from dudley colliery to borneo - 1858

8/8/2019 From Dudley Colliery to Borneo - 1858

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as serialised in the Newcastle Courant, 18 th January - 12 th April, 1878 1

From Dudley Colliery to Borneo by Marshall Cresswell 2

18 th JanuaryIn the latter part of December, 1856, while working at a pit in the course of sinking near

Sherburn Station 3, in the County of Durham, I heard of my employer (the late Wm.Coulson 4)wanting three or four sinkers 5 to go to Borneo on an engagement for three years. Not knowingwhether it was east, west, north, or south, nor even caring a great deal, I resolved to apply for thesituation, and after two or three interviews with our junior employer, I was duly engaged to go onan expedition in a land I had never even heard of before. When the first week in January had

passed, I learned that the vessel I was to go with was chartered to sail from London about 1 st or 2 nd

of February, and in the interval I made all sorts of inquiries about the distance it was, and how longit would take us to go, and what sort of clothes we would need, and several similar matters which Ithought might be of interest to me. As January was drawing to a close, I left Sherburn to spend a

few days with my father and mother, who were living at Dudley Colliery6

, leaving my address withMr Coulson, who arranged to send me word when I was to proceed to London. The 1 st of February passed and the 2 nd came, but with no word for me to take my departure.

Impatiently I waited till the 6 th, when I received a letter stating that I was to go to Durham, andthence to London. After bidding my father and mother adieu, and shaking hands with my brothers,sisters, and neighbours, I left Dudley as though I had been going to a neighbouring colliery to work.I reached Durham at five o'clock in the evening and saw Mr Coulson, who supplied me with moneyto pay my fare to London, and wishing me God speed in my journey, and every success on arrivingat my destination, I thanked him kindly and bid him good bye. I left Durham at 7.40 P.M. Byexpress, changing at Belmont, and was comfortably seated in a second-class carriage till I reachedYork. There I again changed carriages, and was told that I would change no more till I arrived atKing's Cross. On our arrival at Peterborough, the guard told us there would be ten minute's stay for the engine to get water and passengers refreshment. I thereupon entered the refreshment room,where a young lady was in attendance. Taking up a small orange I asked the price, Twopence, sir,was the reply. I laid down the money, and at the same time said, Wey, hinney, aw cud a'bowt fivelike that in Newcassel for tuppence. 7 We were soon all reseated, and a shriek from the engine'swhistle announced we were again in motion for the great Metropolis.

At times I had the compartment to myself, and at other times a half-dozen or eight fellow passengers. I did not care to talk to any of them, as few of them seemed to understand the Tynesidevernacular; so I now and again let a little spirits down to keep my spirits up, often wondering howmuch further I had to go before I reached London. As my watch indicated the hour of five A.M. Ifound I had safely arrived at King's Cross. On walking outside the station I engaged a cab to driveme to No. 9. Mincing Lane, and in less than half an hour I was standing at the office door of theBorneo Company (Limited) 8. All being shut up, and being rather weary, I went to an inn close byand got a bed, and after having four hours' rest I went to the company's office, and met with two of my fellow-passengers, who had been sent by Mr Coulson, and who were then arranging with thecompany's secretary for lodgings till the vessel was ready to sail. He gave us a note to go to theLondon Dock eating house, where we had everything we could wish for; and, after doing ample

justice to the good things offered us, we spent the most of the day on board the Gwalior 9, the shipwe were to go with, which was lying in London Dock, taking in stores, water, &c., and making

preparations to sail. After purchasing various articles that were necessary for the passage, such assoap, bed, bed-clothes, and a few light clothes for tropical wear, we finished the day in theenjoyment of the social glass.

Next morning being Sunday, after breakfast the three of us from Durham engaged a man to take


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us up to the West End; and, taking a boat at London Bridge, we were soon at Westminster, viewingfrom the river the dome of St.Paul's, Barclay and Perkins's Brewery, and several other places whichwere interesting to see. On getting our feet again on terra firma , we proceeded to view the Housesof Lords and Commons, Buckingham Palace, and Westminster Abbey, where we heard a portion of an excellent sermon. On leaving there we wended our way into Pall Mall, where our guide pointedout the residence of the Duke of Cambridge, Northumberland House, and several residences of

some of the highest gentlemen in our land. Trafalgar Square was the next place which was mostinteresting to us to look at the monuments in commemoration of the greatest warriors Englandever produced. The remainder of the day was spent in roving anywhere our guide chose to take us;and towards night we landed back at our lodgings weary and fatigued.

On the Monday morning we all met at the company's office, and found there were two minersfrom Airdrie, and a lawyer belonging London, in addition to the three of us from Durham, whichmade six passengers altogether. We all got our agreements signed and stamped, and were informedthat the vessel was then on her way to Gravesend, and we were to go by train, and enter into our new floating place of abode, where we were told she would be lying at anchor. The six of us walkedover London Bridge, and booked for Gravesend, where, on our arrival, as we walked out the station,

we were accosted by six or eights stalwart-looking watermen with, What vessel do you want? Iwhispered to one of our party, They've shoorly nawn we were comin'. On replying we wanted theGwalior, they all with one voice said they knew where she was lying.

We bargained with two of them (who were mates, and most likely to take care of us) to givethem 6s. to carry us safe on board. Our party now consisted of eight, and the hours of postmeridiannot being far spent, we went to a respectable hotel to have a drop of that which cheers as well asinebriates, as we thought it would be some time before another similar opportunity was offered tous. Although we all indulged rather freely, the watermen did not render themselves incapable of

performing the duty they had taken in hand, and at seven o'clock we were all safe on board theGwalior, there to stay until we reached some foreign land we knew not whither.

25 th January. From London to Rio de Janeiro IIThe next morning we expected to weigh anchor and set sail, but were detained in consequence of

some slight mistake in our captain's manifest, but enjoyed ourselves very much all day looking atthe number of ships and steamboats that passed up and down the river. Our bill of fare being freshmeat and soft bread, with other things to correspond, we thought if that was to be our diet we should

be the happiest men alive. The following morning, at daybreak, our captain came on board, and brought with him a strong, robust, weather beaten, respectable-looking man, who seemed to haveweathered the gales of fifty winters. We soon learned he was the pilot, and after partaking of

breakfast he took his stand on the break of the poop, and with a voice that might terrify a nervousman, exclaimed, All hands at the windlass. I looked at him with amazement and said to one of mymates, Aw say, Jerry, what dis he say? He replied, Noo, how is aw te knaw; aw understand nowt

but English. However, we soon found out what he had said, for in less than a minute every one of the sailors were on the forecastle, and dividing themselves equally at two handles, commenced tosing a song which was really delightful to hear, and might be heard a mile distant. After ten minutessinging and clanking of the windlass our vessel was floating down the river with the stream, andsoon they had the anchor hanging at the bow of the ship.

Then was the time confusion commenced, and we passengers were glad to keep out of the way.The pilot certainly tested the strength of his lungs, and all hands seemed anxious to obey his orders.

Not one of us landsmen understood a single word he said, and we were astonished to see thedexterous manner they spread the sails and put the yards in a position to suit the wind. As we glided

down the river all hands seemed to be busy, and appeared to know their work. The first and secondmates working as energetic as any man on board, the captain at the same time, remaining in hiscabin, and did not appear to take any acting part whatever. I asked the steward the reason of the


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captain's absence, and he said we should not hear the captain give a single order while the pilotremained on board. Towards noon we were out of the Thames, and at night dropped anchor inMargate Roads where we lay till daybreak next morning, the clanking of the windlass and the sweetvoices of the sailors again indicated preparations being made to resume our journey, and at eighto'clock A.M. We were gliding along before a steady breeze.

The steward brought us a list of our rations, which showed our allowance of porter was a quart per diem for each man, and two bottles of grog per week for the six of us. Dover soon appeared insight, and the day being rather cloudy we could not see the coast of France, which we all had adesire to do. As we passed Dover and got into the English Channel, the pilot shouted from the poop,Get your letters ready. Being anxious to send another letter home, all of us that could write werehard at work till he was ready to leave us. As we one by one handed him our letters, his two menhad his boat already alongside, and, wishing us a hearty good-bye, he stepped down a rope ladder into his boat, and on us giving him three cheers, he left us in charge of our captain and crew.

Brighton was then in sight, but in less than an hour we lost sight of land entirely. By this time wefound out the real nature of our diet, and our Cockney companion (William Baulsam), whoappeared to have never had any hardships to encounter, exclaimed in a very serious manner, I can't

tackle that there junk (salt beef). My Durham mate (George Noble) said, When thoo com here didthoo expect thoo wis comin tiy a London eating hoose? If I did, I'm suck'd in, was the reply.

