called--and a blacksmith's quarter even invaded the mission land. At +first, in order to cultivate the property, nutmegs and spice-trees were +planted, but the soil was not good enough for them; when their roots +pierced through the pit of earth in which they were planted, and reached +the stiff clay of the hill, they died off. It was necessary to do +something to keep the land clear of the coarse lalang grass, which grew +wherever the jungle was cut down. So after a while a herd of cattle was +collected, and they improved the poverty of the land, at the same time +furnishing milk and a little butter. I say a _little_, because even +when seven cows were in milk, as they only gave two quarts a day each, +and there were always plenty of children in and out of the mission to +consume it, but little was left for butter-making. Cocoa-nut trees were +planted in the low ground, and some few grew up; but wild pigs were +great enemies to them, for they liked to eat the cabbage out of the +heart of the young tree, which of course killed it. In that seething +warmth of Sarawak you could almost see plants grow. If you scattered +seeds in the ground, they sprouted above it on the third day. I planted +some of those little coral-looking seeds which are to be found in every +box of Indian shells, the seed of the satin-wood, and they grew up into +beautiful forest trees in twelve years' time. We used to make long +strings of these coral seeds, and use them in Christmas decorations. + +By degrees we had a very bright garden about the house. The Gardenia, +with its strongly scented blossom and evergreen leaves, made a capital +hedge. Great bushes of the Hybiscus, scarlet and buff, glowed in the +sun--they were called shoe-flowers, for they were used instead of +blacking to polish our shoes. The pink one-hundred-leaved rose grew +freely, and blossomed all the year round. Shrubs of the golden +Allamander were a great temptation to the cows, if they strayed +into the garden. The Plumbago was one of the few pale-blue flowers +which liked that blazing heat. Then we had a great variety of +creepers--jessamine of many sorts, the scarlet Ipomea, the blue +Clitorea, and passion-flowers, from the huge Grenadilla with its +excellent fruit, to the little white one set in a calyx of moss. The +Moon-flower, a large white convolvulus, tight-shut all day, unfolded +itself at six o'clock, and looked lovely in the flower-vases in the +evening. The Jessamine and Pergolaria odorotissima climbed up the +porch, and in the forks of the trees opposite I had air-plants +fastened, which flowered every three months, and looked like a flight +of white butterflies on the wing. The great mountain of Matang stood in +the distance, and when the sun sank behind it, which it always did in +that invariable latitude about six o'clock, I sat in the porch to watch +the glory of earth and sky. How dear a mountain becomes to you, is only +known to those who live in hilly countries. One gets to think of it as +a friend. It seems to carry a protest against the little frets of life, +and, by its strength and invariableness, to be a visible image of Him +who is "the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." But I am running on +too fast with the garden before the house is built. + +The hill was first cleared of jungle, and flattened at the top, then the +foundation was dug, and great sleepers were laid ready for the upright +posts. A wooden house is joiner's work, and rather resembles a great +bedstead. All the wood is first squared and cut, which takes a long +time, because the balean-wood is extremely hard, and consumes a great +deal of labour; but once ready, the house rises from the earth like +magic, for every beam and post fits into its place. + +We had brought a great box of carpenter's tools with us from England, +among them valuable moulding-planes; we wished the carpenters to learn, +in building the house, how to make the arches and ornamental mouldings +for the church. + +Happily for us, when the _Mary Louisa_ was wrecked in the straits on her +way home, the crew were all saved, and the ship-carpenter came over to +Sarawak to see if my husband would employ him. As he was a capital +joiner, he was set over a gang of workmen at once. All the plans for the +house and church were made by Frank (my husband), and I was set to draw +patterns of the doors and windows, the verandah railings, and the porch. +Stahl was an intelligent German workman, and soon learnt Malay enough to +direct the men. The Malays levelled the hill and dug the foundations; +the Chinese were employed as carpenters, but they, too, could speak +Malay. I remember making great friends with one of them, Johnny Jangot, +John of the Beard, so called on account of a few long hairs at the tip +of his chin, for the Chinese are a beardless race. Johnny used to eat +his breakfast in the court-house to save himself trouble. What a set-out +it was! Rice, of course; then three or four little basins with different +messes--duck, fish, chicken, and plenty of soy-sauce; more basins with +vegetables, all eaten with the help of chop-sticks; and a teapot snugly +covered with a cosy. I asked one day to taste the tea, and Johnny +poured me out a tiny cup of hot, sweet, spirits and water! Samchoo is a +spirit made from rice, and very strong, as our poor English sailors used +to find to their cost when her Majesty's ships paid us a visit. The +Chinese said that the English drank the samchoo cold and raw, and +therefore it poisoned them, whereas they always qualified it with hot +water. It did not taste strong, which made it all the more pernicious. +Johnny drank real tea all day long, and smoked a good deal of +tobacco--it seemed to me he did very little else; but he was not a bad +workman, though of course it was not such a day's work as an Englishman +can do. + +In the East you must accept the customs of the country, and be content +with the people: they are not given to change. Stahl made some +wheel-barrows for the men to use instead of little baskets in which they +carried earth, and which held nothing. But it was no use; they laughed +at the wheel-barrows, and said "Eh yaw!" but went on with the baskets. + +Every evening we used to walk up the hill to see how the building was +getting on, all the children with us; then, as we sat on the timber, I +used to draw the letters of the alphabet on the white sand, and the +little ones learnt them. We went home through a piece of ground we +called our garden. In it grew plenty of pine-apples and sugar-cane, and +the gardener always supplied us with pieces of the latter to eat--very +refreshing and nice, but the juice ran all over your hands. As for +pine-apples, we soon got tired of them; but they made good tarts, and, +mixed with plantains and lime-juice, a very pleasant and useful jam. + +In clearing the hill our workmen disturbed the haunts of many snakes. We +were a good deal visited by cobras for some years. The natives said that +the Adam and Eve of all the cobras lived in a cave under our hill. + +One day we were having asphalte laid down in the printing-room, to keep +away white ants. The room had been emptied to do this, and Stahl went in +to inspect the work after the men had gone to their breakfast at eleven +o'clock. He saw a large cobra at the end of the room, and hit it with a +stick he had in his hand; but the stick broke in two, and the cobra +reared itself up with inflated hood. Another minute must have seen Stahl +a prey to the monster; but the Bishop, passing by, heard him exclaim +when the stick broke, and going quickly in saw Stahl standing, white, +fascinated, and motionless, before the cobra. Happily he had a stout +walking-stick, and at once felled the reptile; but he took a good deal +of killing. It was ten feet long. + +This was Adam. + +Eve was killed under the verandah of the house almost a year afterwards. +She was eight feet long. + +One night the Bishop had been reading the Rev. F. Robertson's sermon +about St. Paul and the viper. It was late, and being rather sleepy he +carried the book in one hand and a candle in the other into his +dressing-room, and was just going to set the candle down, when his eye +fell on a cobra, coiled up on the chair on which he was about to seat +himself. No stick was at hand, but he smote the snake with the book. +Struck in the right place, they are not difficult to kill. So "St. Paul +and the Viper" put an end to the cobra. That the bite of this snake is +not, however, certain death we had a curious instance. + +One of our servants, a very strict Mahometan, believed himself charmed +against poisonous reptiles, and used to bring me centipedes and +scorpions in his hands, saying they never hurt him. He left our service +and was employed by the Borneo Company, about half a mile from our +house. One day, while cutting rattans in a shed, a cobra bit his thumb. +He thought nothing of it, but, putting away his work as usual, went +home, cooked his rice and ate his supper. By this time, however, his arm +began to swell and his head to swim. Instead of going to the doctor, who +then lived close by, he must needs go to the Bishop to cure him; so just +as we were sitting down to dinner, about seven o'clock, he reeled into +the house. The Bishop cauterized the wound, although it seemed too late +to be any use; he was getting cold and faint. However, by dint of being +walked up and down between two men, and having two whole bottles of +brandy administered to him, a glass at a time, besides sal volatile, +chloroform, and every stimulant we had, he got through the night. The +Bishop sat up with him all night, and I could hear him, when at last I +went to bed, calling out at intervals, "Oh, Allah! Oh, Lord Bishop!"--so +terrible was the pain he suffered in his arm. His wife, who was my +baby's ayah, appeared in the morning. "Come," said she, "make no more +noise, keeping everybody awake, but take up your bed (mat) and let us go +home." He meekly obeyed; but, poor man, he had abscesses under his arm, +and fell into weak health afterwards; so it is evidently unwise to +despise a cobra. + +There were many other snakes besides cobras, some poisonous, but most of +them harmless. + +The Marquis Doria and Signor Becarri, two distinguished naturalists, who +lived for some months at Sarawak, collecting bird-skins, insects, and +plants, told me that the natives often represented a snake to be +poisonous which was not so. However, we had the mata hari, sun-snake, +black and coral colour, and a metallic green flat-headed creature, +Fortrex trigonocephalus, which were venomous enough. I once had a little +flower-snake for a pet. It was beautifully marked with green and lilac, +and used to catch flies climbing about the room; but one day it mounted +to the top of a high door, the wind blew the door to, and my pretty +snake was thrown to the ground and broke its back. + +The boa-constrictor--sawar, as the Malays called it--lived in the jungle +and rice-swamps. Sometimes it attained an enormous size. An Englishman +told me that he and some Malays were exploring the jungle to find traces +of antimony ore, and came to an opening in the wood, across which they +saw the body of a sawar as thick as his own--he was not very +stout--moving along; but they never saw either the head or tail of that +snake, for, after watching its progress for a long time, they were +seized with a panic at its enormous length, and fled. + +A Malay whom we knew very well, Abong Hassan by name, and a mighty +hunter, told us that once, when he was seeking deer in the forest, +towards evening he sat down to rest, and cook his rice, on what he +thought was a great fallen tree. While thus occupied, he felt his seat +moving from under him, and, starting up, found he had been making use of +a huge sawar lying inert and distended with food. He killed it, and +found a full-grown deer in its stomach. These snakes must live to a +great age, and grow always, to attain such a size. + +Some people kept a small boa in their house to kill rats, but we found +they were equally fond of chickens, and therefore not desirable inmates; +for at Sarawak chickens were the principal animal food to be had, and it +was necessary to keep a stock of them. + +After some years we built up the lower story of the mission-house with +bricks, to make it more substantial and cooler. The ground floor was at +first wholly occupied with the school, the dormitory on one side, the +matron's and girls' room on the other, and a large schoolroom through +the centre of the house. A similar room over it was our dining-room, and +was used for divine service until the church was finished. The library +and our bedroom were over the boys' dormitory, and bedrooms for +missionaries on the other side. There were also three rooms in the roof, +which made good bedrooms, but were too hot for use in the daytime. The +roof was covered with shingles of balean-wood, which only grows harder +and darker coloured from rain and use. They were blown off sometimes in +the storms to which we were subject, but were otherwise more lasting +than any other kind of roofing. We used to call this house Noah's Ark, +from the variety of its occupants. A bell hung in the porch roof, and +rung at different hours to call the workmen and regulate the school. The +people in the town got so used to it that, when we discontinued it for a +time, they sent a petition that it might begin again, for without it +they never knew what o'clock it was. When the school outgrew this house +we built another for the boys, their master, and the matron, close by; +but I always kept the girls with us until Julia married, when they were +sent to the Quop, in charge of the missionary's wife there. + +Long before we left the court-house, Mr. and Mrs. Wright decided to give +up the Sarawak mission, and went to Singapore, where Mr. Wright became +master to the Raffles Institution for the education of boys. We were +therefore quite alone until February, 1851, when the Bishop of Calcutta +paid us a visit to consecrate the church, and brought with him Mr. Fox +from Bishop's College, to be catechist, with a view to his future +ordination. Very soon after him came the Rev. Walter Chambers from +England, and about the same time Mr. Nicholls also arrived from Bishop's +College; but, as he only wished to stay for two years in the country, he +had scarcely time to learn the language before he returned to Calcutta. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +PIRATES. + + +When we first lived at Sarawak, the coasts and the seas from Singapore +to China were infested with pirates. "It is in the Malay's nature," says +a Dutch writer, "to rove the seas in his prahu, as it is in the Arab to +wander with his steed on the sands of the desert." Before the English +and Dutch Governments exerted themselves to put down piracy in the +Eastern seas, there were communities of these Malays settled in various +parts of the coast of Borneo, who made it the business of their lives to +rob and destroy all the vessels they could meet with, either killing the +crews or reducing them to slavery. For this purpose they went out in +fleets of from ten to thirty war-boats or prahus. These boats were about +ninety feet long; they carried a large gun in the bow and three or four +lelahs, small brass guns, in each broadside, besides twenty or thirty +muskets. Each prahu was rowed by sixty or eighty oars in two tiers, and +carried from eighty to a hundred men. Over the rowers, and extending +the whole length of the vessel, was a light flat roof, made of split +bamboo, and covered with mats. This protected the ammunition and +provisions from rain, and served as a platform on which they mounted to +fight, from which they fired their muskets and hurled their spears. +These formidable boats skulked about in the sheltered bays of the coast, +at the season of the year when they knew that merchant-vessels would be +passing with rich cargoes for the ports of Singapore, Penang, or to and +from China. A scout-boat, with but few men in it, which would not excite +suspicion, went out to spy for sails. They did not generally attack +large or armed ships, although many a good-sized Dutch or English craft, +which had been becalmed or enticed by them into dangerous or shallow +water, was overpowered by their numbers. But it was usually the small +unarmed vessels they fell upon, with fearful yells, binding those they +did not kill, and burning the vessel after robbing it, to avoid +detection. While the south-west monsoon lasted, the pirates lurked about +in uninhabited creeks and bays until the trading season was over. But +when the north-east monsoon set in, they returned to their settlements, +often rich in booty, and with blood on their hands, only to rejoice over +the past, and prepare for next year's expedition. There are still some +nests of pirates in the north of Borneo, although of late the Spaniards +have done much to exterminate them. But when Sir James Brooke first +visited Sarawak, the nobles there, and their sultan at Bruni, used to +permit, nay, encourage, piratical raids against their own subjects at a +little distance, provided they shared in the profits of the expedition, +thus impoverishing the country they ruled, and putting a stop to all +native trade--a short-sighted and wicked policy. It took a good many +years of stern resistance on Sir James Brooke's part before the Bruni +nobles could be cured of their connivance of pirates, whether Malay or +Dyak. + +The Dyaks of Sarebas and Sakarran, a brave and noble people, were taught +piracy by the Malays who dwelt among them. These Dyaks were always +head-hunters, and used to pull the oars in the Malay prahus for the sake +of the heads of the slain, which they alone cared for. But, in course of +time, the Dyaks became expert seamen. They built boats which they called +bangkongs, and went out with the Malays, devastating the coast and +killing Malays, Chinese, Dyaks, whoever they met with. The Dyak bangkong +draws very little water, and is both lighter and faster than the Malay +prahu; it is a hundred feet long, and nine or ten broad. Sixty or eighty +men with paddles make her skim through the water as swiftly as a London +race-boat. She moves without noise, and surprises her victims with +showers of spears at dead of night; neither can any vessel, except a +steamer, catch a Dyak bangkong, if the crew deem it necessary to fly. +These boats can be easily taken to pieces; for the planks, which extend +the whole length of the boat, are not fastened with nails, but lashed +together with rattans, and calked with bark, which swells when wet; so +that, if they wish to hide their retreat into the jungle, they can +quickly unlace their boats, carry them on their shoulders into the +woods, and put them together again when they want them. When we first +lived at Sarawak no merchant-boat dared go out of the river alone and +unarmed. We were constantly shocked with dreadful accounts of villages +on the coast, or boats at the entrance, being surprised, and men, women, +and children barbarously murdered by these wretches. I remember once a +boat being found with only three fingers of a man in it, and a bloody +mark at the side, where the heads of those in the boat had been cut off. +Sometimes the pirates would wait until they knew the men of a village +were away at their paddy farms, then they would fall suddenly upon the +defenceless old men, women, and children, kill some, make slaves of the +young ones, and rob the houses. + +Sometimes, having destroyed a village and its inhabitants, they would +dress themselves in the clothes of the slain, and, proceeding to another +place, would call out to the women, "The Sarebas are coming, but, if you +bring down your valuables to us, we will defend you and your property." +And many fell into the snare, and were carried off. If they attacked a +house when the men were at home, it was by night. They pulled stealthily +up the river in their boats, and landing under cover of their shields, +crept under the long house where many families lived together. These +houses stand on high poles. The pirates then set fire to dry wood and a +quantity of chillies which they carried with them for the purpose. This +made a suffocating smoke, which hindered the inmates from coming out to +defend themselves. Then they cut down the posts of the house, which +fell, with all it contained, into their ruthless hands. + +In the year 1849, the atrocities of the piratical Dyaks were so +frequent, that the rajah applied to the English Admiral in the straits +for some men-of-war to assist him in destroying them. Remonstrances and +threats had been tried again and again. The pirates would always promise +good behaviour for the future to avert a present danger; but they never +kept these promises when an opportunity offered for breaking them with +impunity. In consequence of Sir James Brooke's application, H.M.S. +_Albatross_, commanded by Captain Farquhar; H.M.'s sloop _Royalist_, +commander, Lieutenant Everest; and H.E.I.C.'s steamer _Nemesis_, +commander, Captain Wallage, were sent by Admiral Collyer to Sarawak. +Then the rajah had all his war-boats got ready to join the English +force. There was the _Lion King_, the _Royal Eagle_, the _Tiger_, the +_Big Snake_, the _Little Snake_, the _Frog_, the _Alligator_, and many +others belonging to the Datus, who, on occasions like these, are bound +to call on their servants, and a certain number of able-bodied men +living in their kampongs, to man and fight in their boats. This is their +service to the Government. The rajah supplies the whole force with rice +for the expedition, and a certain number of muskets. The English ships +were left, the _Albatross_ at Sarawak, and the _Royalist_ to guard the +entrance of the Batang Lupar River, into which the Sakarran and Sarebas +Rivers _debouche_; but their boats, and nearly all the officers, +accompanied the fleet, and the steamer _Nemesis_ went also. On the 24th +of July they left us, as many as eighteen Malay prahus, manned by from +twenty to seventy men in each, and decorated with flags and streamers +innumerable, of the brightest colours,--the Sarawak flag, a red and +black cross on a yellow ground, always at the stern. For the _Tiger_ I +made a flag, as it was Mr. Brereton's boat, with a tiger's head painted +on it, looking wonderfully ferocious. It was an exciting time, with +gongs and drums, Malay yells and English hurrahs; and our fervent +prayers for their safety and success accompanied them that night, as +they dropped down the river in gay procession. They were afterwards +joined by bangkongs of friendly Dyaks, three hundred men from Lundu, +eight hundred from Linga, some from Samarahan, Sadong, and various +places which had suffered from the pirates, and were anxious to assist +in giving them a lesson. We heard nothing of the fleet until the 2nd of +August, when I received a little note from the rajah, written in pencil, +on a scrap of paper, on the night of the 31st of July, and giving an +account of how they fell in with a great balla (war fleet) of Sarebas +and Sakarran pirates, consisting of one hundred and fifty bangkongs, +returning to their homes with plunder and captives in their boats. The +pirates found all the entrances of the river occupied by their enemies, +the English, Malay, and Dyak forces being placed in three detachments, +and the _Nemesis_ all ready to help whenever the attack began. The _Lion +King_ sent up a rocket when she espied the pirate fleet, to apprise the +rest. Then there was a dead silence, broken only by three strokes of a +gong, which called the pirates to a council of war. A few minutes +afterwards a fearful yell gave notice of their advance, and the fleet +approached in two divisions. But when they sighted the steamer they +became aware of the odds against them, and again called a council by +beat of gong. After another pause, a second yell of defiance showed they +had decided on giving battle. Then, in the dead of the night, ensued a +fearful scene. The pirates fought bravely, but could not withstand the +superior forces of their enemies. Their boats were upset by the paddles +of the steamer; they were hemmed in on every side, and five hundred men +were killed, sword in hand; while two thousand five hundred escaped to +the jungle. The boats were broken to pieces, or deserted on the beach by +their crews; and the morning light showed a sad spectacle of ruin and +defeat. Upwards of eighty prahus and bangkongs were captured, many from +sixty to eighty feet long, with nine or ten feet beam. + +The English officers on that night offered prizes to all who should +bring in captives alive: but the pirates would take no quarter; in the +water they still fought without surrender, for they could not understand +a mercy they never accorded to their enemies. Consequently the prisoners +were very few, and the darkness of the night favoured escape. + +The peninsula to which they fled could easily have been so surrounded by +the Dyak and Malay forces that not one man of that pirate fleet could +have left it alive. This blockade the Malays entreated the rajah to +make; but he refused, saying that he hoped they had already received a +sufficient lesson, and would return to their homes humbled and +corrected. He therefore ordered his fleet to proceed up the river, and +the pirates went back to Sarebas and Sakarran. This severe punishment +cured the Dyaks of those rivers once and for all of piracy, and was the +greatest blessing which could have been conferred on those fine tribes. +They allowed forts to be built on their rivers, and submitted to English +residents, who ruled them with the counsel of their own chiefs. In 1857, +when the Chinese rebelled and burnt the town of Kuching, these Dyaks +sent their warriors to assist the Sarawak Government; in doing so they +joined other tribes whose hereditary enemies they had been for many +generations. Some of us felt anxious when we saw the fleet of Sakarrans +and Balows lying side by side at the Linga Fort; but they all kept +their good faith, and in fighting a common enemy became friends for +evermore. + +In 1852 Sir James Brooke placed Mr. Brereton in a fort at Sakarran, +built at the entrance of the river. He threw himself heartily into the +work of improving the people, and gained a good influence over many. One +of the most important chiefs, Gassim, attached himself to him, and even +gave up the practice of head-taking to please him. + +There were certain paddy farms in the country which by ancient custom +could only be cultivated by heroes who had taken many heads. One of +Gassim's people, however, who had never taken a single head, presumed to +clear and plant some of this ground; whereupon the other chiefs +complained, and one sent a message to Gassim, that if he did not put a +stop to this breach of law, he would fight him. Gassim answered that he +was ready to fight with swords if necessary, but first he begged a +conference with all the other chiefs to discuss the matter. To this they +agreed, and by the force of his eloquence and the justice of his cause, +Gassim proved to them that the old custom was bad and ought to be +repealed. About that time Brereton brought Gassim and a number of his +people to visit Kuching, and the chief breakfasted with us. When all the +school-children came in to prayers--for the church was not yet +finished--and Gassim heard them repeat the responses and say the Lord's +Prayer, he was delighted, and said that he and his people would also +like to be Christians. + +We used to like the Sakarrans much better than their neighbours, the +Sarebas, in those days. They were fine, tall, handsome men, with +straight noses and pleasant manners. The Sarebas were coarser-looking +people, who disfigured themselves by wearing brass rings all along the +lobes of their ears: the one at the bottom was as large as a +curtain-ring in circumference, though of slender make; it lay on the +chest, and by its weight dragged a great hole in the ear. These rings +were inserted when the children were quite young, and pulled their +little faces out of shape, giving an uncomfortable expression. Sarawak +Malays always said, "A Sakarran Dyak may be trusted, but a Sarebas is +deceitful." It is a curious fact, however, that the Sakarrans, with all +their fair words and sleek prepossessing looks, did not embrace the +gospel as the Sarebas did. The Rev. Walter Chambers lived at Sakarran +for some time, but gathered no converts. He then settled himself among +the Balows of the Batang Lupar and Linga, and when there was a community +of Christians from these rivers, at Banting, where Mr. Chambers had +built his church and house, a Sarebas chief, Buda by name, the son of a +notorious old pirate, happened to meet some of these Christian Dyaks, +and came himself to be taught. He brought his wife, sister, and child. +They walked upwards of eighty miles, partly through the mud of the +sea-shore, carrying their mats and cooking-pots with them, and +established themselves in the mission-house, where they were kindly +welcomed, and stayed six weeks, during which time they were so diligent +that they learnt to read and made some progress in writing. This was in +the rainy season, when all farming operations are in abeyance. The next +year they returned at the same time, but, meanwhile, they had not been +idle, but had taught all they knew to their countrymen. Shortly +afterwards Buda was made a catechist, and he excited so much interest, +that in 1867 Mr. Chambers baptized one hundred and eighty of these +people, who were once the most dangerous enemies of the English and the +most notorious pirates of Borneo. Then Buda proceeded to the village of +Seruai, and Mr. Chambers had soon to visit there, for the people were so +earnest they would scarcely let him sleep, nor seemed to require any +sleep themselves, but day and night learnt the hymns and catechism, +which they must know by heart to be baptized. Nearly two hundred were +baptized on the Kryan River. A catechist had been placed there, called +Belabut. He married Buda's sister, who walked to Banting for +instruction. She had much influence over the women of the tribe, and Mr. +Chambers said it was delightful to hear her read "her beloved gospel" +with the correct pronunciation of an English lady. + +The Christians of the Kryan did not keep the good news to themselves, +but proceeded to teach the next village of Sinambo. In these villages +there are now school-chapels, built by the Dyaks themselves. In 1873, +Mr. Chambers, who was then bishop, wrote: "These Sea Dyaks have made the +greatest advances in civilization and Christianity. Looking back even +five years, there is a great difference. They have abandoned +superstitious habits." "They no longer listen to the voices of birds to +tell them when to sow their seeds, undertake a journey, or build a +house; they never consult a manang[1] in sickness or difficulty; above +all, they set no store by the blackened skulls which used to hang from +their roofs, but which they have either buried or given away to any +people from a distance who cared for them, assuring them at the same +time that they 'were no use.'" + + [Footnote 1: Heathen doctor.] + +Thus we see what a just punishment and a fostering Government, added to +the sweet influences of Christianity, have done for these people; but it +took years of patience and faith to effect so great a change. + +After the pirate fight of 1849, the evil disposed and turbulent, both of +the Sakarrans and Sarebas, found a leader in Rentab, a Sarebas chief. He +braved the Government for years. In 1852 his war-boats appeared above +the Sakarran Fort, and the two young Englishmen there, Mr. Brereton and +Mr. Lee, too confident in their strength, attacked the boats with a +small force. In this engagement Mr. Lee was killed, and Mr. Brereton +escaped with difficulty. Several expeditions were taken into the +interior against Rentab; but he was so clever, that even when Captain +Brooke battered his stronghold to pieces by having guns dragged up the +steep hill on which his fort was built, Rentab managed to escape, and +was never taken. His followers, however, fell away from him by degrees, +and there are now no pirates in those rivers. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE CHURCH AND THE SCHOOL. + + +As soon as we removed to College Hill, the building of the church began. +On the 28th August, 1850, a few days after the return of the expedition +against the pirates, the summit of a rising ground about two hundred +yards from the house having been cleared and levelled, a large shed was +built over the ground, which the sailors of H.M.S. _Albatross_, and our +workmen, adorned with gay flags and green boughs. + +A little procession left our house, the rajah walking first, dressed in +full uniform as Governor of Labuan, and Suboo, the Malay executioner, +holding a large yellow satin umbrella over his head, as is the custom on +all state occasions, for yellow is the royal colour in Borneo; then my +husband, in surplice and hood, the English residents, naval officers, +and, last, a crowd of Malays and Chinese followed, to witness the +ceremony of laying the first great block of wood in the foundation of +St. Thomas's Church. After prayers had been read, the rajah lowered the +great sleeper into its place, and we all returned home. From that day +the church began to rise out of the earth with the same seeming magic as +the house had done. It was entirely built of wood--all the beams, +rafters, and posts of the hard balean-wood, and the roof covered with +balean shingles, like the house. The planking was a cedar-coloured wood, +and all the arches and mouldings were finished like cabinet-work, so +that it was both handsome and durable. The ornamental pillars were first +made of polished nibong palms; but in a few years these had to be cut +away, as they were full of white ants, and hard wood substituted. The +building of this little church was most interesting to us. When my +husband was at Singapore for a short time in 1849, he had the pulpit, +reading-desk, a carved wooden eagle, and the chairs made there; also a +coloured glass east window was contrived, with the Sarawak flag for a +centre light. This pleased the Malays; indeed, they admired the house +and church immensely, and always assured us that they knew we could not +have built either, unless inspired by good antoos (spirits). + +The baptismal font was a huge clam-shell, large enough to dip an infant +in, if desired; and this natural font was adopted in all the churches +afterwards built at Dyak stations--at Lundu, at Banting, Quop River. + +The church bell was a difficult matter. Nothing larger than a ship bell +could be found in the straits. At last, a Javanese at Sarawak said he +could cast a bell large enough if he had the metal; so Frank bought a +hundredweight of broken gongs--there is a great deal of silver in gong +metal--and with these the bell was cast. Then an inscription had to be +put round the rim--"Gloria in excelsis Deo," in large letters; and the +date, Sir James Brooke's name on one side, and F. T. McDougall on the +other. It was a great success, and was safe in the little belfry before +the church was consecrated, in February, 1851. I do not know whether +this bell is now cracked, but it has worked very hard from that day--two +services every week-day, and four on Sunday, to say nothing of extra +occasions. Before long, we found a gilder who could adorn the reredos. +There were seven compartments at the east end: in the centre one was a +gilt cross, and in the others, the Lord's Prayer and the Creed, in +English, Malay, and Chinese. The gilder was a Chinese catechumen, and +was very anxious to do it well; but he knew nothing of English letters, +so each letter had to be cut in paper, and he traced it on the wooden +panel. It was necessary to watch him narrowly, or he put the letters +upside down! Such are the difficulties of making churches in the jungle. +All this took some time to complete. I had a very severe illness in +November, 1850; and when, about Christmas, I was able to sit in the +verandah, the progress of the church was my great amusement, for it was +quite near enough to watch from the house. + +In August, 1850, a great influx of Chinese came to Sarawak. There was a +war at Sambas, the principal Dutch settlement in Borneo, between the +Chinese, who were friendly to the Dutch, and who were living at +Pernankat, and the Montrado Chinese, who, with the Dyaks of the country, +rebelled against the Dutch. The Montrados beat the Pernankat Chinese, +and they fled from the place, carrying with them their wives and +children, and as much property as they could cram into their boats. The +boats were overladen, and many of them perished at sea, but some reached +Tangong Datu. On the 26th of August, four hundred of these poor +creatures arrived at Sarawak, saying there were three thousand more +starving on the sands at Datu, who would follow as fast as they could; +and, in course of time, most of them did find their way up the river, +although those in charge of the Government (the rajah was at Labuan) +tried to persuade them to make a town for themselves at Santubong (one +of the mouths of the river). A few of them did settle at Santubong, but +every day brought boats full of Chinamen into the place. The rajah fed +these poor people for months with rice, and gave them tools that they +might clear the ground and make gardens in the jungle. At first, before +they could build themselves houses, the whole place seemed upset by +them. Many lived in their boats on the river; every shed and workshop in +the town was full. One night Frank walked into the church, to see no one +was stealing planks from the unfinished building. All was quiet, but by +a stray moonbeam he perceived that one end of the church, already +boarded, was full of mosquito curtains, and they as full of sleeping +Chinamen. Such a thing could not be allowed--nails knocked into the +polished walls to tie up the curtains, tobacco perfuming the place, to +say nothing of sparks to light the pipes, and a considerable allowance +of bugs which Chinese people always carry about with them. Frank jumped +straight into the middle of the muslin curtains, with a shout; and +amidst a hubbub of tongues, "yaw-yaw" and laughter, bundled them all out +into the workmen's shed close by, where they might sleep in peace. It +occurred to my husband that some of these Chinese would be glad to have +their children brought up with the seven little orphans we had already, +so he went to Aboo, the Chinese magistrate, and offered to take ten +children into our house to be brought up as Christians, baptized, and +educated for ten years. The Chinese value education, and were very glad +to give them to us. I shall never forget sitting in the porch one +morning to receive my new family. Neither parents nor children could +speak Malay. They walked up the stairs, bringing a little boy or girl, +nodded and smiled and put the child's hand into mine, as much as to say, +"There, take it." One of our Chinese servants then explained to them +what we could do for the child, and that it must remain with us until +grown up. That day we took Salion, Sunfoon, Chinzu, Queyfat, Assin, +Umque, Achin, boys; Achong, Moukmoy, Poingzu, girls. The English nurse +we had brought with us to Sarawak had married Stahl, the carpenter, of +whom I spoke before, and Mrs. Stahl became the matron of the school when +we moved to College Hill, and had these ten Chinese children as well as +the orphans to care for. We were very busy sewing for them, with a +Chinese tailor to help. Blue jackets and trousers for week-days, and +black trousers and white jackets for Sundays, had to be made at once. +The girls wore trousers as well as the boys, only wider, and their +jackets reached to the knee. + +At the end of a week they were all clean and neat. Their heads were +shaved every Saturday, and their long tails freshly plaited up with +skeins of black or red strong silk, made on purpose. At first a barber +came to do