When he returned, it appeared to me he had a very hang-dog look, and next day I noticed he was very busy about my medicine-chest, and I found my laudanum bottle on the table. Being very much engaged at the time preparing my letters for the mail, I took no particular notice of his movements, but immediately after dinner, having taken coffee, I felt drowsy, and had scarcely entered my mosquito room, when I fell on the sofa, and remained in a stupefied sleep for thirteen hours. On my recovery, Ahtan came with a scared look, and said somebody had stolen my heavy iron chest, and it proved to be the case, but as I had six dogs, one of whom was a savage mastiff, my suspicions instantly fell upon my own people, and passing over my household servants, I fixed on my boatmen as the culprits.
The Sultan, however, sent and begged I would leave the matter in his hands, and on my expressing my willingness, instantly arrested two of my servants, Ahtan and a Manilla Christian named Peter. They were separated, and at dead of night the Sultan went himself with a drawn kris in his hand to the latter, and said if he would confess he would save his life, but if not——; he did not finish the sentence, as Peter instantly fell on his knees, and clinging to the Sultan’s feet, begged that his life might be spared and he would explain all. It appeared that while he held and quieted the mastiff, Ahtan had taken a blacksmith and a carpenter to the chest, and they had carried it off. As these men were constantly employed by me, it explained the silence of the other dogs; but though he could tell how the chest was carried off, he knew nothing of what had since become of it. The Sultan then left him and went to Ahtan, but no threats or entreaties had the slightest effect on him, as he had sworn in the most solemn manner to be faithful to the members of the Tienti Hué, and would confess nothing. The two accused were seized, and as they also belonged to the Secret Society, suspicion was directed to it. I sent for the chief and the other officers of the Hué, and told them the whole story, and said, if the chest unbroken, with the 80l. in it, and all the papers, were not placed on the ground before my house within forty-eight hours, I would turn the Sultan’s attention on them. They protested their utter ignorance of the robbery, which was probably true, but they well knew how to influence all their members, and before the forty-eight hours were over, the chest, untouched, was thrown on the mud just above my house. Finding after a fortnight that the prisoners were receiving treatment totally at variance with English ideas of justice, I sent and begged the Sultan to pardon them, and turn his attention to getting rid of the Secret Society from his dominions. He complied, and it merely required a warm recommendation on his part to the chief officers to break up the society, to induce them to do it, as he declared that every robbery in future should be laid at their door, and every crime committed should be avenged on them. As the officers were men doing a good business at the time, they quickly got rid of their banners and meeting house, and I heard no more of the Hué during the rest of the time I remained in Borneo, but during my last visit I found the chief officers of the society reduced to comparative poverty, as their partners and agents in Singapore, happening to be real British subjects, had refused to have anything further to do with them when they knew of their conduct.
I requested the Sultan to let the prisoners go, as all except Ahtan were kept in the stocks in an open verandah, exposed to sun and rain, and tormented the whole day by boat boys, who delighted in torturing those whom they considered as infidels: in Brunei they have no prisons whatever. Ahtan was better treated, as he was known to have been a favourite servant, though his conduct was very bad, particularly in dosing me with opium, yet I could not forget his kindness to me during our wanderings in the interior, and asked for his liberty on that plea. The Sultan’s answer was,—“The plea is good, but the stubbornness of that boy in refusing to confess when all the others had acknowledged their crime, deserves death.” I heard a few months ago that he was keeping a small shop in Labuan.
A man in whom I felt a very great interest, and was very sorry to part with, was Musa, my Manilla steersman and coxswain; as a boy he had been educated as a Christian, but having been captured very young and sold by the Balignini pirates to the Mahomedans, he had been circumcised, and joined their communion. He had a particular antipathy to Signor Cuarteron, who returned the dislike, and used gravely to assure me that my quiet, respectful follower had a design to massacre him. When the priests first came to Brunei, all my Manilla men attended mass, but were suddenly disgusted with something which took place; and on my inquiring the cause, one of them said, “We don’t like to be told that if we don’t again join the Padre’s religion, he will send for a Spanish man-of-war to take us all off prisoners to Manilla.” If he really did threaten them, he made a great mistake, as some of them never went near the church again. Musa, though modest and gentle in his manner, was as brave as a lion, and would have followed me anywhere. Though very short, he was squarely built, and exceedingly strong; a very powerful swimmer, and good boatman. Many of these men excite a personal regard, and I have always felt that for Inchi Mahomed, my Malay writer, who was entrusted with the charge of the Consulate during my lengthened absences, and he well deserved the trust.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE SULU ARCHIPELAGO.