As we left the land of our birth behind us, we ceased to see ships, and our vessel soon began toship seas, which made us remember the old adage, It is not all plain sailing; and we were told thatwe were in the Bay of Biscay, I could not conceive how they knew, as I saw nothing to indicate a

bay at all, only a mountainous sea before us and an angry threatening sky above us. I thought if wewere then in a bay, I did not care much about bays. On the 21 st of the month a French vessel hovedin sight, and the weather being a deal more favourable, our chief mate with four of his men lowereda boat and told us if we had letters ready he would try to get them sent home for us. We each sent anote with him only to be brought back and given to us, as the Frenchman would not take them. The

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brought the islands Porto Santo and Madeira in sight, and at either we could have comfortablyspent a few days had we been permitted to do so. On passing the Canary Islands we began to behighly interested in seeing large numbers of porpoises, dolphins, bonetas, and flying fish. The lastseemed to be pursued by the dolphin and boneta, and would rise up in shoals like a flock of sparrows from a stackyard. On hearing the report of a gun, several of the fish flew on board our vessel, and were a dainty morsel to those who had the good fortune to pick them up. As we drewnear the Equator, we were several days without having a breath of wind, and only at intervals onother days, when we had squalls, accompanied with heavy rain and terrific thunder and lightning, sothat we had the disagreeable misfortune of being nearly three weeks in making a hundred milesadvance, which certainly made it a weary, tedious passage.

On the 1 st of April we crossed the equator, and had winds more favourable. On the 15 th we passedthe Island of Trinidad, and were spoken with by a vessel called the Emerald, bound for Falmouth,which our captain told to report us well. On the forenoon of the 19 th, while we were enjoying the

pleasure of a fresh breeze, and imagining everything was in our favour, the captain came on to the poop and called out, Take in all stud sails and furl the royals. This order had scarcely been obeyedwhen foretopmast, maintopmast, mizentopmast, and flying jibboom were all carried away with atremendous crash. At that moment I thought destruction was to be our doom as I looked at the

bulwark broken away by the fall of the huge heavy masts and the vessel nearly on her beam ends.This incident made me imagine I should never have any desire to be a sailor, as all the poor fellowswere harassed till sunset in clearing away; and our captain decided that we should go to a portcalled Rio de Janeiro to get our vessel repaired. We were then 1,400 miles from it, and from the rate

we were sailing at, minus our masts, we knew that it would be some time before we reached that place of refuge. On the 2 nd of May, while at our dinners, we heard the joyful shout of Land ahead.We all rushed to the forecastle, and what we were told was land seemed to be be a mere speck onthe water. As we got nearer it appeared larger, and at six o'clock, P.M., we were abreast Cape Frio.


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Next day (May 3 rd) we were safely anchored in the port of Rio de Janeiro.

1st Feb IIIThe next morning we were sadly disappointed to know we could not get ashore until the

Customs officers came on board our vessel, and we had to remain where we were until the morningof the 5 th, when our captain took us ashore in his own boat. We first of all sought to change our English money into Brazilian coin, where each of us got nine milreis for a sovereign. We thenresorted to a hotel, and as brandy was the same price as rum and whisky, we fancied that stimulantas a refreshment. After the six of us has consumed two or three bottles we felt its mighty influence,and proceeded to have a look through the town. We had not gone far until we came to a crowd of

people, and ascertained that the occasion was eight human beings being disposed of by publicroup 10. We did not feel inclined to bid for such merchandise, neither did we feel disposed to stand tosee who the purchasers were, but proceeded on, and were delighted to see the handsome orange,

banana, and several other trees in front of the houses, and to enjoy the fragrance that proceededfrom the fruit thereon. As we grew tired with walking we again had recourse to hotel comfort, andto use the words of a local song I have written 11 on the subject-

Aw lost maw mates and senses teeBi strolling bi mawsel man;An where aw went or what aw didAw really cannot tell manTwo blackies fand me in the street,An gat us up on te maw feet.When aw began to cum aboot,Aw fand maw pockets cleen cut out;Maw watch and money awl was gyen;The byuts fra off maw feet was tyen,At Rio de Janeiro.

Had I been found on the streets of Newcastle in that position, I have no doubt I should have beenmulcted 12 in the penalty of ten shillings and costs. Not so with those natives of a strange land. Theyseemed more to sympathise with me, and took me to a place I thought was the police station, spreada mat and signed for me to lie down. As I could not tell a word they said, I had the pleasure of spending the remainder of the night on the soft side of the flags.

At daybreak my friends acquitted me with a courteous shake of the hand, and in my stockingedfeet I wended my way to the hotel where we had first enjoyed ourselves, and there found four of mymates who had each been enjoying a comfortable bed. I was fortunate enough to have a pocketinside my waistcoat where I had my purse containing 5 10s. In gold, and my first business was to

purchase a pair of boots and hat, and after breakfast the five of us went out for another strollthrough the town. We had gone but a short distance when we met our captain, who told us our other companion was on board before he left the vessel, minus his duplex lever watch and guard, topcoat,and money. I then thought I had little reason to complain at my loss.

We spent that day without the aid of any of the liquid which we had indulged so freely the day before, and towards night we went on board our vessel as respectable looking as we had left it themorning before. Next morning we passengers commenced to work on board along with sevenslaves our captain had engaged, for the purpose of removing the cargo from the after part tomidship. We were to have two milreis per day, equal to 4s. 6d. In English money. On the Sundayfollowing we again went ashore, and visited the interior of the Emperor's chapel, and after 10o'clock A.M. We were astonished to see the shops all opened, and business being transacted thesame as any other day of the week. Respectable looking men playing at cards and dice in the street,

bullocks drawing heavy laden carts, and niggers trotting through the streets with heavy loads ontheir shoulders, singing to the music of a rattle one of them, in front of the others, carried in his


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hand. On going to the base of the Sugar Loaf Mountain we saw large numbers of slaves blastinggranite rock, saw mills were in full motion, and paviours repairing the streets, all of which showedthat the Brazilians pay very little regard to the Sabbath. After spending a comfortable day viewingthe town we got safe on board towards night.

We resumed work with the slaves next morning, and continued on the whole of the week. Our vessel was at length taken alongside the guardship to get the masts up. We passengers were paid for our work with the Brazilian paper money, which we had to take on shore to get changed, withconsiderable loss to ourselves. After leaving the guardship we lay alongside a French frigate, and onSunday, the 24 th of the month, as I sat looking over the bulwark admiring the beauty and fertileappearance of the Brazilian land, the frigate discharged one of her big guns right in my face. I rolledon the deck, and with a sigh, exclaimed, Aw wonder if aw's ony warse. I scarcely had gatheredmyself up till bang went another. I then thought it was time to take refuge in the half-deck. By thattime off went another. I then inquired of the mate the reason of their firing upon us. Oh, said helaughing, they're firing a royal salute in honour of Her Majesty's birthday. After the frigate haddischarged 21 guns, Her Majesty's ship Madagascar, which was about two cable lengths from us,fired 21 more. They then commenced at the fort and discharged 21 also. The Frenchmen's splendid

band afterwards played Rule Britannia, and in return the Madagascar played the French Nationalair.

Every day boat loads of oranges, bananas, pumpkins, melons, and other kinds of really deliciousfruit came alongside our vessel, and we certainly all had our share of them while we were there.When our vessel had nearly got into its original form, the water tank came alongside and all theempty casks and tanks were filled with fresh water. On the 26 th we were taken in tow by asteamboat, and in a few hours were again on the South Atlantic, and bade farewell to Rio deJaneiro.

We had a few days favourable wind till the beginning of June. Then for nearly a week we had a bitter foul wind blowing right in our teeth. On the 20 th we had a strong gale to encounter, with the

sea mountains high. Not a stitch of canvas was spread except the fore and maintopsails under closereef, and in this lamentable position we continued for twelve hours, the ship being pumped everytwo hours. At 7.30 P.M. It was discovered by the carpenter sounding the pump that our vessel hadsprung a leak, and nearly two feet of water in the hold. All hands were immediately called out to the

pump, and the poor sailors were kept busy till daybreak next morning, when they were all worn outwith fatigue. The steward came into the halfdeck and said to us, The captain wishes to speak toyou passengers as soon as convenient. After breakfast we went to his cabin and he began:- Now,lads, you can see the fearful position we are in, and it is our duty, if possible, to keep the vesselafloat until we can reach some port. If she gets any worse I much fear we shall have to take to the

boats and leave her to founder. I therefore ask each of you to lend a helping hand at the pump as our men are now all worn out with fatigue.