this, but soon the elder boys learnt to do it, and it was a +regular Saturday business. These ten children soon learnt to speak +Malay. Then we took five more, and after that one or two as +circumstances threw them in our way. The school at last numbered +forty-five, but there was not room in the mission-house for so many; we +did not get beyond thirty the first year of the school. + +I scarcely think thirty English children could have been so easily +reduced to order as these little Chinese. School must have been paradise +to them after the hardships they had undergone, and that perhaps made it +easier to please them; besides, the Chinese readily submit to rule and +method. The day was laid out for them. They rose at half-past five when +the day dawned; after a bath in a pond in the grounds, they had a slice +of rice-pudding with treacle on it, and then went to church for morning +prayers. By seven o'clock they were all at lessons in the big room--such +a buzzing and curious singsong of Chinese words--until nine, when the +breakfast took place; rice, of course, and a sort of curry of +vegetables, also a great dish of fish, either salt or fresh; a little +tea for the elder children, no milk or sugar, and water for the rest. +They soon learnt to sing their grace before and after meals. + +The same kind of meal was repeated at five o'clock, but on Sunday they +had pork curried instead of fish, and on festivals chickens. I taught +these children to sing from the first. The Chinese are not musical +generally, and some of them found the sounds of _do_, _re_, _mi_, very +difficult to master, but we had very nice singing in church in time; and +when a schoolmaster came who knew plenty of songs, glees, and rounds, +the children learnt them quickly, and were often sent for to sing to the +rajah and other guests when they came to dinner. + +It used to startle strangers to hear "The Hardy Norseman," "The Cuckoo," +and such-like songs from the lips of little Chinese boys. Every Saturday +evening they came to the house to practise the hymns and chants for +Sunday; I had an harmonium in the dining-room. On these occasions they +all had a cup of tea and slice of cake, and used to look at the picture +newspapers which had come from England the last mail. They were very +intelligent boys. It was necessary they should learn Malay and English +as well as Chinese, and of course arithmetic, geography, and the usual +rudiments of learning. I have often watched the Chinese writing-lesson: +it seemed the most difficult branch of their education--one complicated +character, something like a five-barred gate, representing a variety of +sounds as well as meanings; but our little fellows learnt it all. They +had a Chinese master as well as an English, and they soon spoke English +as well as we could desire. My husband took the greatest interest in +this school. When the children first came he taught them games and made +them playthings, and they were always about him. Whenever we went +anywhere by boat a crew of boys was added to the rowers. They soon +learnt to use their paddles well, and at the public boat-races, on New +Year's Day, pulled their own boat in the race and sometimes won it. When +my husband became Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak, he always took some of +the schoolboys with him in his visits to the different stations. They +helped the church services by their singing, and had their especial +chums among the Dyak Christian boys in the different tribes. So many +boys passed through the school during the twenty years we took an +interest in it, that I cannot even remember all of them. Some are now +catechists among the Dyak tribes; many entered the service of the +Government or the Merchant Company as clerks; some went to Singapore and +found employment there. I know of only one who has as yet been +ordained, but perhaps that time has scarcely yet arrived in Sarawak. It +is difficult for Malays or Dyaks to look up to a Chinaman sufficiently +to make him their minister: they are less clever than the Chinese, but +look down upon them nevertheless--the Malays, because the Chinese are +the workers, and they the gentlemen; the Dyaks, I suppose, because they +gave them such a thrashing in 1857. One good consequence of the Chinese +school was, that it attracted the attention of the parents towards +Christianity, and they presented themselves as catechumens. There were +many difficulties with the languages, for the Chinese at Sarawak were +not all of the same tribe, and could not understand one another. +However, after a while a Chinese professor arrived at Sarawak, bringing +his wife and family with him. In those days the women were forbidden to +emigrate with their husbands, but Sing Sing put his wife into a large +chest with air-holes at the top, and brought her safely from China. The +Bishop employed this man, who was well educated, to make translations, +and to interpret what he said to the Chinese, so there were soon Bible +classes at our house every Wednesday evening. Sing Sing became an +inquirer himself while translating the gospel to others. He was soon +able to hold cottage lectures in the town, and after some years the +Bishop had the happiness to ordain him as minister to his people. There +was a large congregation of Chinese at the Sunday services before we +left, and it was a good proof of the sincerity of these converts, that +while all their heathen countrymen worked at their trades on Sunday as +well as other days, our Christians spent their Sunday in worship and +rest, which no doubt was an advantage to their health as well as their +growth in grace. + +At Christmas they always shared in our feasting. We killed an ox, and +all the Christians had beef for their dinner, as well as all the queer +things they delight in. + +In January, 1851, the Church of St. Thomas at Kuching was consecrated by +Bishop Wilson, of Calcutta. On the afternoon of the 18th, I was +returning from church, and mounting the flight of steps which led to the +porch of the house, I saw a large steamer turn the corner of the +Pedungen Reach and anchor above the fort. It was the _Semiramis_ +bringing the Bishop, Archdeacon Pratt and Mrs. Pratt, the Rev. H. Moule +from Singapore, Dr. Beale, the Bishop's physician, and Mr. Fox from +Bishop's College. This party, escorted by Frank, who rushed home to +dress himself in black (his usual attire being grey flannels and a white +muslin cassock), very soon marched into the house, exclaiming with +pleasure at the wreaths of white jessamine growing over the stairs, and +the fresh air of the hill. We had so lately settled in the house that it +was not half furnished, but we gave up our rooms to our guests and +stowed ourselves in an empty corner. I remember the satisfaction with +which Mrs. Stahl produced the remains of the Christmas plum-pudding, +and the comfort it was to have a joint of venison in the house. Dinner +was soon on the table, and immediately afterwards the Bishop read +prayers and retired to his room. We all went into the library, where we +had tea and talk. It was very refreshing to have an English lady to +speak to, and Mrs. Pratt was so tall and fair that everybody admired +her, especially the Malays, who used to say that it was sufficient +pleasure to look at her throat only. + +The natives used to flock into the house every evening to see the Tuan +Padre besar (the great priest), and all the new-comers. At half-past +five a.m. the Bishop's bell used to ring for his servants to dress him, +and bring his tea. The whole house was astir then. The Indian servants +of the party slept in the verandahs, and seemed to me to talk all night. + +The next day was Sunday, but the church was not cleared out for +consecration, and most of the fittings had come from Singapore in the +_Semiramis_, and could not be got out on Saturday night. So morning and +evening prayers were as usual in the dining-room, and what with the +officers of the _Semiramis_, the English of the place, the school and +our home party, the room was very full. The children sang with all their +might, and were much interested with the visitors. The Bishop and +Archdeacon Pratt preached morning and afternoon. On Wednesday the church +was ready. Mrs. Stahl and I were up before dawn, covering hassocks with +Turkey red cotton. The church was tiled, but platforms of wood, covered +with mats, which were a present from Mr. and Mrs. Stahl, were placed on +the tiles, and the chairs just arrived by _Semiramis_ stood on them. We +afterwards had to clear the platforms away--they became full of white +ants; but they looked very well at first. + +When all was ready, Captain Brooke and all the principal English +inhabitants met the Bishop at the church door, and presented a petition +that he would consecrate the building. He then entered, and walked up +and down the church repeating psalms, etc. Then came morning service; +afterwards, the Bishop preached, and as he was very energetic and struck +the desk with his hand, our gentle Datu Bandar thought he was angry, and +slipped quickly out of church. There was a confirmation of a Chinese +teacher and my little maid Susan after the celebration of Holy +Communion, and then, after three hours and a half service, we returned +home. The next morning, early, the Bishop consecrated the burial-ground. +He was carried round it in a chair, for he was unable to walk much; and +though he was a hale old man of seventy-two, his many years' residence +at Calcutta had, I imagine, spoilt his walking powers. + +He was very kind and friendly to us all, and admired the church very +much. His visit was a boon to the mission. It impressed the native mind +with the importance Christians attach to their churches and to public +worship. When our church bell called us to prayers twice every day, the +Mahometans revived the daily muezzin at the mosque; and the sight of the +public practice of religion amongst us quickened the Malays in the +performance of their own religious rites, and from that time there were +many more pilgrims to Mecca from Sarawak. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE GIRLS. + + +Having said so much about the schoolboys, it would be unfair not to +mention the girls. Mary, Julia, and Phoebe, the half-caste children, +grew up beside us, and so did Polly, who was a Dyak baby brought to me +after the pirate expedition of 1849. Her mother fled, and dropped her +baby in the long grass, where it was found by an English sailor, who +carried it to the boats and gave it to one of the women captives to +bring to me--a poor little, skinny thing, with long yellow hair, like a +fairy changeling. I got a wet nurse for her and fed her with baby food, +but she got thinner and more elfish-looking. One day her nurse was +standing by while the other children were eating their dinner, and Polly +stretched out her arms to the rice and salt fish, and began to cry. +"Oh," said I, "perhaps she can eat;" and from that day the little one +ate her rice and discarded the nurse, growing fat and merry like the +rest. + +Polly had a great talent for languages. Of course she learnt English and +Malay at once, hearing both languages from her earliest years. But how +she learnt Chinese as well used to surprise me. In 1866 I took Polly to +Hongkong. She was then nurse to our youngest child. The lady of the +house where we were staying accosted Polly in the pigeon English of the +place--a jargon mysterious to unaccustomed ears. It must be allowed that +Polly was not unlike a Chinese in appearance. She stared at the lady, +and then at me, upon hearing directions she could not understand. I +laughed. "Speak to Polly in English," I said, "and she will understand +what you mean." "Impossible," answered Mrs. M----; "my servants tell me +she must be Chinese, for she can talk in two dialects." + +Polly married a Christian Chinaman afterwards, so her taste lay in that +direction. When I last heard of her, she was teaching in the day-schools +at Sarawak. + +Mary married the schoolmaster, Mr. Owen. We brought Julia home with us +in 1869, and put her into a training-school for teachers in Dublin, +where she was much beloved. When we returned to Sarawak, in 1861, she +became the schoolmistress to the girls I then had in the house, and +others who came as day-scholars. She was a thoroughly good girl, and a +great comfort to me, but of course she married, a young man employed as +mate in the _Rainbow_, a Government vessel running between Sarawak and +Singapore. Some years afterwards Forrest died, and Julia married again, +an older man very well off. I have no doubt she is bringing up her +family in the fear of God, but I have not heard of her lately. I had +many trials with the girls, more than I like to recount. All the first +little family of Chinese girls we received in 1850 belonged to the tribe +who rebelled in 1857, and their relations carried them off when we were +driven from the mission-house. They were taken to Bau where their +relations lived, but what became of them in the terrible flight to the +Dutch country, when many were killed, and still more died of the +privations of the jungle, we never could hear. + +Sarah and Fanny came to us in 1856. They were little orphans, half +Chinese, half Dyak, whom, with two more girls and four boys, the +Government had redeemed from slavery and gave to the mission. Some of +these children stayed at Lundu with Mr. Gomez and his family; some came +to me--Sarah, Fanny, and Betsy, a baby whom I gave out to nurse. Poor +little Sarah had a very scarred face from a burn, but she was a bright, +clever child. Fanny was better-looking, but more heavy and less +impressible. These two girls married native catechists in course of +time. I trust they are doing some good among their own people. + +In the year 1862 some little captives fell into the hands of Captain +Brooke, then ruling at Sarawak. They came from Sarebas, and one of them +had been wounded by a spear, though he was only a tiny boy of four +years old. Captain Brooke wrote to me to know if I would take this +family of children into the school--two girls, Limo and Ambat, and two +boys, Esau and Nigo. If I could not take them, he said, they must be +sent back to their own country immediately, as there was a boat +departing the next day. The Bishop was away from Sarawak, so I had to +decide; nor would there have been any doubt in my mind about it, but +Esau the eldest boy was covered with kurap, from head to foot. This is a +skin disease to which Dyaks are subject, and which suggests the leprosy +of the Old Testament, for the outer skin peels off in flakes, and gives +almost a "white as snow" appearance to the surface. I doubted whether I +ought to take a pupil so afflicted, for it is decidedly catching. I +found that Ambat and Nigo had both patches of it here and there from +contact with Esau, whereas Limo, who was older, more clothed, and who +slept apart, was quite free. + +Still, the alternative was nothing less than sending these four children +to their heathen relations, and to a place at that time beyond the reach +of Christ's gospel--a terrible idea which could not be entertained for a +moment. So at last I sent for them, resolving to keep them in our house, +and not allow them to go down to the school until the Bishop returned. +Shortly afterwards a Chinese doctor came to the Bishop, and said, "If +you will give me fifteen dollars I will cure that boy of kurap. I have a +wonderful medicine for it, made at the Natunas Islands." So he had the +money on condition of the cure. The medicine was an ointment as black as +pitch--indeed, I believe there was a good portion of tar in it. With +this the doctor smeared Esau all over. He was to wear no clothes, and +not to be washed or touched. I used to see him, poor child, skipping +about exactly like the little black imps depicted in _Punch_. + +The ointment did not hurt him, but every third day the doctor came and +washed it all off with hot water: this was rather a painful operation, +but it was worth while undergoing some discomfort, for at the end of a +month the disease had vanished, and "his skin came again like the flesh +of a child." Esau grew up to be a good man and catechist to his own +countrymen, so it was well I ventured to keep him at Sarawak. The other +children soon got well when separated from him. Kurap arises, I believe, +from poor food and exposure to weather. A Dyak wears no clothes except a +long sash wound round him and the ends hanging down before and behind; +and when we consider the hot sun and frequent rains which beat upon him, +for he lives mostly out of doors, it is no wonder his skin suffers. Limo +and Ambat were clever children. In a letter, written about a year after +they came to us, I find this passage: "I have only four girls who can +read English and understand it. My two little Dyaks, Limo and Ambat, are +very fond of learning English hymns, and say them in such a plaintive, +touching voice, pronouncing each syllable so clearly, but they don't +understand it until it has been explained to them in Malay. Limo's +brother and uncle came this week from Sarebas--two fine, tall men, with +only chawats[2] and earrings by way of clothes. Limo was delighted; she +would have gone away with them in their great boat if I had allowed her. +No doubt they told her how much they would do for her at Sarebas. +However, I drew a little picture of the women setting her to draw large +bamboos full of water, and to beat out the paddy with a long pole--very +hard work, and always done by the young girls,--a more truthful and less +delightful view of things; so Limo said she would stay with me until she +was grown up. I gave her a pair of trousers for each of the men, a +present generally much esteemed. But these two were very wild folk; they +laughed very much at the trousers, and carried them away over their +shoulders." + + [Footnote 2: A chawat is a long strip of cotton or bark cloth + wound round the body.] + +I must not forget to tell the story of my dear child Nietfong, although +it is a very sad one. She was the daughter of the Chinese baker who +lived in the lane which led from our garden to the town. I used to +befriend her mother, a delicate little woman, very roughly treated by +her husband. She twice ran to me for shelter when her husband beat her, +and though of course I always had to give her up to him when he came +begging for her the next day, he knew what I thought of him, and had a +sort of respect for me in consequence. This poor woman died young, and +left one little girl about four years old. Nietfong used to come up to +day-school when she was old enough, and in 1858, when I was so happy as +to have an English governess for my Mab, I took the little Chinese girl +to live with us and join Mab in her lessons. She was quite a little +lady, so gentle, teachable, and well mannered. In 1860 we took our +children to England: Mab was six years old, and could not with any +safety remain longer in a hot climate. Little Nietfong went home, for +her father would not allow her to go to the school in my absence. We +returned in 1861, leaving three children in England, and brought a baby +girl out with us. As I walked up the lane to the mission-house, Nietfong +stood watching for me at the gate. "Take me home with you; oh, I am so +glad you are come back!" So I took her home, and Nietfong told me that +her father had married again, and that her step-mother was unkind to +her, and beat her when she said the prayers I had taught her night and +morning; "but," said the child, "I always prayed, nevertheless." She +lived with us till she was about thirteen, perhaps not so much; then her +father came to the Bishop and said he had sold Nietfong for a good sum +of money to a man in China, and must send her there to stay with her +grandmother. + +In vain I entreated Acheck not to be so wicked. "Tell me how much you +would get for your daughter," I said, "and we will give you the money." +He laughed, and said I could not afford it, mentioning a large sum, but +I do not remember what it was; so I had to break the sad news to +Nietfong. We wept and prayed together that she might remain steadfast in +her Christian faith. As she then knew English very well, I gave her an +English Prayer-book, which she promised to use. Soon after, Acheck +himself took her to China; and when he came back, he would only say, "Oh +yes, of course she is happy--she is married and well off." I have always +felt sure that this dear girl was kept by God's grace from sin and evil, +for I believe she truly loved and desired to serve God. There was +something especially pure about her. Nietfong was never wilfully +naughty; she was one of those blameless ones who seem untouched by the +evil around them. We shall not know the sequel of her history until by +God's mercy we meet her in the heavenly home. + +As I have spoken about the Dyak kurap, I may as well here mention the +real leprosy of the East, which was a terrible but not frequent scourge +among the Chinese. The Rajah had a small house built out of the town for +any men who were so afflicted, and they were fed by Government. The +Bishop or his chaplain used to go and teach these poor creatures, but +there were not more than three or four of them at a time. We knew one +Chinese woman who had leprosy. She became a Christian, and liked to have +a cottage lecture at her house. I often went to see her. Her toes +gradually dropped off, and her fingers. I never heard her complain. One +day I went to see her and found her very ill, constantly sick. She said +she had been poisoned; and it seemed probable, for no medicine gave her +any relief, and in a few hours she died. The natives have such a horror +of leprosy that they do not like to touch the body of any one who has +died of it, so the Bishop and Owen, the schoolmaster, laid poor Acheen +in her coffin; and this charitable act they performed for any +unfortunate who died of this terrible disease. + +Acheen had adopted a little boy, Sifok by name. She must have been very +kind to the child, for he seemed wild with grief when she died, and was +very anxious that whoever had poisoned his mother, as he called her, +should be punished. But the case was not clear, and no one was punished. +We took Sifok into the school, and I taught him to play the harmonium, +which at last he accomplished very fairly. + +Amongst our schoolboys was one particularly steady and religious. Tung +Fa was so good a Malay and Chinese scholar that he could interpret at +the Chinese Bible class, and also the sermon at the Chinese service at +church on Sunday. I think he knew his Bible almost by heart. He was +never very strong in health; then his feet began to swell, and leprosy +declared itself. For a long time he was carried to and from the church +in a chair, but at last he was so diseased that he was removed from the +school-house, and a little hut was built for him close to us. The boys +brought him his food, and of course he had anything he fancied from our +kitchen. I think the servants were very kind to him, and he exhibited a +beautiful example of patience and resignation until the disease affected +his brain; even then he was quite gentle, only he was always begging to +be baptized over again that he might die free from sin. This mistake +arose entirely from his illness. We were quite thankful when one morning +he was found dead in his bed. What a blissful waking, after so much +suffering! + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE LUNDUS. + + +The beginning of the year 1851 brought us much sorrow. After my illness +in November, 1850, we were persuaded by Sir James Brooke to accompany +him to Penang Hill, where the Government bungalow had been placed at his +disposal; consequently, after Christmas, we sailed in H.M.S. _Amazon_, +through the kindness of Captain Troubridge, for Singapore, taking our +child Harry with us. We had to wait some weeks at Singapore for the +Rajah, and soon after our arrival our little boy died of diptheria, +leaving us childless, for we had already lost two infants at Sarawak. +This grief threw a veil of sadness over the remaining years of our first +sojourn in the East. Perhaps it urged us to a deeper interest in the +native people than we might have felt had there been any little ones of +our own to care for; but those six years "the flowers all died along our +way," one infant after another being laid in God's acre. + +We stayed six weeks amid the lovely scenery and in the cooler air of +Penang Hill, and returned to Sarawak in May, Admiral Austin giving us a +passage in H.M.S. _Fury_. The admiral gave me his cabin to sleep in, all +the gentlemen sleeping in the cuddy. I woke in the night, hearing a +rushing sound in the air, then, patter, patter, all over the bed. I +jumped up, and called Frank to bring a light and see what was the +matter. "Oh," said a voice from the cuddy, "better not: it is only +cockroaches, and if you saw them you would not go to sleep again." This +swarm of cockroaches came out several times before daylight. The next +night I put up a mosquito-net to protect my face and hands from these +disgusting creatures. When a steamer has been nearly three years in +these hot latitudes it becomes horribly full of rats and cockroaches. My +husband, taking a trip in H.M.S. _Contest_, in 1858, woke one morning +unable to open one eye. Presently he felt a sharp prick, and found a +large cockroach sitting on his eyelid and biting the corner of his eye. +They also bite all round the nails of your fingers and toes, unless they +are closely covered. It must be said that insects are a great discomfort +at Sarawak. Mosquitoes, and sand-flies, and stinging flies which turn +your hands into the likeness of boxing-gloves, infest the banks of the +rivers, and the sea-shore. Flying bugs sometimes scent the air +unpleasantly, and there are hornets in the woods whose sting is +dangerous. When we look back upon the happy days we spent in that +lovely country, these drawbacks are forgotten; the past is always +beautiful, and shadows, even of sorrow and sickness, only enhance the +interest of the picture. Sin alone, in ourselves and those about us, can +make the past hateful, and the great charm of the future is that it is +untouched by sin. Happy, then, are those who are able to look back on +the past with smiles of thankfulness, while they stretch out their arms +hopefully to the future. + +Sarawak looked very peaceful on our return; and now began the interest +of the Dyak missions. From our first arrival at Kuching my husband had +taken every opportunity of visiting the Dyak tribes, and sometimes a +chief would come to the town with a number of his people, to pay their +rice tax, or purchase clothes, tobacco, gongs, gunpowder, whatever the +bazaar possessed which they valued. They brought with them beeswax, +damar, honey, or rattans to exchange for those things. On these +occasions the whole party came up to the mission-house to hear the +harmonium, see the magic-lantern, and beg presents. At first they would +ask for arrack, but finding nothing but claret to be had with us, soon +left off that request. Plates and cups were always valued, and they used +to say we had _so many_ more than we could possibly want in the pantry, +that of course we would give them some. To their honour be it said, they +never stole one, and were invariably refused, for we had not any more +than we wanted. The Dyaks hung their plates in loops of rattan very +ingeniously against the walls of their houses; but a plantain-leaf +folded up is more often used by them in lieu of plates, and they could +not have a better substitute. I never enjoyed a meal so much as some +cold rice and sardines eaten off a plantain-leaf in the jungle at Lundu, +after a long walk to the waterfall. The servant with the provision +basket had lost his way, and as we sat hungry under the great trees at +the foot of the fall, a Dyak friend produced a box of sardines and a +parcel of cold rice, and divided it amongst us. When at last the basket +of cold chickens arrived we handed them over to the Dyaks, feeling quite +superior to such civilized food. + +The Lundu Dyak chief was a great friend and admirer of Sir James Brooke +from his first arrival in the country. He and his tribe were the +determined enemies of the pirates, and with the Balows of the Batang +Lupar braved the Sarebas and Sakarrans, even when they were most +powerful. At the pirate fight of 1849 the Lundu chief lost two of his +sons: they were killed by an ambush set by Lingi the Sarebas chief. Only +one son, Callon, remained, and he was not his father's favourite. Poor +old Orang Kaya! it was a terrible trial, and nearly brought him to his +grave. Some time afterwards, he and Callon were at Sarawak to pay their +tax. Lingi, who had then submitted to the Rajah, had been in Sarawak for +some days, professedly to trade, but really to see if he could not take +Sir James Brooke's head. This was prevented by the watchfulness of the +Malays, who, suspecting Lingi, never let him get near the Rajah when +they sat talking after dinner, as was the custom in those days. So Lingi +went away foiled, and the day they dropped down the river the Lundus +heard of it. Revenge seemed ready at hand: they had a fast boat, were a +large party, and brave to a man. They entreated the Rajah to let them +follow Lingi and take his head--never again would they take a head, only +Lingi's, the Rajah's enemy and their own. Of course they were refused, +and it must have been a terrible strain on their affection and fealty to +the Rajah, not in this instance to follow the traditions of their +ancestors, and gratify their personal revenge by killing a traitor. But +they obeyed, and Lingi got safely back to Sarebas, little knowing how +narrowly he escaped. The old Lundu chief was a Christian before he died. +He always professed a desire to be of the same religion and brother to +the white man, but when, after due instruction, his son and grandson +came to Kuching to be baptized, he was not well enough to accompany +them, Mr. Gomes promised to baptize him on their return; but when that +event took place Orang Kaya was dead, gone where, no doubt, the will was +taken for the deed, as he was a Christian at heart. Mr. Gomes was from +Bishop's College, Calcutta. Soon after he came to us, in 1852, he went +to Lundu and remained there until 1867, when his children requiring more +education than he could give them at a Dyak station, he went to +Singapore, and accepted the post of missionary priest there. + +Mr. Grant was Government resident at Lundu, and the ruler and missionary +devoted themselves to the improvement of the people. In 1855, when we +returned to our home after our first visit to England, we received a +delightful visit from Mr. Gomes and twelve Dyaks, whom he brought to be +baptized at St. Thomas's Church. Callon's son Langi, and half a dozen +other boys, lived with Mr. Gomes, and ran after him all day--nice little +fellows, who fraternized with our boys at the school-house. There were +also five men, the chief of whom was Bulan (Moon), one of the manangs, +or witch-doctors, of the tribe. These manangs, being as it were the +priests of Dyak superstitions, and getting their living by pretended +cures, interpretations of omens and the voices of birds, were of course +the natural enemies of truth and enlightenment. Bulan, however, had +tried to be an honest manang, and finding it impossible had turned with +all his heart to Christianity. His brother Bugai, also a Christian, was +a very intelligent person, and became catechist at Lundu. + +There was also a very rich old man, Simoulin by name, who was baptized +at this time. His wife had opposed his conversion with all her might; +indeed, she declared she would leave him and carry half the property +with her. Simoulin said quietly, "If she will she must: she is only a +woman, and her judgment in the matter is not likely to be good." +Christianity had strong opponents in the women of all the Dyak tribes. +They held important parts in all the feasts, incantations, and +superstitions, which could not be called religion, but were based on the +dread of evil spirits and a desire to propitiate them. The women +encouraged head-taking by preferring to marry the man who had some of +those ghastly tokens of his prowess. When Sir James Brooke forbad +head-taking among the tribes in his dominions, it was the women who +would row their lovers out of the rivers in their boats, and set them +down on the sea-coast to find the head of a stranger. When heads were +brought in, it was the women who took possession of them, decked them +with flowers, put food into their mouths, sang to them, mocked them, and +instituted feasts in honour of the slayers. The young Dyak woman works +hard; she helps in all the labours of sowing, planting out, weeding, and +reaping the paddy. She beats out the rice in a wooden trough, with a +long pole, or pestle. She grows the cotton for clothing, dyes and weaves +it. She carries heavy burdens, and paddles her boat on the river. All +these are her duties, and in performing them she quickly loses her +smooth skin, bright eyes, and slender figure. It is only the young girls +who can boast of any beauty, but the old women are very important +personages at a seed-time or harvest festival. They dress themselves in +long garments embroidered with tiny white shells, representing lizards +and crocodiles. With long wands in their hands, they dance, singing wild +incantations. They have already prepared the food for the +feast--chickens roasted in their feathers; cakes of rice, spun like +vermicelli and fried in cocoa-nut oil; curries, and salads of bitter and +acid leaves; sticks of small bamboo filled with pulut rice and boiled, +when it turns to a jelly and is agreeably flavoured with the young +bamboo. It is the women also who serve out the tuak, a spirit prepared +from rice and spiced with various ingredients, tobacco being one. The +men must drink at these feasts; they are very temperate generally, but +on this occasion they are rather proud of being drunk and boasting the +next day of a bad headache! The women urge them to drink, but do not +join in the orgies, and disappear when the intoxicating stage begins. I +trust that this description belongs only to the past; at any rate, we +know that in those places where the missionaries have long taught, their +people follow a more excellent way of rejoicing in the joy of harvest, +and, after their thanksgiving service in church, pour out their +offerings of rice before the altar to maintain the services, and +minister to the sick and needy. + +[Illustration: A DYAK GIRL. + +_Page_ 74.] + +For many years, however, the women were opposed to a religion which +cleared away the superstitious customs which were the delight of their +lives, their chief amusement and dissipation, and a means of influencing +the men. It was not until the year 1864 that Mr. Gomes asked us to visit +Lundu and welcome a little party of women, the first converts to the +faith which their fathers and husbands had long professed. This is a +long digression from the history of the Lundus' visit to Kuching in +1855, which was at the time a great event. I find the following passage +in my journal: "Every evening, before late dinner, the Lundus go up to +Mr. Gomes's room to say their prayers, and sing, or rather chant, their +hymns. There is something very affecting in this little service--the +Dyak voices singing of Christ's second coming with His holy angels, and +rejoicing that He came once before for their salvation; then praying for +holy, gentle hearts to receive Him. I always feel on these occasions as +if I heard these precious truths afresh when they are spoken in a tongue +till lately ignorant of them. Indeed, there can scarcely be a more +joyful excitement than such passages in the life of a missionary; they +are worth any sacrifice. After English morning service, Mr. Gomes has +prayers in church for his Dyaks. He then instructs them in the baptismal +service. This makes five daily services in church, two English, two +Chinese, and one Dyak. We clothed all the candidates in a new suit of +cotton garments with a bright-coloured handkerchief for their heads. It +would be considered very irreverent for Easterns to uncover their heads +in church. I taught the school-children to sing 'Veni, Creator Spiritus' +at this baptism, while the clergy were arranging the candidates and +sponsors round the font. The font was wreathed with flowers by my +children. There was quite a full church, for the Chinese Christians all +came to see the Dyaks baptized, and all the English of the place were +present. Mr. Gomes baptized, and my husband signed them with the cross. +They all spoke up bravely in answering to their vows: may God give them +grace to keep them." + +This baptism took place on Whit Sunday. On Thursday of that week, Mr. +Gomes, his Dyaks, and Frank, went off to Linga for a week to visit Mr. +Chambers, and Mr. Horsburgh at Banting, that the converts of both tribes +might become friends. The Balows and Lundus had always been united in +their efforts against the pirate tribes, and in their fealty to the +Rajah's Government. On this account they had a right to the services of +the first missionaries who came from England to teach Dyaks. The visit +to Banting had another object besides the mutual friendship of the +converts. A controversy had arisen in the mission about the right word +to be used in translations for _Jesus_. Isa is the name the Malays use, +and the Dutch translations of the Bible employ this name; but there +happened to be a bad Malay man owning the name of Isa, well known to the +Balows, and Mr. Chambers feared some confusion would arise in the minds +of converts in applying the same name to our Lord. It was therefore +necessary to have a meeting of the clergy to decide this and many other +religious terms to be used in hymns, catechisms, and in general +teaching, that there might be unity in the mission: it would not do to +have any divisions in the camp on such a subject. There are fifty miles +of sea to cross from the Sarawak River to the Batang Lupar, then a long +pull from the fort at Linga up to Banting. The journey took three nights +and two days. + +The mission-house at Banting is most romantically placed on the crest of +a hill overhanging the river about three hundred feet, and stands in a +grove of beautiful fruit-trees. The view from it is enchanting. The +river branches at the foot of the hill, and each branch seems to vie +with the other in the tortuousness of its course through the bright +green paddy-fields. About a mile off rises Mount Lesong[3] with a +graceful slope, about three thousand feet, and then terminates abruptly +in a rugged top. The four clergymen who met at Banting looked almost as +wild as their people--wide shady hats, long staffs, long beards, not a +shirt among the party, and but one pair of shoes, belonging to my +husband, who never could walk barefooted. They spent several days +together, and had much consultation about religious terms. The most +intelligent of the Dyak Christians were present, as it was necessary, +not only to choose words they could understand, but such as they could +easily pronounce. On Trinity Sunday there were several services in the +large room of the house, for the church was not yet built. The Lingas +sang their hymns with great energy to one of their own wild strains, but +when they heard the Lundus' melodious chant they were ashamed to sing +after them, and begged them to teach them. The Dyaks love music and +verse. Mr. Gomes and Mr. Chambers wrote them hymns, and the Creed in +verse, which they readily commit to memory and understand better than +prose. Pictures are also used in their instruction: a parable or miracle +is read, then a picture of it produced and explained, the Dyaks +repeating each sentence after the teacher, to keep their attention. + + [Footnote 3: _Lesong_, mortar, being mortar-shaped.] + +The baptized alone join in the Litany and Holy Communion. The afternoon +was spent in visiting the sick and giving medicine. Several women came +to the house for instruction, and seemed to take great interest in Mr. +Chambers, teaching; but it was not until Mr. Chambers was married that +any women were baptized. At breakfast the next morning came an old +chief, called Tongkat Langit--the Staff of Heaven. His son Lingire was +one of the most pleasing converts, and Tongkat was wavering--had not +leisure at present! The necessity of forswearing the practise of +head-taking deters the old men from becoming Christians: they fear to +lose influence with their tribe. The little party then fixed upon the +spot where the church should be built, a permanent bilian chancel to +which a nave could be added when the additional room was required. +Twenty-five pounds from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge +was all the money then in hand to begin with; but very soon more was +collected, and when I visited Banting in 1857 there was a lovely little +church standing on the hill overlooking the village, and surrounded by +beautiful trees. The walk to it from the mission-house was just like a +gentleman's park, the green sward and groups of trees with lovely peeps +of hill and valleys and winding streams between. Again in 1864 we went +to Banting, that the Bishop might consecrate the church. The nave was +then built. Every stick in the church was bilian. The white ants walked +in as soon as the workmen left. In one night they carried their covered +ways all over the inside of the roof, the walls, the beams, and rafters; +and finding nothing they could bite, they walked out again, leaving +their traces plainly marked. Since then a coloured-glass window, +representing our Lord's Resurrection, has been added at the east end of +the church; and, what is better far, the church is full of Dyak +Christians every Sunday, and from this living Church many branches have +been planted, so that the Banting Mission now includes seven stations, +where there are school-churches built by the natives themselves, and +many hundreds of Christian worshippers. + +In 1854, six years having passed away since a little band of Sir James +Brooke's friends founded the Borneo Church Mission, the funds of the +Society came to an end; and the mission would have collapsed also, had +not the venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign +Parts consented to become responsible for it. As the missionaries and +catechists increased in number, and fresh stations were added to the +church, they opened their arms wider to receive them, until they set +apart L3000 a year for Borneo. Under their fostering care the mission +flourished, as it could not have done under the management of any +private society. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +A BOAT JOURNEY. + + +Throughout the year 1852 and part of '53 my husband was much tried with +rheumatism in his knee, which made him quite lame, though he would +hobble to church on crutches, and to hospital to look after his poor +patients. Meanwhile he taught the young missionaries something of the +art of healing, dressing wounds and broken bones, and physicking the +ailments to which natives are most subject--fever, dysentery, etc. It +was quite necessary they should know something of these subjects before +they could be any use in the jungle. The first question the Dyaks asked, +if told a new missionary was coming, would always be, "Is he clever at +physic?" Medicines and simple remedies were always furnished to every +mission-station, and the Rajah supplied all the stores that were needed +for Kuching or elsewhere. We had taken a good stock with us at first, +and all sorts of surgical instruments, but the Government kept it +replenished. + +The hospital was set up when the great influx of Chinese brought numbers +of sick people to the place. A long shed was built, and twenty beds +immediately filled; but the next day, one of the patients having died, +all the others who could move ran away. They have so great a horror of a +dead body that they never suffered any one to die in their houses if +they could help it, but built a little shed for the sick man, and +visited him twice a day with food and opium while life lasted. A +separate room was therefore added for the dead. This hospital furnished +good instruction to the missionaries. It was also their duty to teach +the sick every day, and the result was that several Chinese were +baptized on their recovery. This shed was afterwards exchanged for a +long room above the fort, which was both more airy and substantial. A +dispensary was attached to it. + +When Mr. Chambers came from England and was able to undertake the duties +at Kuching, my husband accompanied Captain Brooke and some of the +Government officers in a tour up the Batang Lupar and Rejang Rivers. He +was very lame at the time, but had no walking to do, only now and then +to get out of his large boat and scramble up into a Dyak house. How he +managed it under the circumstances I never could imagine, for the +staircase from the water to a high Dyak house is only the trunk of a +tree with a few notches in it, and, at low tide, a case of slippery mud; +this, placed at a steep angle, without any rail, is not easy climbing +for any one, but a stiff knee made it still more difficult. + +The object of the expedition was to make peace between certain Dyak +tribes who had long been enemies, and to build a fort on the Rejang +River, similar to Mr. Brereton's fort at Sakarran, and for the same +purpose. An Englishman named Steele was to occupy the fort with some +Malays. Captain Brooke took the _Jolly Bachelor_ gunboat, and Frank +moved into it to cross the sea from the mouth of the Sarawak to the +Linga River, for the waves were high and wetted the smaller boats. When +they reached the Linga River, he was sitting one Sunday night on the +boom of the _Jolly_, enjoying the moonlight, and watching the swift rush +of the tide, which is very rapid in that river. Suddenly, the piece of +wood he was trusting to broke, and he was precipitated over the stern. +Had he fallen into the water he must have been dragged under the vessel +by the tide and drowned, but, through God's mercy, the ship's boat +(_Dingy_), which only a few minutes before was the whole length of its +painter away from the _Jolly_, swept up to it from the swing of the +vessel, and, as he fell, he caught hold of the boat and pulled himself +into it, escaping with only a bruise, when a watery bed, or the jaws of +an alligator or shark, might have received him. A shark had been +swimming round the gun-boat during Divine service that day, and an +alligator had taken a man only the day before from a boat close by. My +dear husband's comment on this narrow escape is, "Praise the Lord, O my +soul, and forget not all His benefits; who redeemeth thy life from +destruction, and crowneth thee with mercy and lovingkindness." + +The fleet waited for some days in the Linga River, while the Balow Dyaks +fetched the jars which they were to exchange with the Sakarrans as a +pledge of peace. These jars, of which every Dyak tribe possessed some, +are of unknown antiquity. There is nothing very particular in their +appearance. They are brown in colour, have handles at the sides, and +sometimes figures of dragons on them. They vary in value, but though the +Chinese have tried to imitate them, hoping to sell them to the Dyaks, +they have never deceived them: they detect a difference where no +European or Chinese eye can, and at once pronounce the Chinese jars of +no value. Yet they will not sell their own rusas or tajows for any +money, and they fancy that some of them have the property of keeping +water always sweet. If a Dyak tribe offends the law, Government fines +them so many jars, which are brought to Kuching and kept, or returned on +their good behaviour. This reminds me of the story of a little Dyak boy +who was taken prisoner in 1849. His father was killed, and the boy, +about eight years old, was brought to the Rajah. For some days the child +seemed quite happy, then he begged to speak to "Tuan Rajah," and told +him confidentially that he knew a place in the jungle where some +valuable tajows were secreted, and if he would land him with some +Malays or the bank of the river, he would point out the place. The Rajah +believed the child, and the jars were found, and taken on board the +boat. Then the little boy went again to the Rajah, and bursting into +tears, said, "I have given you the riches of my tribe; in return give me +my liberty. Set me down in the jungle path, give me some food, and in +two days I shall reach my home and my mother." So the child was laden +with all he took a fancy to--a china cup, a glass tumbler, and a gay +sarong (waist-cloth), and as much food as he could carry--and we heard +afterwards that he rejoined his friends in safety. + +I must now return to my husband's journal. He says: "While at breakfast +this morning, one of the men told us he had seen the people with tails, +of whom we have often heard.[4] They live fifteen days up a river, in +the interior of the Bruni country. It is a large river, but in some +places runs through caverns, where they can only pass on small rafts. He +was sent there by Pangeran Mumeim to get goats, as these tailed gentry +keep a great many of them. He says their tails are as long as the two +joints of the middle finger, fleshy and stiff. They must be very +inconvenient, for they are obliged to sit on logs of wood made on +purpose, or to make a hole in the earth, to accommodate their tails +before they can sit down. These people do not eat rice, but sago made +into cakes and baked in a pot. In their country, he said, was a great +stone fort, with nine large iron guns, of which the people can give no +account, not knowing when or by whom it was built. + + [Footnote 4: This legend, though commonly reported, has never + been proved.] + +"After dinner, when the men sit round me and smoke my cigars, they soon +enter into conversation. We spoke a good deal to-day on the subject of +religion, the difference between Christianity and Mahometanism, and, +above all, the absurdity of their repeating the Koran, like so many +parrots, without understanding one word of what they say; and the +irreverence of addressing God in words they do not understand, so that +their hearts can take no part in their prayers. They agreed that it +would be better to learn God's law, instead of trusting merely to their +hadjis, who are often as ignorant as themselves. A respectable old Bruni +man, speaking of different races of men of various colours, said he had +visited a tribe of white people, who lived on a high hill in the +interior of the country; they were very white, and the women beautiful, +with light hair. The men dress like Dyaks, but the women wear a long +black robe, tight at the waist, and puffed out on the shoulders. The +tradition of their origin, he said, was as follows: A long, long time +ago, an old man who lived on this mountain lost himself in the jungle at +its foot, and at night, being tired, and afraid of snakes and the evil +spirits of the wood, he climbed into a tree and fell asleep. He was woke +by a noise of ravishing music, the sweetest gongs and chanangs mingling +with voices over his head. The music came nearer and nearer to the +place where he was, until he heard the sweet voices under the tree, and, +looking down, beheld a large clear fountain opened, and seven beautiful +females bathing. They were all of different sizes, like the fingers on a +man's hand, and they sung as they sported in the water. The old man +watched them for some time, and thought how much he should like one of +them as a wife for his only son; but as he was afraid of descending +among them, he made a noose with a long piece of rattan, lowered it +gently, and slipping it over one of them, drew her up into the tree. She +cried out, and they all disappeared with a whirring noise. The girl he +caught was very young, and she cried sadly because she had no clothes +on; so he rolled her in a chawat (long sash), and immediately heard the +gongs at his own house, which he had thought was a long way off. He took +the child home, and she was brought up by his wife, until she was old +enough to marry their son. She was very good and sweet-tempered, and +everybody loved her. In course of time she had a son, as white as +herself. One day her husband was in a violent rage and beat her. She +implored him not to make her cry, or she should be taken away from him +and her child. But he did not heed, and at last pulled her jacket off to +beat her. Immediately another jacket was dropped with a great noise from +the sky, upon the house. She put it on, and vanished upwards, leaving +her son, who was the ancestor of the present tribe." + +Who would have thought of a Dyak Undine? + +While the Malay was telling this story, the boat was waiting in a +sheltered nook of the Sakarran River for the bore to pass, before the +crew dare venture up to the fort. The bore is a great wave, twelve feet +high, which rushes up with the tide, and is succeeded by two smaller +waves. It is very dangerous to boats; but happily the natives know where +to hide while it sweeps past. + +When they reached Sakarran Fort it took several days to hear all the +claims the Lingas and Sakarrans had against each other. Six years +before, the Rajah had persuaded them to make peace, but they had broken +it the same day, and laid the blame upon one another. At last matters +were arranged, and a platform being made under a wide-spreading +banyan-tree, the chiefs sat round; and Captain Brooke made them a +speech, describing the evils of piracy and war, and the determination of +the Rajah that his subjects should live at peace with one another. + +"He then presented each chief with a jar, a spear, and a Sarawak flag, +and desired them to use the flag in their boats for the purposes of +trade. Nothing could be more picturesque than the scene. The surface of +the water was dotted over with the long serpent-like bangkongs, gaily +painted and adorned with flags and streamers of many colours, which +looked all the brighter against the solemn jungle background. Then +Gassim and Gila Brani (madly brave), on the part of the Sakarrans, and +Tongkat Langit (Staff of Heaven), the Linga chief, joined hands; and +each tribe killed a pig with great ceremony, and inspected the entrails +to see if the peace was good. Then they feasted and rejoiced together. +This ended, they proceeded up the Rejang River in the boats, and paddled +for four days, from twenty-five to thirty miles a day, until they came +to the Kenowit, on the banks of which the fort was to be built." + +The Rejang is a glorious river. It is not visited by a bore, and eighty +miles from the sea it is half a mile broad, and deep to the banks. The +flowers and fruits which grow there are a continual surprise and +pleasure--but how shall I describe the flowers of those great +woods?--not only up the Rejang, but everywhere in the old jungle. They +seldom grow on the ground, though you may sometimes come upon a huge bed +of ground orchids, but mostly climb up the trees, and hang in festoons +from the branches. One plant, the Ixora, for instance, propagating +itself undisturbed, will become a garden itself, trailing its red or +orange blossoms from bough to bough till the forest glows with colour. + +The Rhododendron, growing in the forks of the great branches, takes +possession of the tall trees, making them blush all over with delicate +pinks and lilacs, or deepest rose clusters. Then the orchideous plants +fix themselves in the branches, and send out long sprays of blossom of +many colours and sweetest perfume. Here the voice of the Burong boya +(crocodile-bird) may be heard, singing like an English thrush. He shakes +his wings as he sings, and the Malays say that from time immemorial he +has owed a large sum of money to the crocodile, who comes every year to +ask payment; then the bird, perched on a high bough out of reach of the +monster, sings, "How can I pay? I have nothing but my feathers, nothing +but my feathers!" So the crocodile goes away till next year. There are +not many singing birds in Borneo besides this thrush. The soft voices of +many doves and pigeons may always be heard, and often the curious +creaking noise made by the wings of rhinoceros hornbills as they fly +past. More musical is the voice of the Wawa monkey, a bubbling like +water running out of a narrow-necked bottle, always to be heard at early +dawn, and the sweetest of alarums. A dead stillness reigns in the jungle +by day, but at sunset every leaf almost becomes instinct with life. You +might almost fancy yourself beset by Gideon's army, when all the lamps +in the pitchers rattled and broke, and every man blew his trumpet into +your ear. It is an astounding noise certainly, and difficult to believe +that so many pipes and rattles, whirring machines and trumpets, belong +to good-sized beetles or flies, singing their evening song to the +setting sun. As the light dies away all becomes still again, unless any +marshy ground shelters frogs. But to hear all this you must go to the +old jungle, where the tall trees stand near together and shut out the +light of day, and almost the air, for there is a painful sense of +suffocation in the dense wood. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +CONTINUATION OF THE TRIP TO REJANG. + + +After two days' paddling from the mouth of the Rejang, the boats arrived +at Sibou, where there is a manufactory for nepa salt. The nepa palm +grows down to the edge of the banks, which are washed by a salt tide, +and furnishes the Dyak with many necessaries. + +The leaves make the thatch to cover the roofs of the houses, or shelter +over their boats. Neatly fastened together with split rattans, they form +the walls of the house. From the juice of the tree they make a fermented +drink something like sweet beer, also brown sugar. The young shoots are +eaten in curries and salads. The fruit is salted or pickled. When they +have got all these good things out of it, they burn the stem of the palm +with some of the leaves, and wash the burnt ashes in water. This water +is then boiled until it is evaporated, and some black salt remains at +the bottom of the pot. It tastes bitter as well as salt; but the Dyaks +prefer it to common salt, and if you ask why, they say, "It is a fat +salt." I must now return to my husband's journal. "Arrived at Kenowit. A +tribe of Milanows have been induced to settle here lately by the Rajah. +Within the last few weeks they have built two long and substantial +houses, raised thirty feet from the ground on trunks of trees, some two +feet in diameter. There are in all sixty doors, or families. The tribe +furnishes three hundred fighting men, and numbers from fifteen hundred +to two thousand. + +"The bachelors, as with the Dyaks, have a separate dwelling. + +"Tanee's tribe, who are returning to Sibou on the Rajah's promise to +build a fort at Kenowit, are of the same tribe, and number about three +hundred men. They speak the Milanow language, and have the same customs +of burial. The men and some of the women are tattooed in the most +grotesque patterns. When you look at them closely the invention +displayed is truly remarkable; but at a distance they give a dingy, +dusky appearance to the men, as if they were daubed with an inky sponge. +Nature having denied them beards, they tattoo curly locks along their +faces, always bordered by a vandyke fringe, which must task their utmost +ingenuity. Tanee, who has followed us with some of his warriors, is the +very exquisite of a Kenowit. He is made like a Hercules, and is proud of +showing his strength and agility. He piques himself upon having the +best sword, of fine Kayan make and native metal, and the strongest arm +in his tribe. He sits most of the day sharpening one or another of these +swords, feeling and looking along its edge to see that the weapon is in +perfect order: then, to prove it, he seeks for a suitable block of wood, +as thick as his arm, severs it at a blow, gives a yell, and with a grin +of delight returns the weapon to its sheath. His jacket is of scarlet +satin; his long hair is confined by a gold-embroidered handkerchief; his +chawat is of fine white cloth, very long, and richly embroidered--the +ends hang down to his knees, he wears behind an apron of panther's skin, +trimmed with red cloth and alligator's teeth, and other charms; this +hangs from his loins to his knees, and always affords him a dry seat. +Tanee's boat is long, made out of one tree, like our river canoes, but +much lighter and faster. His cabin is a raised platform in the centre of +the boat, covered with a mat, and hung all round with weapons and +trophies of war--Kyan fighting-coats of bear and buffalo hides, having +head-pieces adorned with beads or shells, shields and spears all gaily +decked with Argus' feathers, or human hair dyed red. + +"On Sunday we moved from the boats into Palabun's house, and settled +ourselves in part of the verandah. After breakfast I doctored the sick, +and then we had the morning service, much to the surprise of the +natives, who, however, did not disturb us. They sit round us all day, +hearing and asking us questions.... Meanwhile the seven hundred men who +came in the flotilla of twenty boats, were busy building the fort. First +they pulled down a temporary fort already set up by the Kenowits, and +then cut wood to erect a substantial building. Four guns were mounted on +the parapet, and there was a house inside for the Malay commandant, and +a powder magazine. All the chiefs near Kenowit were assembled when the +fort was finished, and had the same kind of address made them as at +Sakarran, praising the benefits of peaceful trade instead of the +miseries of wasteful war. They all listened with respect. That same +afternoon, dismal howlings issued from Palabun's house. His brother, who +had left him two years ago with a party of fourteen, to visit a friendly +tribe at a distance, had been treacherously murdered. He and his party +had been kindly received by their friends, and they had all gone out +together on the war-path to seek heads. It is supposed that when they +met no one, the hosts had turned on their visitors and taken their +heads, rather than return home without any. Palabun vowed vengeance, and +the whole tribe go into mourning for three months." (Bishop's Journal.) + +A Dyak mourning is not a becoming black costume, made "cheerful," as the +dressmakers say, by jet ornaments and bugle trimmings. It consists in +the abandonment of all ornament and their usual clothing, and the +substitution of a kind of a brown cloth made of the inside bark of +trees, which must be as rough and uncomfortable as it is ugly. These +people, being Milanows, have peculiar burial customs. They lay the dead +in a boat, with all his property and belongings, and send it out to sea; +for they imagine that in some way a man's possessions may be of use to +him in another world, if no one claims them on earth. + +"In this case there was no corpse to bury. The clothes were so disposed +on the bier as to represent a figure, and laid beside it were handsome +gold cloths and ornaments, gold buttons, krises,[5] and breastplates, +and weapons of Javanese manufacture, representing some hundreds of +dollars. There were also gongs and two brass guns. Of course the fate of +such boat-loads, sent adrift in a tidal river, is generally to be +capsized and lost in the water. But if Malays encounter them they do not +hesitate to appropriate the effects. Palabun knew this, so he did not +send his brother's boat away until our fleet had departed." (Bishop's +Journal.) + + [Footnote 5: A kris is a Malay dagger.] + +I remember our once meeting one of these boats. It had been caught by +branches from the bank, and swayed idly to and fro in the stream. We +could only see a heap of coloured clothes inside it, but there was a +weird, ghastly look about the boat which made us shudder. An unburied +corpse, left to the winds and waves, without a prayer or a blessing! how +could it be otherwise? Even if we could delude ourselves into fancying +the Dyaks happy during their lives without Christianity, there can be no +doubt of their being miserable when death comes. They all believe dimly +in a future state, but their dread of spirits is so great that they can +have no ideas of happiness unconnected with their bodies. "Having no +hope, and without God in the world," describes the mental state of a +heathen Dyak. In 1856, we were living for a few weeks on a hill called +Peninjauh, some miles from Kuching, where the Rajah had built a cottage +as a sanitarium after illness. The cool freshness of the mountain air, +and the glorious view from See-afar Cottage, were indeed conducive to +health. On the hillsides lived several villages of Land Dyaks, and I had +a woman as nurse to my baby who belonged to one of these villages. The +cholera was in the country at that time, and three men had died of the +Sebumban Dyaks. Every night the most mournful wailing arose above the +trees--a sad sound indeed, rising and falling on the wind as the friends +of the dead walked all through the jungle paths near their homes, now +near to our cottage, now far off. One night I found my little ayah +seated in the nursery when she ought to have been in the cook-house +getting her supper. "What is the matter, Nina? Are you ill, that you are +eating no supper?" "No, I am not ill, but I dare not go to the +cook-house to-night." "Why?" "I fear to meet the spirits who are abroad +to-night in the jungle." "The spirits of the dead men?" "No, the spirits +who come to fetch them." After three days the bodies of these Dyaks were +burnt, for this was the custom of the Sebumbans. The dead man is laid +on a pile of wood, and they all sit round watching. Nina said, that when +the fire has burnt some time the dead man sits up for a moment, +whereupon they all burst into renewed waitings of sorrow and farewell. I +am told that the heat swelling the sinews of the dead body may cause +this curious phenomenon; but could there be a more mournful, hopeless +story of death? + +It is a relief to return to the party on the Rejang River. They were +much entertained one day with a war-dance between two warriors, which +was a graphic pantomime of their customs. "The two men appeared fully +armed, and were supposed to be each alone on the war-path, looking out +for a head. They moved to the beat of native drums, and seemed to be +going through all the motions of looking out for an enemy, pulling out +the ranjows (sharp pieces of cane stuck in the earth, point upwards, to +lame an enemy). At length they descried one another, danced defiance, +and, flourishing swords and shields, commenced the attack. The +nimbleness with which they parried every stroke of the sword, and +covered their bodies with their shields, was remarkable. In real combat, +to strike the shield is certain death, because the sword sticks in the +wood and cannot be withdrawn in time to prevent the other man from using +his sword. After a time, one of the combatants fell wounded, and covered +his body with his shield. The other danced round him triumphantly, and +with one blow pretended to cut off his head; then, head in hand, he +capered with the wildest gestures, expressive of the very ecstasy of +savage delight But, on looking at his trophy closely, he recognized the +features of a friend, and, smitten with remorse, he replaced the head +with much solicitude. Then, moving with a slow, measured tread, he wept, +and with many sighs of grief adjusted the head with much care, caught +rain in his shield and poured it over the body; then rubbed and shook +the limbs, which by degrees became alive by his mesmeric-like passings +and chafings from the feet upwards. Each limb as it revived beat time to +the music, first faintly, then with more vigour, till it came to the +head; and when that nodded satisfactorily, and the whole body of his +friend was in motion, he gave him a few extra shakes, lifted him on his +legs, and the scene concluded by their dancing merrily together." +(Bishop's Journal.) + +Captain Brooke and my husband were a month away on this expedition. They +would have liked to pay a visit to Kum Nepa, a Kyan chief, who lived +much farther up the river,--six days in a fast Kyan boat, said the +Dyaks, ten days in the boats our friends had with them. But Kum Nepa had +just lost two children from small-pox, and, according to their custom, +he and all his tribe had left their houses and taken to the jungle. The +Dyaks dread small-pox to such a degree that, when it appears, they +neglect all their usual occupation. The seed is left unsown, the paddy +unreaped; they leave the sick to die untended, and support themselves +in the jungle upon wild fruits and roots, until the scourge has passed +away. + +From the time we lived at Sarawak a continual effort was made to +introduce vaccination. It was difficult to get lymph in good order at so +distant a place; the sea voyage often rendered it useless. The other +difficulty was made by the Malays, who inoculated for small-pox; and, as +they charged the Dyaks a rupee a head for inoculating them, made it +answer pecuniarily. Some who were adepts in the art went about the +country inoculating until they caused quite an epidemic of small-pox. +Now, I believe, the Dyaks have learnt from experience the superior +advantages of vaccination, and, by a late _Sarawak Gazette_, I gather +that it is one of the duties of a Resident among the tribes up country +to vaccinate his people as well as to judge them wisely. + +When the guns were mounted at the fort, and a garrison of seventy men, +under Abong Duraup, settled there to guard it, the fleet left the Rejang +to return to Sarawak. Captain Brooke had persuaded Palabun to give up +his ideas of retaliation for his brother's death, on condition that the +Kapuas people who killed him should give satisfaction. The last +afternoon was devoted to doctoring the sick and giving them a stock of +remedies. One poor man had nearly recovered his eyesight during the week +he had been under treatment. So the Sarawak flag was hoisted at the fort +and saluted, and after some good advice and renewed promises from the +Sakarrans and Kenowits, the boats pulled away to the _Jolly Bachelor_, +which had been left at the Serikei River; and a few days afterwards we +heard gongs and boat music on the river, and my servant Quangho running +into my room called out, "Our Tuan is coming," so we all went down to +the stone wharf and welcomed them home. The lameness which had so long +hindered my husband from moving about, did not yield to any remedies we +applied, and at last we went to Singapore for medical advice. The +doctors there sent their patient to China for a cold season, and he +spent six weeks at Hongkong with the Bishop of Victoria, and at Canton +with other friends, to the advantage of his knee. Afterwards we went +together to Malacca, where there was a hot spring bubbling up in a +field. Into this spring we put a large tub; and there, in the early +morning, Frank used to sit, with no neighbours but the snipe feeding in +the field, and, as he had his gun by his side, he occasionally shot some +game for breakfast. + +In 1853 we went home. My health was very much broken, and my husband was +called to England by the necessary transfer of the mission from the +Borneo Mission Society, whose funds came to an end, to the venerable +Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, who kindly adopted us. We +arrived at Southampton one grey November day. I wondered to see the sky +so near the earth, and the trees almost like shrubs in height compared +to our Eastern forests. But it was sweet to hear the children speaking +English in the streets, and their fair rosy faces were refreshing +indeed. I never thought our school-children plain when we were at +Sarawak, but the contrast was certainly very great when we looked about +us in England. + + + + +PART II. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +RETURN TO SARAWAK. + + +In 1854, after eighteen months' stay in England, during which time my +husband worked as deputation for the Society for the Propagation of the +Gospel, we returned to Sarawak, _via_ Calcutta, in one of Green's +sailing vessels, for we were too large a party to afford the overland +route. + +Besides ourselves and our baby, we had two young ladies who wished to +try and teach the Malay women in their homes, and to help with the +day-scholars at the mission-house. Only one of these ladies reached +Sarawak; the other left us at Calcutta, and married there eventually. +The Rev. J. Grayling and Mr. Owen, a schoolmaster, also went with us, +and a young friend who was put under my charge, and lived with us for +some years on account of his health. + +For nurse I had an old Malay woman who had taken some children to +England from Singapore, and wanted to return. She was a capital sailor, +and always able to carry Mab about however rough the sea was. Nothing +could exceed her devotion to the child, but she had contracted a bad +habit of always sharing the sailor's grog by day, and requiring a +tumbler of hot gin and water before she went to bed. This was a great +trouble to me, but I never saw her tipsy till we were staying at the +Bishop's palace at Calcutta. Ayah, having been in the bazaar buying +presents for her children, was brought back lying senseless in a +palanquin. The Bishop, who was in the hall when the bearers set the +palanquin down, exclaimed, "Oh! that woman has cholera! take her away." + +However, she was kindly cared for by the servants, and appeared the next +day without any shame, bringing "a toy for missy." All my lecture was +quite thrown away--she "had only taken a glass of grog in the bazaar, +and they had put bang into it, so of course it made her insensible; but +it was no fault of hers." This curious old woman was a Mahometan, +therefore her tipsiness was inexcusable. She practised the habit of +alms-giving, however, not only with her own money but mine. She used to +say I did nothing in that way for the salvation of my soul, and, as she +loved me, she must do it for me. I remember seeing a beggar-woman with +twin babies, who used to sit in the streets of Kensington with Mab's +bonnets on the babies' heads. Ayah gave them for my sake. Indeed, she +was notorious in Kensington, because she could not resist treating boys +to ginger-beer, and I sometimes had the mortification of seeing Ayah +with a small crowd at her heels, and my baby kissing her little hands to +them as Ayah desired her. + +We only spent a week in Calcutta. The object of our going there was that +the Bishop, in conjunction with Bishop Dealtry of Madras, and Bishop +Smith of Victoria, should consecrate my husband Bishop of Labuan; but +the Bishops had not reached Calcutta, and their arrival was uncertain. +We were anxious to get to Sarawak, and could not wait for them; so it +was decided that Frank should return by himself in the autumn, and we +should proceed as quickly as we could. Sad news reached us from Kuching. +Our dear friend Willie Brereton, who had done so much for the Sakarran +Dyaks, was dead of dysentery. There was no medical man when my husband +was away. + +Our Rajah had been very dangerously ill of small-pox, and had only a +Malay doctor, who was devoted but ignorant. Happily Mr. Horsburgh, with +medical books to aid him, came to the rescue in time, but the return of +the physician of soul and body was much desired. I see, by my journal, +that after a weary passage of twenty-four days in a sailing vessel from +Singapore, we reached Sarawak on the 25th of April. Mr. Horsburgh came +to fetch us from the mouth of the river in the Siam boat, a long boat +with a house in it, which the Rajah brought with him from Siam after his +embassy to that country. Mr. Horsburgh told us that all the chief +Government officers were away, looking for Lanun pirates on the coast; +but we had plenty of kind greetings from the Christian Chinese, who came +about us in the bazaar, and all the school-children came running down +the hill with Mrs. Stahl, who almost screamed for joy at our return. The +house looked nicer than ever, for the trees had grown up about it, and I +felt most vividly that this was our chosen home, endeared to us by many +sorrows, but the place where we had received much blessing from God, and +where our work lay, and perhaps some day its reward, in the Church +gathered from the heathen into Christ's fold. We were not long alone; +the next day Mr. Chambers arrived from Banting with a party of seven +baptized Dyaks. + +We had brought all sorts of beautiful things from England for the +Church. A carpet to lay before the altar, a new altar-cloth, also +painted shields for the roof. Our friends in England had furnished us +with a box of clothes for the Dyaks, cotton trousers and jackets, and +gay handkerchiefs for their heads. We always dressed the Christians for +baptism--it was a sign of the new life they professed at the font; but +we did not expect them to wear clothes generally, except their own +chawats, nor was it to be desired until they knew how to wash them. We +had also brought a beautiful magic lantern with a dissolving-view +apparatus for our people's amusement and instruction, for some of the +slides were painted by Miss Rigaud to illustrate the life of our Lord, +and there were many astronomical slides also. All these treasures +brought us numerous visitors. The Chinese Christians were all invited to +a feast at our house, after which the magic lantern was exhibited, and +we were glad to find that our school-children could explain all the +Scripture slides quite correctly. + +Mr. Horsburgh accompanied Mr. Chambers to Banting that day, to assist +him in his work for the Balow Dyaks; and soon after, Mr. Gomes arrived +from Lundu with a large party of men and boys; but I have already +described their visit. My dear husband went off to Calcutta again in +September, and was consecrated Bishop of Labuan on St. Luke's Day, +October 18, 1855. Sir James Brooke added Sarawak to his diocese and +title on his return; indeed, the small island of Labuan, no larger than +the Isle of Wight, was only the English title to a bishopric which was +then almost entirely a missionary one. The Straits Settlements, +including Singapore, Penang, and Malacca, were then under the Government +of India, and Labuan was the only spot of land under the immediate +control of the Colonial Office. The Bishop of Calcutta would, from the +first, have been glad to part with so distant a portion of his then +unwieldy diocese, but it could not at that time be effected. As soon as +the Straits Settlements were passed over to the Queen's Government, the +Bishop of Labuan became virtually the Bishop of the Straits, and, even +long before that, performed all episcopal functions in those +settlements; but the title has only lately been altered. + +As I was not present at my husband's consecration, I cannot do better +than transcribe good Bishop Wilson's letter to the venerable society +(S.P.G.), describing the ceremony. + + Calcutta, Bishop's Palace, October 22, 1855. + + Thank God, the consecration took place with complete success on + Thursday, October 18th, St. Luke's Day. The Bishop elect arrived + some days before, the Bishop of Victoria on the 16th, and Bishop + Dealtry (of Madras) on the 17th. The crowded cathedral marked + the interest which was excited. We sent out two hundred printed + invitations to gentry, besides requesting the clergy to attend + in their robes. There were more than eight hundred jammed into + the cathedral, and hundreds could not gain admittance. The + clergy were thirty. After morning prayer the assistant bishops + conducted the elect Bishop to the vestry, where, having attired + himself in his rochet, he was presented to me when seated near + the Communion table. Her Majesty's mandate was then read, and + the commission of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. The + several oaths were next duly