During my absence, Sarāwak had been visited by H.M.S. Samarang, Captain Sir Edward Belcher, who had received directions to call on and communicate with Mr. Brooke. In dropping down the river the Samarang grounded on a long shelf of rocks, at the top of high water, and with the ebb-tide rolled over, filling with the succeeding flood. She was nearly a fortnight in this position, but was ultimately saved by the skill and almost unparalleled perseverance (aided by such assistance of men and spars as Mr. Brooke could afford) of her captain, officers, and crew—a feat that must have given the natives a good idea of what British seamen are capable of. This accident delayed for a short time a visit that was afterward made by Sir Edward Belcher, accompanied by Mr. Brooke, to Borneo Proper. A hurried inspection of the capabilities of that part of the coast took place; and the fact of there being coal on the island was ascertained.
I received a second letter from Muda Hassim, of which the following is a translation:
“This comes from Pangeran Muda Hassim, Rajah of Borneo, to our friend Captain Keppel, in command of her Britannic Majestyʼs ship.
(After the usual compliments):
“We beg to let our friend Captain Keppel know, that the pirates of Sakarran, whom we mentioned last year, still continue their piracies by sea and land; and that many Malays, under Seriff Sahib, who have been accustomed to send or to accompany the pirates and to share in their spoils, have gone to the Sakarran river, with a resolve of defending themselves rather than accede to our wishes that they should abandon piracy.
“Last year Captain Belcher told the sultan and myself, that it would be pleasing to the Queen of England that we should repress piracy; and we signed an agreement, at his request, in which we promised to do so; and we tell our friend of the piracies and evil actions of the Sakarran people, who have, for many years past, done much mischief to trade, and make it dangerous for boats to sail along the coast; and this year many prahus, which wanted to sail to Singapore, have been afraid. We inform our friend Captain Keppel of this, as we desire to end all the piracy, and to perform our agreement with the Queen of England.”
Monday, 5th August, 1844, being the morning fixed for the departure of our expedition against the Sakarran pirates, the Phlegethon steamer weighed at 8 oʼclock, and proceeded down the river to await at the mouth the collection of our force. Among those who accompanied us from Sarāwak was the Pangeran Budrudeen, the intelligent brother of the rajah already noticed. This was a great and unusual event in the royal family; and the departure from the rajahʼs wharf, which I viewed from Mr. Brookeʼs house, on the opposite bank of the river, was intended to be very imposing. The barge of state was decked out with banners and canopies; all the chiefs attended, with the Arab priest Mudlana at their head, and the barge pushed off amid the firing of cannon, and a general screech, invoking the blessing of Mahomet.
Having seen the last boat off, Mr. Brooke and myself took our departure in the gig, when another and last farewell salute was fired from the rajahʼs wharf.
Three hours brought us to the steamer, anchored off the fishing huts at the mouth of the river. Here we heard that a small boat from the enemyʼs country had, under the pretence of trading, just been in to spy into our force, but decamped again on the appearance of the steamer. We now all got fairly away together, the smaller boats keeping near the shoals in shore, while the steamer was obliged to make an offing some miles from the coast. From the masthead we distinctly made out the small boat that had left the mouth of the river before, both pulling and sailing in the direction of the Batang Lupar, up which the Sakarran country lies; and as it was desirable that the pirates should not get information of our approach, at dusk, being well in advance, and our auxiliary force following, I dispatched Mr. Brookeʼs Singapore sampan and one of the Didoʼs cutters in chase. At half-past nine we anchored in the stream within the entrance.
We were fortunate at Sarāwak in picking up two excellent and intelligent pilots, who had long known the whole river, and had themselves been several times forced to serve in the boats while on their piratical excursions.