8 th FebruaryWe all with one voice promised we should assist at the pumps, and do what we could to assist the

sailors. In the forenoon the wind abated. The pump was allowed to stand an hour, and it was foundthat the vessel had made nineteen inches water. Our captain then considered he would lighten her bycasting away part of the cargo, which consisted chiefly of red iron. A cable chain, sixty fathoms inlength, was the first article we threw overboard, and, in addition to that, we cast away 18 tons 15cwt of iron that day, besides keeping the water out. Our captain told us he would proceed on to theCape of Good Hope, as it was on our route. After we had cast away 59 tons 10 cwt of cargo, the

vessel was found to make only eight inches per hour. After this we were on duty night and day, withthe sailors, to give assistance at the pumps. We then had very favourable weather, and had time toamuse ourselves by catching Cape pigeons 13, with a morsel of fat pork and a pin tied to the end of astring, which we cast over the taffrail, and had no difficulty in dragging them on board when they


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swallowed the bait. The Cape pigeon is a pretty bird, and nearly the size of a duck. Had they beenas delicious in taste, we might have had a few dainty dishes while drawing near the Cape for our half-deck resembled a farm-yard with the number we had walking about it. As they were not goodfor food, we soon tired of them. Albatrosses were very numerous, but are not so easy to capture.They are about the size of a goose, and, when their wings are spread, extend from twelve toeighteen feet. Like the Cape pigeons, they are useless for food. A few of them might meet with a

welcome reception at Tynemouth Aquarium14

, if any of the Shields captains would take the troubleto capture them.

On the 2 nd of July we were overtaken by a strong gale, and were again under close-reefed topsail.It is almost inconceivable for any landsman to imagine how a vessel keeps above water in a gale of wind. To see mountains of water coming rolling towards you it makes a stranger feel as if the vesselwould be buried to rise no more. The man at the wheel is most to be pitied in such cases. He has tohave a strong rope tied round his body and lashed to the upright connected with the wheel, and attimes he is entirely submerged. While he had this storm to encounter we were making only two or three knots an hour, and it was with difficulty we could manage to keep on our feet at the pump. Onthe morning of July 3 rd Table Mount was in sight, and as the sea was nearly as rough as it was the

day before, we had to keep from the land to save ourselves. Simon's Bay was the next port hesuggested going to, but as the weather was no better there he said if we were clear of that land wecould reach Singapore without having any more bad weather to encounter. As our vessel did notmake any more water and he agreed to pay us the same wages as the sailors we were quite willingto assist at the pumps and proceed on our journey.

It may be better imagined than expressed to rise up day by day and see nothing but the sky aboveand the water beneath. We were in that position till August 12 th, when a land called Christmas Islandappeared in sight. Although we knew we should not stop at it, it cheered our hearts and reminded uswe were yet in the land of the living. At 5 o'clock A.M. a voice from the forecastle called out, landahead. On inquiring of the officers what land it was, we were told it was Java Head. The vesselwas hove to till daybreak, when we entered the Straits of Sunda. On reaching the town of Anger,several boats came alongside our vessel with yams, sweet potatoes, pine apples, fowls, ducks, andeven monkeys for sale. We got a good supply of eatables, which we considered a godsend, andwhich were really a treat, as we had been confined such a length of time to salt beef, pork, andmaggoty bread. We had Sumatra at the north and Java at the south of us, and after passing throughthe Straits of Sunda, islands were so numerous that we had to drop anchor at sunset, and only sail inthe day time.

On the 19 th, after sailing a few miles, we saw a vessel ahead of us off the Island of Banca a totalwreck, and while wondering if any lives had been lost, we ran aground ourselves off the Island of Sumatra. We learned afterwards that the wreck was a vessel called the Transit, and had beenconveying 500 troops from Singapore to some port in China, and that no lives were lost 15. About

mid-day we found we were lying in eight feet of water, and our vessel drew 15, so that we werecompelled to lie till high water; and at six o'clock P.M., with the aid of the kedging anchor, we gotour vessel off, and dropped anchor in 14 fathoms water. On the 22 nd we again crossed the equator,and the rain poured down in torrents. The like of it I never saw in my life before. At a distance of about three miles we perceived two waterspouts. The next day we passed through the Straits of Rhio, and got a Malay pilot on board; and on the afternoon of the 24 th we were safely anchored inthe harbour of Singapore.

We did not delay a minute, but engaged a boat to take us ashore, and found the company'sdirector, Mr Harvey, in the office, from whom we met with a welcome reception. Mr RobertCoulson 16 was also present, and took us to Captain Stainbank's bungalow, where we got comfortable

lodgings. We were all so glad to have our feet once more on land that, after we had satisfied acraving appetite, we had a jaunt through the town, and being comfortably seated in the LondonHotel we sat till a late hour talking of the adventures of the past. Next day we all went on board theGwalior to bring our traps ashore, and had our dinners on board with the captain and mates. On the


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dishes being removed and glasses substituted, we drank success to the captain, officers, and crew,wishing they might have a taut ship and a fair wind home. We then shook hands with the wholeship's company and returned ashore, and went to the company's office to get arrangements made to

proceed on to Borneo, as we had yet a distance of 500 miles to go. No one could give us any ideawhen we should get away, so we had to remain till we got further orders. We were told, however,what tropical clothing we wanted, and that we should have to get it there, as we could not get

anything of the kind in Borneo. We accordingly all went to a tailor's shop, and ordered two dozen pairs of trousers each, two dozen shirts each, and numerous other articles, the buying of which weafterwards found was a great mistake, as we were charged twice their value. What householdfurniture we wanted, such as chairs, tables, chests, earthenware, and cooking utensils, we had to

purchase as well. It was also found necessary to engage each a cook of the male sex, as one of thefeminine was not to be had. In three or four days we were all ready for orders to proceed on toBorneo.

15 th February. Singapore to BorneoEvery morning after breakfast we took a walk to the company's office in Commercial Square to

hear if there was any word for us to take our departure; and having a small river to cross, wegenerally met ten or a dozen Bengalee boys inviting us to go in their boats, giving us a goodassurance that theirs was best. On getting seated in the one we selected, the other boys would

plunge into the water, having no wearing apparel to divest themselves of, for all were in a nudestate, would swim after us like ducks. Generally being provided with a few quarter and half cents,we would throw them in the water for them to dive after, an in nine cases out of ten they wouldsucceed in bringing them to the surface. The inhabitants of Singapore consist of persons from allover the world, including large numbers of English, and there are more Chinese than all other nations put together. At that time tigers were very numerous in the outskirts of the town, and it wasalmost a daily occurrence for a man or two to be missing, and nothing to indicate what had becomeof them. On reading a daily paper called the Bintang Timor , in the company's office one morning, Isaw there had been two cows devoured in parks, and nothing left but the hoofs to tell the tale. Therewas a premium of twenty dollars given to any person who destroyed a tiger, and many went on thedaring expedition more for sport than the prize.

When the mail boat arrives, which occurs twice a month, a flag is hoisted on the top of the hillwhich can be seen all over the town, and like wildfire the news is spread. It might be thought thatsomething serious had happened as pedestrians are on their way from all parts of the town to the

post office two or three scores Malays, or Bengalees, with each a sack over their shoulder with thename of the firm they represent printed on, and after being shown inside the office they patientlywait till the name of their firm is called out. To see the sacks of newspapers and letters handed out itmay well be wondered when they will be read.

On the morning of September 7 th, we learned at the company's office that they had chartered aschooner called the Water Lily, to take us to the mouth of the Maratabas River, in Borneo. We soongot all our traps on board, and next day bade Captain and Mrs Stainbank good bye, went on boardour new lodging, which was owned and commanded by Captain Bush; and on the morning of the 9 th

we glided away from Singapore with a steady breeze. On the 13 th we arrived at the mouth of theriver, where we got all our goods and chattels taken on shore, and left in charge of some Dyaks,who lived close by. The appearance of these natives was more curious than any we had yet seen.The women wore a skirt reaching from their waist to the knee, and that constituted the whole of thedress, and they looked anything but prepossessing. They were of low stature, and of dark copper colour, their lips had a filthy appearance, as we afterwards learned from eating Betel nut. The men's

clothing is even less than the women's, for they go nearly naked. I thought if these were a specimenof the natives we should have a strange lot to deal with. Captain Bush, before leaving, had us sntaway to Sarawak in two small boats managed by four of the natives, and after being six hours onthe water, going at a rapid rate, we reached the town of Sarawak at two o'clock A.M. The men that


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had charge of us took us to Mr Tidman's house, the company's secretary for Sarawak, who got outof bed and made us as comfortable as he could.

In the morning, after breakfast, I had a letter handed to me from home, informing me of myfather's death, which had taken place seven weeks after I left home. We were then informed of thefearful insurrection which had been going on in Sarawak, and had subsided only three months

before. The Rajah's (Sir James Brooke) house had been burned to the ground. We were shown thesite where it stood, and another was then nearly completed a short distance from it. He had had ahandsome library of 2,000 volumes destroyed, besides every article of household furniture. He,along with his suite, fled into the jungle for their lives, and without any clothing save that whichthey had on their backs. A pair of trousers was made for the Rajah of Dyak cloth, which I now havein my possession. We were told the Chinese insurgents had gone into the house of an Englishmannamed Richard Millington, and murdered two of his children besides a young man they cruellymutilated. The Dyaks were brought from all parts of Rajah Brooke's territory and fought likedemons, not sparing a single Chinaman they met with; and after fifteen hundred of them had losttheir heads peace was restored.

