SULU KRIS.
The year 1858 was marked by a great revival of Lanun and Balagnini piracy. Among others, a Spanish vessel was taken in the Sulu seas by Panglima Taupan of Tawi-Tawi: a young girl, the daughter of a Spanish merchant, was the only one on board not massacred. Taupan took her for a wife; and, as I wrote at the time,—"Alas for the chivalry of the British Navy! Sir ——, who was present when this information was given, said it was a Spanish affair, not ours." Another fruit of the Commission—officers dared not act.[[269]]
No more terrible fate can be conceived than that to which this poor girl, who had witnessed the murder of her father, was dragged, but had a British man-of-war been present it is doubtful whether her Commander would have interfered, unless he were prepared to sacrifice duty to compassion. For, after the notorious Commission, the Admiralty had issued stringent commands that unless a vessel should have, within view, attacked some British vessel or subject, or that there was proof that she had done so, she was not to be molested. It was a revival of the former order of 1844, which, though it contained the same strict limit, allowed some latitude to a Commander.
The Rajah was rightly of opinion that
These orders are a direct violation of our treaties with Holland and with Bruni.[[270]] Such a course of action with pirates has never been pursued before by any civilised nation, and is manifestly calculated to destroy our commerce, wherever it may be practically acted upon. Let either the Lanun or Chinese pirates know that we shall not molest them unless they commit depredations on the English flag, and they would sweep away a million of commerce on these seas, which was bound to English markets in native bottoms.
Though the inhabitants and commerce of neighbouring countries continued to suffer, up to 1861 the pirates gave Sarawak a wide berth. Then they began to appear on the coast again, but the little Sarawak gunboats were on the alert. The principal object of the pirates was not to fight, but to obtain plunder and captives, and they afforded the gunboats only a few long shots. Still they managed to capture a few people, including some natives of Madras, British subjects. But in 1862 they were out in increased numbers.
In that year Captain Brooke, the Rajah Muda, met with a great loss, his second wife died at Kuching, after having given birth to her first child.[[271]] This occurred on May 6, and after a few days it was thought by his friends that he might find some mental relief in change of scene and active work. Accordingly he was persuaded to undertake a voyage to Bintulu, and Bishop McDougall volunteered to accompany him so as to cheer and support him. Mr. Helms, agent of the Borneo Company, joined the party and was dropped at Muka. On the second day after the arrival of Mr. Helms, and when the Rajah Muda had left in the Rainbow, a piratical fleet of Lanuns, consisting of six large and many small vessels, appeared off the mouth of the Muka river and blockaded the place. For a couple of days they remained there, making excursions on land, and capturing thirty-two persons. Mr. Helms despatched a party of natives in a fast boat that succeeded in eluding the pirates, though they narrowly escaped capture, to make known the state of affairs to the Rajah Muda, and they found him still at Bintulu.
On May 25, the little screw-steamer Rainbow, carrying two 9-pounder guns, steamed out of Bintulu, and at once engaged a detachment of three Lanun prahus, one of which was sunk, and another captured; the third was engaged by the Jolly Bachelor and driven on the rocks off Kedurong point, and her crew taking refuge ashore were hunted down and killed by the Bintulu people. Learning from the captives the direction taken by the remainder of the fleet, the Rajah Muda stood out to sea in search of them.
After an hour or so, wrote the Bishop, the look-out at the mast-head reported three vessels in sight, right ahead. At this time it was quite calm, and when we came near enough to see them from the deck, we saw them sweep up to the central vessel and lay themselves side by side, with their bows at us, as if they meant to engage us in that position. However, as we went on towards them the sea-breeze sprang up, so they changed their tactics, and opened out in line with their broadsides towards us to rake us as we came up. Our plan was, as before, to shake them first and run them down in detail. Brooke did not give the order to fire until we came within 250 yards of them, and they opened their lelahs (brass swivel-guns) upon us some time before we commenced firing. They fired briskly and did not attempt to get away, even when we got all our guns to bear upon them; but as we steamed round to get our stem fairly at the sternmost vessel, they seemed to think we were retreating, and pelted us with shot more sharply than ever, directing their chief attention to us on the poop, where we had one man killed and two severely wounded in no time, and we should have suffered more if the temporary bulwark of planks, etc., had not stopped their balls.
After the first prahu was run down, I had to go below to attend to our own wounded as they came in, but I plainly felt the concussion as we went into the others. One of the vessels was cut right in two; the steamer went straight on without backing, and she sank the other, one half on each side of us. She was the largest, and had a valuable cargo, and much gold and bags of Dutch rupees. The pirates fought to the last, and then would not surrender, but jumped into the sea with their arms; and the poor captives, who were all made fast below as we came up to engage them, were doubtless glad when our stem opened the sides of their ships and thus let them out of their prison. Few, comparatively, were drowned, being mostly all good swimmers. All those who were not lashed to the vessels or killed by the Illanuns escaped. Our decks were soon covered with those we picked up, men of every race and nation in the Archipelago,[[272]] who had been captured by the pirates in their cruise. One poor Chinese came swimming alongside, waving his tail over his head, and the other captives held up the cords round their necks to show they were slaves, lest they should be mistaken for Illanuns and shot or left to their fate. We soon picked up the poor fellows, and the Chinaman came under my hands, being shot through the arm. Many of the pirates we took were badly wounded, some mortally, the greater part were killed or disabled by our fire before we closed.