At daylight the two peaks of Sulu were visible; and as we approached, the summits of the other hills appeared, while all the rest of the island lay enveloped in mist; but the sun soon dispelled this, and showed us the west coast of the lovely island of Sulu. The slopes of the hills presented alternate patches of cleared grassy land, with clumps of trees scattered over its face, reminding one of a noble English park; while a long dense line of cocoa-nut palms skirted the beach, among which were seen many houses and groups of inhabitants, who were no doubt watching our approach with much anxiety, as they had already suffered from the attacks of the Dutch and Spaniards; but the sight of the English flag no doubt restored their confidence.
Anchored off Sugh, the capital of Sulu, which is situated at the bottom of a bay, and appears small; but among the existing dwellings we could distinguish blackened piles, the remains of portions of the city burnt by the Dutch. On the right of the town is a high hill, curiously peaked and well wooded. Farther off to the left, and at the back, are many high mountains, some peaked, others rounded; but, as a whole, forming a beautiful view. A white flag, with a castle represented on it, waved over the fort, and a pilot jack marked the residence of Mr. Wyndham, an Englishman, settled here for the purposes of trade.
Very few natives came off, until at length a messenger arrived from the sultan to know who we were; we returned a suitable and, no doubt, a satisfactory reply, as the Sulus were in a state of great excitement, having suffered considerably from the recent shots of the Dutch ships. Having communicated with Mr. Wyndham, we went to see the watering-place about a mile to the west of the town, situated near the great tree to which I have alluded in my second account of Kina Balu, where we found the water bursting out of the sand, clear as crystal, and pleasant to the taste.
The tree is very fine, being at least thirteen feet in diameter, with a very sinewy stem. Mr. Wyndham walked with us a little way into the country, and showed us some of the houses, having much the same appearance as those of the Malays. These people are better-looking than most other inhabitants of the archipelago; but appeared to be suspicious, watching us at every point; in fact, we afterwards heard the fugitives from Balignini were scattered among them, and they had had no time to forget what they had suffered from the well-deserved attacks of the Spaniards. We then pulled to Mr. Wyndham’s house, a mere rough building, raised near the site of his former one, burnt by the Dutch—why or wherefore is inconceivable. The whole night after our arrival the country was in an uproar, reports spreading of the advent of innumerable ships, which made the inhabitants hurry their women, children, and goods up to the mountain. In the evening we took a friendly letter to the sultan.
28th.—Went with the watering-party, but were unable to penetrate far, on account of heavy rain and the incivility of the natives, who waved us back. No answer, as yet, from the sultan.
30th.—Landed at the watering-place, where the mountaineers were assembled at a sort of market, bartering, buying, and selling. We walked about a little, and then returned to the beach, where we were surrounded by some scores of men, women, and children from the mountains and neighbourhood; the former are said to be of a different race, but we saw little signs of it. The women, on the whole, are better-looking than the Malays, and some of the little girls were quite pretty; they are civil enough, but anxious to know our business.
In the afternoon we went to an audience with the sultan. Having landed at Mr. Wyndham’s, who led us by a long shaky platform to the shore, where we found numbers of armed natives assembled, an officer from the sultan led the way along a broad rough road with a high stockade on the left, and houses on the right. We passed in, through ever-increasing crowds, to a market-place, where the women were selling fowls, fish, and vegetables, till we came to a creek, over which a rude bridge took us to the palace. Before crossing, we observed a large brass 24-pounder showing through an embrasure. The stockade continued on the left, until we passed a large gate, where on a green were assembled some hundreds of men, armed with muskets, spears, heavy Lanun swords, and krises, and defended by shields, and some brass armour, and old Spanish-looking helmets.
The audience hall was on the right, and the house of prayer on the left. The crowd opening, we mounted some steps, and crossing a verandah thronged with armed men, found ourselves in the presence of the sultan. The audience hall is large, but perfectly bare of ornament, as all their valuable silks and hangings were packed up, and mostly sent to the hills, on account of an absurd report spread by the mate of the Spanish brig we found anchored near, which, when we came in sight, began to get under weigh, and stand out to sea.
On being questioned by the Chinese passengers, he said that we had given him notice to get out of the way, as we were about to bombard the town. The rumour having spread, the natives packed up their valuables, and spent the night in carrying their goods off to the hills, and in removing their women and children. This caused the suspicious behaviour of the people, and what tends to keep up their apprehensions a little is that the Spanish brig has not yet returned to her proper anchorage.
But to return to the hall. In the centre stood a round table; on the opposite side sat the sultan surrounded by his datus, and around were a number of empty chairs, on which we took our seats. After shaking hands, a few questions were asked, as, “What was the news? Was France quiet?” The sultan was very like the picture in Sir Edward Belcher’s book, and was dressed in light-flowered silk, with a very broad gold belt round his waist, a handsome kris, and gold bracelets, sparkling with jewels. Some of the datus were splendidly dressed in silks, gold brocades, handsome turbans and head-dresses, like golden tiaras; the young men were, as usual, the most gaudily decorated, while the old were in plain white jackets, and crowds of the better class sat behind and around us.