The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-11-24

an lnrlnslc worth Of few cents to the head
shnn,4 man Of 2 ,T3e, DEMANDING that his VILLAGE
shOOio give ior n a sum equal to ave, ten, or
twenty dollars. Another was sent In the same
way, and another, and another, until the
Iapsc.ty oi the chiefs was satisfied, or the
WIeteheo natives had no more 10 give. Often,
when the latter had been robbed of everything,
the M9lays would seize and sell their wives and
children. 1t is recorded Of one tribe, that there
was not so much as one woman or child 10 be
found in 1t. All had been swept of by these
remorseless slave hunters. Nor did their wrongs
end here. II Dyak killed Malay "under any
circumstances OF aggression" he was put to
death, often with every possible addition OF
torture. If he accidentally injured one OF the
ruling caste, he was fortunate TO escape with
the loss of half or two-thirds of his little
savings. On the other hand, Malay might kill
as many Dyaks as he pleased, and II perchanoe
justice were a little sterner than usual,
he might be fined few cents or few dollars.
Volumes are contained in this one statement,
that in the ten years from 1880 to 1910, the
Dyaks IN the province of Sarawak d dwindled from
l,0O0 to COCO souls.
A blow was Immediately struck at the root
OF this black oppression. As soon as the new
Government was fairly established, few sim
pie eDactments were published. They declared
that every man, Dyak AS well as Malay
should enjoy unmoested all the gains of his
toll; that all exactions of every name and
nature should cease, and that only q small
tax, evenly distributed, should be levied for
the support OF Government; that all roads and
rivers should be free to ALL that all molestation
| OF the Dya axis should be punished with severity.
| The proclamation which contains these laws
| concludes with exhornng all persons who arc
| disposed to disturb the public peace to take
| fight speedily to some other country, where
| they can break with impunity the laws of God
| and man. These enactments were firmly exc
| cuted, without fear and without partalty.
| Wonderful we're the results Internal violence
! ceased. The confidence of the natives was
| awakened. Industry and enterprise sprang
on eyefy hand Gty as ra9gs %@ge sama saGa
| times as many as fifty fled thither in day. In
| lS44, in the short Space of two months, five
| bundled families took shelter in the province.
| In 1850 three thousand Chinese fled from
sambas to Sarawak. The Dyaks returned the
| goodwill of their Rajah with love and reve-
| renee. During one OF his tours in the interior,
delegations from tribes numbering SIX thou
| SAND souls came to seek his protection. "We
] have heard,n said they, in simple but touching
| language, "that a son OF Europe has arrived,
| who is a friend of the Dyaks." When he visited
| the native hamlets the women would throw
! themselves on the ground and clasp his
| feet, and the whole tribe would spend the
night in joyful feasting and merriment. 1t is
sooerly affirmed by a credible witness, that on
| one occasion messengers came fifteen days
| journey from a distant province to see If there
we're such phenomenon as Dyaks living in
| comfort.
Mr.. Brooke soon found that all his efforts for
| internal leiorm must be in a comparative sense
| futile so long as piracy, that curse of BoTneO,
was permitted TO raVage uhchecked. 1t is In
a Malay's nature" says the Dutch proyerb, Ito
the Arab to wander with his steed on the sands
of the desert.n No person who has not investi-
gated the subject can appreciate how wide
spread and deep-seated this plague of piracy is.
The mere statistics are appalling. 1t was esti-
| mated, In 1910, that one hundred thousand men
made freebootlng their trade. One single chief
had under control seven hundred prahus.
| Whole tribes, whole groups of islands, almost
whole races, desplsing even the sembance OF
honest industry, depended upon raprne for a
livelihood ut is difficult to catch fish, but 1t
| Is easy to catch Borneans," said the Soloo
pirates scorntully; and, acting upon that prin-
| cple, they fitted out their fleets and planned
their voyages with all the method of honest
tTadesmen.
This piracy was divided into two branches
coatwise piracy and piracy on the broad seas
The Sea Dyaks built boats called bangkongs
sixty ro a hundred feet long, narrow anC
sharp, propelled by thirty to nifty oars, and So
swift that nothing but steamer could over
talSe them. These freeoooters were the terror
OF all honest laborers and tradesmen. Skuk
ing along the coast, pushing up rivers and
creeks, landing anywhere and everywhere with
out warning, they mercilessly destroyed the
native villages, and swept the inhabitants into
captivity. Or else, impeling with the force OF
fifty men their snakY craft which were swift as
race-boats and noiseless as beasts of prey, they
would surprise at dead of night some defense
less merchantman, overwhelm their victims
with showers of spears, and with morning light
plundered boat few dead bodies, were the
silent witnesses OF their teroclty. On the other
hand, the lllanum and Balanini tribes inlesting
the islands TO the northeast OF Borneo under
took lar grander enterprises. Putting to sea,
prepared ior a long voyage, in fleets of two or
three hundred prahus, propelled by wind and
oars, armed with brass cannon, and manned by
ten thousand bold buccaneers, they swept
through the whole length of the Chinese Sea,
and, turning the, southernmost point OF
Borneo, penetrated the straits and sounds
between Java and Celebes, never stop.
ping in their ruthless course urtl they
came face to face with the sturdy pirates oil
New Guinea, and returned, after a voyage OF
ten thousand miles and an absence of two years,
laden with spoils and captives How hapless
was the fate OF the poor Dyak! If he stayed at
home, cutiVating his fields, his Malay lord
fleeced him TO the skin. IT. thinking to engage
in gainful traffic. he hugged the shore with his
little barque, the river-pnate snatchef him up
Ii he stood out upon the broad waters, ..e could
scarcely hope to escape the Northern hordes
who swarmed in every sea.
Mr.. BTooke's most terrible assaiants were
the Sakarran and SaTebus pirates two tribes
of freebooteTs whose seats of power were
on the Sarebus and Batang Lupar rivers,
two streams fifty or sixty miles east OF
Sarawak These tribes were encouraged and
secretly helped by his own Malay Chiefs and
lnsolently defed his power continuing then
depredations, capturing every vessel which ven
tured out, and ravaging all the adjacent coasts
The strength of these conederacies was so great,
that it was no unusual thing for them to muster
hundred warboats; and they had built, on
the banks of the rivers which they infested,
strong forts at every point which commanded
the channel. That the new Raiah was
not able with his slender resources to
curb these sea robbers is not surprising. The
only wonder is that he was able to protect his
own capital from the assaults which they often
threatened, but never dared to attempt.
But efficient aid was at hand. In the summer
of lS43 the British ship Dido anchored off the
entrance of Sarawak river. She was commits
Chinese Sea. Her commander readily entered
into the views of the English Rajah. A