CHAPTER II.
MY LIMBANG JOURNAL.
Start—Discovery of Bones and ancient Ornaments—At the Site of the Old City—At the Stone Fort—At Sarawak—The Trusan, or connecting Passage—Apathy of the Government and People—Sago—Method of preparing it for the Market—The Limbang River—The Inhabitants—Winding Stream—The Orang Kaya Upit of Kruei—Sampirs—Gadong Hill—Scenery—Molu—The Raman Palm—Delays—Cholera—Orang Kaya Napur—Panglima Prang—The Weather—State of the River—Origin of the Ponds—Native Geographical Information—The Upper Country—Cataract—Enchanted Mountain—Native Travelling—Dreams and Omen Birds—Religion of Pakatans—Cause of Head-hunting—The Wild Boar—Trouble in procuring Guides—Pengkalan Tarap—Desolation of the Country—Causes of it—Selling Children—Kayan Barbarity—Chinese at Batang Parak—Site of Burnt Villages—Posts of Houses—Two kinds of Sago Palm—Their Growth—Kayan Encampment—Cultivation—The River—Rocks—Salt Springs—Native Explanation—Anecdote—Time to halt—Birds—Rare, except in certain Districts—Monkeys—Alligators—The Man-eater—A Challenge accepted—Disappearance of the Siol Alligator—Combat with two in a Cave—Method of Capturing them in Siam—Laying Eggs in the Jungle—Ducks and Drakes—Malay Cookery—Very tasty—Bachang—How to make a Curry—Anecdotes of Bornean Rule—Attack on the Limpasong Village—Insurrection of the Aborigines—Forced Trade—Qualities necessary in a Malay Ruler—The great Mountain of Tilong—Discomfort of possessing a large Diamond—Diamonds found in Borneo.
August 25th, 1858.—We started, and as we pulled through the town in the early morn crowds came to their doors to have a look at what they no doubt considered as a doomed party.
Our route, after leaving the houses, was up the Brunei river, till we reached a Trusan, or passage,[1] connecting it with the Limbang. We soon left the pretty scenery near the capital, and exchanged for it low banks, with mangrove swamp, occasionally varied by undulating dry land. After a two hours’ pull, we passed the graves of some rajahs on the left-hand bank; near them, it is reported, a great many bones are found scattered about; the natives say it was the site of a battle-field; gold ornaments are also occasionally discovered, but slightly covered with soil; it is very probable that a village once stood here.
These discoveries of ancient ornaments are events of not unfrequent occurrence. Some seven years ago a man was prawn-fishing with a casting-net, about two miles below the consulate, when he found some gold buttons entangled among the prawns; he instantly marked the place, and dived, and found several articles; the news spread like wildfire, and hundreds flocked to the spot; the mud was dug over in the neighbourhood to the depth of several feet, and the river raked with great care; it is reported that a large amount was found. I afterwards examined the spot; it proved to be the site of the ancient city of Burnei, of which Pigafetta speaks; it is now called Kota Batu, or the stone fort, on account of the foundations of some buildings that have been uncovered there. I must confess to great disappointment when I visited them; these ancient remains consisted of nothing but loose stones thrown into a long ditch about eighteen feet wide.
Great quantities of gold ornaments have likewise been discovered at the Santubong entrance of the Sarawak river; this was likewise the site of an old town. I tried on my last visit to find some to examine the workmanship, but most had been melted up, and the specimens purchased by Sir James Brooke were lost during the Chinese insurrection of 1857.
Half an hour afterwards we reached the Trusan, and entered it on our way to the Limbang; it took us two hours and a half to get through; the banks are low, at first mangrove, then slight openings showing small padi fields, then sago with lofty fruit-trees in the background. Nothing better exemplifies the character of this people and government than the Trusan we were passing through; in a straight line the distance cannot be three miles, yet nothing is done even to clear it of the obstruction of fallen trees, overhanging branches, and sharp turnings; occasionally it is not above six feet wide; hundreds pass through it every day; and though they have often to wait hours till the tide has risen sufficiently to float them over the obstructions, they will not combine to clear it: fifty men in a week could render it passable for large boats at half-tide, but there is no government for useful purposes, and no combination among the people.
We were very glad to get clear of this Trusan, and enter into an open space, a sort of long narrow lake connected with the main river by diminutive passages, enclosing the island of Pandam, a dense mass of sagotrees. Here there is some sign of life, many houses are scattered on the banks whose inhabitants are busy preparing the pith of the palm for transmission to the capital. We saw them to-day going through every stage, some were felling the tree, others clearing it of all its leaves and branches and dragging it to the water’s edge; rafts of prepared palms were floating down alone, but with certain marks to distinguish the owners. We landed at one spot and inquired the reason of this unusual bustle; the price had risen, and every one was anxious to take advantage of the market.
We had around us about a dozen men working; the trees, some of them fifty feet in length by two and a half in diameter, were first cut in sections of about a fathom, then split in two; the pith was scooped out, or rather chopped out with a scoop, as it was very hard and required great exertion to get it out; the women and children carried it to the river’s banks to a prepared framework, and threw the rough sago on a platform of split bamboos: here a man stood who, after wetting the stuff with pails’ full of water, trod out the flour into a receptacle below. It seemed a very wasteful process. The coarse sago is put into leaf cases and sold to the Chinese, who turn it into the flour and pearl of commerce.
Leaving the island of Pandam we joined the main stream, which was here about a hundred yards wide; the banks as we advanced presented the same features, low, with occasional hills to be seen, cultivation very rough and careless; the sago and rice the most valuable; the gardens were but poorly looked after, the chief attention being given to the banana. Occasionally there are very extensive groves of fruit-trees, but even these are choked with brushwood. Tame buffaloes are very numerous on the lower part of this river; we also saw a few cows, but until lately little attention was given to breeding them; now, however, that a steady demand has arisen in Labuan, many of the natives have been induced to collect herds.