Life in the forests of the Far East (vol. 2 of 2)

by Sir Spenser St. John

At the mouth of the Sambas river there is a place called Pamañgkat, where several thousand Chinese agriculturists were engaged in raising fine crops of rice. These men had not joined their countrymen in their resistance to the Sambas Government, and were therefore marked out for punishment during their brief success. In their alarm, the Pamañgkat Chinese fled to Sarawak, arriving in great numbers during the year 1850, whilst I was absent with Sir James Brooke on his mission to Siam; some came by sea, others fled overland to Lundu and to the interior.

I found on my return in October, after nearly a year’s absence, that a great change had taken place in the appearance of the town of Kuching: dozens of fresh houses were built and building, while the surrounding forest was falling rapidly before the axes of the fugitives. Many of them had arrived destitute of all property, and I learnt that three hundred and ten families were entirely supported by the food and money furnished by the Sarawak government, besides hundreds of others having received presents of tools and temporary assistance. It was calculated at the time that about three thousand had arrived, many of whom immediately joined the gold-workers in the interior. We found also that the mission school had received a great addition in the form of about twenty remarkably intelligent-looking little boys and girls, whose destitute parents had gladly handed them over to the care of the clergy.

Sir James Brooke, hearing that there was much confusion in the interior, from the numerous freshly-arrived Chinese, and from the Dayaks being alarmed by this sudden influx into their neighbourhood, started with a party to visit it. We soon reached Siniawan, the little Chinese trading town I have previously described, which was but now advancing to importance. We continued our course up the river to Tundong, where there is a ghàt used by the gold-working company to land their supplies. Nearly all the gold that is worked in Borneo is done by kunsis, or companies, which sometimes numbered several thousand men; in fact, they say that at Montrado nearly the whole of its Chinese population and that of the neighbourhood, estimated at 50,000 men, were included in one kunsi. Generally, however, they consisted, as at Sarawak, of a few hundred members, though they might still be in connexion with the parent company. The great influx of Chinese had now, however, swelled the Santei Kiu kunsi to inconvenient dimensions.

At Tundong we found a few store-houses and a very tolerable path leading over to Bau, the principal Chinese settlement. The views on either side of us, as we advanced, were sometimes exceedingly picturesque; for, as we reached the summits of low hills, a fine undulating country was spread out beneath us. The path led through shady forests, then open Dayak clearings, along the sides of hills, and over pretty streams spanned by very primitive bridges.

As we approached the town of Bau we met a band of Chinese musicians who had come forth to greet us, and gun after gun was discharged in honour of the rajah’s visit. Our procession was a very motley one, half a dozen Englishmen, followed by a long line of Malays, Chinese, and Dayaks, marching in Indian procession, some carrying spears, others muskets, or flags.

At last we reached the kunsi’s house, prettily situated in the valley of Bau, which was on two sides flanked by black-looking perpendicular hills. The house itself was a substantial one, built of ironwood posts and good planks, and roofed with excellent ironwood shingles.

I will describe one of their gold-workings. They dammed up the end of the valley at the back of the kunsi’s house, thus forming a large reservoir of water, perhaps a quarter of a mile in length. The dam was very neatly constructed, being completely faced with wood towards the water, and partially on the outside, to enable it to resist the very heavy rains which fall in this country. A ditch, about four feet broad, was cut from the reservoir towards the ground which the overlooker of the company had selected as a spot likely to produce a good yield of gold, and a well-made sluice-gate was constructed in the dam to supply the ditch with as much water as might be required; minor sluice-gates to the main ditch enabled the smaller ones also to receive supplies of water. When this was all prepared, the sluice-gates were opened, and the earth in its neighbourhood thrown into the ditch, and the rushing water carried off the mud and sand and allowed the particles of gold to sink to the bottom. After three or four months they cleaned out the ditch and carefully washed the residue, which generally yielded them sufficient to make a tolerable division among the workmen after all the expenses had been paid.

It is a very wasteful system of working gold; in fact, when we were there, all the women and girls, lately arrived from Sambas, had the privilege given them of washing the earth which had been swept away by the rushing water, and I believe they obtained as much in proportion to the number working as was divided among the men, who had had all the labour of constructing these extensive works. No one has yet taught them deep sinking; in fact, it is to be regretted that none of their countrymen accustomed to the method of procuring this precious metal in our Australian colonies have yet visited Sarawak.

That there is an abundance of gold to be found there I verily believe, and, as an instance, I may notice that in November, 1848, a great landslip took place, and the face of the Trian mountain was laid bare. Some Malays, observing small pieces of gold mixed with the clay, began a strict search, and having great success, the news soon spread, and several thousand people flocked to the spot, where they worked till the heap of earth and stone was cleared away. All had fair success, and we heard of none who got less than an ounce and a half per month. The work lasted above six weeks. I saw one nugget picked up, which weighed about seven ounces.

The influx of the Pamangkat Chinese gave great impetus to the search for the auriferous ore, and new reservoirs, dams, and ditches, were appearing in every direction; but yet the new-comers, being only accustomed to agriculture, did not take very kindly to gold digging. Sir James Brooke was anxious to remove a large body to some district which they could cultivate; but they were too poor to be able to support themselves while waiting for their crops. The gold company was not willing to part with these people, and promised them every assistance if they would stay at Bau.