Nearly all the early efforts to assist these immigrants in developing the agricultural resources of the country had but little success. They commenced rice farms at Si Jinkat on the Muaratabas, and also at the foot of the Santubong hill; but though they were supplied with food and tools by the Sarawak government, they abandoned both attempts, and scattered themselves either among the gold-workers in the interior, or removed to the district of Lundu, where, as I have already mentioned, they made beautiful gardens. It was a matter of regret that they should have abandoned Santubong, as the soil is of a very fine description. I believe the non-success, however, arose from defective management and inefficient superintendence.
Everything appeared to go on very quietly till January 1852, when a fortnight’s continued rain rather injured their reservoirs, and laid the country under water. Such a flood, they say, never before or since came upon them. At Kuching it was necessary in the Chinese town to move from house to house in boats. At Siniawan it rose to so great a height that the inhabitants had to abandon their houses, and an unfortunate Chinese, seeking safety in his garret, was drowned, being unable to force his way through the roof; and up the country we saw afterwards the dried grass left by the stream at least forty feet above the usual level of the river.
In 1853, the gold company gave the government considerable trouble, and had to be curbed by a great display of armed force; but they submitted without any necessity of proceeding to extremities. The case was this: the government had issued an order to the company that they should not make any fresh reservoirs or gold-workings among the Dayak lands without obtaining permission from the authorities, as on several occasions quarrels had arisen between them and the neighbouring tribes, on account of their taking possession of the best farming ground in the country.
The Pamangkat Chinese were never quite satisfied with their position as gold-workers, and constantly made applications to the government for assistance in order to recommence their old style of living as rice cultivators. At last they fixed on a good spot, and food and rice were supplied to several hundreds. This well-managed movement might have been increased to any extent, as all the late immigrants preferred a quiet rural life; and by the commencement of 1856 nearly five hundred were established at a place called Sungei Tañgah, about six miles above the town.
I may observe that during the four previous years the Dutch had kept the Chinese within the boundary of their settlements in very strict order; but, in 1856, some dispute taking place, a Dutch officer and a party of troops were cut off by the workmen of the Lumar kunsi, one of the large gold companies, about three hundred of whom escaped over the borders into the Sarawak territories, while the rest were captured, and many suffered condign punishment for their crime.
I will notice here a regulation which obtains in the Dutch territories of Sambas and the other border states, which is so illiberal that I can scarcely believe it to be authorized by any of the superior authorities, but must be the work of a very narrow-minded local official. No Chinese, whether man, woman, or child, can leave the Dutch territories without first paying a fine of 6l.; so that as very few workmen can save that amount they are practically condemned to remain there all their lives, unless they can evade the blockade kept upon them, thus running the risk of the cat-o’nine-tails, a fine, and imprisonment. The reason for this regulation is that no Chinese in Borneo would willingly remain under Dutch rule who could possibly escape from it; and if liberty were given to them to leave the country, nearly every man would abandon it. Therefore, gunboats watch the coast, and on the frontiers soldiers, Malays, and Dayaks, are ordered to stop any Chinese who may attempt to escape from the Dutch territories.
In the spring of 1856, I made a tour through the Chinese settlements established in Sarawak, commencing with the rice plantations and vegetable gardens established at Sungei Tañgah. I have never seen in Borneo anything more pleasing to my eye than the extensive cultivated fields which spread out around the scattered Chinese houses, each closely surrounded by beds of esculent plants growing in a most luxuriant manner.
Every day appeared to be adding to the area of cultivation; because, as the agriculturists became more wealthy, they invited the poorer gold-workers to join them, and were thus enabled to employ many labourers. Already the effect of this increase of produce was perceptible on prices, so that vegetables, fowls, and ducks, were beginning to be bought at reasonable rates. On the other side, the right-hand bank of the river, near the little mount of Stapok, about forty Chinese had commenced gardens without any assistance from Government, and appeared to be very prosperous. To this spot a road had been cut through the forest from the town, which afterwards became memorable in Sarawak annals. Altogether, as I have before observed, there were about five hundred people assembled here engaged in a war against the jungle.
Continuing our course towards the interior, we met with no Chinese houses until we reached the village of Siniawan, at that time governed by the guns of the little fort of Biledah, admirably situated on a high point jutting into the river, and on the same spot where the Sarawak Malays during the civil wars had their strongest stockade. The town was remarkably flourishing, and we here heard a confirmation of the reports that a great many Chinese were arriving from Sambas. As we were anxious to be thoroughly acquainted with the actual condition of the gold-working population, we determined to walk across from Siniawan to the head-quarters of the gold company at Bau. The paths were in very good condition, quite suited for riding over, except when we reached the bridges thrown across the deep gullies which intersect the country.
From Siniawan all the way to Bau, a distance of ten miles, there was a constant succession of reservoirs and gold-workings; and judging from the new houses springing up in every direction, we felt sure the population was increasing. About a third of the way along the road, a branch path led to a place called by the Chinese “Shaksan,” where there was an excellent hot spring, over which Mr. Ruppell had built a little house. We diverged to this spot to indulge in the unusual sensation of a hot bath, and found the temperature of the water so warm that it was almost unbearable; but for any one suffering from rheumatism it would be excellent. We noticed in the neighbourhood many limestone rocks water-worn into fantastic shapes, exactly similar to those I subsequently observed near the base of the mountain of Molu.