On the morning of the 15 th the five of our party intended for the coal mine were sent away in a

large boat to a place called Simunjun, 17 and the Cockney sawyer to a place called Santubong. Weagain reached the mouth of the Maratabas river, and got all our traps on board the boat and lay thereall night. At day break we set off on our journey, and on going a short distance we saw a steamvessel coming towards us, which inquired of us if the Rajah was at home. We replied in thenegative, and told them he was at Labuan. We afterwards learned that the vessel was a steam yachtthe British Government was making a present of to the Emperor of Japan, and was on its way tothat country with Commodore, now Admiral, Keppel on board. We were again soon on the opensea, and sailing along the coast all day till sunset we dropped anchor and lay till next morning whenwe entered the Sadong River. We admired the picturesque scenery as we sailed slowly up. Forest for miles in extent on both sides, and infested with thousands of monkeys, ourang-outangs, snakes,

boa-constrictors, deer, wild hogs, and several other animals. In the afternoon, after being sevenmonths and eight days from London, we arrived at Simunjun Mountain, the place of our destination.

22 nd FebruaryThe Simunjan mountain is two miles from the Sadong River, and arriving there we found our

employer, Mr Peter Duguid, (a gentleman from Aberdeen), was at Labuan, with the Rajah Sir JamesBrooke. A man named Walter Harvey, who was left in charge of the mine, who directed us where towork till Mr Duguid's return. The whole of the miners were Chinamen, so were the joiners and

blacksmiths, and the seam of coal they were working was at the base of the mountain, and varied inthickness from 18 inches to 5 or 6 feet, the quality of which was considered to be equal to any

Newcastle coal. There was another seam near the top of the mountain, two feet in thickness with aconsiderable quantity of good saggar 18 clay beneath it, which I would say may be worked to greatadvantage by any enterprising gentleman, who may think well to invest in such an undertaking. Themountain is about three miles in length and about two in breadth, so that the area is sufficient toguarantee its working of long duration. Moreover, I have no doubt that fifty or sixty fathoms of borerods would find something worth sinking for. The top of the mountain is all jungle or forest, withtrees of enormous size, several of which were gutta percha trees, and had been felled and bled for the valuable substance extracted from them. Iron wood trees are very plentiful, and I imagine wouldnot be so easy to fell. Their diameter varies from four to eight or nine feet. I never saw one of themcut down. I tried my hand one day to cut a small piece off to send home in a letter, and after striking

two or three blows, to my surprise I lost upwards of an inch from the blade of the axe withoutmaking an impression on the tree.

The whole of the Rajah's territory is an extensive jungle, containing hundreds of thousands of


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tons of valuable timber which may never be used by human hands, and I may say not more than one per cent of the land is cultivated, yet it is one of the most fertile countries on the face of the earth.Pine apples, melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, bananas, and all other fruit trees that will grow in atropical climate will bring forth fruit in abundance. Yams and sweet potatoes are plentiful. Thesweet potatoes may be planted any day in the year. The leaf very much resembles the ivy leaf in thiscountry, and will creep along the ground several yards if not gathered every now and again and laid

on the furrow where it is planted. On taking a few of them up for use, before leaving the ground thefurrow may be arranged, and a few small pieces of the potato top stuck in the ground like cabbage

plants, and in four or five months a beautiful crop is again ready for use, so that nearly three cropsmay be produced in a year, and a small piece of ground keep a family in continual supply of fresh

potatoes.

Sugar cane grows in abundance, and almost every morning, as the Chinamen came to work, anumber of them would have a piece a half a yard or two feet in length chewing. One of mycompanions remarked one morning that we never saw men at home eating pick shafts on their roadto work. Rice is the chief article of diet in Borneo, and all classes, from the Rajah to the poorest

peasant, have it to almost every meal. Two crops of this article are produced in the year. Sago also

grows in abundance, and the Borneo Company (Limited) have a manufactory in Sarawak, fromwhence they export some hundreds of tons every year to the United Kingdom. The company planted cotton which had every appearance of producing an abundant crop when I left to comehome.

On the arrival of Mr Duguid from Labuan, Noble and Atkinson were appointed to superintendthe making of the railway, Alexander McCulloch to open a mine at the top of the mountain, andJames Gibson and myself to look after the mine at the base. The coals we were getting out of themine we laid in a heap till the railway was prepared for their transit. When we had been there a fewweeks, and fed on rice and curry, with fowls for butcher's meat, and had suffered the mostexcruciating torture from the bites of the mosquitoes and sandflies, we for the first time went tovisit a Dyak village up a small river off the Sadong river, and on landing a number of boys and girls, from six to ten or eleven years of age, were playing quite naked. On seeing us they ran into their houses screaming as if terrified. We learned that the reason they were afraid was that we woreclothing. On being ushered into one of their dwellings we were each kindly invited to seat ourselveson a sort of mat spread upon the floor. Chairs or seats of any kind there were none in the wholevillage. On looking round we saw a bed that I should have called a shaky down in each corner of the house, and two or three small chests with a few cooking utensils. These constituted the whole of their household furniture. Their ornaments consisted of nearly a score of human skulls, hanging atthe house tops, which, on beholding, I nearly turned sick, though I was told by one of our party Imust say were handsome if I did not wish to offend. By this time I had, with the aid of avocabulary, learned a good many words in the Malay language, and of course had to say they were

bagus (good). I learned there were several of those heads taken off Chinamen's shoulders during theinsurrection, and afterwards prepared, as the custom is, by taking the whole of the interior out andsmoking them over a wood fire. When properly dried they are considered to be in a state of

preservation for any length of time. We found all the houses in the village decorated nearly in thesame manner with numbers of human skulls, and some that had been left to them as relics by their ancestors. A Dyak never goes out of his house without his parang by his side. Notwithstanding thenude state he goes in he must at all times have it with him. It is something like a cutlass, and hecarries it in a wooden sheath. When walking in the jungle he can cut his way and make road for himself through the bush as fast as an ordinary man can follow him, and with it can fell a tree threeor four feet in diameter in an astonishingly short space of time, so that it is not surprising that itgoes so easily through a Chinaman's neck. The weapon is valued according to the number of heads

it has taken off, and varies in price from one to twenty dollars. Although they can neither count nor reckon, the Dyaks know the value of money, and if any of them bring fowls, rice, bananas, or anylittle article to sell, they know when they get their money all right. They know nothing about the


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date of any period of time. If you ask their age, they wil tell you perhaps so and so. Or if you ask the age of their children, they will tell you how many times the rice has been cut since they were

born, and you may reckon half as many years as the times it has been cut. The natives are vet=ryexpert in throwing a spear, which they have to do when they go deer hunting. They are verynumerous, and have no game dealers to dread, nor big boys in blue to fear. If they see a deer twentyor thirty yards distant, almost as sure as the weapon goes out of their hands it will strike the animal;

and very often they would bring deer's flesh to us to sell, which we never failed to buy, as it wasreally delicious.

1st MarchWe were all this time driving two winning headways, or as we called them there, levels, into the

interior of the mountain to prove the seam at the base. We commenced work at seven o'clock eachmorning, and worked till eleven o'clock, when all hands went to dinner and resumed work at oneo'clock, and continued till five. At 5.30, as the scorching sun of the day was near the horizon, ananimal somewhat resembling a frog began to croak, and hundreds of others sounding in chorus,made such a noise that we thought at first they were some sort of wild beast. The sun rises at six

o'clock and sets at the same hour, so that we had twelve hours daylight, and the same time indarkness all year round. There is no twilight after sunset as we have in this country, but a change ina few minutes from bright day to utter darkness. The fireflies then make their appearance, and areseen in hundreds; they are about the size of our house fly, and shine in darkness exactly like theglow-worm. By the river side they are more numerous than at any other place. All the enjoyment wehad after dark was to read the newspapers we had sent from home, or the letters we perhaps had

perused fifty times over. I had the Newcastle Guardian sent to me direct from the office all the timeI was away, and often the North of England Advertiser , Weekly Chronicle , Courant , or any paper aneighbour kindly presented to my mother to send to me. While we were enjoying the pleasure of reading news from home we were tormented with the mosquitoes either singing grace before meatinto our ear or satisfying their appetites from some part of our bodies. It did not matter what

clothing we wore for protection they would bite through it, and Noble always declared they would bite through an inch deal. We were many times driven to bed to evade their attacks by the curtainswe had hung all round for the purpose of escaping from them; yet, notwithstanding all our vigilance, we often found in the morning three or four clinging to the interior of the curtain. Whatcannot be cured must be endured, and we had to endure this all the time we were there, for noremedy had been discovered when we left to come home.

We spent the New year in a more solitary manner than we had been accustomed to do, andinstead of frost or snow, as we had in the previous New Year, we had a scorching hot sun above uswith the barometer indicating 120 or 130 degrees of heat. As we passed Mr Duguid's house and sawthe roses in full bloom, we remarked we had never seen roses blooming on New Year's day, and oneof our party thought if we were saying when we went home we had seen the like, sum wad call us

big leers.