administered by the registrar of + the diocese. The Litany was devoutly read by the Bishop of + Madras, and afterwards the examination of the candidate took + place. I should have said that the sermon followed the Nicene + Creed. It was by the Bishop of Madras, the text being taken from + 2 Tim. i. 6, 7:-- + + "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the + gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. + For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, + and of love, and of a sound mind." + + The Bishop has consented at my request to print the discourse, + which I shall have the pleasure of sending copies of for the + Archbishop and yourself, I was gratified at observing that the + text is taken from the solemn words used at the very act itself + of consecration. After the examination, the Bishop returned to + the vestry to put on the rest of the episcopal dress; and as the + vestry in the cathedral is at the west end of the building, he + had to pass down the one hundred and twenty feet conducting to + it, with the eyes and hearts of the congregation fixed upon him + with wonder and pleasure. On his return, the "Veni, Creator + Spiritus" was sung, each alternate line being answered by the + Bishops and clergy, with the accompaniment of our fine organ. + After the appointed prayers, which are directed to follow this + hymn, the imposition of hands took place, and the words of the + consecration pronounced by myself as presiding metropolitan. The + Bible was next placed in his hands, with the admirable + exhortation prescribed--an exhortation which I think + incomparable and almost inspired, as indeed the whole service + is. The collection at the offertory was made for the Sarawak + Mission, and above five hundred C. rupees collected. The whole + service concluded with the Holy Communion of the body and blood + of Christ. + + The new Bishop preached at St. Thomas's Church on Sunday, the + 21st, for his mission; and a single gentleman contributed one + thousand C. rupees. He will preach at the cathedral on the 28th, + when something more will be gathered. The Bishop of Madras has + presented the four hundred rupees of his voyage expenses, from + Madras to Calcutta and back, to the same blessed cause. I have + had three breakfast parties (for I don't give dinners) to meet + the Bishop, of about forty each, on the day after the + consecration, and on Saturday, and this morning, and the + addresses made by Bishops Dealtry and Smith were most warmly + received. Thus has this great occasion passed off--the first + consecration, I believe, that has ever taken place out of + England since the glorious Reformation, and perhaps the first + missionary Bishop sent out by our Church; unless the Bishop of + Mauritius may be considered as having preceded him. + + It was, indeed, a singular event that four Protestant Bishops + should meet in the heart of heathen India, amidst one hundred + and fifty millions of idolaters and worshippers of the false + Prophet. + + God be praised for this completion of episcopal functions in + India! + + DANIEL CALCUTTA. + +I must add to this graphic letter a note which the venerable Bishop +wrote to my husband, November 6th of the same year. + + Tennasarim, Bishop's Cabin. + + MY BELOVED REV. BISHOP OF LABUAN, + + Whether to write to you by the pilot or not I can hardly tell. + However, I am so anxious for your beginning well at Singapore + and Sarawak, and so responsible also from having consecrated you + to the Lord, that I must write. I have taken the liberty with + you which Mr. Cecil took with me in 1801, to caution you, now + you are a chief pastor and a father in God, against excessive + hilarity of spirits. There is a mild gravity, with occasional + tokens of delight and pleasure, becoming your sacred character, + not noisy mirth. + + I met with a letter of a minister, now with God, to a brother + minister, who was about to take his duty for a time, which I + think will give you pleasure. "Take heed to _thyself_; your own + soul is your first and greatest concern. You know that a sound + body alone can work with power; much more a healthy soul. Keep a + clear conscience through the blood of the Lamb. Keep up close + communion with God. Study likeness to Him in all things. Read + the Bible for your own growth first, then for your people. + Expound much; it is through the truth that souls are to be + sanctified, not through essays upon the truth. You will not find + many companions; be the more with God. Be of good courage, + there remaineth much land to be possessed. Be not dismayed, for + Christ shall be with you to deliver you. I am often sore cast + down; but the Eternal God is my refuge. Now farewell; the Lord + make you a faithful steward." If we do not meet again in the + flesh, may we meet, never to part, before the throne of the + Great Redeemer! + + I am your affectionate + + D. CALCUTTA. + +After my husband's consecration, he undertook a confirmation tour for +Bishop Wilson, at the mission stations around Calcutta. He also +consecrated a church at Midnapore in South Bengal. In December, after +four month's absence, he returned to Sarawak. + +Our party in the mission-house during his absence consisted of a +chaplain, a missionary lady learning Malay and teaching the girls' +school, our young friend Mr. Grant, myself, and baby Mab. The days ran +along a smooth groove, although we had all plenty to do. Up early in the +morning, then a walk, and service in church at seven. After prayers some +hours' teaching and learning before midday bath and breakfast. The +afternoon was a more lazy time, though the hum of school went on +continuously, while we did our sewing and reading in the coolest corners +we could find. The new school-house, in which all the boys, the Stahls, +and Mr. Owen, the schoolmaster, lived, was near enough to the +mission-house for us to know the hour of the day by the lesson going on +at the time; for all the younger boys repeated their multiplication +tables in a loud voice together (in Malay), also their Chinese reading; +then came the singing, rounds and part-songs, the most popular lesson of +all. At four o'clock the school broke up. The children amused themselves +as English boys do. There was a season for marbles, for hop-scotch, for +tops, and for kites. Above all, do Chinese children love kites, and are +most ingenious in making them. They cut thin paper into the shapes of +birds, fish, or butterflies, and stretch it over thin slips of the spine +of the cocoa-nut leaf, then they ornament it with bits of red or blue +paper, and fasten it together with a pinch of boiled rice. The string is +the most expensive part, and two pennyworth lasts many kites, for they +are very frail affairs, and in that land of trees do not long escape +being caught, though they fly beautifully. Miss J---- had a cockatoo +which amused her and the little girls during sewing-class. He was a +beautiful bird with a rosy crest, but extremely mischievous. To sharpen +his beak he notched all the Venetian shutters in the verandahs; and if +he spied a looking-glass, flew at it in a rage and broke it: fortunately +there were no large mirrors in the house. These birds look very pretty +perching in the trees, and this one became tame enough to be trusted out +of doors, but they are bad inmates. + +We had also a chicken-yard for Alan's amusement, and great were our +difficulties in preserving the nests from rats, who ate the eggs. If we +placed the nests on a high shelf, these creatures managed to shove the +eggs out of the nests so that they fell broken on the floor all ready +for their supper. At last we circumvented them by slinging the nests by +long rattans from the roof. + +At five o'clock another short service took place in church. In the +evening we read aloud to one another, while the rest sewed or drew. + +This tranquil, even monotonous life was very much to my taste in my +husband's absence, but after a few weeks it was disturbed by sad trials. +First, the chaplain had a sunstroke, and fell out with the climate, the +place, and some members of our little society; so he went to Singapore, +and from thence to England. When we were recovering from this blow, and +had again settled down into our usual ways, a worse trial befell me. + +One morning Miss J---- did not appear at early breakfast, and little +Mary, who waited upon her in her room, said she was sound asleep and did +not wake when she opened the shutters. I thought nothing of it at first, +for Miss J---- sometimes sat up late at night; but an hour afterwards, I +went into her room and looked at her. Her breathing was so laboured I +thought she was in a fit; and first I tried to put leeches on her +temples, but they would not bite, and we resolved to carry her into the +fresh breeze in the verandah, for the air of the room seemed laden with +something close and stifling. When I threw back the covering of the bed, +I perceived that the veins of both arms had been cut, and a few drops +of blood stained her night-dress; also there was a small empty bottle in +the bed with "Laudanum" on its label. The terrible truth was +evident--she had taken poison and tried to bleed herself to death! +Probably the action of the laudanum prevented any flow of blood, yet the +few drops may have relieved the brain. The horror of this discovery +nearly deprived me of my senses; but there was no time for +lamentation--she was not dead, thank God, and all our efforts must be +used to restore her to life. We were very ignorant, but we did all we +could think of. There was no doctor to apply to, only the chemist who +served the dispensary. He gave medicine which was certainly very strong, +and we put mustard plasters on her legs. By the evening she was sensible +enough to take some food, but for a week there was serious illness, and +it was a long time before I could ask my poor friend why she had done +this thing. She had left me a letter to read in the event of her death, +but of course I never read it. We were very much together, but I had not +thought her unhappy; indeed the only reason she ever gave me for so +hating her life was, that she could not learn Malay, and did not think +she should be any use as a missionary. This despondency was known to me, +but I had no idea it cut so deep. Miss J---- had a great deal of quiet +fun--she often amused us by her clever and somewhat caustic remarks. But +Sarawak was too monotonous a life for her. When, some weeks afterwards, +she had quite regained the balance of her mind, she went to Singapore, +and became a very useful member of society for many years before she +died. I never felt that I could judge her, for I had so much more to +occupy my mind and interest my heart than my companion. There was baby +in the first place, and the responsibilities of the school and mission +naturally fell to my share. No doubt it requires an even temperament to +live contentedly without society, and with only such excitement as daily +duties and the beauties of nature afford. Yet these are full of infinite +happiness, and we were not without friends, although we had no company: +the little party at Government House, as it was then called, were very +agreeable and uniformly kind. It is, however, a common mistake to +imagine that the life of a missionary is an exciting one. On the +contrary, its trial lies in its monotony. The uneventful day, mapped out +into hours of teaching and study, sleep, exercise, and religious duties; +the constant society of natives whose minds are like those of children, +and who do not sympathize with your English ideas; the sameness of the +climate, which even precludes discourse about the weather,--all this, +added to the distance from relations and friends at home, combined with +the enervating effects of a hot climate, causes heaviness of spirits and +despondency to single men and women. Married people have not the same +excuse; for besides duty and nature, they have "one friend who loves +them best," and that ought to be enough for the most exacting +temperament. I say nothing about the comforts of religion--they are the +portion of all, married or single; still some spirits become so +sensitive in solitude that they are not able to take the cheerful side, +even of their relation to their Heavenly Father, and these are generally +the most reserved to their companions. I am glad to find that +missionaries are now seldom sent alone to any station, and women are +more often associated in sisterhoods for mission work under our colonial +Bishops, so that they have the society and sympathy of English ladies +after the toils of the day. I felt much discouraged after Miss J---- +left me, and afraid of urging any one to follow in her place; but at +last a cousin of my husband's came out to us, and as she enjoyed the +climate, and delighted in the place and people, declaring that she had +never been more happy in her life than with us, I consoled myself that +it was not all the fault of Sarawak and the mission-house that poor Miss +J---- could not live there. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +CHINESE INSURRECTION. + + "Mortal! if life smile on thee, and thou find + All to thy mind, + Think, Who did once to earth from heaven descend + Thee to befriend; + So shalt thou dare forego, at His dear call, + Thy life, thine all." + + +These lines were most applicable to us during the year 1856. It was such +rest and peace when our Bishop returned from Calcutta and soothed all +the griefs and heartburnings we had suffered the four months he was +away. Then ensued the performance of his new episcopal duties. Mr. Gomes +was ordained priest in March. Confirmations took place, of our elder +school-children, who were all baptized when they first came to us; also +many Chinese Christians too, who had long attended the Bible classes at +the mission-house and stood firm to their baptismal vows. In April we +had another baby girl; and soon after, the Bishop went to Labuan, to +arrange about a church being built there. Unfortunately he caught fever +at Labuan; which declared itself at Singapore on his return. We were +both very ill, and glad of doctors' advice at Singapore; but Labuan +fever returns again and again, though in a slighter form after a while, +and was for years a constant trial to the Bishop's strength. When we +returned to Sarawak in October, our party was increased. Mr. and Mrs. +Crookshank had come out from England--she a bride, and quite a new +element of youth and beauty for Sarawak. A lady friend and her child and +nurse also came on a long visit to us, the air of Sarawak being +considered quite a tonic compared to the sea-breeze at Singapore, which +was at times visited by a hot wind from Java. Very pleasant days +followed our return home. Mrs. Harvey and I, with our children, went for +a month to "See-afar" Cottage on the hill of Serambo. I have already +mentioned this little house, built by Sir James Brooke as a sanitarium +after his attack of small-pox. The only objection to it was, that it was +built in the region of clouds: had the hill been five hundred feet +higher we should have had the clouds below us, as they are on Penang +Hill. The path up the mountain--if path it can be called--is almost a +staircase of tumbled rocks, and requires both strength and agility to +climb. It was quite beyond me; but I was carried on a man's back, +sitting on a bit of plank, with a strip of cloth fastened round my waist +and across the man's forehead, my back to his back. The Dyaks are famous +mountaineers, their bare feet cling to the stones, or notched trunks of +trees thrown from one rock to another. I never felt unsafe on my Dyak +friend's back, and he used to laugh when I proposed his setting me down +and taking a rest, and say, "You are not as heavy as a basket of durian +fruit." These Dyaks have beautiful groves of fruit-trees, and make a +good purse in the fruit season by bringing down durians, mangosteen and +lansat fruit to sell at Kuching. They also carry all their harvest of +paddy up the mountain to their rice-stores in the villages, so they are +used to heavy weights. + +We took a stock of provisions up with us, fowls and ducks, a goat and +her kid, etc., and all the bedding we wanted, for of course there was +not much furniture in the cottage. Our first night was unfortunate. We +had settled ourselves in the rooms, had our supper, and were about to go +to bed, when the servants ran out of the cook-house, which was a +stone's-throw from the cottage, crying out, "Fire!" and in a few minutes +we saw it wrapped in flames. Of course a house built of sticks and +leaves does not take long to burn down to the ground, but we were +distressed to hear the bleatings of the little kid which could not be +got out in time. The ducks, too, were still in the long basket coop in +which they were carried up, and were literally roasted in their feathers +before anybody remembered them. A large party of Dyaks were on the spot +directly they saw the flames, and they did good service by throwing +water on the roof of the cottage, and watching lest the thatch should +catch. In the morning they discovered the burnt ducks, and ate them up +with much relish, for a Dyak likes the flavour of burnt feathers. The +next day the cook-house was rebuilt. These native huts look so clean and +fresh when first put up, the straw-coloured attap[6] walls and green +leaf roofs are so agreeable to the eye. They quickly turn hay colour and +then get discoloured by the wood smoke. Except that we were at times +rather short of food, we enjoyed our mountain retreat very much. The +bath was a remarkable feature--a natural stone basin, under the shadow +of a great rock, fed by the clearest streamlet and sheltered from view +by a heavy bit of curtain, was our bathing-place. We carried a little +leaf bucket and our towels in our hands, and while we poured the fresh +water over our heads we could now and then stop to look at the great +expanse of plain and forest, with silver rivers winding amidst them, and +blue smoke stealing up here and there to mark a Dyak village. There was, +however, a particular rock on the spur of the mountain from whence we +always watched the sun set; there was a much wider view from thence. The +sea lay on the horizon, and the pointed mountain of Santubong stood on +the plain, with other ranges of hills far away. I fear we did little +else but watch the glories of earth and sky at that time, and look after +our children, who could not be trusted alone a minute on those steep +paths. + + [Footnote 6: Palm leaf.] + +Meanwhile the Bishop was paying a visit to Lundu in his new life-boat, a +boat of about twenty-eight feet, with a little covered house in it, and +water-tight compartments in the bow and stern to keep her afloat. She +was well named, for even in this first voyage she saved the lives of her +passengers. From the coast at Santubong you see blue hills far away to +the west, which lie in the Lundu country. The sea runs very high, in the +north-cast monsoon, between the mouths of these two rivers, the Sarawak +and Lundu; and on this occasion the waves on their return from Lundu +were fearful. Seven great waves like green hills advanced one after +another. The Malay crew prayed aloud with terror. Stahl and the Bishop +steered the boat and held their breaths. It looked like rushing into the +jaws of death, but the life-boat mounted the big waves one after +another, sometimes shuddering with the strain, but buoyant and stiff. +The danger past, the crew praised Allah and the good boat; and they, as +well as Stahl who had behaved so well at the time of danger, fell into a +fit of ague from the nervous shock. We knew on the top of the hill that +a fearful storm was raging, but we did not see the white boat flying +like a bird over the seven great rollers, or there would have been no +sleep for us that night. The crew never forgot it, nor the calm pluck of +their steersman the Bishop. I must confess that an attack of fever was +the result of all this exertion when he joined us on the hill. + +The rest of the year 1856 passed away quietly. We were all looking +forward to an event which was to improve the English society of the +place very much. The Rajah's nephew, Captain Brooke, was bringing out a +bride; and her brother, Mr. Charles Grant, another. These four young +people were expected in the early spring of 1857, and the Rajah was +refurnishing his bungalow to receive these additions to his family. A +new piano had arrived, and all sorts of pretty things, to brighten up +the cool dark rooms of Government House. Mr. and Mrs. Crookshank were +preparing a house for themselves also; and all their boxes, which had +remained unopened while they lived with the Rajah, were moved up to +their bungalow. Little did we think that all these treasures would be +burnt before they were even unpacked! + +The Chinese gold-workers of Bau and Seniawan had long given more or less +trouble to the Sarawak Government. They were governed by their own +self-elected kunsi (magistrates), and recognized their fealty to Sarawak +only by the payment of a small tax on the gold they washed from the +soil. They sent the gold away to China, and habitually cheated as to the +quantity obtained. They also smuggled opium from the Dutch settlement of +Sambas, thus defrauding Government of revenue. Worse than all this, they +introduced secret societies, or hui, among themselves, and threatened to +rebel if any of their kunsi were punished for breaking the laws of the +country. At Christmas, 1856, they boasted they could demolish Kuching +in one night, if they chose; and that a new Joss House they were +building there should furnish them with a pretext to gather by hundreds +to set the Joss in his temple, and possess themselves of the place and +the Europeans who lived there. These uncomfortable rumours seemed to +have some foundation when a new road was discovered which the Chinese +had made between Bau and Seniawan, another settlement nearer to Kuching. +Mr. Crookshank, who was in charge of the Government, sent word to Mr. +Johnson, who immediately came from Sakarran with a fleet of Dyaks, +delighted to have a chance of fighting the Chinese, and carrying plenty +of heads back to their homes. At the same time a gun-boat was stationed +on the river to prevent any communication between Bau and Kuching. Upon +this the kunsi came very humbly and begged pardon, declared the whole +story was a fabrication, and that they never intended mischief. We only +half believed them, but the Dyaks were dismissed, and unfortunately the +gun-boat no longer kept watch on the river. Our Christian Chinese +teacher "Sing-Song," was of the Kay tribe, the same as the Bau people, +and once a month he went there to teach his countrymen. There were a few +Christians among them. One, a goldsmith, did his best to let us know +that danger was impending, but the kunsi suspected him, and put him in +prison; we were therefore quite unprepared for what took place. On the +17th of February, three Chinese kunsi were flogged by order of the +court at Kuching, for taking the law into their own hands, and seizing a +runaway prisoner, as well as the captain of the boat in which she +absconded, although he was not guilty of hiding her. This seems to have +put the finishing touch to the factious state of feeling at Bau. The +Rajah and the Bishop had determined to take a trip together on the 15th, +in the life-boat, to Sadong, and from thence to Linga and Sakarran. The +Rajah had been ailing for some time, and we hoped this little voyage +would do him good. We prepared all the provisions for this trip: bread +and rusks were made, salt meat was cooked, and everything was ready +packed in the provision baskets (this was of great importance to us +afterwards). That evening we all met out walking, on the only +riding-road there was in those days. Rajah spoke to the school-children, +and we all amused ourselves with the little Middletons, boys of four and +five, strutting along with turbaned hats and long walking-sticks. It was +a dull evening, and we all felt unaccountably gloomy. We fancied it was +because Rajah was not well enough to come and dine with us, as he had +purposed in the morning; but during dinner I remembered afterwards that +the Bishop said, "If any sudden alarm were to take place to-night it +would rouse him and make him all right." + +We certainly went to bed without expecting anything to happen, but, +about twelve o'clock, we were roused by shouts and screams, and the +firing of guns. We got up and looked out. The Rajah's bungalow was in +flames across the river. On our side the Middletons' house was burning, +and Mr. Crookshank's new house, a little way up the road, was soon after +on fire. The most horrid noises filled the air, there was evidently +fighting going on at the two forts at either end of the town by the +river's side. We knew there were very few defenders at either of these +two forts, and that they would soon be taken; for by this time we were +sure it must be the Chinese miners who had fulfilled their threat to +take the town. We thought, "When the forts are taken they will come to +us." Presently the brothers, William and John Channon, who lived near +us, came to our house, bringing their wives and children for shelter. +They brought news that the fort near their houses was taken and burnt, +and they dare not stay in their own cottages, as they were Government +servants, and would be obnoxious to the rebels. + +We took our children out of bed and dressed them, and then we all went +down to the school-house, from whence we could see the burning houses +and hear what was going on in the town. A Chinaman came up from the +bazaar, begging us not to go to them for shelter, for they had been +warned by the kunsi not to harbour any English people, and they dared +not take us in. Poor creatures, they were in terror for themselves, as +they were not of the same tribe of Chinese as the Bau people. What +should we do? + +[Illustration: WE ALL WENT DOWN TO THE SCHOOL-HOUSE, FROM WHENCE WE +COULD SEE THE BURNING HOUSES. + +_Page_ 128.] + +We were so large a party, and had so many children amongst us, that we +did not venture to hide in the jungle: the night was quite dark and we +might lose one another. Then the Bishop said, "We cannot make any +resistance: we will hide away the guns we have in the house, and unite +in prayer to God." So we all knelt round him while he commended us to +the mercy of our Heavenly Father, and prayed for all our dear friends +who were exposed to the fury of the Chinese. Then we sat and waited. +Miss Woolley, who had only been three months in Sarawak, read aloud a +psalm from time to time to comfort us; but the hours seemed very long. +At five o'clock in the morning the kunsi, having possessed themselves of +the Chinese town, sent us word that they did not mean to harm us--"the +Bishop was a good man and cared for the Chinese," but he must go down to +the hospital and attend to their wounded. Then came the welcome news +that the Rajah had escaped, and Mr. Crookshank and Middleton--the three +people whom the Chinese most desired to kill, for the one was chief +constable and the other police magistrate, who carried out the Rajah's +sentence on the kunsi. A price was set on their heads, but the Malays' +love of their English Rajah made that only an idle threat. We were told +that Mrs. Crookshank was dead, and the little Middletons, as well as Mr. +Wellington, who lodged in their house, and Mr. Nicholetts, who was +staying at the Rajah's house. Mrs. Crookshank, however, was not dead, +but lying wounded in a ditch near the ashes of her house. When the +Bishop knew this he demanded her of the kunsi. They said no, at first, +for they were angry that her husband had escaped; but Bishop refused to +attend to the wounded unless they gave her up, so at last they gave +leave to have her carried to our house. + +It was about ten o'clock when she was brought in--a pitiful sight, her +dress covered with blood, her hair matted with grass and dust, her +fingers bleeding. It did not seem possible she could live after +remaining all night in this dreadful state. She told us that she and her +husband did not awake until the house was full of men. They had only +time to jump up and run down their bath-room stairs, he catching up a +spear for their defence. Opening the bath-room door it creaked, and a +man came running round the house shouting, "Assie Moy," the name of the +woman-prisoner they had seized. He struck down Mrs. Crookshank with a +sword he had in his hand, and Mr. Crookshank attacked him with the +spear. They struggled together till the Chinaman cut his right arm to +the bone, and the spear fell from his hand; then, seeing his wife lying +dead, as he thought, in the grass, he managed to get away to the edge of +the jungle, and sitting down, faint with loss of blood, saw his house +burn to the ground. As morning dawned he found his way to the Datu +Bandar's house, where the Rajah had already arrived, and Middleton. +Meanwhile the Chinese, chasing the fowls from the burning fowl-house, +came upon Mrs. Crookshank lying on her face, and one of them, seizing +her by her hair, desired her to follow him. She could not walk a step, +so he carried her in his arms; but when she groaned with the pain, he +laid her in a ditch near the road. Many Chinese came and stood by her: +they covered her with their jackets, one held an umbrella over her head, +another offered her some tobacco, but they would not let any of our +people touch her until an order came from the kunsi. We had sent our +eldest school-boy to reassure her, and he stood beside her until our +servants could bring her away safely. As soon as the Bishop had dressed +the wounded in the town, he came home for some breakfast. When I saw him +I called out, for his pith hat was covered with blood. "It is only +fowl's blood," said he, "don't be frightened: they killed a chicken over +my head as a sign of friend ship." The Middletons' servants came to us +early in the morning, and said that they did not know what had become of +their mistress, but the two little boys were killed by the Chinese, +their heads cut off, and their bodies thrown into the burning. Later on, +we heard that Mrs. Middleton, after seeing Mr. Wellington killed in +trying to defend her, had escaped into the bath-room and hidden herself +in one of the big water-jars; but, the door being open, she had seen her +children murdered, and then had got out of the jar and run into the +jungle, where she concealed herself in a little pool of water, much +hidden by overhanging boughs. There this poor mother remained for some +hours, until a Chinaman from the town came to the spring, carrying a +drawn sword in his hand. "Oh, sir, pray don't kill me!" she called out. +"Oh no!" answered the man, "I am a friend of Mr. Peter" (her husband), +"and will take care of you." So he took her to his house, and dressed +her in Chinese clothes. It was almost a wonder to me that this poor +young woman lived through that dreadful time. As the day wore on, Mr. +Ruppell, the banker of the place, and a great friend of the Chinese, +came and took up his abode with us. Then he, the Bishop, and Mr. Helms, +the manager of the English Merchant Company, were ordered to meet the +kunsi at the court-house; also the Datu Bandar, the chief Malay +magistrate. There a very trying scene took place. The kunsi sat in the +seats of the magistrates, smoking, their principal in the Rajah's own +chair. They stated that they did not wish to make war with the English, +or the Malays, only with the Rajah's government, and they desired those +present to assist them in the government of the country. This they had +drawn up in writing, and desired the English and Datu Bandar to sign. +The Bishop pointed out to them that the best thing they could do would +be to return to Bau and defend their town; that the Dyaks would +certainly come in fleets of boats directly they heard of what had +happened at Kuching, and they would as certainly be killed if they +remained in the place. This was true enough, but they were afraid of the +Malays attacking them on the water. The Chinese are bad boatmen. They +could not therefore make up their minds to go, and much fierce +discussion arose. The thieves and rogues of the place, being under no +restraint, robbed all the houses, on this afternoon, whose inmates had +taken refuge at the mission-house. The Christian Chinese, being afraid +of their countrymen, rushed into our house, carrying all sorts of goods +and chattels, and caused me much distress on Mrs. Crookshank's account, +who was very sensitive to fresh alarms. However, we settled our Chinese +friends in some of the lower rooms. The Channons and their babies were +in the attics. Night came at last, and a dead silence fell upon the town +and the crowded mission-house. Not even the usual sounds in the bazaar +or on the river were heard; only an occasional gun broke the stillness +of the night. Friends and foes were alike weary. We did not venture to +undress, but lay down all ready for flight if necessary, with our hats +and little bundles beside us. The Bishop and Mr. Ruppell watched all +night in the porch. Friday morning the Chinese, continually urged by the +Bishop, determined to return to Bau. Later on they heard a rumour that +the Malays would attack them on the river; then they made the Datu +Bandar sign a promise not to follow them. Still they felt no confidence +that he would not, so they said they would take Mr. Helms with them as a +hostage for the Datu's good faith. Poor Mr. Helms did not like this idea +at all, and having a fast boat lying in the creek near his house, he +slipped away early in the afternoon, down the river, and hid himself in +the jungle. No one in Sarawak could imagine what had become of him. + +About midday the Bishop told me he wished me, Miss Woolley, and the +children, including Alan Grant, to go to Singapore in a trading schooner +which Mr. Ruppell had detained at the mouth of the river in case of +emergency. + +Mrs. Stahl and Miss Coomes were to remain and nurse Mrs. Crookshank, but +it would be a great relief to him to think of us in safety. The Chinese +kunsi also wished us to go, "that the people at Singapore might see that +they did not desire our death." It seemed very hard to me to leave my +husband in such danger, for that morning the kunsi had flourished swords +in his face and threatened him, knowing very well that he wished to +bring the Rajah back. Still I knew he could more easily provide for the +safety of those left behind if we were already out of the way. So I +packed up some clothes and provisions for the voyage. While I was doing +this a Chinaman came from the _Good Luck_ schooner to say I must only +take one box for our party, as the schooner was very full of Chinese +passengers, fleeing for fear of the kunsi. With this we had to be +content. At three o'clock we went to the shop of Amoo, the Chinese owner +of the _Good Luck_. There I found my husband writing to Mr. Johnson at +Linga, to tell him what had happened. Then Datu Bandar came in to say +that the kunsi had gone up the river, and had taken some of the fort +guns with them; that they were very crowded in the boats, and that he +should follow after them with a Malay force at night. They did nothing, +however, when the time came; for until the Malays had got their families +safe out of the place they were not willing to fight. They were brave +enough when the women and children were moved to Samarahan on Saturday. +There were many Chinese women collected at Amoo's, belonging to the +shopkeepers in the bazaar. The wife of the court scribe, whom I knew, +told me in a whisper that she managed to get some bread to the Rajah and +his party, and had told Mr. Crookshank that his wife was alive and with +us. At last the life-boat was ready. Stahl went with us to steer, and +said there were plenty of Chinese to row the boat. When we got down to +it, we found it not only fully manned by Chinese, but full of their +women, children, and boxes, so that we could scarcely find room to +squeeze ourselves into the stern, and we were so heavily laden that we +made very slow progress. It was no use protesting, however: we were only +English folk, and the Chinese had it all their own way in those days. +About eight o'clock we got down to the mouth of the Morotabas, where the +schooner lay. Pitch dark and very wet it was, but it was a relief when +all the Chinese passengers climbed up the schooner ladder, and the men +hauled the boxes up one after another, last of all a very heavy one +which it took six men to lift, full of dollars,--so no wonder we were +overladen. Last of all I climbed into the _Good Luck_, leaving the +children still in the boat with Stahl and Kimchack, one of our +school-boys whose family were moving away in the schooner. I found the +deck covered with Chinese, and when I said to the little Portuguese +captain, "Where is the little cabin Mr. Ruppell promised me I should +have?" he answered, "Oh, ma'am, pray go back to your boat. I have +neither water nor fuel for the people who are already on board. The +cabin is filled with the family and friends of the Chinese owner of the +schooner, and I cannot give you even room to sit down anywhere." It was +indeed true. My friend, the court scribe's wife, said, "Come and sit by +me on the deck." "But the children, they cannot be exposed day and night +on deck." "Oh well, there is no other place for them." So I jumped into +the life-boat again, and reclaimed my treasures. "Rather," said Miss +Woolley and I, "die on shore than in that horrid boat." Indeed we felt +quite cheerful now we had the boat to ourselves; and Kimchack said he +had already been two nights on board the _Good Luck_ and had had no room +to lie down. There we were, however, in the middle of the river, with no +one to row the boat. Stahl could not move it by himself. At this moment +a small boat pulled alongside, and Mr. Helms' face appeared in the +darkness. How glad we were to see him! and he, faint and exhausted with +wandering all day in the jungle, was glad of a glass of wine, which was +soon got out of the provision basket. Then we opened a tin of soup, and +fed our tired and hungry children, who behaved all through those +terrible days as if it was a picnic excursion got up for their +amusement. They enjoyed everything, and were no trouble at all, either +Alan or Mab. Edith was a baby, and suffered very much from want of +proper food--but that was later on. Mr. Helms and his crew rowed our +boat into Jernang Creek, where there were some Malay houses. In one of +these he and Alan went to sleep, but he advised us to remain in the boat +until the morning. We laid Mab and Edith on one of the seats; Miss +Woolley lay on the other; and I sat at the bottom of the boat to prevent +the children from falling off. The mosquitoes were numerous on that mud +bank, and I was very glad when the morning dawned. At six o'clock Mr. +Helms came to say we could have an empty Malay house on shore for a few +days, so we gladly mounted up the landing-place and found a kind and +hospitable reception from our Malay friends. They had put up some mat +partitions in a large room, that we might sleep in private, and +presented us with a nice curry for breakfast. We then unpacked our box +and dried the clothes in it, which were wet through from the overlading +of the life-boat. About midday two Englishmen arrived from the Quop +River, nearer to Kuching, where they had been with the Rajah. They only +stayed a short time, but told us that the Kunsi Chinese had really gone +to Bau, and that the Bishop was with the Rajah at Quop. Late at night I +had a note from my husband, saying he thought we might return to +Sarawak, for all was quiet, and he hoped the Rajah would come back early +on Sunday morning. The next morning, therefore, we prepared to set off +again in the life-boat, but first I went to pay a visit to Inchi Bouyang +the Malay writer, who lived in one of the houses near, and who was too +stout to venture out of his own house into a less strongly built one. +This seems absurd enough, but the Malay houses were certainly very +slight; they seemed to sway in the mud of the creek, and the floors of +the rooms were made of very open strips of nibong palm, so that you had +to walk turning your feet well out in order not to slip through the +lantiles. I found many Malays gathered in the writer's house, all to +entreat me not to go to Kuching, because it was "not a lucky day." "If +the Malays fight the Chinese to-day," they said, "they will be beaten." +"What reason have you for saying so?" "No reason exactly, but the day is +unlucky; it is like Friday to the English, they never go to sea on that +day." "Oh," said I, "that was long ago: they often go to sea on Friday +now they know better, and no sensible person thinks anything of lucky or +unlucky days." "Well, we have told you what we think. If you must go, +some of us will go with you, and we shall tell the Tuan Padre it was not +our fault that you would not wait until to-morrow." So Lulut, a servant +of the Rajah's, and another Malay got into the boat with us, and we set +off up the river. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +CHINESE INSURRECTION (_Continued_). + + +As we proceeded up the river we agreed we would ask news of any boat we +met. Presently we noticed smoke rising above the trees. "The Malays are +burning the Chinese town," said the men; but as we drew nearer it was +evidently the Malay town which was burning. At last we met a boat. "Yes; +the Chinese had returned, and had set fire to the Malay town; they were +also firing at the Sarawak Chinese in the bazaar." On Saturday the +Bishop and the Channons and Stahl had unspiked two of the guns left in +the fort, and had hoisted the Sarawak flag again on the flag-staff. The +Bishop then went to the Rajah's war boat at the Quop, and told him that +the Malays had sent away their women, and were ready to fight should the +Chinese return; and he begged him to come to our house early the next +morning, where breakfast should be ready for him, and take the command. +But the Chinese heard of this, and returned in the morning, some by +river, some by road. As soon as the Malays saw their boats rounding the +corner near the Malay town, they attacked them bravely, drove them +ashore, and though suffering much loss from their superior fire, +captured ten of their boats, and secured them to a Malay prahu in the +river. While this struggle was going on, a large party of Chinese, who +walked from Seniawan, were ransacking the town. Enraged with the Bishop +for trying to bring the Rajah back, they rushed into our house to find +him; but he, having sent off all our belongings, English and native, ran +down the back stairs while the Chinese rushed up into the porch in +front, and escaped to the Chinese town, where shots were flying about in +plenty, but did not hit him. He got into a little boat passing by, with +two Malays in it, and they paddled him to the Rajah's war boat, then +retreating down the river. When they reached the Quop he found a little +boat, which brought him quickly to Jernang. + +We lay off the town in the life-boat, and saw one boat after another +rowing fast towards us. In one, Mr. Koch, the missionary, with a number +of school-boys; in another, Mrs. Crookshank, laid on a mattress, Mrs. +Stahl, and Miss Coomes, and the school-girls; then the Channons' +families and some Chinese; then the Sing-Song's family, and more boys. +"Where is the Bishop?" I shouted. "In the Rajah's war boat. We had the +greatest difficulty in getting boats enough for us; the Chinese were +running up to the house when he sent us off, and firing had already +begun in the streets when Mrs. Crookshank was got into the boat." + +This was an anxious moment; but before long our servant James appeared +with a message to me from my husband, to return to Jernang, and stay +there until he appeared. Our Malay friends here left us, to join their +families anchored in boats by the banks, and I filled the life-boat with +the school-children to lighten the other boats. Then we pulled slowly +back against the tide to Jernang. The little landing-place was crowded +when we arrived, for the smaller boats had got there first. I had the +greatest difficulty in persuading the Malays to give shelter to the +Chinese Christians and children. I answered for their good behaviour; +but all Chinese, whether rebels or no, were in sufficiently bad odour in +those days. At last I got them part of a house to themselves. No sooner +was all arranged than the Bishop arrived in his little boat; it was like +receiving him from the dead. + +Presently appeared the Rajah's war boat, he standing at the stern. We +all ran down to meet him and Mr. Crookshank, and take them to Bertha, +who had been carried into a house. While we were all standing on the +little wharf, built on tall piles into the water, the Malays cried out +that it was giving way, and we must all go into the houses. The Bishop +then decided what to do with his large party. Mr. Helms had a schooner +close by, in which he was going to Sambas, to seek assistance from the +Dutch, our nearest neighbours. He kindly offered to take Miss Woolley, +Miss Coomes, and two of our eldest school-boys with him. The rest of us +could go to Linga, where there was a fort, as a little pinnace belonging +to Mr. Steele lay handy at the mouth of the river. The Chinese, however, +implored to go with us; and indeed it would have been cruel to leave +them a prey to the Malays, or the bad Chinese, or the Dyaks. When we +were lodged in the pinnace, therefore, the Bishop went back to Jernang, +and packed all our Chinese into the life-boat, which was attached by a +rope to the pinnace; so we were all together. It was nearly dark when we +weighed anchor, and left the mouth of the river. There was a tiny cabin, +just large enough to hold Bertha on her mattress; a fowl-house, into +which our native children crept; an open hold, where we women sat down +on our bundles, with our children in our arms; and there was a place for +cargo forward, where the men settled themselves. The Rajah in his war +boat also proceeded to Linga, and we expected him to arrive long before +our slow boat; he would meet Mr. Johnson, his nephew, there, and +organize a force of Dyaks from the great rivers, Sakarran and Batang +Lupar, to drive away the Chinese rebels. We never had any doubt of their +doing this eventually, though we feared the remedy might be almost as +bad as the disease, if the Dyaks proved unmanageable and quarrelled with +one another. The night was very dark and wet, and the deck leaked upon +us, so that we and our bags and bundles were soon wet through. But we +neither heeded the rain nor felt the cold. We had eaten nothing since +early morning, but were not hungry; and although for several nights we +could scarcely be said to have slept, we were not sleepy. A deep +thankfulness took possession of my soul; all our dear ones were spared +to us. My children were in my arms, my husband paced the deck over my +head. I seemed to have no cares, and to be able to trust to God for the +future, who had been so merciful to us hitherto. I remember, too, when +Mrs. Stahl opened the provision basket, and gave us each a slice of +bread and meat, how very good it was, although we had not thought about +wanting it. We lit a little fire, and made some hot tea, but soon had a +message from the Rajah's boat to put out the fire lest we should be +seen. The only thing that troubled me was a nasty faint smell, for which +I could not account; but next morning we found a Chinaman's head in a +basket close by my corner, which was reason enough! We had taken a fine +young man on board to help pull the sweeps, a Dyak, and this ghastly +possession was his. He said he was at Kuching, looking about for a +_head_, and went into the court-house. Hearing some one in a little side +room, he peeped in, and saw a Chinaman gazing at himself in a bit of +looking-glass, which was stuck against the wall. He drew his sword, and +in one moment, stepping close behind him, cut off his head: and having +obtained this prize, was naturally desirous of getting away from the +place; so he came off as boatman in one of the flying boats, bringing +the head in a basket, which he stowed in the side of the boat. It +entirely spoilt my hand-bag, which lay near it; I had to throw it away, +and everything in it which could not be washed in hot water. + +Towards morning the sea made us all sick, added to the wet, and cold of +dawn; yet, when the day cleared a little, and we got a fire on deck, and +some hot tea and biscuits, and the children seemed none the worse for +their bad night and the swarms of mosquitoes which had feasted upon +them, we could not repine. In the evening we passed the island of +Burong, at the mouth of the Batang Lupar River, and Mr. Crookshank tried +to stimulate the men pulling the sweeps to reach a Sebuyan village +farther on, before the tide left us and it grew dark. By dint of hard +pulling we made the village, and its little fort, standing close beside +the water and washed by its strong tide. A little boat came off from the +fort, with some Malays, of whom we inquired for the Rajah, thinking his +boat was far ahead of us, but they said they had seen nothing of him. +Mr. Crookshank then begged them to bring a boat in which he could take +Bertha up to Linga Fort that evening, instead of her remaining another +night in the pinnace. We went on as long as the tide lasted, and then +anchored in the Batang Lupar. Again we made a fire on deck, and after +taking some food, settled ourselves for the night. At eleven o'clock the +promised boat came for Bertha and Mr. Crookshank, and Mrs. Stahl went +with them as nurse; they thought nothing could be worse than spending +another night on board the pinnace, but I fear the little boat journey +was still more painful. When they reached Linga, they found only Malays +in the fort, and the dwelling-house shut up, for Mr. Johnson was at +Sakarran. They had to carry Mrs. Crookshank up a ladder into the fort, +and lay her on a table; but happily Mr. Chambers arrived that night from +Banting, and furnished a curtain as a screen, and pillows from his boat +to make a more comfortable couch. As we were setting off again next +morning, we met Mr. Johnson in a long boat, going straight off to +Kuching. He was lying ill of fever at Sakarran, when his Malays roused +him by saying, without preface--"The news is bad, Tuan: the Rajah is +killed and Kuching in the hands of the rebel Chinese." Upon this he +jumped up, called together the chiefs, and bidding them follow him with +a strong force of Dyaks, he set off himself without calling at Linga by +the way. When we told him that Rajah was alive and on his way to Linga, +he turned back with us, and taking me, my ayah, and the children into +his boat, soon landed us at his house. This was Tuesday, but we heard +nothing of the Rajah until Friday. Mr. Johnson, after breakfasting with +us at his house, went on to Kuching, and found that, after we lost sight +of the Rajah's war boat, they had fallen in with the steamer belonging +to the Borneo Company, the _Sir James Brooke_, just entering the river. +Mr. Helms' schooner also came across her, so all the passengers in the +schooner and the war boat had moved into the steamer, and they +immediately proceeded up the river, preparing the guns on board to +attack as soon as they reached the town. What must have been the +feelings of the Chinese in the fort when they saw the smoke of the +steamer curling above the trees, and then received one ten-pounder shot +after another into their midst! They fired one round of grape shot at +the steamer, and shouts of "Run!" rose on all sides. The steamer then +proceeded up to the Malay town, where the Malays still held out against +the Chinese; but as they were getting very short of ammunition, and +their enemies were bringing some large guns to bear on their position, +they greeted the steamer with shouts of welcome. The Chinese fled in +every direction. Cut off from their boats, they ran into the jungle; and +while many no doubt reached Bau in safety, many fell into the hands of +the Dyaks, who, following their usual course of warfare, spread +themselves through the jungle, and took the head of every man they met. +The town was quite clear of the rebels in a few hours, and the _Sir +James Brooke_, anchored in the river, furnished the base of operations +which the Rajah required: from thence he could direct the Malay and Dyak +forces, which were immediately at his disposal, to drive the rebels out +of the country. The day before, the Chinese had filled our house and +looted it completely, except the books in the library, for which they +seem to have had some respect; but we had reason to believe that on +Monday the house would have been burnt, for gunpowder and inflammable +materials were found strewed about after they left. They took everything +they could carry away, and destroyed the rest, cutting long slits in the +gauze of the mosquito-rooms, and pouring all the chemicals and medicines +of the dispensary over the contents of the drawers, clothes, and papers +they did not wish for. They found a long table set out ready for +breakfast, and had only to gather up the small plate, which, with a +house full of people, was all in requisition. The church, too, was +emptied of all its furniture, and the harmonium smashed; but the +opportune arrival of the steamer prevented these buildings from sharing +the fate of the other houses. + +Meanwhile, we were settling ourselves with our large party in Mr. +Johnson's house, which he kindly placed at our disposal. This house was +surrounded by a latticed verandah, the ground immediately about it was +cleared of jungle and drained by deep ditches. From the fort you looked +over the wide stretch of water of the Batang Lupar, but it was a lonely +and monotonous look-out. As the fort men were taken away to fight at +Kuching, the gentlemen had to form themselves into watches day and +night, with the few Malays who remained to guard the fort. Boats full of +Dyaks continually arrived, to join the Rajah's force--Balows, Sarebas, +and Sakarrans lay side by side on the river, all excited by the +prospects of war, and frequently causing silly panics among the Malays +of Linga, lest these warriors, from tribes so long enemies, should fall +out with one another before they got to Kuching. There were, of course, +no books or newspapers to read; our Bibles and Prayer-books alone were +among our luggage. We women were the best off, for we got some +unbleached calico from Sakarran, and cut out some under-clothing, of +which we had but little; this gave us occupation. We also had every day +to wash our linen and towels after bathing. The bath was a clear running +stream, covered in near the house, very pretty and romantic, but the +water was of a light brown colour, like toast and water, and had a +slightly acid taste, very agreeable but not very wholesome. Probably the +spring forced its way through dead leaves in the jungle; at any rate, it +did not wash the clothes white. It was very difficult to procure food +for us all. Rice and gourds made into a kind of curry stew was our daily +meal; if a chicken was got it was devoted to the children and the sick. +We were very anxious for some time on account of Mrs. Crookshank. Had +she remained quiet at Kuching, her wounds would have healed quickly, for +she was young and perfectly healthy; but all the moving into boats, and +carrying up ladders and steps, had broken open the wounds, and it was a +struggle of strength and youth against adverse circumstances. She was so +patient and cheerful that we never heard a complaint, which was in her +favour no doubt; still there were some days when her life was in great +danger in that hot climate. Twice during the month we received a box +from Kuching, sent by a native boat. Once it contained our mail--an +immense pleasure; also some bread and biscuits, but they were wet with +salt water, and mouldy besides. However, Mab and Alan could eat them. I +used to look with thankful astonishment at those children, both so +delicate generally, but who throve all the time we were without proper +food or shelter. But baby Edith shrank and pined, and at last my husband +said, "We shall lose this child if you stay here any longer: better go +and live among the Dyaks, who have plenty of fowls." + +So Mr. Chambers kindly took us in at his house at Banting, where we had +a most loving welcome, and saw something of the Dyak women and children. +The men were mostly gone to the war, and great excitement prevailed +among the tribe with the prospect of acquiring heads again, for the +Sarawak Government had quite stopped that hunting in the country. Boats +were continually arriving, gay with streamers, and noisy with gongs and +drums beating, with heads of Chinese on board. One day we were invited +to a feast in one of the long houses. I said, "I hope we shall see no +heads," and was told I need not see any; so, taking Mab in my hand, I +went with Mr. Chambers, and we climbed up into the long verandah room +where all the work of the tribe goes on. This long house was surrounded +with fruit-trees, and very comfortable. There were plenty of pigs under +the house, and fowls perching in every direction. About thirty families +lived in the house, the married people having each their little room, +the girls a room to themselves, and the long room I spoke of being used +for cooking, mat-making, paddy-beating, and all the usual occupations of +their lives. We were seated on white mats, and welcomed by the chief +people present. The feast was laid on a raised platform along the side +of the room. There were a good many ornaments of the betel-nut palm, +plaited into ingenious shapes, standing about the table, so that I did +not at first remark anything else. As we English folks could not eat +fowls roasted in their feathers, nor cakes fried in cocoa-nut oil, they +brought us fine joints of bamboo filled with pulut rice, which turns to +a jelly in cooking and is fragrant with the scent of the young cane. I +was just going to eat this delicacy when my eyes fell upon three human +heads standing on a large dish, freshly killed and slightly smoked, with +food and sirih leaves in their mouths. Had I known them when alive I +must have recognized them, for they looked quite natural. I looked with +alarm at Mab, lest she should see them too; then we made our retreat as +soon as possible. But I dared say nothing. These Dyaks had killed our +enemies, and were only following their own customs by rejoicing over +their dead victims. But the fact seemed to part them from us by +centuries of feeling--our disgust, and their complacency. Some of them +told us that afterwards, when they brought home some of the children +belonging to the slain, and treated them very kindly, wishing to adopt +them as their own, they were annoyed at the little ones standing looking +up at their parents' heads hanging from the roof, and crying all day, as +if it were strange they should do so! Yet the Dyaks are very fond of +children, and extremely indulgent to them. Our school was recruited +after the war by the children of Chinese, bought by Government from +their captors. This was my first and last visit to a Dyak feast. I used +to go and see the women in the early morning sometimes, and they +constantly came up to the mission-house to see my children. Of course +the war had an evil influence on them, increasing their interest in +heads, and all the heathen ceremonies connected with their possession. + +We stayed about ten days at Banting, walking every afternoon to the +little church through a long avenue of fruit-trees--great forest trees +which threw a grateful shade over the path, charming for the children's +walks. They could have chicken broth too for their dinners; and Edith +revived, but it was a whole year after this before she grew any taller, +so that when she began to run about, three months later, it looked a +surprising feat for a baby who should be in long clothes, yet she was +then sixteen months old. This life at Banting was a kind of dream, after +all the hurry and anxiety we had gone through. At last we heard that we +might go back to Kuching, the Chinese had all been driven out of the +country, or killed. Our house was purified, and the dead bodies lying +about in the jungle had been buried, so that the air was sweet again. We +returned to Linga, and all embarked in a little schooner for home. It +was not a much better boat than the one we had fled in, and we suffered +two very trying days' voyage; but when we walked into the mission-house +and found Miss Woolley to welcome us, and our house, though dismantled, +uninjured, and most of the books in the library, we were very thankful. +The Sunday after, we had a thanksgiving service in the church, in which +all joined very heartily. + +I must return, however, to the history of the war, from the time the +Rajah steamed up the river in the _Sir James Brooke_. + +At Bau there were supposed to be from three to four thousand Chinese +rebels, who had lately been strengthened by many malcontents from the +Dutch country. The Chinese held Bau, Seniawan, the government fort of +Baleda, and a fort at Peninjauh opposite to Baleda. They boasted that +they had rice and gunpowder enough to last out six months in these +places; but they were gradually surrounded on all sides by Malays and +Dyaks, so that they could get no fresh stores. On the 10th of March a +body of Chinese came down the river to Leda Tanah (Tongue of Land) about +halfway to Kuching. They built a breast-work by the river-side, dug a +trench behind it, placed some brass guns in position, and then retired +to eat their dinners in comfort behind their defences. There was a +little house and garden belonging to the Rajah at Leda Tanah. The Datu +Tumangong and Abang Boujong hearing of this, went up the river with a +Malay force and attacked the breast-work in front. The Chinese fired one +volley and ran. The Malays entered, sword in hand, but only killed two +men; all the rest fled into the arms of the Dyaks, who lay in wait in +the jungle behind, and took a hundred heads, some say two hundred, but +stories do not lose in the telling. The Chinese begged hard for their +lives, wrung their hands, wept, prayed the Dyaks to be friends with +them; but Dyaks know nothing about prisoners. One of the principal kunsi +was killed in this affair, and some say that Kamang, the leader of the +attack on the 18th of February, lost his head to the Sakarran Dyaks. + +This success was matter of great rejoicing at Kuching. Two days +afterwards they heard that Baleda Fort was deserted by the Chinese. Mr. +Johnson went up and found it quite empty; Seniawan too, and soon after +Bau also. All had fled towards the Dutch territory. A dreadful march +they had, poor creatures; carrying their sacred stone Tai pekong with +them. Nearly a thousand women and children delayed their progress. They +were harassed all the way by parties of Malays, and Dyaks cutting off +the stragglers. The party dwindled by degrees, until nearly all the +kunsi were killed, either by the enemy or their incensed countrymen, +who found themselves driven from their peaceful homes for the sins of +these rebels. It is so painful to think of the many innocent who +suffered with the guilty on this occasion, of the miseries they endured, +and the relentlessness of their foes, that I cannot detail it. War +naturally brines such evils in its train; even civilized warfare is not +without its horrors and its injustice: but when revenge falls into the +hands of savages these ills are multiplied. The Malays both hated and +despised the Chinese. That _such_ people should have taken their forts, +burnt their dwellings, compelling them to seek safety for their families +by flight, was so great an insult that their most violent passions were +aroused, and only the blood of all the Kay tribe could wipe out the +disgrace they had incurred. It was indeed wonderful that these Chinese +should imagine for a moment that they could remain rulers in a country +whose inhabitants regarded them as the natural hewers of wood and +drawers of water to the community; but no doubt they were intoxicated by +their unlooked-for success on the 18th of February, and a Chinaman seems +destitute of any appreciation of people who are not Celestials! A +remnant of these people got safely into the Dutch territory, where the +authorities took what arms and ammunition they had, and, very properly, +returned them to the Sarawak Government. They also offered to send a war +steamer and soldiers if desired. So our misfortunes called out the +goodwill of our neighbours. Soon after we returned home, H.M.S. +_Spartan_, Captain Hoste, arrived to protect British interests in +Sarawak. They stayed with us for a while, but the troubles were over, +and the only difficulty was how to make any visitors comfortable or to +feed them. We had to pass round a knife and fork at table for some days, +and there were only a few spoons left to us. On the beds there were hard +mattresses, but no pillows, sheets, or in fact any bed-furniture. Our +guests being travellers and full of resources, slept on their pith hats +for pillows, and used their pocket-knives. A good deal of fun was made +of our privations, and indeed, as no beloved friend was missing, we +could afford to laugh. + +We had all great reason to be thankful for the good behaviour of the +Dyaks during the war. There were no intertribal quarrels, and Mr. +Chambers told me that his Christians among the Balows were in the first +boats which went off to succour the Rajah, when they knew nothing of the +arrival of the steamer, and believed themselves to be facing a great +danger, and fire-arms, which they do not like. This was not the only +time that the Christians were among the bravest when all behaved well--a +fact which recommended their religion to their countrymen, with whom +courage is the first virtue. It was some years after this, however, that +Dyak Christians learnt to fight without taking the heads of their +enemies. + +When we left our house, our servants generally, except James a +Portuguese, and my Bengalee Ayah, fled from the place. But we had an +old Hindoo Syce, who was much attached to us and to the creatures under +his charge. He drove the two ponies we rode into the jungle, where they +looked after themselves, and, living in his cottage next to the stable, +did what he could for the cow and calves. When the rebels filled our +house and appropriated our effects, they broke open the plate-chest, and +melted the silver they found. Then Syce came forward and claimed a +portion of the spoil They gave him a lump of silver with some alloy in +it, the produce of some plated salvers, as his share. He pretended to +help them, but this lump he hid in the earth near his cottage, and, on +our return, triumphantly produced it as what he had saved for us from +the wreck. Some years after, this old man was very ill with an abscess +in his thigh, which he was sure would kill him. Bishop doctored and +nursed him through it, but he had given him a good-sized bag of dollars, +his savings, saying he wished Bishop to be his heir. When he got well +and the money was returned to him, he spent it in paying a visit to his +relations at Trichinopoli. I believe this faithful creature worshipped +the bull of our herd, and it was a great trouble to him that the Chinese +cruelly cut off the tail of the poor animal, thereby depriving him of +the means of whisking off the flies which sting so vehemently in that +climate. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +EVENTS OF 1857. + + +When we were once more at home we found it would be better to go to +Singapore, and from thence to Penang, for a little quiet. We were both +ill, the Bishop seriously so. We wanted for everything, and the bazaar +in Sarawak could not supply us: besides, ours was the only English +dwelling-house left in the place, except the Borneo Company's premises. +Captain Brooke and Mr. Grant with their brides were immediately +expected, and must be housed at the mission while a bungalow was being +built across the water. We left Miss Woolley to take care of the +expected visitors, the children and I went to Singapore in the _Sir +James Brooke_ steamer, and Sir William Hoste gave a passage in H.M.S. +_Spartan_ to the Bishop and Alan Grant. + +I was glad of an opportunity to get my baby vaccinated, which could only +happen at Singapore in those days. We were two months away, and the cool +quiet of Penang Hill was a great refreshment. The first news I heard +there was that Miss Woolley was to be married to Mr. Chambers. This +wedding took place immediately on our return home, the end of July. It +was a great benefit to the Banting Dyaks, for Mrs. Chambers devoted +herself to the women and young girls, and was a true friend to them. She +taught them to sew, and instructed them in morals and religion. When I +went to Banting some years afterwards, I found a set of modest young +women who were much pleased with gifts of needles, thread, and thimbles; +they also enjoyed a game of croquet after the lessons were done, and it +was wonderful to see what smart taps of the mallet were fearlessly given +under their bare feet; for of course the Dyaks do not wear shoes. + +About a month after our return to Sarawak, Captain Brooke's baby boy was +born. No one can tell what a care and anxiety this event was, in a place +where there was no doctor except the Bishop. The well-being of so +important a person as the Rajah mudah's wife, and the birth of the heir +of Sarawak, called forth much sympathy from everybody. Thank God, all +went well; but we said it ought never to happen again--there should be a +medical man whose sole duty it was to care for the bodies of the +community, while the Bishop was free to minister to their spiritual +wants. Soon after there was a public baptism of this boy Basil Brooke, +and his cousin Blanche Grant, in the church, which was full of Malays as +well as English to witness the ceremony. This was the day before the +Rajah set off for England. + +There were many happy days during the next few months, for there were +several English ladies in the place and we were all friends. In October +the Bishop went to Labuan, and while he was away the cholera made its +first appearance at Sarawak, among the Malays. The Rajah muda and I +consulted together what physic should be made ready for those who would +take it. A short time before, a little pamphlet had been sent to us +about the virtues of camphor, and especially its value in cholera. We +made a saturated solution of camphor in brandy, and gave a teaspoonful +of it on moist sugar for a dose, adding three drops of Kayu Puteh oil, +extracted from a Borneon wood and called cajeput oil in England, a very +strong aromatic medicine. This mixture proved itself very useful. If the +patients applied in good time it invariably gave relief to the cramp and +pain in the stomach; if the disease had gone on to sickness it was more +difficult to administer. Sometimes we followed it up with laudanum and +castor oil. + +The Malays suffered very much from this epidemic. Constant funerals were +to be seen on the river, and there was much praying at the mosque. Then +the Chinese were attacked, but not so fatally. Two dead men were, +however, found on our premises; they were strangers to us, but we +supposed they came late at night to the mission for medicine, and, lying +down in the stable or cow-house, died without reaching the house. It +was an anxious time. I used to hang little bags of camphor round the +children's necks, and was very careful of the diet for the household. +Thank God, we had no case either in the school or the house. + +Seven years afterwards the cholera returned much more violently. An +English gun-boat, lying off the town, lost several of her crew; and at +last the Bishop advised them to go to sea and let the sea air blow +through the ship, to carry off the infection. He went on board himself +to see them off, and while they were going down the river two more men +were seized with cholera, and died in half an hour. + +This time the cholera was very fatal among the Dyaks up some of the +rivers. The poor creatures were so terrified that they left their +houses, as in small-pox, and scarcely dared bury their dead. In one +instance they paid a very strong man to carry the dead on his back to a +steep hill, and throw them into the ravine at the bottom. The food +enjoyed by the Dyaks, rotten fish and vegetables, no doubt inclined them +to get cholera. The first time of its visitation was after a great fruit +season when durian, that rich and luscious fruit, had been particularly +abundant. A durian is somewhat larger than a cocoa-nut in its inner +husk; it has a hard prickly rind, but inside lie the seeds, enclosed in +a pulp which might be made of cream, garlic, sugar, and green almonds. +It is very heating to the blood, for when there are plenty of durians +the people always suffer more from boils and skin disease than usual. We +never permitted them to enter our house, for we could not bear the smell +of them. But many English people liked them; and they were so much +esteemed by the Dyaks, that when the fruit was ripe they encamped for +the night under the trees. When a durian fell to the ground with a great +thud, they all jumped up to look for it, as the fallen fruit belongs to +the finder, and they loved it so that they willingly sacrificed their +sleep for it. Woe be to the man, however, on whose head the fruit falls, +for it is so hard and heavy it may kill him.[7] + + [Footnote 7: The Dyaks believe there is a special place in the + other world, after death, for those who are killed by the fall + of a durian.] + +In February three new missionaries came from England--Mr. Hacket, Mr. +Glover, and Mr. Chalmers. The two last came straight to Sarawak on their +arrival at Singapore, Mr. Hacket and his wife about a month afterwards. +They were all from St. Augustine's College, Canterbury, thoroughly good +people, and a great happiness to us. Mr. Chalmers was settled among the +Land Dyaks at Peninjauh, afterwards at the Quop. Mr. Glover went to +Banting, to work among the Balows. The Hackets stayed at Sarawak: indeed +they all remained with us until Easter, when their ordination took +place. The Easter services that year, 1858, were very delightful. All +these missionaries were more or less musical, and Mr. Hacket adorned the +church as it had never been decked before. Flowers and ferns, and +lycopodium moss, were always to be had in abundance; and the polished +wooden walls were brightened by some beautiful scroll texts, printed by +a friend in England. We had full choral service on Easter Sunday, and +the school-children sang their part beautifully; indeed, our new comers +were astonished to find such good material for a choir in little native +boys. + +I had been fully occupied with preparations for these missionaries while +the bishop was at Labuan; some additions to the comfort of the house for +the Hackets; a new cook-house and servants' rooms near, to build; and +the church to reroof. The balean attaps were as good as ever, but the +strips of wood on which they hung were attacked by white ants, and had +to be renewed or the shingles would have fallen through. Such +responsibilities fell to my share when the Bishop was away, and heavy +cares they were when money was not abundant. The prospect of three new +missionaries was, however, worth any trouble. They came to teach the +Dyaks, who had so long waited for teachers, and we hoped they would +settle themselves among them for many years. In this hope we were to be +disappointed. Mr. Glover fell ill of dysentery at Banting, and before +two years had passed away was obliged to remove to a cold climate. He +went to Australia, and has been doing good work there ever since. Mr. +Chalmers was a very valuable missionary, and his labours among the Quop +and Merdang Dyaks bore much fruit in after years; but he also fell ill +from the climate, and the food which was attainable up country. In 1860, +he also made up his mind to follow Mr. Glover to Australia. There are no +doubt many difficulties for Englishmen living in Sarawak jungles. Some +become acclimatized to them, others cannot bear the low diet, the +loneliness, the apathy and indifference of the Dyaks. The Bishop was +once accused, by a person who ought to have known better, that he was +too apt to gather his clergy at Sarawak and keep them from their Dyak +parishes: but it was a necessary part of the Bishop's work to keep a +home where the missionaries could come for change and refreshment; where +they could enjoy a more generous diet, and the society of English +friends; where they could consult a medical man, and get some hints how +to treat the maladies of the Dyaks--for they expected all the +missionaries to know the art of healing, having had more or less +experience of the Bishop's skill. Mr. Hacket was consumptive, but +Sarawak is the best climate in the world for that disease: he got much +stronger with us, and might have lived many years there, but he was too +nervous for so unsettled a country. We were often subjected to panics +for many months after the Chinese insurrection, and though we old +inhabitants took it very easily, Mr. Hacket always thought his wife and +child in danger. I remember, one day a Malay was being tried in the +court-house, when he, by a sudden spring, escaped from the police, and +snatching a sword from a bystander, ran amuck through the bazaar, +wounding two or three people he met. The hue and cry in the town fired +the imaginations of the timid. People came running to the house for +shelter, bringing their goods and chattels, and all sorts of tales--"The +Chinese were coming from Sambas," and all sorts of nonsense. Then, Mrs. +Hacket fainting on the sofa, and the servants all leaving their work to +listen, and look out of the verandah, provoked us extremely: we +administered sal volatile and a good scolding, and sent everybody off to +their business again. But those scenes were very trying to the nerves. +That a Malay should run amuck (amok, in Malay) with anger or jealousy, +or a fit of madness arising from both these passions, was an occasional +event all through our Sarawak life, but it was no more alarming in 1858 +than in former years. It was the breach in the general feeling of +security under the Sarawak Government, which for a time magnified every +little disturbance of the peace into a public danger. + +Our school was enriched this year by, first, seven new Chinese boys, +then four more and four girls, the captives of the Lundu Dyaks, ransomed +by Captain Brooke. Those children were, some of them, miserable objects, +covered with sores from neglect. One boy had been set to carry red wood +which blisters the skin, another was badly burnt. Mrs. Stahl took them +in hand, dressed their wounds, nursed them, clothed them, and soon they +looked quite nice, sitting on a bench at the end of the church with a +monitor to take charge of them, for they were still unbaptized--they +were old enough to be instructed first, except two of the little girls +who were immediately received into the Church. About this time a little +Dyak boy, Nigo by name, was paying a visit to the school, and was +baptized in church, answering for himself. He was about six years old, +and as he stood at the font his face was lit up with so sweet a smile it +touched us all. Mab begged him to stay at Sarawak; but the Dyaks never +part with their children, and in this case it was not necessary, for +Nigo's father was a Christian. It was a great happiness to us that none +of our boys were killed in the insurrection; three got away to Sambas, +the rest came back to the school one by one, having all escaped the +Dyaks. The Christian goldsmith, too, who was put in prison by the kunsi +for trying to warn us of the attack on the 18th of February, got to +Sambas safe, and afterwards returned to us at Sarawak. + +This summer a doctor came out to Sarawak with his family. I heard of +their proposed arrival some months before, and wrote to Mrs. C---- to +beg they would leave their elder children in England, and only bring the +babies with them, for the little ones thrive well enough at Sarawak. I +also gave a plain unvarnished account of the place. But Mr. C----, +having made up his mind to bring all his family out, put the letter in +his pocket; and we were very sorry when they arrived, a party of nine, +having lost one child at Singapore. They only stayed one month; the +lady was so disgusted with the place--"no shops, no amusements, always +hot weather, and food so dear!"