Rajah Brooke

by Sir Spenser St. John

With feelings of the most acute distress the Rajah gave the order for departure, and the small flotilla fell down the river Samarahan, and arriving at its mouth put out to sea, when a cry arose among the men, ‘Smoke! smoke! It is a steamer!’ And sure enough there was a dark column rising in the air from a three-masted vessel. For a moment it was uncertain which course she was steering, but presently they distinguished her flag—she was the Sir James Brooke, the Borneo Company’s steamer, standing in for the Muaratabas entrance of the Sarawak river. The crew of the Rajah’s prahu, with shouts, gave way, and the boat was urged along with all the power of their oars, to find the vessel anchored just within the mouth.

‘The great God be praised!’ as the Rajah said. Here, indeed, was a base of operations. The native prahus were taken in tow, and the reinforcements of Dyaks, who were already arriving, followed up with eager speed. What were the feelings of the Chinese when they first saw the smoke, then the steamer, it is not necessary to conjecture. They fired one wild volley from every available gun and musket, but the balls fell harmlessly; and when the English guns opened on them, they fled panic-stricken, pursued by the rejoicing Malays and Dyaks.

Early that morning a large body of Chinese had proceeded from the right to the left bank to burn the half of the Malay town which had hitherto escaped destruction, but though they succeeded in destroying the greater portion, they signed their own death warrant, as the Malays, at the sight of the steamer, resumed the offensive, seized the boats in which their enemies had crossed the river, and the Dyaks followed them up in the forest. Not one of that party could have escaped. Some wandered long in the jungle and died of starvation; others were found hanging to the boughs of trees, having preferred suicide to the lingering torments of hunger. All these bodies were afterwards discovered, as they were eagerly sought for. The natives said that on every one of them were found from five to twenty pounds sterling in cash, from the pillage of the public treasury, besides silver spoons and forks, or other valuables—the plunder of the English houses.

The main body of the Chinese on the right bank retired in some order by the jungle road, and reached a detachment of their boats which had been sent from the interior to its terminus, and from thence moved on to Balidah, opposite Siniawan, the fort famous in Sarawak history, which the Rajah had besieged on his first arrival, and which after the insurrection was over became the headquarters of Charles Grant, Resident of Upper Sarawak.

Thus was the capital recovered, all burnt, however, except the Chinese quarter of the town, and the Mission and Mr Helms’s Borneo Company’s premises. The Rajah established himself temporarily on board the Sir James Brooke, and the Government soon began to work again. The Land Dyaks, who had been faithful to a man, sent to request permission to attack the enemy. This being accorded, the chiefs led their assembled tribes, and rushed in every direction on the Chinese, driving them from their villages, and compelling them to defend two places only, Siniawan and Bau, with Tundong, the landing-place of the latter town. The smoke rising in every direction showed them that they were now being punished for the injuries they had inflicted on others. The Gold Company, in their blind confidence, had made no preparations in case of defeat, and it was well known that their stock of food was small, as everything had been destroyed at the above-named places except their own stores, and these were required to supply the people whom they had forced to join them from the town, and the whole agricultural population.

The harassing life they led must soon have worn them out without any attacks, for they could no longer pursue their ordinary occupations, or even fetch firewood or water without a strong-armed party, as the Dyaks hung about their houses, and infested every spot. It soon became a question of food, and they found they must either obtain it or retire across the frontier into Sambas. They therefore collected all their boats and made a foray eight miles down the river to Ledah Tanah, and there threw up a stockade in which they placed a garrison of two hundred and fifty picked men, under two of their most trusted leaders. They placed four guns in position to sweep the river, and, armed with the best of the Government’s muskets and rifles, they not only commanded the right and left-hand branches, but felt secure from a direct attack by the main river. Parties were then sent out to plunder the Dyak farmhouses, and one bolder than the rest attempted to scale the mountain of Serambo to destroy the Rajah’s country house; but the Dyaks barred the passage with stockades, and by rolling down rocks on the advancing party effectually defended their hill. These Chinese were very different from those we see in our British settlements. Many of them were half breeds, having Dyak mothers, and were as active in the jungle as the aborigines themselves.

To check the Chinese forays, and afford assistance to the Land Dyaks, the Rajah sent up the Datu Bandhar with a small but select force to await his arrival below the Chinese stockade; but the gallant Bandhar, on being joined by the Datu Tumangong and Abang Buyong, and a few Sakarang Dyaks, dashed at the fort, surprised the garrison at dinner, and carried it without the loss of a man. The Chinese threw away their arms and fled into the jungle, to be pursued and slain by the Sakarang Dyaks. Stockades, guns, stores and boats were all captured, and what was of equal importance, the principal instigators of the rebellion were killed.

As soon as the few that escaped from the fort reached Siniawan, a panic seized the Chinese there, and they fled to Bau, where they began hastily to make preparations to retire over the frontiers. The Rajah, who was hurrying up to the support of the Bandhar, hearing of his success, despatched Mr Johnson with his Dyaks to harass the enemy; these, together with the Sarawak Malays, to whom most of the credit is due, pressed on the discomfited Chinese, who, fearing to have their retreat cut off, started for Sambas. They were attacked at every step, but being supplied with the best arms, they were enabled to beat off the foremost parties of their assailants, and retire in fair order along the good road which led to the Dyak village of Gumbang on the Sambas frontier. Still, this road is very narrow, and every now and then the active Dyaks made a rush from the jungle that borders the path and spread confusion and dismay. But the Chinese had every motive to act a manly part; it was their only line of retreat, and they had to defend above a thousand of their women and children, who encumbered their disastrous flight.

At the foot of the steep hill of Gumbang they made a halt, for the usual path was found to be well stockaded, and a resolute body of Malays and Dyaks were there to dispute the way. It was a fearful position; behind them the pursuers were gathering in increasing strength, and unless they forced this passage within an hour, it must be death or surrender. At last someone, it is said a Sambas Malay, suggested that there was another path further along the range, which, though very steep, was practicable; this was undefended, and the fugitives made for it.

The Sarawak Malays and Dyaks, seeing too late their error in neglecting to fortify this path also, rushed along the brow of the hill, and drove back the foremost Chinese. Their danger was extreme; but at that moment, as if by inspiration, all the Chinese girls rushed to the front, and encouraged the men to advance. This they again did, and cheered by the voices of these brave girls, who followed close clapping their hands, and calling them by name to fight with courage, they won the brow of the hill, and cleared the path of their less numerous foes. While this was going on, another column of Chinese, in the absence of most of its defenders, surprised the village of Gumbang, burnt it to the ground and then crossed the frontier. They were but just in time, as the pursuers were pressing hotly on the rearguard, and the occasional volleys of musketry told them that the well-armed Malays were upon them; but they were now comparatively safe, as they were all clear of the Sarawak frontier, and although a few still pursued them, the main body of the Malays and Dyaks would not enter Dutch territory, and halted on the summit of the Gumbang range.