On the 11 th of January, our companion McCulloch shot an orang-outang of immense size. Having been informed by one of his men at the outskirts of the village, he got his double-barrelled gun andsoon found its whereabouts. He loaded both barrels with ball and discharged them, without anyapparent effect. He fired again several times, when the animal succumbed and fell to the ground. Hehad it carried to the mouth of the mine, and was found to weigh 10st 6lb; and lying on its back witharms extended, it was 7ft. 1 in. fro finger end to finger end, and around the muscle of its arm 18 in.Its hair was fully six inches in length, and the carcass had every appearance of that of a human

being after the skin was taken off. It was not a common occurrence to see the orang-outang, or manmonkey, so near the village, although they are more numerous in the interior of the jungle. Theother kinds are to be seen at all hours of the day, often in groups of ten or a dozen, and no one,unless they saw, could believe the distance they can leap from one tree to another.

Although we had no stir at our new year, the 12 th of February was the Chinamen's New Year's


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day, and they resolved to keep it in commemoration. They had a fortnight's holiday, feasting,drinking, dancing and gambling, and of course the work was at a standstill. With the exception of Atkinson and myself, our companions all went from home to spend the holiday; and we havingnothing to do set off one morning at daybreak to go as far along the base of the mountain as timewould permit s to get back before dark. When we got about a mile from home we saw largenumbers of flying foxes, and lots of very large birds. The screaming of wild deer, and the grunting

of wild hogs, together with the chattering of scores of monkeys made us imagine we quite far enough. We came to a stream of water, and spent a couple of hours gathering up pretty stones, andlots of things which we thought looked like diamonds from the sand in the bed of the stream, andreturned home quite proud about the discovery we had made. When we landed home and had putoff our garments to bathe, as was customary for us to do two or three times a day, we each got

between thirty and forty leeches off our bodies as full of blood as it was possible for them to be.Our diamonds turned out to be nice little pieces of quartz nothing better. The pretty stones wereonly pebbles, but handsomely variegated in colours, but not a single ruby amongst the whole lot.After partaking of a good feed of rice, curry, and fowl, we were, however, well satisfied with theday's excursion.

The Chinamen's excessive drinking and feasting led on to dissipation and crime, as it does in all parts of the world. On the 17 th of February, three of them waylaid a countryman on their own on therailway between the Sadong River and the Simunjun Mine, robbed him of three gold rings he woreon his fingers, and all the money he had in his possession, cruelly murdered him, and afterwardscarried him about a quarter of a mile into the jungle, where his body was found next morning. Theywere all arrested and conveyed to Sarawak to await their trial.

After a week of the holiday had passed, our companions began to draw back home, and mycompanion in the mine, James Gibson, brought with him a young orang-outang, three or four months old, which he bought of some Dyaks abou the Kling Kang mountains. It was the greatestcuriosity I ever met with in my life. If we took it in our arms and fed it and nursed it for awhile,when we put it down it would cry like a child, and utter the most piteous sighs and moans. Gibsonkept it in the cooking house, and as it was a little extra work for his cook to feed it, he soonterminated its existence. The Dyaks told Gibson the way they got it. The two old ones cameregularly to their garden and got the fruit, and having provided themselves with a gun, watchedtheir return, and shot the female through the head with the young one clinging to its breast. Themale then made himself scarce, and the Dyaks got the young one while licking the wounds of itsdying mother. The next night, and several nights afterwards, the father returned and howled in amanner most lamentable to hear, till at length they destroyed it also.

On April 1 st we got the workmen engaged by contract, and the railway ready for coal to be sentto the river, which was drawn in waggons by buffaloes kept for the purpose. A brig, called the WildIrish Girl, came and loaded with coals, which was the first we sent to Singapore. On the 11 th the

company's steam vessel arrived, commanded by Captain Skinner, who had for his engineers Mr Wm.Turnbull of Tanfield, first; Mr Wm.Walker, from Shotton Colliery, Durham, second;Wm.Yates, from Thornley, third; and Wm.Batey, from Marley Hill, fourth. It was a real pleasure tous to meet a company all belonging the same neighbourhood as ourselves. They brought with themthe three prisoners to be tried for murder, and at one o'clock P.M. next day their trial commenced,and lasted till five P.M., when they were found guilty and sentenced to death, and at six o'clock thesame evening the sentence was carried out. The mode of execution there is with the use of a dagger called by the Malays a kris, about 22 inches in length, which is thrust into their body between theshoulder blade and collar bone, going direct through the heart. A single plunge puts it up to the haft,the culprit staggers and then falls to rise no more. An eye-witness to this horrible scene told me nextday, when they were brought out of the fort to o be executed that they all made a rush to theexecutioner each of them wanting to die first. When they had been all operated upon and lay side byside weltering in their blood, my informant told me it made him sakit (sick) to see it. The nextmorning their bodies were taken from where they fell to the oposite side of the river and all buried


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in one grave without either coffin or ceremony.

8 th MarchThe Sir James Brooke, steamer, was loaded with coal, and while preparing to sail we enjoyed the

company of our friends from the neighbourhood of Canny Newcassel, talking of our places of abode at home, asking each other if they knew so an d so, and wondering if we should ever againsee Earl Grey's Monument 19, or ever have the pleasure of walking over the High Level Bridge 20 again. Towards the end of April, the whole of the Europeans left Simunjun Mine except Atkinsonand myself, to go to the Antimony Mines, up the Maratabas river, many miles above Sarawak.Atkinson was then in charge of the railway, and I in charge of the mines. Both lived in one house,and thought one cook would do for us both; and we got on very well together.

One morning at daybreak he knocked at my room door. Being awake, I inquired, Is that thoo,Jerry. Yes, says he: howay here mun; be sharp. Drawing on my trousers and at the same timeasking what he wanted, I followed him into his room, where a large black snake 7ft. 6in. In lengthlay on the floor in the corner. I called the cook, and each of us armed with a long stick, we soonsucceeded in killing it. A few days after this, when going down the railway with his men, Atkinson

picked up a young flying fox, brought it home, and declared he had found the old 'un himself. Neither of us had had one in our hands before, but as we saw a good many of them when in the jungle I knew at once what it was. Scarcely a day passed without our seeing snakes, and we werecareful when walking in grass lest we might tread upon them, as a bite from them is consideredfatal. One day when walking up the mountain to the mine, near the top two deer sprang out of athicket in front of me, and never having seen any before, it was not till I recovered from the frightthey gave me that I knew what they were, but felt exceedingly thankful they were going from meinstead of coming towards me. The deer are a little larger than the goats we have in this country,with horns of moderate size.

On 26 th of April a Dutch man-of-war came to load with coal. It was adapted for the purpose of

going up rivers in shallow water, as pirates were very numerous about the coast of Borneo and inthe Sooloo Sea. The Dutch were doing all they could to suppress their nefarious system of plunder,and, as I was informed by one of the lieutenants a considerable amount of mischief they were doing.While the Dutch vessel was loading with coal, I had three lieutenants and the doctor paying me avisit. I took them through the mine, and they all said they had never seen the interior of a coal mine

before. I provided each with a pick to try his skill in mining; and when they all had satisfiedthemselves in hewing, they gathered up pieces of coal and said they would send some home to their friend in Holland. They could all talk good English; and after they had undergone a refreshingwash, we enjoyed a drop of real French cognac, which I fortunately had by me. I learned from themthat they had five prisoners (pirates) on board. They were going to take them to Sambas, where theywould undoubtedly be executed. Sambas is the principal town in Dutch territory of Borneo; and I

learned from them that all pirate prisoners were taken thither to be tried, and, if not executed,sentenced to long terms of penal servitude. The Dutch were extending their roads and cultivatingland by convict labour as quickly as they could, and by this time I have no doubt many thousands of acres which were then jungle are now transformed into fertile rice-producing land. I was informed

by a Chinaman who lived in Sambas, and undergone a term of punishment, that offenders weresentenced to six and twelve months hard labour for any petty theft they committed, and if their characters were bad, to two, and four or five years. The prisoners were taken in groups to work onthe roads or cultivate land, and fed on rice and salt fish, which was better diet than some of themcould afford who had their liberty, and on the expiration of the term of their sentence they were

presented with a cent for every day they had served, which gave some of them an opportunity of commencing business, and earning an honest livelihood if they felt inclined to do so.