--that she persuaded her husband to take +advantage of some difference he had with the Government, and return in +the same steamer by which they came out. I, however, gained by their +departure, for they brought a sweet young girl with them as governess, +and as she did not wish to return so soon, she remained with me, and +became Mab's governess and friend. We liked her very much, and I cannot +help mentioning an incident of her spirit and courage. One of our +children being ill, I had taken her down to Santubong, where we had a +seaside cottage; but as the house was full of clergy preparing for +ordination, I left Miss McKee to do the housekeeping and take care of +our guests for a few days. She slept at the top of the house, and little +Edith in a cot beside her. It was late at night, and the moon shining +into Miss McKee's room, when she woke and saw a Chinaman standing at the +foot of her bed with a great knife in his hand. She felt under her +pillow if the keys were safe, for the box of silver was put in her room +while I was absent; then she jumped up, shouting "Thieves!" with all her +might. The man ran and she after him, down a long passage, down the +staircase, out of the house, by which time her cries had roused the +gentlemen--the Bishop was nursing a sick man in fever, and was not in +the house that night. They looked out of their doors, asking what was +the matter? However, Miss McKee had by this time made up her mind that +the thief was our own cook; she had seen enough of him by her courageous +pursuit to be sure of it. No doubt he thought she would be fast asleep, +and he should carry off the silver and the keys without discovery. Only +a servant of the house would have known where they were kept. This young +lady afterwards married Mr. Koch, one of the missionaries. He came from +Ceylon, and eventually returned to his native country, where I hope they +are still. + +Now we were again without a doctor, and in the autumn Mrs. Brooke +expected her second confinement. This brings me to what we always called +the sad, dark time at Sarawak. The weather was rainy beyond any former +experience. We always had heavy rains in November, but this year they +began in October, and the sky scarcely seemed to clear. In October, God +gave us a little son, and in a usual way I should have been quite well +at the end of three weeks, and across the water to see Mrs. Brooke many +times before her confinement. But a long influenza cold kept me at home, +and the weather being always wet, there was no prospect of getting over +in a boat without a drenching, so only notes passed between us. + +On November 15th, Mrs. Brooke had another boy, and though there was some +anxiety at the time, she seemed pretty well until the fourth day, when +inflammation set in with puerperal fever, and at the end of ten days our +much-loved friend was gone to her home in heaven, leaving her husband +and children desolate. It seemed so impossible that so bright a creature +should pass away from us, that to the last day we believed she would +recover. That afternoon she called her husband and brothers and sisters +to her bedside, and said, "I have tried hard to live for your sakes, but +I cannot;" then she calmly and sweetly bade them good-bye, and no +earthly cares touched her afterwards. Very sad hearts were left behind, +but her example remained to us and called us upwards. Her short life had +been continual self-sacrifice. She gave up her beautiful home in +Scotland for love, and the prospect of doing good to Sarawak. On her +arrival there the most rigid economy was practised, on account of the +losses in the Chinese insurrection. A mat house, called "The Refuge," +neither airy nor comfortable, was her only home; but it was always +bright with Annie's good taste and cheerful spirits. Then came the last +sacrifice, her husband and children. These, too, she laid at her Lord's +feet with a willing heart. Everybody went into mourning; for in so small +a place it was quite a calamity to lose the head of our little society. +But to the Bishop this event was a great trial. He had spent most of his +time, day and night, striving to save this precious life. He was very +fond of her; he ministered to her as her priest; from his hands she +received the Blessed Sacrament a few hours before she died, and he heard +her say with almost her last breath, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;" +but he had also to witness agony which he could not relieve, and no +effort could prolong her life. It made him quite ill for some time, and +all the happy holiday days passed away with Annie Brooke. Government +House was never again, in our time, a bright and cheerful home: it +returned to its bachelor ways; and business, not social pleasure, +presided there. On Christmas Day, exactly a month after Mrs. Brooke died +and was laid in the churchyard, we placed a bouquet of flowers from her +garden on the altar, but there could be no festivities. The Chinese +Christians had their feast, and the school-children; but we who had lost +our companion and friend could not rejoice. It was sad enough to go over +the water and see Annie's empty room, kept just as she had left it, and +no sound in the house except the wails of the motherless baby, who we +feared would soon follow his mother to the grave. Captain Brooke was +obliged to go to England very soon after his wife's death; the Rajah was +struck with paralysis, and it was at first doubtful whether he would +recover. In the midst of all this sorrow I had the trouble of losing my +faithful servant, Mrs. Stahl, who took all the care of the +school-children off my hands. Her husband had found more lucrative work +at Singapore, and sent for her to join him. It was a grief to both of +us, and a great addition to my responsibilities. Mrs. William Channon, +then a widow, was installed matron of the school, but she had neither +knowledge nor experience. She did as well as she could, with continual +supervision. The sick children now came to me to be doctored early every +morning. I also had a large sewing-class of boys, and a tailor to teach +us how to cut out and make their peculiar-shaped clothes: however, we +soon learnt to do without the tailor. Mrs. Hacket taught the little ones +to sew, and I had the elder ones from seven to ten every morning. +Sometimes I gave a music lesson between whiles; sometimes I had to leave +them for a while, first to see what the cook had brought from the bazaar +for their day's food, and to give out the rice which was kept in my +store-room; also the cocoa-nut oil, which trimmed the lamps of both +house and school. Sometimes I read aloud to my boys, stories from +history. They could understand English quite well. + +While our spirits were at their lowest ebb, and the rain still pouring +with little intermission, we had a visit from H.M.S. _Esk_, Sir Robert +J. McClure captain. He did his best to cheer us. How kind and bright he +was I shall never forget, nor how he used to sit patiently under a tree +in the rain to be photographed, simply to amuse us. There are certainly +some people who have more of the wine of life than others, and who are a +wonderful refreshment to their friends. It was during this year, 1858, +that we built our seaside cottage at Santubong--Sandrock Cottage, as we +called it, which sounds rather cockney; but as it stood on the sand, +with great boulders of granite rock scattered about, it seemed the most +appropriate name. Santubong is the most beautiful of the two mouths of +the Sarawak River, but not as safe as the Morotabas for ships to enter. +The Bishop had a mission yacht this year; consequently he was away, +visiting the mission stations. The next year he sailed the _Sarawak +Cross_ to Labuan. The voyage took only one week either way, whereas in +other years he had to go to Singapore, more than four hundred miles off, +in order to get to Labuan by P. and O. steamer, or any man-of-war +chancing to go there. Months instead of weeks were consumed by this +means. + +Our cottage took three weeks to build. We sent three men down with a +thousand palm-leaf attaps for the outside walls and roof, and thirty +mats to make inner walls. The men went into the jungle and felled wood +for posts and rafters, then nibong palms were split into strips for the +floors. The whole building was tied together with rattans, like all +Malay houses. There were three rooms, twelve feet by fifteen each, and +two little bath-rooms. A verandah ran along the whole length of the +front, and this was planked to prevent little feet from slipping +through. But the rooms were covered with thick mats, and the floor was +so springy it danced as you moved. We put very little furniture into +these rooms, and the inside walls were only eight feet high, so that +though you could not see into the next room, you could hear all that +went on in all three rooms. The cook-house and servants' room were +separate. + +As early as the year 1848, the Rajah had a little Dyak house built on +high poles, under the mountain of Santubong. It was an inconvenient +little place, into which you climbed up a steep ladder--only one room, +in fact, with a verandah; but we spent some happy days there, for the +beauty of that shore made the house a secondary consideration. A small +Malay village nestled in cocoa-nut palms at the foot of Santubong; in +front lay a smooth stretch of sand, and a belt of casuarina-trees always +whispering, without any apparent wind to move their slender spines. The +deer in those days stole out of the jungle at night to eat the sea-foam +which lay in flakes along the sand, and wild pigs could often be shot in +a moonlight stroll under the trees. In the morning, we used to set off +as soon as it was light to a fresh spring in the jungle, where we took +our bath. Dawdling along the edge of the waves, then quite warm to our +bare feet, with towels and leaf buckets in our hands, we reached the +little stream, running under the shade of tall trees in which the +wood-pigeons were cooing. How delicious and fresh that water was! and +every sense was charmed at the same time, unless some stinging ants +walked over our feet, which was not uncommon. + +Then we trudged home again, with the wet towels folded on our heads to +shield us from the sun, who by that time was an enemy to be shunned. + +A little colony of Chinese were settled here in 1852, but they never +took to the place; the soil was perhaps not good enough for their +gardens. In 1857 the Malays fell upon them and killed them all, because +they were of the same tribe as the rebels, although they had nothing +whatever to do with the insurrection. When we were building our cottage +on the sands two Chinese skulls were dug up. We were all indignant at +this wanton cruelty, but unable to resent it, except by the expression +of our opinion, for the English were a mere handful of individuals in +Sarawak. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE MALAY PLOT. + + +Our cottage at Santubong was a source of much pleasure to many people. +We often lent it to invalids, sometimes to newly married couples, who +certainly had a good opportunity of studying each other's characters and +tastes in that lonely solitude. + +Sometimes we sent down all the children from the school, who wanted +sea-air and a holiday. Indeed, when we were staying there, we always had +relays of children to play on the sands and enjoy themselves. We had a +place staked round with strong hurdles, where we could bathe in safety +from sharks and alligators, who both infested the coast. I have often +seen quantities of jelly-fish and octopus sticking on the outside of the +hurdles: they sting dreadfully, so they were quite welcome to stay +there. + +During one of our visits to Santubong I remember a timber-ship lying off +the mouth of the river, to lade planks from a saw-mill which was on the +other side. One day three sailors came ashore to fill a cask with fresh +water; there was a spring among the rocks close to the water's edge. As +they neared the shore, the three men jumped into the sea for a swim; but +suddenly, one of them threw up his arms and disappeared. In vain his +comrades searched for him, but the next day his body, partly devoured by +a shark, was thrown upon the rocks. No doubt he was seized and dragged +under water. His comrades were much distressed, for he was a favourite +among the crew. Frank buried him, and helped the men to put a wooden +cross on the grave. + +In the north-west monsoon we sometimes went to Buntal, a bay on the +other side of the mountain of Santubong. No soul resided there, but it +was the resort of great flocks of wild-fowl at that season. We rowed +into the bay while it was still high tide, then left the boat; and our +men made little huts of boughs some distance from the shore, where we +could sit without being perceived. As the tide ebbed the birds +arrived--tall storks, fishing eagles, gulls, curlew, plover, godwits, +and many others we did not know. They flew in long lines, till they +seemed to vanish and reappear, circling round and round, then swooping +down upon the sand where the receding waves were leaving their supper. I +never saw a prettier sight. The tall storks seemed to act like +sentinels, watching while the others fed. At a note of alarm they all +rose in the air, flew about screaming, and then settled again on the +sands in long lines, the smaller birds together, the larger ones in +ascending rows. At last, alas! a gun fired into their midst caused death +and dismay. A few fell dead, and the rest fled to some happier shore, +where no destroying man could mar their happiness. And there are many +such spots in Borneo where no human foot ever trod, and where trees, +flowers, and insects flourish exceedingly; where the birds sing songs of +praise which are only heard by their Maker, and where the wild animals +of the forest live and die unmolested. There is always something +delightful to me in this idea. We are apt to think that this earth is +made for man, but, after many ages, there are still some parts of his +domain unconquered, some fair lands where the axe, the fire, and the +plough are still unknown. + +While we were at Santubong, in 1859, we were distressed to hear that Mr. +Fox and Mr. Steele, two Government officers in charge of a fort at +Kenowit, had been murdered by some Dyaks, whom they were judging in the +court-house. We were very grieved for our friends, especially for Mr. +Fox, who was for two years with us as catechist in the mission, and only +left because he could not make up his mind to be ordained. However, he +was most faithful in the performance of his duties at that lonely fort, +and most blameless in his life; we could only regret the loss of so good +a young man. We did not at that time connect this event with any general +enmity to Englishmen among the natives, but only thought that +particular tribe of Kenowits were not to be trusted. + +It was really a much more serious matter. Mr. Charles Johnson went up to +Kenowit directly, taking the Bishop's yacht, the _Sarawak Cross_, as his +floating fortress. He sent a thousand Dyaks to attack the fortified +village of the Kenowits, who were engaged in the murders. These Dyaks +were repulsed, but he led them on again himself with two hundred Sarawak +Malays, good men and true. They took a brass gun overland to the +village, and pounded them for a day; then the Malays and Dyaks attacked +and fired the place, and took it. + +There were many killed, but it was their own fault; for, before +attacking, a flag of truce had been hoisted, and all who would were +invited to submit, and promised their lives, but only a few women and +children availed themselves of it and were saved. Tanee the brave was +killed, and Hadji Mahomet. It was found that these traitors had spread a +report that all the English at Sarawak and at Labuan, as well as at +Bunjermassin, had been killed, and this was so thoroughly believed that +the Kenowits thought they had only to kill Mr. Fox and Mr. Steele, in +order to possess themselves of the arms and goods in the fort with +impunity. It was true that the Malays at Bunjermassin had risen upon the +Europeans there, and killed twenty Dutch officials and their families; +also four of the German missionaries living among the Dyaks, and a Mr. +Mattley, with his wife and three children, who used to live at Labuan. +The Dutch took summary vengeance for this massacre, but in spite of that +the Malays at Coti killed the Europeans who lived there; so that +neighbouring countries showed a bad example to our people, and we were +afraid that religious fanaticism might have something to do with the +hatred to Christians, whether Dutch or English. + +In every country there are unfortunately some bad men, who are +irreclaimable by kindness or severity. Such were the two who instigated +a plot to murder all the English in the Sarawak territory, and take the +Government to themselves. The oldest and most shameless of these men was +the Datu Patinghi of Sarawak, and to tell his story I must go back to +the early days of Sarawak. When Sir James Brooke first visited Mudah +Hassim, the Malay Rajah, he found him endeavouring to put down a +rebellion among his subjects. After a time Sir James Brooke helped him +with the guns of his yacht and the services of his blue jackets. The +enemy submitted, and then he begged their lives of Mudah Hassim. It was +with very great difficulty this unprecedented favour was granted. + +Gapoor and his followers were pardoned, and when Sarawak was given over +to Sir James Brooke by the Sultan of Bruni, it was naturally supposed +that this man who owed his life to the English Rajah would remain his +faithful friend and follower. He was made the chief datu, or magistrate, +of whom there were three--the Datu Patinghi, the Tumangong, and the +Bandhar. These Malay chiefs were members of the Council, and represented +Home Department, War Office, and Treasury in the State. For some time +all seemed to go well, but the Rajah soon found that the Datu Patinghi +could not be restrained from oppressing the Dyaks under his charge, +levying more than the proper tax, or obliging them to buy whatever he +wished to sell, at exorbitant prices. His power over the Dyaks was +therefore taken away, and a fixed income given him to preclude +temptation. When the Rajah was in England, in 1851, this Datu intrigued +with the Bruni Malays to upset the Government; he mounted yellow +umbrellas, a sign of royalty, and arrogated power to himself which might +have been mischievous had he been more popular with the natives. But he +had many relations among the high Malays of the place, and it was a +question whether they would resent his being publicly disgraced. Captain +Brooke told them plainly that he must be exiled, but that it should be +done in the most cautious way, and appearances should be saved. Datu +Patinghi was therefore advised to go a pilgrimage to Mecca. Money and +servants were supplied him, but he had no choice about it. We all hoped +he would never return. + +About a year afterwards Sir James Brooke said to me, "Did you ever feel +pleasure at hearing of the death of an old friend?" Before I could +consider this knotty question, he added Gapoor had died of small-pox at +Mecca. It was only a report, and proved untrue. Datu came back a hadji, +but was desired to go and live at Malacca the rest of his days. In 1859 +he begged to be allowed to return to Sarawak, and, as it was hoped he +could not be ungrateful for so much kindness and forbearance, he was +permitted; but he was only biding his time. After his return to Sarawak +he married his daughter to Seriff Bujang, the brother of Seriff +Messahore, whose rascality and bad faith were on a par with his own. +Bujang was a quiet creature enough, drawn into the wicked plots of his +brother and father-in-law, but they were bad to the core. A Seriff is +supposed to be a descendant of the Prophet Mahomet, at any rate he is an +Arab, and Messahore was said to be invulnerable and sacred in his +person. He was a fine, handsome creature, with insinuating manners, but +there was nothing more to say in his favour. He was at the bottom of +every disturbance in the country, but was cunning enough to keep himself +in the background. Directly a plot miscarried, he came forward zealously +to punish the wrong-doers. + +He instigated the murder of Mr. Fox and Mr. Steele; nay, it was intended +to be a general massacre of all the English in Sarawak territory; but by +a mistake of the Kenowits these two unfortunates were killed +prematurely. The day had not arrived, and this led to the discovery of +the plot. When Mr. C. Johnson went with an armed force to Kenowit, +Seriff Messahore had already killed the fort men, who had only executed +his own orders. For some time he, the guilty one, escaped detection. At +last some Christian Dyaks of Lundu and Banting disclosed to their +missionaries that Malays had visited them to say they had better turn +Mahometans, for soon there would be no English left in the country. +These stories being communicated by the Bishop to Mr. Johnson, he +consulted the Malay members of the council and other trustworthy native +friends, and it was evident they knew there was good reason for anxiety, +as they advised all the English to wear firearms, even the ladies. + +At last the rumours of threats were traced to old Gapoor, the +ex-Patinghi, and he was again banished the country by order of the +council. Seriffs Messahore and Bujang, being connected with him by +marriage, were also suspected. Messahore was warned that if he came to +Kuching he would be treated as an enemy. Nevertheless he advanced up the +river; his boat was greeted by a shower of balls, and he ignominiously +fled. When the glamour was thus taken from him everybody was ready to +divulge what they knew of the plot, and that a pension of six hundred +rupees a year was promised to any one who would kill Mr. C. Johnson. The +Rajah was in England, and known to be in bad health. Very few English +men-of-war visited Sarawak at that time. Rumours were got up at Bruni +that the Rajah was in disgrace with his own queen. This was the +consequence of the commission of inquiry about piracy, which had taken +place in 1858, by order of the English Parliament; for though the +results of that commission thoroughly exculpated Sir James Brooke from +any blame, there was never any _amende honourable_ made for subjecting +him to such an indignity. It was never understood by the natives as +anything but a slur on the Rajah's character, and was a terrible injury +to his prestige for a time. Indeed, it was the seed of the Malay plot; +and if we had all been killed, our own English Government would have +been the remote cause of our death. It is no doubt difficult for +Englishmen to understand the feelings of Malays and Dyaks. We are +accustomed in England to find fault with our rulers, and submit to them +all the same. But in the East it is different: no breath of blame must +touch the Rajah, nor can he be arraigned before any court, except the +throne of God. + +Fatima, Seriff Bujang's wife, was an old friend of mine. She had always +visited me from the time of our first arrival at Sarawak, and was then a +very handsome girl, with a pale, clear complexion, and fine hair and +eyes. We took a great interest in her marriage, and Seriff Bujang +frequently came to our house. He was apparently fond of Mab, and liked +to hear her tell fairy tales. Mab spoke Malay very well, and was always +popular with the natives, to whom she would sing, dance, or relate +Cinderella, the White Cat, or the Three Bears, etc. It was curious to +see a grave-looking Malay sitting to listen to fairy stories; still more +so when all the time he was party to a plot for the destruction of the +household he visited. He was more weak than wicked; and two years after +that he died. I had occasion to visit some Malays in his kampong after +his death, and found poor Fatima bereft of all her ornaments and gay +dresses, and working as a drudge in the house. Widows are little +accounted of in Eastern households. + +To return to the events of October, 1859. + +A timber-ship, the _Planet_, was lying in the river, and Mr. Johnson +requested that the women and children of the mission should be sent on +board until the panic passed away, and the old Datu was got safely out +of the place. The fort and Government House were manned and armed, and +the rest of the Europeans sheltered there. The Hacket family went down +at once, and in the evening we sent Miss McKee and the two youngest +children with her; but Mab was ill of fever, and could not be moved. So +the Bishop and I stayed with her, and ten Chinamen guarded our house. + +Mr. Chalmers had come from Merdang with news that some of those Dyaks +had joined the Datu Hadji, and also some bad Lundus, who had been +punished for sedition four years before. We all sat up that night; but I +was too much occupied with my sick child to be nervous about anything +else. The night passed over without any rising of the disaffected, and +the next day Gapoor consented to leave the country quietly, finding no +chief Malays would stand by him, and to be taken in a Government +gunboat to a brig just leaving the river. Thus, through God's mercy and +the loyalty of the people, no harm came of this plot, except that Mr. +and Mrs. Hacket decided to leave the mission, not being strong enough to +stand such alarms. They went to Malacca, where he became Government +chaplain, and died there of consumption, after some years' service. + +The heat of Sarawak climate was so injurious to our child Mab, who had +frequent attacks of fever, that as soon as the place was quiet again, we +resolved to pay another visit to England. The Bishop's health was much +shaken, and the doctors at Singapore ordered him home at once. But it +was winter, and we were afraid of taking our children too quickly into +the rigorous cold of England; therefore we took a passage in the +_Bahiana_, a steamer which had brought out a telegraph cable to lay +between Singapore and Batavia, and having accomplished her purpose, was +returning empty to England. The Bishop went with us as far as Bombay, +and then took P. and O. boat to England; whilst we called first at +Mauritius, then at the Cape of Good Hope, staying some days at each +place, and at the latter adding several passengers to our small party. +We proceeded very happily until we were within a day's steam of the +Island of St. Vincent, off the coast of Africa; then the great crank of +the steam-engine snapped in two, and we had to sail. It took us ten days +to beat up to the island, for a large screw steamer was never intended +to be propelled by sails. + +We began to have gloomy forebodings of the time which must elapse before +we could reach England, sailing at this rate, when we saw, lying in the +roads at St. Vincent, a very large West Indian steamer on her way home. +It was difficult to communicate with this ship, because she lay in +quarantine, yellow flag flying; and we did not know whether she had +yellow fever on board or not. Our captain, however, called us all +together, and said, "I hoped to have found some provisions in this +island, to add to our stores; but I find there is nothing." The island +seemed just a bare rock, with one solitary palm-tree growing by the +office door, and not a blade of grass. It was difficult to imagine what +provisions there could be, except the coal left by ships to supply +passing steamers. "It will be necessary," added Captain Grenfell, "that +some of you should go home in the _Magnolia_, West Indian steamer, for +we have not food on board for all, and cannot expect to be less than +another month reaching England under sail: therefore you must each of +you decide to-night what you will do; and if you choose to go home in +the _Magnolia_, I will pay your passage. But I ought to tell you that +probably there are cases of yellow fever on board that ship; for it is +the time of year when it is rife at the South American stations." + +Here was a problem to solve in the night! Should I take my children on +board a ship where there was probable infection, or should I subject my +husband to harassing anxiety about us for a whole month? In the morning +I decided to go home in the _Magnolia_; and I was rewarded when we +climbed up into that great ship, with two hundred passengers on board, +by finding that there was not a single case of yellow fever, or anything +infectious. We had a delightful ten days' passage, stopping a few hours +at Lisbon, but not allowed to land, and then straight to Southampton. My +only regret was leaving Captain Grenfell, who had been so kind to the +children all the way. + +The _Bahiana_ took just a month to get to England from St. Vincent. + + + + +PART III. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE CHILDREN'S CHAPTER. + + +In 1861 we again returned to our Eastern home, leaving our three +children behind, and taking only our baby girl for companion. What a +difference it makes in India, to "leave the children behind!"--a common +fate indeed for parents, but not the less to be deplored. We used to +think and speak of Sarawak as home until 1861; but ever after, we spoke +of going home to our children, for where the treasure is there must the +heart be also. To do the work so that the time might pass quickly and +peacefully, to live upon the mails from England, to carry on two lives +as it were, one in the present, the other in the pictures our English +letters presented--such at any rate was my fate, though my husband was +too true a missionary to feel as I did. + +Most of our old Sarawak friends had either died or gone away when we +returned in '61, but the mission grew more and more interesting as +Christian Churches sprang up on the Dyak rivers. Four new missionaries +came out soon after our arrival. Mr. and Mrs. Abe, Mr. Zehnder, Mr. +Mesney, and Mr. Crossland, the two latter from St. Augustine's College, +Canterbury, from whence had formerly come those two good men, Mr. +Chalmers and Mr. Glover. They had both gone to Australia on account of +their health, but the teaching of Mr. Chalmers had left its mark among +the land Dyaks of Murdang and the Quop, so that Mr. Abe, who was +afterwards placed on that station, reaped the harvest which had been +sown with many prayers two years before. Mr. Mesney succeeded Mr. Glover +at Banting, and its many branch missions; and Mr. Crossland went farther +off, to the Dyaks, on the Undop, where he eventually built a church and +gathered a little flock of Christians about him. Mr. Richardson came as +catechist about the same time, and after staying a short time at Lundu, +built himself a house among the Selaku Dyaks at Sedemac, in the country +towards Sambas. He was much beloved by those simple people, who speak +quite a different language to the Lundus. They exerted themselves to +build their own church of substantial balean-wood, and their women +learnt to pray as well as the men. "To learn to pray" is the Dyak +description of a Christian. "What will you do," asked a missionary, "to +bring those around you to Christ?" "I will teach them to pray," was the +answer. And surely this is the great distinction between the Christian +and the heathen--the one has communion with his Father in heaven, an +all-powerful, wise, and loving Friend; the other may cherish some vague +belief and worship of an unknown God, but has neither love nor trust to +carry him above this world's troubles and trials. + +Another baby was added to our family in May, 1862, whose mother died at +her birth. This little one stayed with us only seventeen months, and was +a great happiness to me; then Sir James Brooke took her to England. +However, it was a pleasant chapter as long as it lasted. + +Julia, one of our original school-girls, became very useful to me at +this time. We had taken her home with us in '59, and sent her to a +training-school for teachers in Dublin, so that she was quite competent +on our return to take the management of the girls' school. We had eight +girls in the house, and a few day-scholars from the town. Lessons used +to go on in a room on the basement, where of course I was +superintendent, and they learnt sewing in the afternoon. Julia was a +very gentle mistress, and I was feeling very happy about my girls, when +I found to my sorrow that Julia had an admirer, and I must make up my +mind to part with my child who had lived with us since she was four +years old. Such natural events must not be considered trials, but the +difficulty of replacing her was insuperable. I was obliged at last to +send my girls to Mrs. Abe, at the Quop Station, for I was too often away +in the mission-boat with the Bishop to keep them at the mission-house. +This was not until 1865, however. Poor Mildred felt parting with "her +girls," as she called them, very much, and often said, "Mamma, if Sarah +and Fanny might come back we would never, never quarrel any more." Are +not such pricks of conscience common to us all when our dear ones leave +us? But the past never returns! + +In 1863, the Bishop built a charming little yawl for mission work. The +_Fanny_ was just suited, from her light draught of water, to cross the +bars of the rivers, and she was a very good sea-boat too. Not only was +she wanted to take the Bishop on his missionary, tours, but she brought +the missionaries to Sarawak when, they came for ordinations, or the +annual synod; also when they were sick, and required medical aid or +change. Very few clergymen know much about the management of boats, and +native crafts are very unsafe, so that until the Bishop had a yacht many +accidents used to occur, not actually dangerous, for the natives swim +like fishes, but drenchings and loss of goods from the upsetting of +boats. In the north-east monsoon _Fanny_ was thatched over and laid +snugly up a creek, but all the south-west monsoon she was very useful; +and no one wanted to travel about, if they could help it, during the wet +tempestuous weather which prevailed from November to March. + +The Bishop paid his annual visit to Labuan in any steamer which happened +to be going. We had the great advantage of frequent visits from an +English gunboat, for the admiral of the Chinese seas had orders from +England to tell off one gun-boat for the two stations of Labuan and +Sarawak. This arose from our being also blest with the presence of an +English consul. But after he and his wife had remained two years at +Sarawak, they were heartily tired of the dulness of their lives, and did +their best to get removed to a more stirring station. However, the +recognition of England gave confidence to native traders and security to +the well disposed, so that there ensued a time of peace such as we had +not experienced during our former sojourns in the country. + +[Illustration: Tommy. Fanny. Mary. Mab. Sarah. Nietfong. + +SCHOOL CHILDREN. _Page_ 194.] + +I think the history of our life during these years may be partly told by +the letters I wrote to my children at home, or extracts from them; so +that this may be called the children's chapter. + + Sunday before Easter, 1862. + + MY DARLING MAB, + + I am glad you are not here, for it is very, very hot, and you + would probably have a bad headache. Julia is sitting in the + verandah teaching Polly, Sarah, Fanny, and Phoebe the Easter + hymn for next Sunday. Ayah is walking up and down with Mildred, + and Louis Koch is running about, making her laugh. I must tell + you how we spend the day. Papa gets up at five, and takes a ride + on his pony. I make the tea at six, and cut bread and butter for + Ayah and Julia, and Samchoon, one of the boys who has had fever + and wants feeding up. The bell calls us to church at seven, but + I don't go till the afternoon. The gardener brings me a tray of + flowers, and I make the nosegays for the day. Then I go + downstairs and see the butter made. The boy brings in a great + jar of milk, with which he mixes some warm water; into this he + puts a long piece of bamboo, with cross pieces fixed in it like + the spokes of a wheel. This he twirls round and round in the jar + till the butter comes. Then he takes it out with his black + hands, and I carry it off and wash and salt it. We only get five + ounces now at a time, though there are six cows in milk; but the + calves are such miserable little things they have to be helped + first, and fed with rice-gruel also. The butter finished, I go + up to the sewing-class, who are very busy making their Easter + clothes, both boys and girls; and I help them with my + sewing-machine until half-past ten, only running away + twice--once to see what the school cook has brought for their + breakfast, and then to order our own. Then we all bathe and + breakfast, and Ayah goes away for two hours for her breakfast + and midday nap; and I take care of Mildred, which is, I own, the + hardest part of my day's work, for the little restless thing + will never let me sit down, and is up to all sorts of mischief. + At two o'clock Ayah comes and sings Mildred to sleep, with the + same old tune of "Doo doo baby" which you used to sing to your + dolls. I think in the next box I have from home you might send + your old friends Sarah and Fanny a doll each, and dress them + yourself. Our Malay Tuan Ku was here the other day and asked + after you; he remembered your Malay fairy tales. + + * * * * * + + MY BELOVED CHILD, + + Our letters were very welcome last Sunday, _Easter Sunday_, + telling us good news of you all. Our church was very gay with + flowers and moss ferns; and the font was filled with large pink + water-lilies, whose beautiful round green leaves, a foot wide at + least, looked quite lovely round the white shell font. All holy + week and Easter Monday and Tuesday we had full service at seven + o'clock in the morning, papa preaching a short sermon from the + altar. It was delightfully cool at that hour, and began the day + so pleasantly. I always love Easter, when all our dear ones seem + to be gathered to us in Christ our Lord, whether those in Heaven + or those far away--all one family, and Christ's children through + God the Father's love and mercy. I have been very busy. The + school-children had all new clothes for Easter. We worked + diligently for three hours every morning. The jackets were made + of the Irish gingham I brought from home. This week is holiday, + and Julia and I have had a fine wash, and have clear-starched + the Bishop's sleeves and ruffles--such a business! My hand aches + to-day with lifting the heavy smoothing-iron, which is not iron, + but a large brass box, hollow and filled with hot charcoal. We + shall get more used to it in time. Mrs. Stahl used to do it. Now + she is gone it is quite impossible to let the Kling Dobie touch + papa's sleeves; they would soon be torn to ribbons. I gave the + school a treat on Easter Tuesday. They had two soup-tureens full + of syllabub, plum cake, and pine-apple puffs. My cook stared + when I said, "Make forty large pine-apple puffs." However, they + were for his own countrymen--he is Chinese. I thought at first + he understood English, for he always said "Yes" to my orders; + but it was his one word. After the school-children had finished + off with fruit and native cakes, they had, what they like best + of all, quantities of crackers, which filled the house with the + smell of gunpowder, and frightened baby Mildred out of her + sleep. Good-bye. + + * * * * * + + July, 1862. + + MY PRECIOUS MAB, + + Thank you for your note, written on the 4th of May, which I + received the other day. I always rejoice to think of you in the + springtime, because, like other young things, you enjoy the + opening buds, flowers, and sunshine after the long grave winter. + But winter is a good friend, although he has a grave face; we + should be all the better for a visit from him out here. My + garden is now as full of flowers as it will hold; Mrs. Little + brought me so many new ones from Singapore. I have a very gay + nosegay every morning, and still, leave flowers to adorn the + beds outside. We have turned out some of the fruit-trees to make + more room for flowers. This morning I have sown a quantity of + blue and purple convolvulus, which only display their beauties + to those who rise early before the sun closes their blossoms; + but we have flowers which only open at night, the moon-flower, + and night-blowing cereus, both white and fragrant. Dr. Little + has been travelling about the country looking for new plants. He + and Mr. Koch went to the top of the mountain of Poe near Lundu. + It was so cold six thousand feet above the level of the sea, + that they had to supply the natives who went with them with + blankets. At the very top of the mountain they found a new + orchid growing on the ground, a bright yellow flower, with + streaks of magenta colour inside. Dr. Little picked some of the + blossoms, and dug up one hundred roots, two of which he gave me; + but they will not live in my garden, they want mountain air. He + also gave me the dead flowers, and asked me to paint a picture + of one from his description and the faded blossom. I did it as + well as I could, but I fear it was not very good, and, after + all, the flower was not nearly as pretty as a bunch of laburnum + in England. They also found growing on the roots of a tree that + strange fungus flower described by Sir Stamford Raffles in his + book on Java and Sumatra--a yard wide across the petals, + brilliantly coloured red, purple, yellow and white, and, in the + hollow of the flower (nectarium), capable of holding twelve + pints of water, the whole weighing from fifteen to twenty + pounds; for it is a thick fleshy flower, not frail and delicate + as one likes a flower to be. It is very curious and gorgeous, + but as soon as it is fully expanded it begins to decay and + smells putrid. Sir James Brooke once found a specimen of this + gigantic flower in the jungle, and sent it to me to look at; but + it had lost all its beauty in the journey, and I held my nose as + I looked at it. The Dyaks said, "It is an auton" (spirit), which + is their explanation of anything they never saw before. The + natives of Sumatra call it "The Devil's sirih-box."