Published by Smith, Elder & Co. 65, Cornhill, London.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE __ SARAWAK 1860.
Sarawak and its dependencies next claim my attention, and I will give an account of my first visit to that place, as the notes I then made are more likely to present a true picture than any written subsequently. On August 31, 1848, we came in sight of Borneo; it was a dull and misty day, and the shores were not clearly visible, but the next morning it was bright and showed us in all its perfection the lovely country that skirts the shore between Datu and Sipang points. At first it appeared a confused mass of mountains, but the eye soon began to distinguish its varied features. The massive and lofty range of Poé bounded the scene to the westward, while the Matang occupied the centre of the picture, and the peak of Santubong and the Sipang hills completed it to the eastward. Between these are many lower ranges, and beyond could be seen various ridges and single mountains forming a background.
Though these high lands first attract the eye, yet it rests with greater pleasure on the beautiful valleys between, and none more beautiful than that at the foot of the Poé mountains, which stretches as far as the eye can reach, and imperceptibly mingles with the neighbouring hills. Taken as a whole, it is a very beautiful bay, and lovely are the isles scattered about it. Every traveller is enthusiastic about the appearance of these little gems, which rise verdant from the water’s edge to the very summit; or rendered more bright by a narrow beach of shining yellow sand that skirts the shores.
The first two are called Talang Talang, and on these are collected the turtles’ eggs. From the larger a broad sandy flat extends to the southward, and on this, during the prevalence of the south-west monsoon the turtles lay their eggs. There are men on the look-out near, and as soon as the animals have dug holes, deposited the eggs, and carefully covered them over, the watchers stick little flags in the sand to mark the spots. In the morning they open them out and procure immense supplies of these eggs, which are exported to all the neighbouring countries. Though the turtles do occasionally frequent the surrounding isles, it is only here that they are plentiful.
The Malays are eager in the search, yet fortunately very many nests escape their rapacity. But the dangers to the turtle do not end here: when the little things burst up from the sand, they find enemies in every direction. The voracious kites soaring above pounce on their defenceless prey, even the land crab seizes them and bears them away, and when the remainder escape to the water, hundreds of sharks and other voracious fish are there to devour them; it is astonishing that so many elude their enemies. A turtle’s egg tastes to me like a stale and fishy duck’s egg. The sandy beaches of these isles are always to the southward, as they are not exposed to the fierce blasts of the north-east monsoon. The next islets near the Santubong entrance of the Sarawak river, are Sampadien and the two Satangs. On all are at present extensive groves of cocoa-nut trees, which form a marked contrast to the neighbouring jungle.
It is very curious that the fish should frequent this bay so very irregularly. Some years the supplies are ample, at other seasons it scarcely pays to search for them. The dugong, called by the Malays duyong, is occasionally secured off the small islands in this bay; there is a famous fisherman in Sarawak, named Pa Sipi, who is expert in all accomplishments appertaining to his craft, and I have heard the natives say that when a duyong is seen, he used cautiously to approach it, and being always the foremost man, he hurled his fishing spear at it, and very shortly after, if he were obliged to let go his hold of the weapon, the animal would rise again to the surface. The fishing spear is called a sarampang, and is usually made with a treble-pronged iron point, fitted loosely into the end of the spear, and secured by a stout lashing of rattans to the wood. When the iron has entered into the animal, it comes loose from the shaft of the spear, which is then only held to it by the rattan rope, and it would be impossible for an animal thus encumbered to escape far. Pa Sipi brought us once a very fine duyong, which measured nearly eight feet in length, and its flesh tasted very much like coarse beef.
We moved along under easy sail, and anchored near the Muaratabas entrance of the Sarawak river. The land here is very bold, particularly Sipang and Po points.
We sent a boat up the Santubong as we passed the entrance, to give notice at the town of our arrival, and in the evening we landed for a walk in a deep nook to the westward of Point Po; here, just above the sandy beach, were the graves of several Englishmen, among others of Lieutenant Mathews, of H.M.S. Iris: a simple granite stone marked the spot; the wild pigs, however, had desecrated the graves and overturned the tablet; so the latter was subsequently removed to the church-yard in Sarawak. We amused ourselves about the edges of the forest in searching for a good watering-place. To me this evening was inexpressibly delightful, as I wandered about this quiet pretty spot, and thought how agreeable an introduction it was to Bornean life. After dark we waded to our boats, and the crews enlivened the evening by singing in chorus till we neared the ship. Twenty deep voices sounded well over this still and starlit sea. For the first time I saw some Lingga Dayaks to-day, and as they happened to be dressed as Malays, my first impression was that it would be difficult to distinguish between them.
About ten o’clock the following morning native war-boats commenced issuing from the Muaratabas, and sailing towards us. They were the Sarawak people come to welcome back their English rajah. There were twenty long light war prahus with tapering masts and lateen sails, ornamented with flags and streamers, and all the chiefs and crews were dressed in gala costume. The principal men came on board, and it was interesting to observe the warmth they showed to their adopted chief. Some of the Sarawak men were striking-looking, but the nobles from the capital were the most insignificant creatures I had ever seen; they were only remarkable for the gold lace with which their jackets were profusely ornamented, and that they were very gentlemanly, and more polished in manner than their provincial neighbours.