Soon after the Dutch vessel left we were visited by the Bishop of Sarawak, Captain Brooke now Rajah 21 and nephew to Sir James Brooke, and two or three other gentlemen, accompanied byour employer, Mr Duguid. Having heard of their arrival while in the mine, I came out. A Dyak boy


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was standing in European attire at the entrance, and I accosted him in the Malay language, Adatuan Bishop suda datang - Has the Bishop now arrived? Imagine my surprise on hearing his reply,when he said, Yes, sir; he has gone up to Mr Duguid's house I was so delighted to hear a Dyak

boy speak the English language so fluently that I asked him where he had learned it so well. Oh,sir, said he, I learned it at the Mission School in Sarawak, where I have been since I was a child,and I can talk the English language equally as well as the Malay. He knew very little of his parents,

as they had died when he was very young, and he was taken to the Mission School and brought upthere. I learned there were about eighty children, boys and girls, in this school where they were fed,clothed, and educated, at the expense of the Mission. There were a master and two young ladyteachers, in addition to a matron, cooks, and nurses. They were all taught arithmetic, grammar, andgeography, in the English language; and this boy being, as far as I knew, the only Dyak pupil theyhad, they were taking great interest in him, no doubt in expectation of his becoming a missionaryamong his own people. The whole of the boys and girls could speak the English language more or less, according to the time they had been there, and of course they could all speak the Malaylanguage as well as it was the principal language of the country. All foreigners were obliged to learnMalay if they intended to remain there any length of time.

When Mr Duguid and Mr Russell the geologist, were going away to Sarawak they gave me strictorders top push the winning headways or levels on as fast as possible, as they were anxious to provethe seam at the base of the mountain. This was done with no better result as at times it was only 18or 24 inches in height, and at other times five or six feet of good marketable coal. We continuedwith all hands in the mine working by contract until the 13 th of June 1858, when a gentleman fromStaffordshire named Wm.Walters arrived, who was a practical mining engineer, and had beenmanager at several collieries in Staffordshire. He surveyed the interior of the mine and a good partof the exterior of the mountain; and on the 22 nd another gentleman named Smith, from the same

place came, accompanied by Mr Duguid, who was to have full command of the whole of the worksat Simunjun. He predicted that we should have to substitute locomotives for Buffaloes, and insteadof 20 or 30 tons of coals per day we should have five or six hundred. I am sorry to say his

prediction was not verified, as his alteration of the men's systems of working brought them out onstrike which lasted a fortnight. He soon found that John Chinaman was not so servile and flexible asthe laborious miner in Staffordshire, and he had to allow him a little of his own way. While thestrike was pending Mr Walters, Atkinson, and myself were working in the mine preparing a part of it, where the coal was good, to commence the system of long wall working. When the men resumedwork this was found to answer well, and according to the number of men working, a greater amountof coal was produced.

As Mr Walters had a desire to visit a Dyak village we set off one Sunday morning after breakfastand went down the Sadong River, taking with us two Malay men to manage the boat, and on gettingnear the village we saw the Bore two or three miles distant, coming rolling up towards us. This is aninflux of the tide which is very different from anything in the North of England. It is often four or five feet above the ebbing stream, and would submerge a small boat if coming in contact with it.The natives are all well used to it, and take precautions accordingly. At night time it may be heardmany miles distant. We got safe on shore, and viewed with interest the houses which were raisedeight or nine feet from the ground on huge piles of wood driven into the earth. The outer part of thedwelling consists of sticks tied together with green rattans, covered with dried tree leaves. The roof is of the same material, and it is surprising how well the inhabitants are protected from the heavyrains. The floors are of boards. A dozen expert Malays can build the same number of houses in aweek or ten days. We walked up the trunk of a small tree raised at an angle of 45 degrees, withniches cut a foot apart, and so reaching the entrance were ushered in and comfortably seated on thefloor of a Dyak habitation.

15 th MarchAfter having a little conversation with the inmates of the house, I looked round and saw that the


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furniture very much resembled that of the Dyak houses we had previously visited. Directly abovemy head hung fourteen human skulls in a cluster, to represent a trophy of great importance. As Ilooked at them I asked how they became possessed of such treasures, when one of the men drew his

parang from its sheath, and said, with an air of pride, that he had cut five of them off during theinsurrection; and he then went through a portion of their war dance, wielding his weapon to show ushow they proceeded in their fiendish actions. A s I had no desire to have my own head added to the

number, I told him I was perfectly satisfied that he had obtained them valiantly.By this time I was enabled to talk the Malay language very fluently; and the men, six in number,

desired us to tell them something about our country. Three women who were present wished to hear a little about England also. As my friend Mr Walters had not learned the language, I had all the talk to myself, and I told them that England was nothing like Borneo; there was no jungle, and nearlythe whole land was cultivated to produce food to eat. This statement seemed so strange to them thatthey wondered how men could be forced to cultivate the whole of it, and even if that were so howcould the food be consumed. I then told them that the population of one town alone in England London was more than the whole of the population in the three territories of Borneo. I also toldthem that when a man got a wife, he had not a large sum of money to pay to his bride's parents as

they had there, but in some cases she had a dowry. The men seemed to be very much amused at thisstatement, and the women thought there must be little encouragement to parents after having all thetoil they had in rearing their children. I then gave them some account of the seasons in England, andin describing winter, said that ponds and lakes were often so that people could walk on top of them,and amuse themselves by having iron attached to their feet, passing over it at a rapid pace. Onmaking this statement, it seemed to five of them to throw discredit on all I had said before, as theywith one voice exclaimed, Mana, buli! (impossible). Did I imagine they were going to believethat anyone could walk over the top of water; or that water could turn into a solid substance? Iassured them that it was so, and one of the others confirmed my statement, by saying that he hadheard a white man relate the same story some time before. The others declared if it were so, theyhad never heard of such a thing, and would like to visit England to see such a curiosity.

On promising to pay them another visit at a future period, to tell them something more about our country, we bade them good-bye, and descended the trunk of the tree, taking care not to lose our equilibrium; and having entered the boat, over which an awning had been spread to protect us fromthe sun, we returned safe to Simunjun Mountain.

A short time after this one of our buffalo drivers, a Hindoo, while under the influence of arrack,in which they often indulged, fell before a laden waggon and had his arm run over, whichnecessitated his being sent to Sarawak to have it amputated. This was followed by another accidentin the mine. A Chinaman lost his life by a fall of stone, which caused a great deal of consternationamongst the other workmen. It seemed to me a sudden change to see a man go to work at seveno'clock in the morning, healthy and well, and laid in his grave at four o'clock in the afternoon of the

same day.On the 24 th of July Mr Robert Coulson arrived at Simunjun, having come from Singapore to

Sarawak in the company's vessel (Sir James Brook), and a good many of our workmen were pleasedto see him, as they knew him when the mine was opened out. Numbers of Dyaks came to see himwho had heard of his arrival, amongst whom he distributed a large collection of brass finger ringsset with quartz, and had the appearance of the genuine article set with rubies. These presents

pleased them as much as if they had been real gold. On the 15 th of August the steam vessel againarrived at Simunjun to load with coal. Mr Duguid, Dr Conroy, and Mr Harvey, the company'sdirector from Singapore, came with her, and I was told to prepare to go to Sarawak with her, andthence to a place called Bedi to the Antimony Mines. As the vessel did not leave till the 21 st, I had

ample time to prepare for my departure. I was exceedingly sorry to leave my highly esteemedfriend, Mr Walters, whom I found to be an honourable gentleman, and could have spent the wholeof my life working under him. I assisted in loading the vessel, and when nearly ready I got thewhole of my goods and chattels on board, and was very comfortable in company with the engineers.


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My old friend Jerry was then left in the house alone, and seemed to be rather concerned abouthaving no one beside him he could talk to. I left the cook along with him, however, and engaged a

boy Mr Coulson had brought from Singapore who could speak English, and, after bidding Mr Walters, Jerry, and some workmen good-bye, I left Simunjun Mountain and went on board with mynewly engaged cook.

I was rather surprised to find the ship's crew was recruited from so many nations. I was told byone of the engineers that the ship's company consisted of men from sixteen different countries,chiefly Malays, Siamese, Bengalees, Hindoos, and Javanese, and yet the Malay language was usedin working the vessel. On the morning of the 21 st all seemed bustle and confusion, the stokersgetting the steam up and the sailors washing decks. At two o'clock in the afternoon we were under weigh, and as we steamed down the Sadong river I took a farewell glance at the SimunjunMountain. We got to the mouth of the river at sunset, dropped anchor, and lay till daybreak nextmorning, when we were soon a couple of miles out on the sea, and gliding along the coast of Borneo. As we entered the mouth of the Maratabas river, I examined the Dyak houses very minutelywhich we had visited when we were landed there by Captain Bush. On going up the river, we sawscores of monkeys in the jungle on both sides, some groups of which seemed to be holding a

conference, and others, as if they were playing at hide and seek, leaping from tree to tree. Aboutmid-day we reached Sarawak. There I got all my traps ashore, into a room on the ground floor of Mr Duguid's house, where I was to stay till I took my departure for Bedi.