[8] Are you + as fond of frogs as you used to be? Last week, some people were + dining with us. I had just helped the soup, and, letting my hand + fall upon my lap, picked up one of your friends who had settled + himself there. Not knowing at first what the cold clammy thing + was, I jumped up, and everybody else jumped up too, to see what + was the matter; for it might have been a snake, you know! + Good-bye. + + [Footnote 8: The real name is _Rafflesia Arnoldi_. See page 343, + vol. i., "Raffles' Life and Journals."] + + * * * * * + + December 1, 1862. + + MY DEAREST MAB, + + Uncle told me of your walk with him to West Hyde Church, and how + you made believe to get to Sarawak and see mamma walking in the + verandah. You are much better off in the cold December air of + England, than you would be in this sultry place, for all its + green beauty and never-failing flowers. I had rather you carried + the roses in your cheeks than have them in the garden all the + year round. Last month papa went to visit the Quop Mission, + where Mr. and Mrs. Abi and their little baby, and your old Ayah + Fatima, live. To get there he goes down the Sarawak River and + up the Quop River, then lands at a Malay village, from whence + there is a walk of three or four miles, up and down pretty hills + and across Dyak bridges, and over paths made of two bamboos tied + together, with a muddy swamp on either side. Then you come to + the mission-house which papa has built, and to Mr. Chalmers' old + house, which at present serves as the church, and to some long + Dyak houses. Papa baptized twenty-four men, women, and girls, + and confirmed nineteen people who had been baptized by Mr. + Chalmers. The old Pangara, one of the principal chiefs, was + baptized, and three of his grown-up sons, and one little + grandson whom the old man held in his arms. We had made white + jackets for the baptized, but the old Pangara had not quite made + up his mind, fearing the ridicule of the other elders of the + tribe, till papa talked to him; so there was no jacket for him, + and papa gave him a clean white shirt, round the skirt of which + we tied his chawat, a very long waist-band which wraps round and + round the body, and that was all! no trousers, and very funny he + looked; but papa was too rejoiced at his becoming a Christian, + to laugh at him. These people will all be Christians soon. They + come to Mr. and Mrs. Abi, morning, noon, and night, to be + taught, and there are two daily services; so the missionaries + have plenty to do. Two of our old school-boys, now grown up, are + catechists there, Semirum and Aloch. There is much love between + the people and their teachers; they are so happy at the Quop + they never want to come away. However, I have asked the Abis to + come for a fortnight at Christmas, and bring their poor little + baby to be fattened on cow's milk. There are no cows at the + Quop. + + * * * * * + + January, 1863. + + MY BELOVED CHILDREN, + + As I cannot have you with me this Christmas and new year, I + must comfort myself as best I may by writing you an account of + all we have been doing, and how we have tried to fancy + ourselves in old England amidst the frost and snow, + notwithstanding the bright sunshine and perpetual green of our + Eastern home. When we woke before daylight on Christmas morning + the school boys were singing under our windows, "When Joseph + was a-walking he heard an angel sing," so we got up and looked + out, wishing the children a happy Christmas. Then we dressed, + for there was a great deal to do. Papa had many services in + church, Chinese, English, and Dyak. I had the wreaths to make. + The church had been decked with moss fern the day before, but + the flowers must be added in the morning, or they would be + faded. So Julia and I made a crown of French marigolds to hang + on the cross over the altar, two large wreaths for either side, + and one at the west end made entirely of the golden allamanda, + in the buds of which you used to imprison fire-flies when you + lived here. The font was adorned all over, in preparation for + the baptisms to take place in the morning service. At half-past + eleven we all went to church, and after the Litany there were + sixteen Dyaks from Murdang, six Chinamen, and six little + children baptized. Mr. Koch read the service in Malay, and papa + baptized. It was a beautiful sight. The children, four of my + little girls, and two small boys from the school behaved very + well, and looked pretty in their new clothes. But they all + understood something of why they were sprinkled with the + blessed water, for we had been teaching them for some time, and + Limo told me on Christmas Eve, that "our Saviour came into this + world a little child, to teach us to be good; and when He had + blessed them in their baptism, they must take pains to do all + He desired them." I thought this pretty well for a beginning. + Ambat always repeats what Limo says, so I do not know how much + is her own: she is Limo's sister. Ango and Llan, the other two + girls, have been taught by Miss Rocke, who has given them to + me; they know but little, but are gentle children. The school + had a feast at five o'clock, beef curry (papa had an ox + killed), salt pork, rice, and a huge plum-pudding. They had + newly white-washed their dining-room the week before, and + decked it with boughs, so that it looked very nice with six + lanterns hanging from the roof. They played there while we were + at dinner, and the Christian Chinese feasted at Sing Song's + house. Julia had her little party in her school-room, and + dinner from our table: some of the grown-up schoolboys and + Polly. We had Mr. and Mrs. Koch, Mr. and Mrs. Owen, Mr. + Zehnder, and Mrs. Crookshank at our table. Papa counted that + ninety-seven people were fed on the mission premises on + Christmas Day. After dinner we had a bonfire in the hollow + below our hill, between the house and the church. Quantities of + dry bamboo had been collected there, which threw up columns of + sparks, and lit up all the under leaves of the trees, making + the dark sky and the young moon look so far far away. Then the + boys began with crackers and rockets. Baby Agnes was not + frightened, but poor Mildred could not sleep for terror. Every + rocket made her call out "Bumah," and hide her face on my + shoulder; however, she got used to it at last. Christmas is the + time of year which belongs especially to children, because our + Lord Jesus Christ then deigned to become a little child. We + forget what happened to us when we were very young--even a + mother does not know all the feelings, little troubles, ardent + wishes and desires of her little ones--but it is impossible + that our Saviour can ever forget. He knows exactly all that + belongs to the daily life of a child, not only because He is + God and knows everything, but because He was once a child + Himself, and remembers all the joys and sorrows of His + child-life in the cottage at Nazareth; and so children are very + dear to Him--He listens to their prayers, accepts their + praises, and watches over them always. Remember, my darling, + that He is your best friend; to Him you may tell all your + little troubles and confess all your faults, for He is very + pitiful and of tender mercy. + + I gave my school-girls a box of dominoes and a set of + draughtsmen with a board for their Christmas present. They play + very well. All the sewing-class boys, too, had each a + present--either a knife, or belt, or box or basket to keep + their treasures in, or a head-handkerchief; but the Sarawak + bazaar does not furnish many desirable things, even for + school-boys. H.M.S. _Renard_ has arrived since I wrote thus + far, and we have had the boat races, which always take place in + January. Eleven of our school-boys won the boys' race, pulling + against Inchi Boyangs' school, the Mahometan school, and some + other boats. We dressed our boys in white and blue, and they + pulled beautifully. Papa had taught them to pull all together, + when they went to mission stations with him, and they are + really good paddlers. They disdained the short course marked + out for the boys, and pulled all the way out to the + winning-post, a boat anchored near the wharf, round it, and + back again, winning by two boats' lengths. They won five + dollars, and papa added two more; they gave some of the money + to their school-fellows, and celebrated their victory by + singing all the evening so nicely, and hurrahing at the end of + each song. They are good boys, and much happiness to us. + Good-bye. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +ILLANUN PIRATES. + + +I have described in a former chapter the habits of the Dyak pirates of +Sakarran and Sarebas, and how, after being punished by Sir James Brooke +when they were caught at the entrance of their river, with captives and +plunder in their boats, they were required to live at one with their +neighbours, and to study the arts of peace. Happily for them, they had a +wise and paternal Government to repress their vices, and, after a time, +Christian missionaries to teach them the fear and love of God. But the +Malay pirates who lived on the islands and coasts of North Borneo were +governed by sultans who encouraged piracy, and insisted on sharing their +spoils; moreover, they are Mahometans by religion, and that is not a +faith which teaches mercy or respects life. To this day, therefore, +these Illanuns remain pirates. They have larger prahus and carry heavier +guns than the Dyaks, and nothing can exceed their cruelty. When we +lived at Kuching there was scarcely a Malay family there who had not +suffered from them, either by the loss of relations or property; for +they are naturally a trading people. + +It is a common practice for a party of men to join together in hiring a +boat in which to venture goods or gold-dust by trading on the coast, or +even to Singapore three hundred and sixty miles away, These small and +comparatively unarmed boats fell an easy prey to the pirate prahus, who +went out in fleets. + +The Spaniards and the Dutch were every now and then roused to search the +seas for these pests of the human race, but they were so cunning they +generally evaded them. At last they had a signal lesson. In the year +1862, Captain Brooke, then governing Sarawak in his uncle's absence, +decided to go to Bintulu on the north-west coast of Borneo, a territory +which had lately been ceded to the Rajah by the Sultan, and build a fort +on the river, to check piracy and protect the peaceable inhabitants who +were settling there on the promise of such protection. For this purpose +he took the _Rainbow_, a small screw steamer of eighty-nine tons and +thirty-five horse power; and the _Jolly Bachelor_, a Government +gun-boat. The Bishop accompanied him, to see what missionary prospects +there were in that distant spot, also because he was at that time +anxious about Captain Brooke's health. Mr. Helms, the manager of the +Borneo mercantile company, accompanied them as far as Muka, where was +an establishment to collect sago for exportation. On the second day +after his arrival, a piratical fleet of Ilanuns, consisting of six +large, and as many smaller vessels, appeared on the coast, and blockaded +the town. For two days they remained off Muka, capturing there, and on +the coast southwards, thirty-two persons. + +Mr. Helms persuaded Hadji Mataim and a few natives to start in a fast +boat and apprize Captain Brooke; and this boat, though chased by the +pirates, got safe to Bintulu. Hadji Mataim got alongside the steamer +early on Thursday morning, while it was still dark, and the Bishop, +recognizing his voice, called him on board. He delivered a letter from +Mr. Helms, asking for help. Steam was got up directly, the Chinese +carpenters who were to build the fort were landed, and the guns which +had been brought to protect it were put on board, as well as the fort +men who were to man the fort, that they might strengthen the crew. With +the first dawn of light the _Rainbow_ steamed over the bar taking the +_Jolly Bachelor_ in tow, and steered for Muka. + +Meanwhile all preparation was made for fighting. Planks were hung over +the railing to raise the sides of the poop where there were no bulwarks, +and mattresses were laid inside to receive the shot and spears of the +enemy; this doubtless saved the lives of several of the crew. There were +eight Europeans on board, including the captain of the _Rainbow_ and his +mate, the engineer, Captain Brooke, Mr. Stuart Johnson, Mr. Hay, Mr. +Walters, and the Bishop. As soon as there were any wounded, Mr. Walters +assisted the Bishop in his work of mercy. The Bishop always carried a +medicine chest and case of surgical instruments wherever he went; and, +happily, a large sheet had been packed among his things this voyage, +which was speedily torn up into bandages. Now all was ready, but it was +not until Friday morning that they sighted what looked like three large +palm drifts to seaward off Tanjong Kidorong, to the north-east of the +British River. They proved to be three large prahus, with their masts +struck, and bristling with men, who were rowing like the Maltese, +standing, and pushing for shore, casting off their sampans[9] one by one +to make better way. Hadji Mataim recognized the sampan which chased and +fired at him when he slipped away from Muka. Brooke then asked one of +the chief officers of the Sarawak Government, who was on board, and +Pangeran Matussim of Muka, if they were perfectly sure that these prahus +were Illanuns? "Not a shadow of doubt," they said. So they loaded their +guns and prepared for action. The leading prahu was going almost as fast +as the steamer herself, and though steam was put on, and every effort +made to get between her and the Point, the prahu won the race, and got +into shallow water where the steamer could not follow; then she opened +fire on the steamer, which was returned with interest. This prahu had +three long brass swivel guns, and plenty of rifles and muskets. As she +was beyond the reach of the steamer, Captain Brooke turned to the second +prahu, which was now fast nearing the shore. His plan was to silence the +brass guns by the fire of the rifles on board the steamer, and shake the +rowers at their oars by a discharge of grape and round shot; then to put +on all steam and run at them with the stem of the _Rainbow_. This was +done with great coolness by Captain Hewat when Captain Brooke gave the +order; the steamer struck the prahu amid-ships and went over her. Those +on board called to the slaves, and all who would surrender, to hold on +by the wreck until the boats could take them off; then they steamed away +after the third prahu, which had already got into two-fathom water and +was struck too far forward to sink. All the pirates in her jumped +overboard and swam for shore, leaving their own wounded, the slaves, and +captives, who were also bid to remain by their vessel till they were +rescued. + + [Footnote 9: Small boats.] + +Meanwhile the first prahu, seeing the fate of the others, ran ashore +among the rocks inside Tanjong Kidorong; and all the crew, pirates, and +slaves ran into the jungle. Had the captives known better they would not +have run away. The _Jolly Bachelor_ was left to look after these +runaways, and then the captives of the other two prahus were helped on +board the steamer. Several of the crew of the _Rainbow_ recognized +friends and acquaintances among the saved; and the joyous, thankful look +of the captives, as they came on board and found themselves among +friends, was indeed a compensation for the awful destruction of the +pirates. Many were wounded, either with shot or the fearful cuts of the +Illanun swords of the pirates, who tried to murder their captives when +they saw all was lost. The Bishop was dressing one man who was shot +through the wrist, when he spoke to him in English, and after pouring +out his gratitude for his wonderful escape, said he was a Singapore +policeman, and was going to see his friends in Java when he was +captured. There were also two Singapore women, and a child, and two +British-born Bencoolen Malays, who were taken in their own trading boat +going to Tringanau. The husband of the younger woman had been killed by +the pirates, and she, like all women who fall into their hands, had +suffered every outrage and insult which could be offered her. They were +almost living skeletons. One was shot through the thigh, and after the +Bishop had dressed her wound, Mr. Walters said quaintly, "Poor thing, +she has not meat enough on her bones to bait a rat-trap." It is a wonder +how the poor creatures lived at all, under the treatment to which they +were subjected. When the Bishop asked some of the men whether their +wounds hurt much, they answered, "Nothing hurts so much as the salt +water the Illanuns gave us to drink. We never had fresh water; they +mixed three parts of fresh with four of salt water: and all we had to +eat was a handful of rice or raw sago twice a day." Very few of the +pirates who were not wounded surrendered. They are marvellous swimmers: +took their arms with them into the water, and fought the men in the +boats who were trying to pick up the captives. The Bishop and Mr. +Walters were fully occupied doctoring friends and foes, arresting +hemorrhage, extracting balls, and closing frightful sword or chopper +wounds. One man came on board with the top of his skull as cleanly +lifted up by a Sooloo knife, as if a surgeon had desired to take a peep +at the brain inside! It took considerable force to close it in the right +place. This man had also two cuts in his back, yet the next morning he +was discovered eating a large plate of rice, and he ultimately +recovered. Another poor fellow could not be got up the ladder because he +had a long-handled three-barbed spear sticking in his back: the Bishop +had to go down and cut it out before he could be moved. + +While all this was going on, the captives told Captain Brooke that there +were three more pirate vessels out at sea, waiting for those near shore +to rejoin them; as soon, therefore, as the steamer had picked up as many +captives as she could find, she steamed out to sea in search of them. +After an hour, the look-out from the mast-head reported three vessels in +sight. It was then a dead calm, and they were using their long sweeps, +when they were seen from the deck, to arrange themselves side by side, +with their bows towards the steamer; but, a breeze springing up, they +hoisted sail, spread themselves out broadside on, and opened fire on +the _Rainbow_ as soon as she was within range, so that there was no +question as to whether these were pirate prahus or not. The same plan +was followed as in the case of the other boats, and with more success, +as there was no shore to escape to. + +The pirates had secured their captives below the decks of the prahus, +but when the steamer struck them and opened their sides, they were +liberated. But few of them were drowned, being all good swimmers; but +some were killed by the pirates in their rage and despair, and some had +been lashed to the vessel and could not therefore escape. + +One poor Chinaman came swimming along, holding up his long tail of hair +lest he should be suspected to be a pirate; other men held up the ropes +round their necks, to show they were captives. The deck of the steamer +was soon covered with those who had been picked out of the water, men of +every nation and race in the Archipelago, who had been captured during +this cruise, which had lasted seven months. These vessels left +Tawi-Tawi, an island to the south-west of Sooloo, in October. The Sultan +of Sooloo is in league with the pirates, and receives part of the +plunder and slaves. In the only boat boarded by Captain Brooke was found +the Sultan's flag, which is only given to people of high rank; also the +usual Illanun flag, six Dutch, and one Spanish flag, which no doubt +belonged to vessels they had captured. The men who were saved gave +details of the taking of two large vessels--one a Singapore prahu +trading to Tringanau; the other a Dutch tope, of one hundred and fifty +tons, on the coast of Borneo to the south of Pontianak. There they fell +in with five other Illanun boats, which had come down from the +northward--they themselves were going up from the southward. The +new-comers told them of a merchant vessel near at hand, and proposed +they should join them in capturing her, which they did. She had a +valuable cargo, worth ten thousand dollars. They killed everybody on +board, plundered and burnt the vessel. Only the one Chinaman escaped who +told this tale. The captives stated that this was the usual proceeding +if resistance was made. When they spare their captives' lives, they beat +them with a flat piece of bamboo over the elbows and knees, and the +muscles of arms and legs, until they are unable to move; then a halter +is put round their necks, and, when they are sufficiently tamed, they +are put to the oars and made to row in gangs, with one of their own +fellow-captives as overseer to keep them at work. If he does not do it +effectually, he is krissed and thrown overboard. If these miserable +creatures jump into the sea they spear them in the water. They row in +relays, night and day; and to keep them awake, cayenne pepper is rubbed +into their eyes or into cuts dealt them on their arms. + +The masts of these prahus are very small, so that they may not be seen +at a distance. They go very fast. Those encountered by the _Rainbow_ +were seen off Datu on Monday night, and on Friday morning they were near +Bintulu, a distance of two hundred and forty miles, although they had +delayed nearly two days at Muka, picking up thirty people on the coast. +Most of these were recaptured and returned to Muka. On reckoning up, it +was found that one hundred and sixty-five people had been rescued, and +perhaps one hundred and fifty or two hundred had got away from the +vessels sunk on shore. In every pirate prahu were from forty to fifty +Illanuns, and from sixty to seventy captives, many of whom were killed +by the pirates when they found themselves beaten, among them two women. +Nine women and six children were saved; seven of the women belonged to +Muka or Oya. Of the Illanuns, thirty-two were taken alive; ten of these +were boys. Some died afterwards of their wounds; some were taken to +Kuching in irons, there tried, and some of them executed. They died the +death of murderers; but Captain Brooke gave the boys to respectable +people to bring up, hoping they might be reformed. We had one young +fellow, about fourteen years old, when he had been cured of his wounds +in the hospital. I kept him about me, and used to teach him; but he +could not be tamed. He turned Mahometan, and left us to be employed at +the fort; but there he stole money, and had to be sent elsewhere. The +nature of an Illanun pirate seems almost unmixed evil, because they are +taught to be cruel from their childhood. + +There were two circumstances in this affray with the Illanuns which +called for thankfulness on the part of the victors. First, that they met +the pirates in two detachments, which enabled them to attack them +successfully, without the danger of their boarding the steamer, which, +from their numbers, would have been fatal to the little party on board +the _Rainbow_. Secondly, that their ammunition lasted through the two +engagements. It was quite finished; only a little loose powder in a +barrel, and a few broken cartridges, remained when the last prahus were +taken. Had they fallen in with another fleet, they would have been at +their mercy. Almost while I write these last words, we have received a +letter from the present Rajah of Sarawak--Charles Johnson Brooke. He +says, "I have heard this morning that one of our schooners has been +captured by the Sooloo pirates, and the crew murdered." The last twenty +years have not therefore altered the character of these people, and +their extermination seems the only remedy for the misery they inflict on +their fellow creatures. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +A MALAY WEDDING. + + + MY DARLING MAB, + + I am sitting in a darkened room, while Mildred is having her day + sleep; and as I am thinking of you, I may as well begin a letter + for next mail. Last week I went to a Malay wedding, the first I + ever attended, although I have been here so many years. It + amused me very much; so I shall try to describe it to you. + + Early in the morning the bridegroom's friends came to beg + flowers from our garden. Then papa told them I would go to the + wedding, and they said, "Be sure not to be later than twelve + o'clock." Accordingly, Mr. and Mrs. Ricketts, the British Consul + and his wife, Mr. Zehnder, and I set off in two boats, after + eleven o'clock breakfast; but we need not have got there before + two o'clock. + + Eastern people set little value on time. They would just as soon + sit cross-legged on the floor smoking for three hours as for + one. The bride is the daughter of one of the first merchants in + the place, Nakodah Sadum, and the bridegroom is the grandson of + the old Datu Tumangong, whom you may remember. A handsome young + man is Matussim, and enlightened, for a Malay. He made his + betrothed a present of his photograph last year. Formerly Malays + objected to having their portraits taken, fancying it a breach + of the second commandment. + + The bride's father's house was gay with flags and streamers, and + in front of it lay, by the river's brink, four small cannon, + which had been busy, for days before and all that morning, + saluting the occasion. We walked up into the house, which was + full of guests. A long verandah, lined with hadjis and elders, + all smoking and talking, led to the principal room, which, + unlike any Malay house before built in Sarawak, had large + Venetian-shuttered doors all round, and was therefore cool and + airy. There was a little round table, and some armchairs covered + with white mats for the expected guests, in the middle of the + room. Sadum and his wife came forward and greeted us very + cordially, and then we were told to sit down on the chairs. I + looked about for the bride, and saw a crowd of women in one + corner, and a boy holding a gilt umbrella over the young lady, + who was being shaved. A woman with a razor was shearing her + eyebrows into a delicate line, and all round her forehead + trimming disorderly hairs. Four women, seated on their heels in + front of her, were fidgeting over her face; she, impassive as a + log in their hands. A vast deal of singing and drumming went on + all the time, a row of musicians keeping it up all round the + room. The girl was washed; then her hair, magnificent black hair + down to her heels, knotted in two great bows on either side of + her head. Over these, gold ornaments like wings were fixed, and + a little tower of gold bells above them. Then the women painted + a black band round her forehead, and added a silver edge to it, + also painted. Her eyebrows were likewise touched up, and her + skin rubbed all over with yellow powder. Poor child! she was a + curious figure by the time it was all finished, and her skin + must have felt painfully stiff. She was then attired in very + handsome silk robes, ornamented with solid gold, and the + attendants carried her to a raised dais or bed-place at one end + of the room. There she sat, not daring to lift her eyes until + the bridegroom's arrival. + + The divan was gorgeous with silk curtains and cushions + embroidered with gold thread and embossed with tinsel ornaments, + the work of the bride herself. The seat for the bridegroom was + somewhat higher and larger than the bride's. At last the + bridegroom approached in a large barge, which held about two + hundred people. A small boat preceded it with three guns, which + kept up a deafening noise as he drew near. He was carried up the + steps, and the house door was shut to in his face, according to + the Malay custom. Then he begged admittance very humbly, and + after paying a fee of five dollars, was admitted. His followers + rush in first--such a clatter! Greetings, welcomes, jokes, and + laughter, make a Babel of noise; everybody speaking at once. + Then a cloth was laid down for the bridegroom to pass over, and + he was pulled with apparent reluctance into the room, panting + and shutting his eyes as if exhausted. His head was wreathed + with Indian jessamine. He was naked to the waist, except a gold + scarf over one shoulder; otherwise he had plenty of gold and red + silk about him. He was pulled up to the bride, turning his head + away as if he was ashamed to look at her, and dropped a red silk + handkerchief over her face for a moment. Then he sat down on the + divan, and all the old women of both houses sprinkled the couple + with yellow rice, and rubbed their foreheads with some charm, + which looked like a bit of stone and a nutmeg-grater, and wished + them all kinds of luck--but especially that they might be the + parents of _sons_ only. After the young people had endured this + long enough, the curtains were let down round the dais, and only + two or three old women kept going in and out. We found they were + taking off all the finery, and dressing the bride and bridegroom + in their usual clothes; for while we were drinking coffee and + eating Malay cakes at the little table, they came out from the + curtains, looking quite pleasant and natural. So we shook hands, + made our congratulations, and bade them adieu. We got home at + four o'clock, very hot and tired, and papa laughed at us for + going; but I was glad I did for once in a way. + + A wedding is a very serious expense to Malays of any rank. The + bridegroom has to make settlements on the bride, and the bride's + father has to keep open house for weeks, besides fees to the + hadjis, and gunpowder _ad libitum_. The religious part of the + ceremony is enacted some days before the marriage. One day papa + was calling at a Malay house, where a wedding was about to take + place, and found the bridegroom learning a passage in the Koran, + in Arabic, which he could not translate, but which it was + necessary he should repeat. A hadji was standing by, driving the + words into his head. The hadji could not translate it either; + but the Koran may only be read in Arabic, lest it should be + desecrated. Sometimes papa would read a chapter to any Malay who + desired to understand the meaning of his sacred book; but they + were generally content with learning it as a charm, or certain + parts of it. + + The Rajah often made a present of an ox for a great man's + wedding. This was a great help, for many dishes of curry could + be made out of so much meat. When we wished for some meat at + Christmas and Easter, we sent for the Mahometan butcher to kill + the animal. He turned its head towards Mecca, repeated prayers + over him, and then cut his throat in such a way that no drop of + blood was left in the flesh; for the Malays hold to the Jewish + law in that as well as many other particulars. Then the people + would buy whatever beef we did not want ourselves; but not + otherwise. + + This is a long letter, but as I am on the subject of weddings, I + may as well tell you about a Chinese wedding we had the other + day at our house. The bridegroom was Akiat, a carpenter, about + six feet two inches high. He was dressed in whity-brown silk, + which made him look like a tall spectre; and the bride was Quey + Ginn, a fat, dumpy little girl of sixteen, the Chinese deacon's + daughter, and one of my scholars. She did not choose her old + husband of fifty years, but her parents arranged it, and Akiat + paid one hundred dollars for his wife. I went to see her the day + before the wedding, and she showed me all her clothes and + ornaments; but I thought she did not look as if she cared for + them. So I whispered, "Are you happy, child?" "No, not at all," + burst out Quey Ginn. "I don't want to be married and leave my + parents." Whereupon I could not help taking her in my arms and + comforting her, telling her to be a good wife, and she would + soon learn to be content. She has been to visit me since her + marriage, and I am amused to see that she is quite a little + woman, instead of the shy girl she used to be; and, whereas as a + girl she was never allowed to be seen in the streets, or even to + go to church, she now does exactly as she likes, and, I am happy + to say, comes regularly to church. These people were all sincere + Christians. Akiat was the Chinese churchwarden, and, as papa + esteemed them very highly, he allowed the breakfast to take + place at our house. + + I had a cake made for the occasion, which Quey Ginn cut up with + much pleasure. The ring in it fell to Mr. Zehnder's share, which + amused him also. Good-bye. + +It was this year, 1865, that Mr. Waterhouse, the chaplain of Singapore, +came to visit us. The doctors often sent us a patient or friend to be +under the Bishop's care, and for rest and change; the latter was the +cause of Mr. Waterhouse's visit, and six weeks of jungle life did him +good, while his society and sympathy were a great pleasure to us, the +Bishop especially. The Bishop took him to visit the different mission +stations, and he often spoke to me with satisfaction of the "real +mission work" he witnessed at Banting, Lundu, and the Quop. At each of +these stations he found a consecrated church and a community of +Christian people; whilst the missionaries set over them, not only +instructed and ministered to the tribe among whom they lived, but +journeyed to outlying places, founding branch missions and setting +catechists to work under them. I find in one of my letters, when Mr. +Waterhouse returned from Banting, he said, "I cannot but admire the +patience with which Mr. Chambers talks all day, morning, noon, and +night, to every party of Dyaks, who march into the house whenever they +like, making it quite their home: it is what very few people could do +day after day." This is the trial of Dyak teaching. You cannot appoint +specific hours for instruction. People come when they can, sometimes +long distances. They can never be denied, except you are actually at +meals, and then they sit down and wait till the eating is over. Here is +a programme of a day at Banting:-- + +By seven in the morning Mr. Chambers goes to one or another Dyak house +to teach. These houses contain many families under one roof. The people +understand now that teaching is the sole object of Mr. Chambers' visit, +so, when he enters, all who are at leisure gather round him. He returns +home to eleven o'clock breakfast. After breakfast his school of boys +occupies him for the afternoon; but every party of Dyaks who come in +must be listened to, and, if they are willing, instructed, taught a +prayer, a hymn, a parable, or some Scripture lesson. This goes on till +five o'clock, when the bell calls them to daily prayers, and they all +walk together down the beautiful jungle avenue to the pretty church. A +short service, in which the Dyaks respond heartily, and a catechizing +follows, during which they are allowed to ask questions of their +teacher. Then an hour's rest before dinner. But immediately after dinner +more Dyaks, sometimes a whole house, _i.e._ forty or fifty persons, come +in, and have coffee, and pictures, and a lecture. All this does not +happen every day, but most days during what we call the working season, +from March till October, and no doubt so much talking and so little +leisure is very fatiguing. But then comes the harvest, and afterwards +the wet monsoon, and the schools fall off, and the Dyaks no longer come +from a distance to be taught. It is sufficiently dull and lonely then in +the jungle stations. The sea runs too high for boats to bring mails, or +books, or provisions; the rain falls heavily, and with little +intermission, and food becomes scarce. Mrs. Chambers told me that the +prayer for daily bread, which seems to us to relate to the daily needs +of our souls for the bread and water of life, bore a literal meaning to +them in the north-east monsoon, when the day's food was by no means +certain. Rice they had, it is true; but English people get nearly +starved upon rice alone, without fish, meat, or bread. It was therefore +with sincere thankfulness that they welcomed a chicken, however skinny, +in that season. + +After the Banting expedition, the Bishop took Mr. Waterhouse to Lundu, +and Mr. Hawkins, a missionary lately come out, went with them. They +arrived on a Saturday. On Sunday there was a great gathering of +Christian Dyaks: fifty-two people were confirmed, eighty received the +Holy Communion, so that they were more than three hours in church, the +Bishop preaching to them in Malay. On Monday Mr. Waterhouse and Mr. +Hawkins paid a visit to a beautiful waterfall, about two miles from the +town; and on Tuesday all the party, Mr. Gomez included, went in boats +forty miles up the river Lundu, with three hundred Dyaks, to tuba fish. +The Bishop had paid the Dyaks to collect tuba the week before. It is a +plant found in the jungle, the root of which washed in water makes a +milky-looking poison. It does not make the fish unwholesome to eat, only +intoxicates them for the time, so that they rise floundering about on +the surface of the water, but it destroys human life, and is the poison +chosen by Dyaks who commit suicide, though I do not believe that this +crime is common among them. + +When the party had ascended the river far enough, the Dyaks built a hut +for the English to sleep in. They made a floor of logs of wood, spread +over with the bark of trees, which, beaten down hard, made a capital +mattress on which to lay their mats and pillows. The kajangs (leaf mats) +off the boat made some shelter from the weather, although it takes a +good deal to keep Borneo rain out! The Dyaks were much too busy to go to +sleep at all: they drove stakes all across the river to secure their +fish, then they beat out the tuba in the bottom of their boats. It took +all night, by the light of torches, to do this; and a wild sight it was, +in the midst of the solemn old jungle. Very early in the morning, when +the tide was at its lowest ebb, they put the tuba into the river; the +flood coming up, and bringing plenty of fish, encountered this +intoxicating milk, and carried over the stakes a whole shoal of dead and +tipsy fish. Then the Dyaks, darting about in little boats, speared the +big fishes, and caught the small ones in landing-nets. + +Hundreds of fish were caught, and the Dyaks had a grand feast; also, +they salted quantities, in their nasty way--pounding the fish up, +letting it turn sour, and then packing it into bamboos with salt, as a +relish to eat with their rice. Certainly it has a strong flavour! They +all camped two nights in the jungle, then returned to Lundu, and reached +Sarawak in the yacht _Fanny_, after an absence of ten days. We had a +visit from H.M.S. _Scout_ about this time, and one day sat down sixteen +to dinner in the mission-house, some of the officers having come up to +spend the day. It is difficult to improvise a dinner in a country where +no joints of meat are to be had, unless you kill an ox for the purpose. +Sheep there are none. A capon or goose, or a sucking pig, are the only +big dishes, and not always to be had. However, we did very well, and our +visitors were delighted with Sarawak, and with the schoolboys' singing; +for I had them up to sing glees and rounds, and "Rule Britannia," after +dinner. Captain Corbett was so pleased with the little fellows that he +invited them all to see the ship the next morning. Accordingly our +largest boat took the choir down very early to Morotabas, where the +_Scout_ lay, and Captain Corbett took them all over it himself, even +down to the screw chamber. The boys had never seen so large a man-of-war +before (1600 tons), so they were delighted. Some Dyaks who went with +them were much terrified lest they should be carried off to sea, for the +captain ordered "up anchor," that the boys might see how it was done, +and then sent them off the last minute. They came home in high glee. +Only those who live at the ends of the earth can tell what a pleasure +and refreshment is a little visit from her Majesty's ships from time to +time. The whiff of English air they bring with them, and the hearty +English enthusiasm which has not had time to evaporate, is most +reviving. + +Many Chinese Christians returned to China this summer. I hope they +carried the good seed of the word of life with them. They are only birds +of passage at Sarawak: when they grow rich they prefer to spend their +money in their native country. Our Chinese deacon took his family for a +visit to their Chinese relations. Even the married daughter went with +them; and a few days afterwards, Akiat, her husband, came to tell me +that he was so wretched without his wife, that he should go to Singapore +for the few months of her absence, to while away the time, and he meant +to have a nice new house ready for her on her return. + +Voon Yen Knoon deserved a holiday, certainly, for he worked hard among +his countrymen, besides teaching every day in the school. Three evenings +every week were devoted to the instruction of the Chinese, at the +mission-house. Two distinct languages were spoken by the different +tribes of Chinese who had settled at Sarawak. They could not be taught +together. The people of the Kay tribe came on one evening, the Hokien +another, each having their own interpreter. On the third evening the +interpreters were instructed in the lessons for the following week. On +these nights our long dining-room was full of Chinamen, and a large tray +of tiny cups of tea was carried in, and consumed before the teaching +began. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +LAST YEARS AT SARAWAK. + + +Mr. Chalmers' Merdang Dyaks once said to him, "See how many races of +people there are: Dyaks, Malays, Klings, Chinese, English. They have all +different religions: this is proper, for God has given to each the +religion suited to them." + +I remembered this ingenious remark when I was reading Mr. Helms's +interesting book, just published, "Pioneering in the Far East." He says: +"Like most barbarous and savage nations, the Dyak identifies his gods +and spirits with the great phenomena of nature, and assigns them abodes +on the lofty mountains. Though, in his opinion, all spirits are not +equally malignant, all are more or less to be dreaded. The silent +surroundings of primaeval forests in which the Dyak spends most of his +time, the mountains, the gloomy caves, often looming mysteriously +through cloud and mist, predispose him to identify them with +supernatural influences, which in his imagination take the form of +monsters and genii. With no better guide than the untutored imagination +of a mind which in religious matters is a blank, who shall wonder that +this is so? I have myself often felt the influences of such +surroundings, when dark clouds deepened the forest gloom, and the +approaching storm set the trees whispering: if, at such a moment, the +shaggy red-haired and goblin form of the orang-outang, with which some +of the Dyaks identify their genii, should appear among the branches, it +requires little imagination to people the mystic gloom with unearthly +beings." + +Mr. Helms is quite right--the religion which springs from circumstance +and surrounding nature is always one of fear; evil is so close to the +heart of man that the very elements and mysteries of nature seem his +enemies, so long as he is ignorant of the love of God. The great +creating Spirit, whose existence is acknowledged by all Dyaks, inspires +them with neither love nor trust; it is only malign spirits who are +active, who concern themselves with his affairs, and threaten his +happiness and prosperity, and who must therefore be propitiated. What a +different aspect his native woods must present to the Christian Dyak, +who can look around without fear, and believe that his Heavenly Father +made all these things! You would imagine that Christianity would be +welcomed as a deliverance from such superstition; but here the apathy of +long habit raises a barrier. The Dyak who professed to think his dismal +religion was given him by God, was probably too intellectually idle to +think at all. "What you say is most likely true, but we have received +our belief from our forefathers, and it is good enough for us," is the +common remark of the Land Dyak. This listlessness was perhaps originally +caused by oppression and misery, a hard life and cruel masters. In the +days we knew these people they had a sad and patient expression in their +faces, as if they could not forget the time when they were ground down +by Malay extortion, and despoiled by stronger, more warlike tribes. The +present generation may have more spirit, more independence, and the +blessings of peace and liberty may leave their minds more open to the +light of truth. It is, however, interesting to note how different races +of men develop different religious beliefs, and how these Dyaks +intuitively perceive spirit through matter, and are governed, however +blindly and ignorantly, by the powers of the unseen world. + +The orang-outang, or wild man, in not very commonly met in the jungle. I +have seen the trees alive with monkeys, but never met an orang-outang at +liberty. The Dyaks may well be afraid of them if it is true, as they +say, that if one of these monsters attacks a man, he picks his flesh off +his bones like a cook plucking a chicken. They are immensely powerful, +but once caged are gentle enough. Their one desire in confinement is +clothing, why I cannot tell; large-sized monkeys always wrapped +themselves in any bit of cloth they could find, partly in imitation of +their keepers, and perhaps also because they are very chilly creatures, +and, deprived of their usual violent gymnastics, suffered from cold. A +Chinaman had a female orang in his shop while we were at Sarawak, who +took a violent liking to the Bishop, and always expected to be noticed +when he passed the shop. Then she would kiss and fondle his hand; but if +he forgot to speak to "Jemima," she went into a passion, screamed, and +dashed about her cage. + +I never allowed any kind of monkey to be kept at the mission-house. We +had too many children on the premises, and they are jealous and +uncertain in their behaviour to children. Indeed I always regretted +their being either shot or caged--they enjoy life so intensely in the +jungle, and are so amusing, swinging themselves from the branches of +tall trees, leaping, flying almost, in pursuit of one another for mere +fun, that it was sad to put them in prison, where they never lived long, +and where they only exhibited a ludicrous and humiliating parody on the +habits of mankind. + +There was a race of monkeys at Sarawak called by the natives "Unkah," +from the noise they made, but which we called Noseys, for they had long +noses which fell over their mouths, so that the large males had to lift +their noses with one hand, while they put food into their mouths with +the other. When we first lived in the country, and were anxious to send +specimens of every new and curious thing to England, my husband shot one +of these large monkeys for the sake of his skin, but he was so +distressed at the look the beast gave him when he felt himself hit, he +was so like his own uncle in England, who had rather a red face and long +nose, that he resolved never again to shoot a monkey. This ape was +clothed in long brown fur, while his legs were encased in much shorter +hair of a tan colour, which gave the idea of leather breeches. I once +saw a monkey's nest in a high tree. The tree was very bare of leaf or +the nest might have escaped notice. It was formed of big sticks laid in +a strong fork of the branches; and whether it was lined with anything +softer could not be seen from below, but the sticks stuck out, covering +a large space, which had no appearance of comfort or snugness. + +The one monkey I liked, and that at a distance, was the wa-wa, whose +voice was very sweet and melodious, like the soft bubbling of water; but +it was a very melancholy animal, and never seemed to possess the fun and +trickishness of the more common sorts of ape. They are all delicate and +difficult to rear, and invariably die of over-eating, or rather eating +what is unwholesome for them, if they have a chance. It seems as if, in +approaching the form of man, they lost the instinct of the brute. It was +a great addition to the pleasures of life in Sarawak that there were no +wild beasts to be feared in the jungles. When we were once staying at +Malacca, and, for the sake of a natural hot spring, inhabited a little +bungalow in the country, we were always liable to encounter a tiger in +our walks; on Penang Hill, also, there was a large tiger staying in the +woods. During one of our visits, we tracked his footsteps in a cave on +the hill; and he carried off a calf from a gentleman's cow-house near +us--at another time a pony from a neighbour's stable. Tigers do not, +however, live at Penang: they occasionally swim over the strait from +Johore, opposite the island, if driven by hunger. The natives made deep +pits to catch them, with bamboo spears at the bottom to transfix them +when they fall in. On one occasion a French Roman Catholic missionary +fell into one of these tiger-pits, and remained there, starved and +wounded, for three days before he was discovered. He was a very good +man, and gave a wonderful account of his happiness, his visions of +heavenly bliss while dying in that slow torture, for he was too far gone +to be restored. He died rejoicing that he had known what it was to +suffer with Christ. + +The last two years of our life at Sarawak, the Bishop's health failed +and caused me much anxiety. The long jungle walks, which were so +necessary in getting about from one mission to another, became more and +more difficult to him. Often he had to stop and lie down under a tree +till the palpitation of his heart abated; repeated attacks of Labuan +fever affected his liver; and our friends often warned us that we ought +to go home to save his life. The interest of the different missions +increased so much at this time, that it seemed hard to give up a post +in which many trials and disappointments had been lived through, just as +success seemed about to reward the years of patient labour. The peace +and harmony of the mission was greatly promoted, the last three years of +our stay, by an annual meeting of the clergy with their bishop. They +came from their different rivers to spend a week at the mission-house, +and for certain hours of each day met in the church to discuss +missionary operations, Church discipline, religious terms, translations, +etc. It was very desirable there should be no diversity of opinion in +these matters, but that the different missions should have the same +plans, uses, and customs. And these meetings, besides the importance of +the subjects discussed, knit the missionaries to one another and all to +the Bishop, promoting also that _esprit de corps_ which strengthens any +institution, be it school, college, or Church in a heathen country. + +A curious adventure happened to the Bishop in 1865. It was the rainy +season, and the roads were saturated with water and full of holes, +especially a new bit of road towards Pedungan, where sleepers of wood +had been laid down, to steady what would otherwise have been a bog; but +holes here and there could not be avoided. The Bishop always took a ride +early in the morning, before seven o'clock service in church. That +morning I had asked him to go to a house down that road, to inquire +about a servant. He came home late, and covered with mud all down one +side. "Papa has fallen," said little Mildred, playing in the garden. At +her voice her father seemed to wake up out of a deep sleep, and +gradually he became conscious of a severe bruise on his face and pain in +his head; but he could give no account of the matter, which was, +however, explained by a Malay in the course of the day. This man was +walking on the road to Pedungan, when he met the Bishop returning home. +He saw the horse put his foot into a deep hole and come down, the Bishop +also. He did not, however, at once fall off, not until the horse in his +efforts to rise had inflicted a blow with his head on his rider's face. +The Malay helped the horse up, which was not hurt, and the Bishop on his +back; and seeing he was much stunned, he followed them for some way lest +the Bishop should need assistance: but when they reached the town and +seemed all right, he went back. All this time, however, the Bishop was +perfectly unconscious; the horse carried him as he chose, over a ditch, +up a steep bank, under low-hanging trees, and quite safely until he +stopped at our own door. A headache and some stiffness were the only +results of what might have been a fatal accident. We were very thankful +to God for having sent His angel to guard steps as unconscious and +heedless as any little child's could have been. No memory of what had +happened ever came back to the Bishop. + + * * * * * + +In 1866 the _Rifleman_, her Majesty's surveying ship, gave us a passage +to Labuan, where the Bishop wanted to hold a confirmation. This ship +was going to Manilla, and from thence to Hong Kong, before she returned +to Singapore, and, through the kindness of Captain Reed, we accompanied +her. At Labuan I caught the fever of the country, but it did not come +out for ten days, by which time we were at Manilla. We anchored off +Manilla on Christmas-day evening: it had been a very wet day, but +cleared up at night, and we sat on deck watching the lights on shore, +and listening to the constant chimes of the numerous church bells, +whilst the sailors sang songs and did their best to amuse us. It seemed +so strange to be in a Christian country again. + +They have some customs at Manilla which I could not help admiring. When +the Vesper bell rings at six o'clock, all business and pleasure is +suspended for a few minutes, and all the world, man, woman, and child, +say a prayer. The coachmen on the carriages stop their horses, the +pedestrians stand still, friends engaging in animated conversation are +suddenly silent. The setting sun is a signal for the heart to rise to +God; it is a public recognition of His protecting care, and an act of +thanksgiving. When it is over, the children ask their parents' blessing +for the night. This was told me by a native of Manilla, an educated +gentleman, who gave his children every advantage of learning and travel. +The Vesper custom I saw for myself every time I took an evening drive. +We witnessed a very gorgeous procession on the feast of the Epiphany. +All the city functionaries, the military, the priests, bands of music, +and a masquerade of the three kings on horseback, surrounded by troops +of children beautifully dressed in white and scattering flowers, passed +through the streets to a church, into which they all poured, the three +horses riding in too, to attend high mass. I saw but little of Manilla, +being ill nearly all the time. It is a place shaken to pieces by +earthquakes. When we were there the great square, where the Government +offices once stood, was a heap of ruins, and the treasury was too poor +even to clear them away. The bridges were all broken in the middle, and +patched up somehow; and all the rooms in the houses were crooked, the +timbers of the walls being joined loosely together to admit of the +frequent trembling, heaving, and subsidence of the ground, without their +cracking. I believe the country all round was lovely, but I only took +one drive when I was convalescent, and then we steamed away to Hong +Kong. I shall say nothing about Hong Kong, for all the world knows what +a beautiful place it is in winter--how bright and sparkling the blue +sea, how clean and trim the streets, and how stately the buildings; also +what a dream of loveliness is the one drive out of the town to the Happy +Valley, where many an Englishman lies buried in the cemetery. I had a +second bout of fever at Hong Kong. Happily for us, we found kind +relatives both at Manilla and Hong Kong, who nursed me, and who were +very good to us. We found it very cold there after stewing for six +years in Borneo, and the Bishop caught a chill which made him ill all +the rest of the way home. Had we thought when we left Sarawak in '66 +that we should never return there, it would have been a great trial to +bid adieu to our old home, but we had no such intention. We were only +taking Mildred to England, and seeking a necessary change for the +Bishop's failing health. The knowledge that he would not be able to +resume his work in the East dawned upon us by degrees. It was a great +disappointment, but we were thankful that an English vicarage was found +for us, where we could make a home for our children, and where the +duties and pleasures of an English parish remained to us. It is, +however, very pleasant, on a foggy day in November or February, to +return in fancy to that land of sunshine and flowers; to imagine one's +self again sitting in the porch of the mission-house, gazing at the +mountain of Matang, lit up with sunset glories of purple and gold. Then, +when the last gleam of colour has faded, to find the Chinaman lighting +the lamps in the verandah, and little dusky faces peeping out, to know +if you will sing with them "Twinkle, twinkle, little star," or the hymn +about the "Purple-headed mountain and river running by," which must have +surely been written for Sarawak children. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE ISLAND OF BORNEO. + + +Borneo is so little known that a short account of it may be interesting. +If any one will examine a map of Borneo they will see that it is a large +island, in shape something like a box with the lid open. The interior of +the square part of it presents almost a blank on the map, for the coasts +only are known to the civilized world. Its greatest length is eight +hundred miles, and its greatest breadth six hundred and twenty-five +miles. Ranges of mountains through the centre of the island provide the +sources of many fine rivers which are the highways of the country. + +The Dutch claim the south and south-west of the island. They have +settlements at Sambas, at Pontianak, and at Banjermassin; and forts on +the rivers, inhabited by Dutch residents, or Malay chiefs in their pay: +but they have never won the hearts of the aborigines, for the Dutch +maxim is always to get as much money as possible out of native +subjects, consequently they are every now and then obliged to send +European troops to enforce the obedience of the Chinese and Dyaks to +their rule. On the west of Borneo lies the little kingdom of Sarawak, +about three hundred miles of coast line from Cape Datu to Point +Kiderong. + +The Sultan of Bruni, who was the nominal ruler of all the north-west of +Borneo, gave up this province to Sir James Brooke in 1841, "to him and +his heirs for ever," on condition a small sum of money was paid him +annually. The province consisted originally of "about sixty miles of +coast, from Cape Datu to the entrance of the Samarahan River, with an +average breadth of fifty miles inland;"[10] but from time to time the +Sultan entreated Sir James Brooke to take the rule of one river after +another beyond this province towards Borneo Proper, for, owing to his +own weakness, and the rapacity of his nobles who governed in his name, +no revenue came to him from those rivers, nor could he protect native +trade, or secure the lives of his subjects from the extortions and +covetousness of their Malay chiefs. So Sarawak grew, and peace, and +justice, and free trade flourished where before there were only poverty +and oppression. The country is traversed by fine rivers. The Rejang, +four fathoms deep two hundred miles from the mouth, the Batang Lupar, +and the Sarawak are the largest, and the great highways of the country; +along the banks of which are cultivated clearings and Dyak villages, +but beyond these extend dense jungle which even clothes the sides of the +mountains. Besides the before-mentioned rivers are many smaller ones +which are still noble streams--the Sarebas, Samarahan, Sadong, Lundu, +etc. It is indeed a well-watered country, and only requires the industry +of man to develop its riches. + + [Footnote 10: Letter of Sir J. Brooke to J. Gardner, Esq.] + +There are great mountain ranges to the north-west and through the +interior of the island, and the natives speak of lakes of vast extent, +with Dyak villages on their shores. But this is only tradition. There is +a lake commonly reported only two days' journey from the foot of Kini +Balu, a high mountain on the north-west, but no Englishman has yet trod +its shores. The difficulties of exploring such dense jungles and +mountain precipices as bar the way across Borneo are almost insuperable. +I quote from Mr. Hornaday's recent lecture at Rochester. He says, "Owing +to the peculiar and almost impassable nature of the country, Borneo has +never been crossed by the white man. Travelling over some of the +mountains seems to be an absolute impossibility. Many of them consist +almost wholly of huge blocks of basalt, soft, moist, and too slippery to +walk upon. I would rather attempt to cross the continent of Africa than +the island of Borneo. The explorer must carry with him provisions enough +to last both going and returning. The jungle affords nothing fit for +human sustenance, and there are no inhabitants to supply the explorer +with food. Fame awaits the man who will thoroughly explore the interior +of the island."[11] + + [Footnote 11: Mr. Hornaday's lecture before the Young Men's + Christian Association.] + +Sir Spencer St. John, who has had more experience of Borneo jungles than +any other Englishman hitherto, says, "As I have now made many journeys +in Borneo, and seen much of forest walking, I can speak of it with +something like certainty. I have ever found, in recording progress, that +we can seldom allow more than a mile an hour under ordinary +circumstances. Sometimes, when extremely difficult or winding, we do not +make half a mile an hour. On certain occasions, when very hard pressed, +I have seen the men manage a mile and a half; but, with all our +exertions, I have never yet recorded more than ten miles' progress in a +day, through thick pathless forests, and that was after ten hours of +hard work. It requires great experience not to judge distance by the +fatigue we feel."[12] + + [Footnote 12: St. John's Limbong Journal.] + +It seems that the Sultan of Bruni has found out that the best way he can +govern his subjects and gain a revenue without trouble, is by ceding +parts of his territory to others. He has given over the whole of the +north of the island to an English company, on condition they pay twelve +thousand five hundred dollars for it annually. This country, embracing +an area of twenty thousand square miles, has fine harbours on its +coasts very suitable for a commercial settlement. The great mountain of +Kini Balu, nearly fourteen thousand feet high, with its range of lesser +mountains, stands on the north-west, and between it and the sea lies a +very fertile country, thus described some years ago by Sir Spencer St. +John, in his "Forests of the Far East": "We rode over towards Pandusan +in search of plants. From the summit of the first low hill we had a +beautiful view of the lovely plain of Tampusak, extending from the sea +far into the interior. Groves of cocoanuts were interspersed among the +rice-grounds which extended, intermixed with grassy fields, to the +sea-shore, bounded by a long line of Casuarina trees. Little hamlets lie +scattered in all directions, some distinctly visible, other nearly +hidden by the rich green foliage of fruit-trees. The prospect was +bounded on the west by low sandstone hills, whose red colour +occasionally showing through the lately burnt grass, afforded a varied +tint in the otherwise verdant landscape. In the south Kini Balu and its +attendant ranges were hidden by clouds." + +Here is another description after a day's journey towards the +mountain:-- + +"While reclining under the shade of cocoanut palms, we had a beautiful +view of the country beyond. The river Tampusak flowed past us, bubbling +and breaking over its uneven bed, here shallower and therefore broader +than usual. To the left the country was open almost to the base of the +great mountain, to the right the land was more hilly, and Saduk Saduk +showed itself as a high peak, but dwarfed by the neighbourhood of Kini +Balu, whose rocky precipices looked a deep purple colour. The summit was +beautifully clear. The people in this part of the country are called +Idaan. They seem industrious and good agriculturists, even using a rough +plough, and cultivating the whole valley; a rich black soil produces +good crops of rice, and Killadis, an arum root used for food. They also +grow tobacco." + +These people live too far from Bruni to be robbed by the Sultan and his +nobles. The Lanuns who inhabit the north coasts are very warlike, and +have always been pirates within the memory of man. They will not be easy +subjects to deal with, nor will the Sooloos on the east coast, but if +they can be reclaimed they may become an enterprising and fine people, +like the Sarebas pirates of Sarawak. + +I hope the Company will have patience with the natives of this vast +territory. They will probably _not work for wages_. Chinese labour must +be depended upon, and as they are the most industrious people on the +face of the earth, and will do anything for money, they are always +available. But they require a firm government, and great care must be +taken that they do not infringe on the rights of the natives or there +will be quarrels and bloodshed. Tradition says that there was once a +Chinese kingdom at the north of Borneo, whose chiefs married into the +families of the principal Dyak chiefs; but it is the misfortune of the +Chinese character to be both boastful and cowardly, and when they had +irritated the Malays by their big words, they stood no chance of +prevailing against them in war. If their enemies did not run away after +the first attack and discharge of firearms, they were pretty sure to +show them an example by doing so themselves. I speak of the Chinese +fifty years ago; since they have had wars with Europeans they have +learnt better to stand to their arms. But they were gradually +exterminated by the Malays in these petty wars, and now all that remains +of them is a trace of Celestial physiognomy in their Dyak descendants, +and the knowledge of agriculture which they still retain. + +The Bruni Government protects no one. It is wonderful that any Chinese +should still trade at a place where riches, however moderate, are sure +to excite the cupidity of the Malay nobles, and to be transferred, under +some pretext or another, to their own pockets. I rejoice to think that +English rule and justice is now to be offered to the inhabitants of the +North of Borneo. They expect an Englishman to be just and generous, +brave and firm, and they ground this expectation on their knowledge and +experience of Labuan and Sarawak, and the lessons which her Majesty's +ships of war have from time to time impressed on the corrupt and +faithless Bruni people. I trust this experience will never be reversed +by unworthy agents or settlers. The climate is too tropical for +colonization, no families of emigrants can be reared in such heat. +There are, no doubt, more decided seasons in the north of the island +than in the centre: it is hotter at one part of the year, and colder at +another, than in the lands bordering on the equator, which are the rain +nurseries of the world. A less fierce heat, but rain almost every day in +the year, was our lot at Sarawak; and though it was very healthy for +English men and women, it was not so good for crops: pepper and coffee +prefer a drier climate. + +There will be one difficulty in the North Borneo settlement which will +require wise handling. I mean the slaves which are the possession of +every petty chief and every Malay family in the country. All pirates +bring home fresh slaves from every expedition. This can be put an end to +at once. But it will be as impolitic as impossible to put a sudden end +to the state of slavery in which so large a proportion of the +inhabitants will be found. In this respect I hope the North Borneo +Company will take a leaf out of Sarawak experience. Sir James Brooke, as +long ago as 1841, appealed to the English Government "to assist him to +put down piracy and the slave trade, which," he said, "are openly +carried on within a short distance of three European settlements, on a +scale and system revolting to humanity." + +The exertions of Sir James Brooke and his nephews, aided occasionally by +her Majesty's ships, have indeed nearly put a stop to piracy, and +therefore to the kidnapping of slaves. Still the descendants of Dyak +slaves remain the property of their masters. Besides these, there are +slave debtors, whole families who have sold themselves to pay the +accumulations arising from taxes or impositions of the Malays which they +had no hope of repaying. Usury, which was the fountain of this evil, has +been forbidden at Sarawak, and many are the slave debtors whom the +Rajah's purse has freed. + +"Slavery in the East," says Mr. Low,[13] "has always been of a more mild +and gentle character than that which in the West so disgusted the +intelligent natives of Europe. The slaves in Borneo are generally Dyaks +and their descendants, who have been captured by the rulers of the +country to swell the number of their personal attendants. Their duties +consist in helping their master, who always works with them, in his +house or boat building operations, accompanying him in his trading +expeditions, assisting in the navigation of his boats, etc. Their +masters generally allot them wives from amongst their female domestics, +and many of them acquire the affection and confidence of their +superiors. The price of a slave in Sarawak is from thirty to sixty +dollars, but as the trade is being as quickly repressed as possible, +without too much shocking the prejudices of the inhabitants, they have +of late become very scarce, and difficult to be bought. The price of a +girl varies from thirty to one hundred dollars, but at Sarawak they are +even more difficult than men to obtain." Thus wrote Mr. Low in the year +1848. By this time, 1882, slavery is almost nominal at Sarawak. I read, +in a _Sarawak Gazette_, six months ago, that Rajah Brooke had proposed +to his Supreme Council, which consists of four Malays and two +Englishmen, that slavery should be by law abolished in Sarawak +territory. He had proposed this, he said, six months previously, and the +Malay councillors present assented heartily as far as themselves and the +people of Kuching were concerned, but they thought it would be desirable +to give six months' notice to the outlying rivers and coasts, where the +people were not as advanced in civilization as those at the capital. Now +the six months had passed away, were they prepared to assent to the law? +They again expressed their cordial approval of the abolition of slavery, +but recommended three months more delay before it was enforced on the +out-stations. In the same _Gazette_ I noticed a letter from the Resident +at Bintulu, one of the farthest stations from Kuching, in which he +speaks of a Malay noble, warmly attached to the Sarawak Government, who +claimed all the inhabitants of a large district as his slaves. It was +merely a nominal claim, as they did no work for him, but he said they +belonged to him. Still, when he was assured by Mr. De Crespigny[14] that +such a claim would not be allowed by the Rajah, he submitted without +complaint. We may hope that such will be the universal acceptance of +the new law, but it is easy to see that forty years of past repression +and discountenance, and the strong influence of English opinion on the +subject of slavery, has effected what would doubtless have caused strong +opposition and estrangement if attempted hastily. + + [Footnote 13: "Sarawak, its Inhabitants and Productions," by + Hugh Low.] + + [Footnote 14: The Resident.] + +I have just received a _Sarawak Gazette_, dated July 1st, which contains +an account of a further cession of territory from the Sultan of Bruni to +Rajah Brooke of Sarawak. + +This is the passage: + + "On Saturday, the 10th June, his Highness the Sultan signified + his willingness to cede to the Rajah of Sarawak, and his heirs, + all the country and rivers that lie between Points Kadurong and + Barram, including about three miles of coast on the east side of + Barram Point. Negotiations about the sum to be paid for this + hundred miles of coast continued for three days, when the deed + of cession was finally sealed and delivered. This deed of + cession, sealed with the respective seals of his Highness the + Sultan of Bruni and the Rajah of Sarawak, was read out in full + court on the 10th June. After which his Highness the Rajah + addressed a few words to the people, telling them that he + intended going to the river Barram towards the end of this moon, + for the purpose of choosing a site whereon to erect a fort, and + establishing a government there, to be a nucleus of trade. He + added that all those who wished to trade there might now do so + without fear." + +This is an important addition to the country of Sarawak. + +The time may indeed not be far distant when the country of Bruni, now +wedged in between Sarawak and the territory of British North Borneo, may +disappear altogether, and with it the misrule and oppression of that +corrupt Eastern court. Then English people will be responsible for the +whole of the north and north-west of the island of Borneo, and a new era +of peace and happiness will dawn upon its inhabitants. + + +THE END. + + +PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES + + + + +PUBLICATIONS OF THE Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. + + +=All True. 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With Map. Crown 8vo. Satteen cloth boards, 5s. + + +CHRISTIANS UNDER THE CRESCENT IN ASIA. + +By the Rev. EDWARD L. CUTTS, B.A., Author of "Turning Points of Church +History," &c. With numerous Illustrations. Post 8vo. Cloth boards, 5s. + + +THE FIFTH CONTINENT, WITH THE ADJACENT ISLANDS. + +Being an Account of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea, with +Statistical Information to the latest date. By C. H. EDEN, Author of +"Australia's Heroes," &c. With Map. Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, 5s. + + +FROZEN ASIA: A SKETCH OF MODERN SIBERIA. + +By CHARLES H. EDEN, Esq., Author of "Australia's Heroes," &c. With Map. +Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, 5s. + + +HEROES OF THE ARCTIC AND THEIR ADVENTURES. + +By FREDERICK WHYMPER, Esq., Author of "Travels in Alaska," &c. With Map, +eight full-page and numerous small Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, +3s. 6d. + + +CHINA. + +By Professor ROBERT K. DOUGLAS, of the British Museum. With Map, and +Eight full-page Illustrations on toned paper, and several Vignettes. +Post 8vo. Cloth boards, 5s. + + +RUSSIA: PAST AND PRESENT. + +Adapted from the German of Lankenau and Oelnitz. By Mrs. CHESTER. With +Map, and Three full-page Woodcuts and Vignettes. Post 8vo. Cloth boards, +5s. + + +Depositories: + +NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS; +43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET; 26, ST. GEORGE'S PLACE, S.W.; +AND 135, NORTH STREET, BRIGHTON. + + + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: + + +Inconsistencies in the hyphenation of words preserved. (cocoanut/s, +cocoa-nut/s; firearms, fire-arms; gunboat, gun-boats; schoolboys, +school-boys; schoolroom, school-room) + +Pg. 32, duplicated word "the" removed. (the coasts and the seas) + +Pg. 42, inserted period after "Mr". (that in 1867 Mr. Chambers) + +Pg. 63, closing double quote inserted at end of what appears to be the +end of a quoted passage.(carried them away over their shoulders.") + +Pg. 95, duplicated period removed at sentence end. (by jet ornaments and +bugle trimmings.) + +Pg. 111, "examition" changed to "examination". (After the examination,) + +Pg. 118, added period at sentence end. (agreeable and uniformly kind.) + +Pg. 138, period changed to comma. (If you must go, some of us will go +with you) + +Pg. 162, unusual construction retained. (a new cook-house and servants' +rooms near, to build;) + +Pg. 243, closing double quote added at end of title of a book. (in his +"Forests of the Far East":) + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak, by +Harriette McDougall + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKETCHES OF OUR LIFE AT SARAWAK *** + +***** This file should be named 27568.txt or 27568.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/5/6/27568/ + +Produced by a Project Gutenberg volunteer working with +digital material generously made available by the Internet +Archive + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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