So One Morning Early I Found Myself With My Two Servants, A Chinese
Cook And A Civilized Dayak Named Dubi (Mr. R. Shelford Also Going),
On Board A Government Paddle-Wheel Steamer Which Was Bound For Sibu,
On The Rejang River.
Twenty-five miles' descent of the Sarawak River
brought us to the sea.
We did not skirt the coast, but cut across a
large open expanse of sea for about ninety miles. We then came to the
delta of the Rejang River, and went up one of its many mouths, which
was of great width, though the scenery all the way was monotonous,
and consisted of nothing but mangroves, PANDANUS, the feathery NIPA
palm and the tall, slender "nibong" palm, with here and there a
crocodile lying, out on the mud banks - a dismal scene.
At nightfall we anchored a short way up the river, as the government
will not allow their boats to travel up the river by night, it being
unsafe. We were off again at daylight the next morning, the scenery
improving as the interminable mangroves gave place to the forest. Sixty
miles up the river found us at Sibu, where I put up with Dr. Hose,
the Resident, the celebrated Bornean explorer and naturalist. The
only other Europeans here were two junior officials, Messrs. Johnson
and Bolt. And yet there is a club at Sibu, a club for three, and here
these three officials meet every evening and play pool.
There is a fort in Sibu, as indeed there is at most of the river
places in Sarawak. It is generally a square-shaped wooden building,
perforated all round with small holes for rifles, while just below
the roof is a slanting grill-work through which it is easy to shoot,
though, as it is on the slant, it is hard for spears to enter from the
outside. There are one or two cannons in most of these forts. The fort
at Sibu was close to Dr. Hose's house and was attacked by Dayaks only
a few years ago. Johnson, one of Dr. Hose's assistants, showed me a
very long Dayak canoe capable of seating over one hundred men. It was
made out of one tree, but large as it was, it did not equal some of the
Kayan canoes on this river, one of which was one hundred and forty-five
feet in length. This Dayak canoe was literally riddled with bullets,
and Johnson told me that a few weeks' ago he was fighting some Dayaks
on the Kanawit, a branch river near here, when he was attacked by some
Dayaks in this very canoe. As they came up throwing spears he told his
men to fire, with the result that eighteen Dayaks were killed. The
river at Sibu was of great width, over a mile across, in fact, and
close to the bank is a Malay village, and a bazaar where the wily
Chinaman does a thriving trade in the wild produce of the country,
and makes huge profits out of the Dayaks and other natives on this
river. But the Dayaks often have their revenge and attack the Chinamen
with great slaughter, the result being that they take home with them
plenty of yellow-skinned heads with nice long pig-tails to hang them
up by. During my stay on this river there were two or three cases of
Chinamen being slaughtered by the Dayaks, and if it were not for the
forts on these rivers, every Chinaman would be wiped out of existence.
My first real acquaintance with the Sea Dayak was in the long bazaar
at Sibu, and I was by no means disappointed in my first impressions,
as I found him a most picturesque and interesting individual. The men
usually have long black hair hanging down their backs, often with a
long fringe on their foreheads. Their skin is brown, they have snub
noses but resolute eyes, and they are of fine proportions, though they
rarely exceed five feet five inches in height. Beyond the "jawat,"
a long piece of cloth which hangs down between their legs, they wear
nothing, if I except their many and varied ornaments. They wear a great
variety of earrings. These are often composed of heavy bits of brass,
which draw the lobes of the ears down below the shoulder. When they
go on the war-path they generally wear war-coats made from the skins
of various wild animals, and these are often padded as a protection
against the small poisonous darts of the "sumpitan" or blow-pipe which,
together with the "parang" (a kind of sword) and long spears with
broad steel points constitute their chief weapons. They also have
large shields of light wood; often fantastically painted in curious
patterns, or ornamented with human hair.
I had been at Sibu only three or four days, when word was brought down
to Dr. Hose that the Ulu Ai Dayaks, near Fort Kapit, about one hundred
miles up the river, had attacked and killed a party of Punans for
the sake of their heads. These Punans are a nomadic tribe who wander
about through the great forests with no settled dwelling-places, but
build themselves rough huts and hunt the wild game of the forest and
feed on the many wild fruits that are found in these forests. Hose
at once decided to go up to Fort Kapit and punish these Dayaks, and
gave me leave to accompany him and Shelford. So one morning at six
o'clock we boarded a large steam launch with a party of the Rangers,
mentioned above, as the Rajah's troops. We took, from near Sibu,
several friendly Dayaks, who were armed to the teeth with spears,
"parangs," "sumpitans," shields and war ornaments, all highly elated
at the prospect of the fighting in store for them.
In a short account like this, it is of course impossible to describe
the many interesting things that I saw on the journey up the river.
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