Next day, August 23 rd, there was a great feast among the Chinese in Sarawak, with music andsinging in all parts of the town, and the streets studded with stalls and gambling tables, wherelicensed gamblers were plying their vocation with cards and articles made of brass, like dice inshape, but much larger with a cover to slide over the top. I was informed that a man had a monopolyin the gambling, and that through him alone licenses could be granted to as many as applied for them. If any were known to gamble in private houses or in any other place in the absence of a manduly licensed they were liable to be punished by law. At night the beating of gongs and firing of crackers together with the uproarious noise of the populace might have made a stranger imaginethat a revolt was in contemplation. Boxes with mechanical figures, something like Punch andJudy, were to be seen on the street exhibited by Chinamen, who were very clever in the art. After spending a day at the Chinamen's festival I retired to my lodgings at a late hour.

22 nd MarchAs I knew I should spend a few days at Sarawak, I had a walk as far as the road extended outside

the town, which was not more than two miles. There were several Malay cottages by the road side,with beautiful gardens in front of them, growing pine apples, melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, andseveral other kinds of fruit together with cocoa nut and betel nut trees, which were delightful tolook at. I had a stroll round the exterior of the town, and went to the opposite side of the river,where the Rajah's house stood. The Rajah at that time was in England, and during his sojurn therehe delivered a lecture in the Music Hall, Nelson Street, Newcastle. I found the inhabitants of Sarawak were nearly all Malays and Chinese. The latter were very industrious in cultivating land,growing yams and sweet potatoes, and they sold at a very reasonable price.

On the morning of the 30 th August, my respected friend, Mr James Gibson, arrived from Bed[i]sick. As I looked at his pallid face and sunken cheeks I almost imagined that he would soon followtwo Englishmen, Wm.Channon and David Daley, who had died that morning. They were buried thesame day, as is customary there in such cases. I had orders to go to Bedi in the same boat he hadcome in, and while my traps were being conveyed to the boat, I spent the whole of the time besidehim, and he assured me that Bedi was not such a healthy place as Sadong. After bidding him good

bye, and hoping he would soon be restored to health, I left him and proceeded to the boat, where allwas ready for our departure. My cook had a bed laid in the stern, which made our journey up theriver exceedingly pleasant. The banks on both sides were decked with ferns eight or ten feet in


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height, and bamboo canes 15 ft. to 20 ft., which made the scenery very picturesque. When we hadgone five or six miles up the river we met Mr Russel, the geologist, and Mr Gunn, the manager of the Antimony Mines at Bussan and Bedi on their way to Sarawak. Mr Gunn instructed me to takeGibson's place until his recovery; and as the boatmen used their paddles with all the skill they

possessed, we reached Busan an hour before sunset where I met my other friend from Airdrie,Alexander McCulloch.

While our evening meal was being prepared, I, with Mr McCulloch, had a look round their antimony mines, where they had upwards of a hundred tons of ore ready to send to Sarawak, andnearly as much undressed; and on seeing the ancient style they had to keep the water out of themine, with the wooden buckets attached to huge posts and beams over the top to work like a see-saw, I thought that a little donkey-engine would do more work than fifty Chinamen. After partakingof the repast provided, and enjoying a little friendly conversation, varied with mosquito torture, weretired for the night, and in the morning, after breakfast, I learned we were twelve miles from Bedi,which I was told I had better walk, as there was a good footpath through the jungle, and if I went inthe boat it would take us nearly till sunset, for the men would have to pull against the stream thewhole distance, and would have several rapids to encounter. McCulloch despatched a guide along

with us, and at seven o'clock we set off three of us to pad the twelve miles through the jungle.When we had got about half the distance we came to a village called Bauh, where there wereupwards of a hundred Chinamen engaged in seeking gold, which they got from sand by washing it.I never heard of any nuggets being found, but I was told they earned a good livelihood by the dustthey extracted from the earth and sand. They often found large pieces of native antimony ore whichthey could always sell to increase their earnings. I have been informed lately that a great quantity of cinnabar has been found in that locality, and that this is making it one of the most populous placesin Rajah Brooke's Territory. Lots of diamonds have also been found in that neighbourhood, besides

jasper and other valuable stones.

We looked for a quarter of an hour or 20 minutes at a party working, and then proceeded on our journey, and when Sol had nearly reached the meridian we arrived at our future abode, where Ifound my friend George Noble and a fine intelligent young fellow from London, named LeslieStephens, who had gone from home in the Sir James Brooke steam vessel about two years before.The house they lived in was on the bank of the river, and after having my mid-day bath in it anddinner over, I had a walk with them to the mine, which was at the opposite side, about three quartersof a mile distant. I was given to understand that I was to take charge of this mine, as Noble was tolook after a new one at the same side the house stood, about a mile and a half off. Stephens acted astimekeeper and cashier. There were a few houses near the mine where the workmen lived, and onelarger than the others I learnt was kept for a hospital. On visiting it, I found ten or a dozen invalids,who were attended by a man kept for the purpose, which sadly confirmed what my friend JamesGibson had told me, that it was not so a healthy a place as Sadong.

I viewed the mine and found that the water was kept out in the same way as at Busan, with 10wooden buckets and 20 men ten at a time each party working half an hour and resting half anhour. While the weather was fair the water could be kept out and the men in the mine at work, butwhen it began to rain it rose so rapidly that the work was entirely stopped. The ore got out of thismine was considered to yield 65 or 70 per cent of antimony, and the only means of conveying it tothe river was by Chinamen carrying it on their shoulders in baskets attached to the ends of a longflexible piece of wood, each calculated to carry 133 lbs. At a time. Thence it was taken to Sarawak in boats and shipped for the United Kingdom along with several other sorts of goods, such as sago,rice, black pepper, gutta percha, saffron wood, and nickel silver. While I had charge of this mine, Ivisited the sick men in the hospital two or three times every day. Some of them recovered, whileothers went the way of all flesh. As we had the river to cross to the mine, we kept a boat for the

purpose of conveying us backward and forward. The Chinamen waded across up to the armpits inwater, and when a freshet was in the river they would swim like water dogs, as they were all firstclass swimmers, having been to taught to swim from their infancy.


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One day one of our blacksmiths was swimming across, there being a little freshet in, and our purser, Mr Stephens, was bathing in the river at the same time. When the former was about half-wayacross he gave a fearful scream, and went down the river at a more rapid pace than it was possibleto swim. Stephens, who was not more than two or three yards from him at the time, and being anexcellent swimmer, set off in pursuit of him, as he imagined the man was taken with cramp. Whenthe blacksmith had gone about twenty yards, and uttering most fearful yells, he disappeared, and

was never more seen. Although search was made for his body for several days afterwards it wasnever found, and we concluded that he had been attacked by an alligator and dragged underneaththe water and devoured. These animals were very numerous two or three miles further up the river,and one or two of them were often seen on the bank close to our house, On hearing any noiseapproaching they would make into the water with all speed. The wild deer were more numerousthan at Sadong, and their cry was to be heard at all hours of the night, and we were often favouredwith their flesh from the Dyaks. One day, on being visited by a few Dyaks, who were selling

bananas, Indian corn, and other articles, I looked at one article among the rest that had theappearance of parings cut from a horse's hoof when a smith is going to shoe it. I asked what it was,and was told that it was birds' nests, and got an assurance it was delicious as food. Being induced to

buy some of it, I asked my cook if he knew how to cook it. He replied in the affirmative, and oneating it I think I never in my life had anything more palatable than it was, and afterwards I hadmany times had a meal from birds' nests.

29 th MarchOn 17 th Sept., when I got home from work, I was surprised to see my friend James Gibson sitting

in the house. He had recovered from his illness, and found his way back to Bedi, where hecommenced duty with Noble at the newer west mine, it being understood that I was to remain at theeast mine, which, however, was only kept on working for a week longer; for on the 25 th of the samemonth, Mr Gunn, the manager, came and told us that we were to stop the east mine, and that allhands were to go to the west mine. A new house had been built there with four rooms, and largedining room, with verandah. Gibson and I removed our goods to the new house, and Stephens

stayed in the old one at the river side.I found we were then in the midst of a group of small mountains, or as Mr Russell called them,

Wee bit hillocks, varying in size from one to three or four miles round the base. There were fiveof these within two miles of our house, and strange to say they were all nearly hollow, there beingseveral caves in every one of them, where you might enter and walk for hours without coming back to the same place. On one occasion when our workmen were laid off with heavy rain, Mr Russelltold Gibson and I to get a lamp and a cutlass and prepare to go with him. Without asking anyquestions we got the articles named. He then told us he was going to take us into the interior of thehillock. We then inquired what the implements of war were for. Oh, said he, for fear we meetany beasties, snakes, and boa-constrictors, which are very numerous in those caves; and welearned afterwards it was necessary to have something of the sort with which to defend ourselves.We left home after mid-day, and proceeded to the cave, on entering which we got our lamps lighted,and for thirty or forty yards the Diluvium had every appearance of being performed by manuallabour. After walking about a hundred yards inside we had to creep ten or twelve yards on our handsand knees, and it was with difficulty we kept our lamps from going out, owing to the current of air that was passing. We walked for about three-quarters of an hour, sometimes having a roof 8 ft. or 10ft. Above our heads, and at other times only 3 ft. or 4 ft. At length we came to an extensive openspace. On looking at it we might suppose it had been made expressly for a circus company to

perform in. It was 50 ft. or 60 ft. in height, and in circular form of 100ft. or 80 ft. diameter. Therewere scores of birds flying about in all directions, which I afterwards learned were a species of swallow, and built the edible nests I had previously bought of the Dyaks. The rock was limestone,

and there were several pillars standing here and there that looked as if they had been finished by anexperienced sculptor. As we took a seat to rest ourselves we heard what sounded like the heavy fallof water. Mr Russell asked if either of us had ever seen sick a braw place as that. I replied that I


