On the morning of the nineteenth we entered the Madalam, an affluent which is distinctly narrower than the main stream, and our journey up it was more difficult, owing to the strength of the current and the numerous rapids. We landed in the afternoon on one of the shingle beaches or karangang that occur in the concavity of a bend of the river, or in other words, in the convexity of the bank, and immediately wood was chopped and a fire lit, a folding table was set up, and in a very short time a cup of afternoon tea was ready. After this we strolled about in the jungle and on the small beach, and shortly before sunset had a swim; there are no crocodiles to fear so far up the river. By this time our boatmen had finished making a sleeping-shed for us. It is surprising how quickly the natives will erect one of these huts. As there were three of us they made the hut about ten or twelve feet long and about six feet broad. A flooring of saplings or bamboos was raised two or three feet off the ground by poles running lengthwise; the roof was covered with kajangs from the boats; the ends were slightly walled with boughs, but the sides were open. This was of no consequence as the roof was low. To make everything more secure we threw our waterproof sheets over the kajangs and others over the floorings. With a couple of blankets and a pillow each, we had very comfortable quarters, safe from rain and damp.
We had a good dinner on the beach and turned in early.
The country we were passing through was a few years previously the scene of a little disturbance, and I have culled the following account of it from the Sarawak Gazette (vol. xxv., 1895) in order to illustrate some of the difficulties that the Government has had to contend against.
In December, 1894, Lahing, son of Orang Kaya Tumonggong Lawai, the chief of the Long Patas, went from the Tutau to the Pandaruan River with the avowed intention of collecting jungle produce, but when there, and only three hours’ walk from the Government Station at Limbang, he murdered three Kadayans and, with two of their heads as trophies, returned to his father’s house on the Tutau; the third man sunk in the river directly after he was killed, and so his head was not obtained. The heads were feasted in the house on their arrival, and news of this having reached the Resident of Baram, he at once ordered them to be given up and a deposit of $1,500 to be put in the fort. This was done, but the Rajah was not satisfied with the pledge, and ordered the Orang Kaya to pay a fine of $2,000, and to move back to the Baram District, for in the meantime he had shifted to the Madalam River. This the Orang Kaya refused to do, nor would he meet the Resident of Baram, but commenced building a house in the Madalam for himself and his people, who numbered about seventy families, to the annoyance of the peaceable inhabitants of the district, who had suffered on previous occasions from these men. The Resident of Limbang sent for the Orang Kaya to come down to the fort, but he refused to do so, and owing to the feeling of insecurity which was rife among the people of the Limbang, and the certain prospect of future disturbances should these men be allowed to settle in the Madalam, the Rajah decided that force must be employed to punish the aggressors, and restore tranquillity and confidence amongst the people in the Limbang.
The Rajah informed the Supreme Council on the 20th May, 1895, that Orang Kaya Tumonggong Lawai and his son Lahing in former times had been made use of by the Brunei Government for warlike purposes against the population of the Limbang. Since their arrival in the Madalam the Orang Kaya had on two occasions visited Brunei, where he was received in a friendly manner by H.H. the Sultan of Brunei and his Government.
PLATE XXV
ORANG KAYA TUMONGGONG LAWAI, CHIEF OF THE LONG PATAS, IN WAR COSTUME, WITH A KENYAH SHIELD
A SLEEPING HUT IN THE JUNGLE