Stirring scenes in savage lands

by James Greenwood

War Dance of the New Zealanders.

PART IX.
SAVAGE WARFARE.

CHAPTER XXI.

Hereditary pirates—A Bornean pirate fleet—Rajah Brooke and the pirates—A tough job against the prahus—No quarter with the Dayaks—A freebooter captain—Dayak arms—Bornean fighting tactics—Advance of Sir J. Brooke’s troops—A debate about fighting—Poisoned arrows—Weapons of the Amazonian Indians—The blow-gun—A Bornean war dance—War trophies—Heads, scalps, and brains—Horrible festivity—The Savages of North America.

Amongst the most warlike savages on the face of the earth must be counted the natives of the coast of Borneo. It would have been more correct, however, to have alluded to these redoubtable barbarians as the most warlike on the face of the sea rather than the earth; for the majority of their conflicts take place in their “prahus” and “sampans,” and in pursuit of their regular and hereditary calling of pirates. Nor are they insignificant in point of number; there are the Sarebus, the Sakarran, the Illanun, the Balagnini, each comprising a tribe many thousands strong, and sea-robbers to a man, woman, and child; and, besides these, a whole host of ragamuffin fellows, not respectable enough for the society of the great pirate community, and who, being joint-stock owners of a prahu, prowl round the coast, and snap up any trifle too insignificant for the commanders of the various fleets; for fleets they are beyond question. The prahus of which the fleets are composed are long, commodious vessels, propelled by rowers, and carrying sometimes as many as a hundred men each. Sir J. Brooke, the celebrated “Rajah of Sarawak,” once had an opportunity of counting ninety-eight boats about to start on a piratical cruise, the crews of which, reckoned at the low computation of twenty-five men each, gave a grand total of nearly two thousand five hundred men. On the same authority, the internal constitution of these rowers may be stated as follows:—Commanding each fleet is one man, who holds his high post either by virtue of high birth or riches; under any circumstances, however, he must possess bravery and cunning, otherwise, whatever his station or right conferred by birth, he would very soon be put down, and a proper leader elected in his place. To each prahu there is a captain and half a dozen petty officers, generally the captain’s relations, while all the rest—comprising about four-fifths of the whole—are slaves. Although, however, these latter are more or less compelled to serve, they are not without their privileges. They have the right of plunder, which is indiscriminate, with certain exemptions—viz., slaves, guns, money, or any other heavy articles, together with the very finest descriptions of silks and cloths, belong to the chiefs and free portion of the crew; with the rest the rule is first come first served.

These worthies are indifferent to blood-shedding, fond of plunder, but fonder than all of slaves; they despise trade, although its profits may be shown to be greater than those of sea-plunder, and look on their calling as the noblest occupation of chiefs and free men. Their swords they show with boasts, as having belonged to their ancestors, who were pirates, renowned and terrible in their day. Without doubt the chief support of the system are the slaves they capture on the different coasts. If they attack an island, the women and children and as many men as they require, are carried off. Every boat they take furnishes its quota of slaves; and when they have collected a full cargo they visit another coast and dispose of it to the best advantage. For instance, a cargo of slaves captured on the east coast of Borneo is sold in the west, and the slaves of the south find ready purchasers in the north. As the woolly-haired Papuas are generally prized by the natives, constant visits are made to New Guinea and the easternmost islands where they are procured and afterwards sold at high prices amongst any Malay community. On one occasion Rajah Brooke met eighteen boats belonging to the Illanun pirates, and learned from their chiefs that they had been two years absent from home; and from the Papuan negro slaves on board, it was evident that their cruise had extended from the most eastern islands of the Archipelago to the north-western coast of Borneo.

Here is a picture of a pirate fleet drawn by Governor Brooke himself:

“At this time it was hinted that a large pirate fleet had been seen in the vicinity of the coast, and in a day or two afterwards we had certain news of their having taken the Sadung boats bound from Singapore; and Datu Pangeran was in consequence despatched to communicate with them. He returned, bringing the fleet along with him to the mouth of the river, whence they requested permission to visit Sarawak, and pay their respects to the Rajah. I was consulted on the subject, whether I would meet them, and as I preferred a pacific to a hostile rencontre, and had, moreover, a considerable curiosity to see these roving gentry, I consented without hesitation. Report stated that their intention was to attack the Royalist (a war ship of the English navy), as they had, it was averred, received positive accounts of her having fifty lacs of rupees on board, and that her figure-head was of solid gold. As, however, we had no such treasure, and the meeting was unavoidable and might be hostile, I put myself into a complete posture of defence, with a determination neither to show backwardness nor suspicion. The day arrived, and the pirates swept up the river; eighteen prahus, one following the other, decorated with flags and streamers, and firing both cannon and musketry; the sight was interesting and curious, and heightened by the conviction that these friends of the moment might be enemies the next. Having taken their stations the chief men proceeded to an interview with the Rajah, which I attended to witness. Some distrust and much ceremony marked the meeting; and both parties had numerous followers, who filled the hall of audience and the avenues leading to it. The pirates consisted of Illanuns and Malukus from Gillolo. The Illanuns are fine athletic men with haughty and reserved bearing, and evidently quite ready to be friends or foes as best suited their purpose.

“Beyond the usual formalities the meeting had nothing to distinguish it; one party retired to their boats while the other went to their respective houses, and everything betokened quiet. In the evening I pulled through the fleet and inspected several of their largest prahus. The entire force consisted of eighteen boats, three Malukus and fifteen Illanuns; the smallest of these boats carried twenty men, the largest (they are mostly large), upwards of a hundred. These larger prahus are too heavy to pull well, though they carry twenty, forty, and even fifty oars; their armament consists of one or two six pounders in the bow, one four pounder, stern-chaser, and a number of swivels, besides musketry, spears, and swords. The boat is divided into three sections and fortified by strong planks, one behind the bow, one amidship, and one astern to protect the steersman. The women and children are crammed down below, as are the unlucky prisoners taken in the course of an action.