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had. He said he would like to know where it was. I told him the interior of Newcastle TheatreRoyal 22 was a lang way bonnier place than that. He thought it was'na fit to be compared tilt; andso the matter rested After seeing all we could he gave us each a piece of limestone rock about 28 lb.Or 30lb. In weight, and told us that he should send them to the British Museum. As we werehugging them out nearly exhausted by their heavy weight, I told Gibson I thought two big styensmight be found a deal nearer London Museum without sending them such a distance. On our return

home we were ready for our dinners, and a drop from the square black bottle from Amsterdam,which we had in store at the time.

We kept the mine working night and day, and in the meantime made a tramway of wooden rails,which the bogies ran on exceedingly well. It was what is called Bilyun 23 wood, and is, I imagine, alittle harder than oak or beech. It answered admirably for the purpose, as iron rails were not to behad without sending home for them. What ore we had sent to the river had to be carried, however,until the tramway was finished, and this labour was frequently interrupted for whole days with therain, which always fell in torrents, and when we had thunder it was terrifying to hear, the mountainsall around us making the sound of it considerably louder. At night, about sunset, there alwaysseemed to be a fog hanging over the hills, and after sunset the temperature was quite cold. The

excessive heat of the day, followed by the chilly damp air of the night, made it a very unhealthylocality to dwell in; and I soon found my appetite was not so good as it had been, while I also beganto diminish in weight. In the meantime death swept off several Chinamen among our workmen. Onthe 10 th of October my old friend, Jerry Atkinson, arrived, and told us Mr Smith was about tocondemn the Simunjun Coal Mine, and that he would soon return to England. Jerry took up hisquarters in one of the rooms of our house, and we were now all engaged in looking after the worksand preparing the tramway to the river-side. There were good lodes of antimony in the mine, whichmight have been easily got had it not been for the immense quantity of water we had to contendwith. Arsenic, orpiment 24, and quartz were mingled with it, but what was got of these was onlyconsigned to the rubbish heap. I many a time thought that if the arsenic and orpiment could have

been extracted from the quartz, the company could have found a market for it also. Since we left I

hear that large quantities of cinnabar have been discovered a short distance away25

.One Sunday morning after breakfast, Noble, Stephens, Gibson, Atkinson, and myself had a walk

two or three miles into the jungle, armed with one single and two double-barrelled guns. A fewmonkeys were all that we shot, and these were eaten by some Chinamen, who ate all the monkeysthey could get. They would also eat a dog or rat as soon as they would a pig. Indeed, Noble had adog he brought from Simunjun affected with mange. This he gave to a Chinaman to destroy, and

paid him ten cents for the job. The man and his companions had, however, two or three days'feasting on the animal, as they declared the disease only affected the skin. Eating and smokingopium seemed to be all they delighted in. Some of the Chinamen were as much addicted to this badhabit of smoking as men at home are addicted to intoxicating drink. In fact, our cooks many timesindulged so freely in this luxury at night that they could not rise in the morning to get our breakfastready in time, and the consequence was that we were obliged to dismiss them. I had also to dispensewith the cook I got from Mr Coulson for this offence. The next I engaged I had him for threemonths. He attended to me well for the first two, but he took care to have a month's wages paid inadvance. The result was that the third month he got even worse than the man I had before. He notonly spent his wages on opium, but got on to gamble as well. I may mention here that our workmenwere paid once a month, and when the pay-day came a licensed gambler always made hisappearance with a board under his arm, his name painted on it in red letters, with licensed gambler added. Of course it was out of our power to prevent them gambling, or we should certainly havedone so. Besides this, if I gave the cook a dollar to make any small purchase, I never got any changereturned as the articles always amounted exactly to the dollar, so that I was glad to get rid of him a

week before the time for which he was paid.On the 8 th of November, I received a box from home, containing flannel shirts, socks, strong

shoes, a watch, small clock, and several other articles, along with some garden seeds namely, leek


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onion, lettuce, carrot, and radish seed which I had sent to try if they would grow in a tropicalclimate. As I had no time to attend to gardening myself, I sent some of each seed to Mr Grant, oneof the principal gentlemen under the Rajah, a native of Berwickshire, who took great interest in a

beautiful garden he had. As far as I know, nothing but the radish seed ever made any progress, and Iheard of him having radishes ready for use within a month of the time of the seed being sown. Mr Duguid's gardener in Sarawak also tried some of the seed with a similar result. I have no doubt that

if leeks and onions were planted under a shed to protect them from the sun they would also grow,for eschalots grew in abundance.

The trees around where we lived were larger than any I had previously seen. Most of them wereupwards of a hundred feet to the first branches, and more than another hundred to the top of thetree. One stood about thirty yards from our house. We took the trouble to measure thecircumference of this, and found that it was 32 feet 6 inches. It was the largest I ever saw, but Iheard of one at Santubong which was between thirty-nine and forty feet in circumference. Another large tree stood about sixty or seventy yards distant. A group of fifteen or twenty monkeys appearedon its branches every evening at half-past five. As regularly as the time came, they came also; andnight after night for weeks they were there and remained until sunset. We many times said they had

important business to transact as they were so punctual to their time in assembling. One nightGibson distributed about an o[u]nce of number one shot amongst them, when they all took leg ballexcept one, which sat for five minutes licking its arm and then went after the others. Butnotwithstanding this interruption they met with, they still continued to meet as before. We had threeof the tribe quite tame, and these we kept for amusement, two of them female and one male. Thelatter delighted in doing mischief. If he could get into the fowl house among the fowls he wouldmake them fly in all directions, and if there was an egg to be found he would have it. He was onceseen by one of our cooks coming out, walking upright, with an egg in each han and one in hismouth. The cook ran after him, and he threw the two down he had in his haands, but got clear off with the one in his mouth.

In the beginning of December Atkinson and myself had severe bilious attacks, followed by ague,which affected us very much. We often took emetics, but found no good result from them; but wehad abundance of quinine, which we took regularly, and got a little relief from it. We continueddoing duty as long as we could, but getting gradually worse we were at length confined to our room. On the 28 th of December a boat was provided for us, and we were sent away to Sarawak,where we arrived about five o'clock in the evening, and found there Mr Russell and Mr Duguid,who gave us each a room on the ground floor of his house. After a few days we began to recover,and were soon able take a walk through the town, which we did once or twice a day. While we werethere we seldom saw our cooks from half-past five in the evening till daybreak next morning, and if Jerry's was bead before we came to Sarawak he was ten times worse afterwards, for he got into thetown at night and drank arrack and smoked opium till he was so bad that he could not rise out of

bed next morning. Three days in succession I had to instruct my cook to make his breakfast, as hisdid not appear till 12 o'clock.

5 th AprilWe spent the whole of January, 1859, in Sarawak, and towards the end of the month a vessel

called the Constance, which was chartered by the company, came to take a cargo of sago, rice, gutta percha, damur, battens, buffalo and deers' horns, antimony ore, black pepper, and saffron wood toLondon. We were advised to go to London with her, and as it would be some time before we mighthave another opportunity, we thought it would be better for us to return to England rather than incur the risk of permanently impairing our constitutions by returning to Bedi. On the 3 rd of February we

set off in the morning in a large boat to go to Bedi for our goods and chattels, and got as far asBusau, where we stayed all night. The next day was far spent when we arrived at Bedi. What weintended to take to Sarawak we got to the river, and most of what we had we left with our companions. On the 5 th, Atkinson returned in the boat with our traps. I stayed till the 6 th, when my


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friend James Gibson, accompanied me to Sarawak in a small boat. There being only one house inthe town where spiritous liquor was sold, kept by a Chinaman named Achick, who had a monopolyof the sale in the whole territory, we went thither to have a parting glass. Meeting there a youngman named Charles Wishart 26, from the neighbourhood of Bathgate, we sat till we swallowed alarge quantity of the best Old Tom which Achick had in his possession. I cannot give much accountof leaving Achick's tavern, but next morning I found myself in a bed in Wishart's house, and on

awakening felt a burning thirst. I sprang out of bed and seized a bottle which was sta

from dudley colliery to borneo - 1858

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