The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1923-10-05
CAPTAINS OF
ADVENTURE
Copyrgh tbyB sMermCo
By ROGER POCOCK

ace gates. In few well-choSen words
he explained Makota's villainy, showed
that neither the rajahs life nor his
own was safe, and that the only course
was to proclaim Brooke as governor.
No shot was fired, no blow was
struck, but Makota's party vanished.
the villain fled, the rajah began to be-
have, the government of the country
was handed over to the Englishman
amid great rejoicings. MY darling
mother" he wrote, II am very poor,
but / want some things from home
very much; so l must trust to your be-
Ing rich enough to afford them to me.
Imprimis, a circle for taking the lati-
tude; secondly, an electrifying machine
of good power; thirdly, large magic
lantern; fourthly, rifle which carries
fifty balls; and last, a peep-show. The
circle and rifle want very much; and
the others are all for political pur-
poses" Did ever king begin his reign
with such an act as that letter?
But then, look at the government he
replaced: 1.-The sultan and his chiefs
rob all classes Of Malays to the utmost
of their power; the Malays rob the
Dyaks, and the Dyaks hide their goods
as much as they dare, consistent with
the safety of their wives and chill
dren." Brooke found his private in
come very slender fund when he had
TO pay the whole expense of governing
a kingdom until the people recovered
from their ruin.
February the first, 1912. pirate
chief called to make treaty with the
new king. "He inquired, if tribe pi-
rated on my territory what l intended
to do. My answer was ito enter their
country and lay it waste But he
asked me again, you will give me.
your friend-leave to steal few heads
occasionallyT No. 1 replied, 4 shall
have a hundred Sakarran heads for
every one you take here' He required
to this request several timeS-.just to
steal one or two !-as a schoolboy asks
for apples"
Brooke used 20 give the pirates his
laughing permission to go to Singapore
and attack the English.
1.-The Santah river" he wrote, sis IA
nous for its diamonds. The workers
seem jealous and superstitious, dislik-
ing noise, particularly laughter, as it is
highly offensive to the spirit who pre-
sides over the diamonds. A. Chi
emn face requested me to give him an
old letter; and he engraved some Chi
nese characters, which, being translat-
ed, signify 'Rajah Muda Hassim, James
Brooke and Hadju Ibrahim present
their compliments to the spirit and re-
quest his permission to work at the
mine'"
There were great doings when the
sultan of Borneo had Mr.. Brooke pro-
claimed king in Sarawak. Then he
went off to the Straits Settlements,
where he made friends with Henry
Keppel, captain Of ii. NJ S. Dido,
sportsman who delighted in hunting
pirates, and accepted Brooke's invita-
ton to few days shooting. Keppel
describes the scene of BrOoke's return
to his kingdom, received by all the
chiefs with undisguised delight, min
gled with gratitude and respect for
their newly elected ruler 1.-THE scene
was both novel and exciting, present
ing to us-just anchored in a large
fresh water river, and surrounded by
densely wooded jungle-the whole sur
face Of the water covered with canoes
and boats dressed with colored silken
flags, filled with natives beating their
tom-toms, and playing on wind instru-
ments, with the occasional discharge Of
firearms. To them it must have been
equally striking to witness the Dido
anchored almost in the center Of their
town, her mastheads towering above
the highest trees of that jungle, the
loud report of her heavy thirty-two-
FOUNDER guns, the manning aloft to
furl sails of one hundred-fifty seamen
in their clean white dresses, and with
the band playing. I was anxious that
Mr.. Brooke should land with all the
honors due to so important person
age, which he accordingly did, under
salute"
1t was a little awkward that the
Dido struck rock and sank, but she
chose convenient spot just opposite
Mr.. BrOoke'S house, SO that Brooke's
officers and those of the ship formed
one mess there, a band Of brothers,
while the damage was being repaired
Then came the promised sport, joint
boat expedition up all sorts Of queer
back channels and rivers fouled by the
pirates with stakes and booms under
fire of the artillery in their hill fort
resses. The sportsmen burst the
booms, charged the hills, stormed the
forts, burned out the pirates and OBJ
tanned their complete submission.
The next adventure was visit from
the Arctic explorer, Sir Edward Bel
cher, sent by the British government
to inspect Brooke's kingdom, now a
peaceful and happy country.
Later came Admiral Sir Thomas
Cochrane with squadron to smash up
few more pirates, and the smashing.
of pirates continued for many years
popular sport for the navy. The pirate
states to the northward became In time
the British colonies of Labuan and
North Borneo, but Sarawak is still a
protected Malay state, the hereditary
kingdom of Sir James Brooke and bis
descendants.