FIRST VISIT.
Picturesque Islands—Balambañgan—An old English Settlement—Large Monkeys—Optical Illusions—Flights of Birds—The Curlew—The way we shot them in Sarawak—Game—Banguey—Mali Wali—Cleared Hills—Fine Water—Sweet-smelling Jasmine—Cagayan Sulu—Intercourse with the Inhabitants—Appearance of the Country—Lovely Scenery—Market—Inhabitants—Insolent Traders—The Crater Harbour—Wall of Evergreen—Inner Lake—Climb the Cliff—Scenery—Alligators numerous—Sulu—Appearance from the Ship—Sugh, the Capital—Mr. Wyndham—The Watering-place—Suspicious Natives—Fugitives from Balignini—Reports—A Market—The Mountaineers civil—Walk to the Palace—The Stockades—Armed Crowd—Audience Hall—Absurd Reports—The Sultan and his Nobles—Dress—Politeness of the Sultan—Return to the Ship—Datu Daniel—The Racecourse—Effect of Dutch Shot—Tulyan Bay—Alarm of Villagers—Sulu Government—Laws—Feuds—The Mahomedan and the Pork—Population—Fighting-men—Slave Market—Dignified carriage of the Nobles—Dress—The Balignini—Dutch Attack—Appearance of the Country—Good Position of Island—Tulyan—Basilan—Numerous Islets—Samboañgan—Spanish Convict Settlement—Description of Country—Fort—Town—Shops—The Church—The Men—The Women—The Corner Shop—A Ball—Dancing difficult—Waltzes—Supplies at Samboañgan—A lonely Grave.
During all the voyages I have made, I have never beheld islands so picturesque as those scattered over the surface of the Sulu Seas, or whose inhabitants more merited notice. I will therefore give a short account of the visits I made thither, before the attacks of the Spanish forces had altered the ancient state of affairs. I have already delineated the north-west coast, and will therefore commence my description from the island of Balambañgan, to the north of Maludu Bay, which must always be of some interest to Englishmen from our two unsuccessful attempts to form a settlement there.
We dropped anchor off Balambañgan, which at night appears a low wooded island. I visited it in the morning in a cutter, and vainly sought any fresh traces of human beings, though we found some old deserted huts of the fishermen who frequent this shore for tripang. Continuing our explorations, we noticed something moving along the beach, and there were various conjectures among our party, some affirming it to be a buffalo, others a man; I never was more deceived in my own estimate of the size of an animal, as it proved to be a large monkey, which with its companions was seeking shell-fish on the sands; it was certainly very large, but not of such dimensions as to warrant its being compared to a bull, but there appeared to be some optical illusion caused by its looming over the water.
Pursuing our path along the beach, the seamen at last thought they saw houses among the trees, but on landing we found we were again deceived by a row of white rocks, prettily overhung with creepers. Though no traces of inhabitants were to be found, yet animal life was well represented, innumerable monkeys swarmed at the edge of the jungle, while flights of birds of every kind kept rising before us. I never saw more monstrous pelicans, but after having been so deceived by the monkeys, I must not attempt to estimate their height. The best birds, however, for culinary purposes, were the curlews, some of which are as large as small fowls: unfortunately we were not provided with shot, and ball fell harmlessly among them.
They are wary birds, but may yet be readily circumvented. There is a spot at the entrance of one of the minor branches of the Sarawak river, where the curlews congregate in thousands, but only at the height of spring-tides can you get profitable shots at them. There are broad sands there, and the birds spread over them to feed; by degrees the rising waters gradually press them back towards the wooded shore; and as beach after beach is covered, they fly screaming above in wide circles, gradually narrowing till they all settle on the spot near which the sportsmen lie concealed, either behind scattered bushes, or in a prepared bower of leafy branches. The evening has well closed in before the tip-top of high-water; and the loud scream of the myriads of birds deadens the detonation of the guns as they send their iron shower among them, enabling us to load and reload without completely scaring the birds. We once obtained ninety-five of the largest kind, and hundreds of smaller ones, to feast the crowd who were assembled near preparatory to a great tuba-fishing.