Baring-Gould Sabine
A History of Sarawak under Its Two White Rajahs 1839-1908
As soon as the Chinese boats were seen rounding the point above the town, the Malays gallantly dashed at them, and succeeded in capturing ten of their largest barges. They were, however, pressed back by the more numerous and better armed Chinese, and, though they lost heavily, they doggedly retreated retaining their prizes, which were laden with valuable plunder, and, what was of more use to them, a quantity of arms and ammunition, and secured them to a large trading vessel anchored in the centre of the river. Here they maintained a determined resistance, which they were now better able to do, and effectually defied the Chinese to dislodge them. They were commanded by the Datu Bandar Muhammad Lana, a grave and gentle Malay, who now showed the courage of his father, the late Datu Patinggi Ali. The Chinese still held the town in force.
The Rajah was again forced to retire, to carry out his original intention of rallying his people up the coast, but his first care was to see to the safety of the ladies, the English non-combatants, and the wounded, and to send them off to safety at Lingga fort under the care of the Bishop in a schooner. Despondently he prepared next day to follow with a small flotilla of Malay boats, but at the mouth of the river, to his intense relief, the Borneo Company's steamer, the Sir James Brooke, arriving from Singapore, met them. The vanguard of the Tuan Muda's force, which was quickly coming to his relief, was also arriving, and now the tide had changed, and the day of reckoning had come.
The sight of the steamer and the Dayak bangkongs eagerly following was quite sufficient for the Chinese. They fired one wild volley, and fled panic-stricken, with the ships' guns playing on them, and pursued by the Dayaks and Malays.
The Datu Bandar's gallant band on board the trader and in war-boats around her had stood their ground in spite of heavy guns having been brought to bear upon them, and they now assumed the offensive. The Chinese, that morning, had crossed the river to destroy the Malay town on the other side; their boats were now seized, and the Dayaks pursued them into the jungle. Of that large party, not one can have escaped. Those who were not killed wandered into the jungle and died of starvation, or hanged themselves. Their bodies were eagerly sought for, as on many were found from five to twenty pounds sterling, besides silver spoons, forks, or other valuables, the plunder of the English houses.
The main body of the Chinese retired by road to Segobang, and from thence up-river in their boats.
We have already recorded how the news had been brought to the Tuan Muda at Sekrang, and how he hurried with his Dayaks to the Rajah's rescue, to find him safe and in good health, though crippled by the injuries he had received, on board the Sir James Brooke, which he had made his headquarters. Kuching was wrecked – "a mass of ashes, and confusion and ruin lay around. Half-habitable débris of houses only were left. The trees for many hundred yards around the fires were nearly all burnt black and leafless, and those remaining alive were drooping," so the Tuan Muda wrote, and we will now follow his account of the retribution which the rebels so deservedly met.
To check the pursuing boats of the Dayaks and Malays, the Chinese had thrown up a strong stockade at Lidah Tanah (lit. the tongue of land), a point of land at the junction of the right and left hand branches of the river. Here they placed a picked garrison under trusted leaders, and the stockade was well armed with guns and rifles that had been taken from Kuching.
A small force of Malays, and several hundreds of Sekrang and Saribas Dayaks were organised to attack it, and the mild Datu Bandar, in his new rôle of a redoubtable warrior, led them with such dash that the position was soon carried. Amongst the trophies that were brought back by the Dayaks the Chinese merchants recognised the heads of some of the principal leaders of the rebels, and showed marked satisfaction that such was the case.
The Rajah and the Tuan Muda then pushed on to Belidah, about eight miles above Lidah Tanah. Here the fort was found to have been destroyed, the rebels having left little behind them in their retreat but desolation and misery. The Malays and Dayaks were then despatched under Abang Buyong to attack the Chinese, but these latter were in full retreat from Bau, and their other villages, towards the border; once across they would be safe:
but the dogs of war were at their heels, harassing and cutting them off at every opportunity. Their plan of retreat was very skilfully arranged, and a fanatical idea of the infallibility of their Joss (idol), which they carried with them, kept them in order. We were helpless to a certain extent, in being unable to gather together an organised force, or we should have routed them without doubt, and fearful loss of life would have been the consequence. In looking back on these events, it was perhaps fortunate that we were not able to act more unitedly against them, but if it had been within our power at that time, the Joss undoubtedly would have been overturned, and the people exterminated. The most merciful of men could not deny that they had richly merited such a punishment. They protected this image with the utmost caution, keeping their women and children around it, while their bravest men acted as a guard on the outside. They had advanced a considerable distance before the Dayaks approached. The Dayak leaders on closing were at once shot down. This made the others more cautious. But the Chinamen had our best rifles and arms, with all the necessary accoutrements belonging to them. The Dayaks then changed their tactics, and did not dare appear in the open road again, but entered the jungle on each side of the enemy, and thus harassed them continually, cutting off every straggler without mercy. The Chinamen were powerless to follow these wild cat-like fellows into the close jungles, and were obliged to submit to their fate as best they might. The road over which the rebels were retreating was one continued track of clothes, valuables, silver plate, and dead bodies. To enable their retreating force to gain a few minutes whilst passing precipitous places, they strewed the road with rice, and threw here and there a valuable article to retard and keep off their pursuers. This continued for several successive days, during which the Chinese must have suffered intensely. They were not even able to cook or sleep by night or day. They now arrived at a point which must have ended their career, if it had been properly held. This was Gombang Hill, which forms the frontier between Sambas and Sarawak: here was a long Dayak house, past which the Chinese could not go unless the inhabitants were favourably disposed to them;221—
but these suffered themselves to be bribed into permitting the rebels to pass unmolested. Thus the survivors of the Chinese escaped into Sambas territory.
But no sooner were they there than those of the Chinese who did not belong to the Secret Society, filled with resentment against the members of that league for having involved them in such disaster, fell upon them, and killed many of them, reducing the hundred of the original band of 600, who had survived the muskets and spears of the Dayaks, to between thirty and forty. To add to their discomfiture, the Dutch officers came upon them and despoiled them of all the arms and plunder they had succeeded in bringing with them, and placed them under strict surveillance. The Dutch Government sent back to Kuching everything which was considered to be public or private property.222
How many of the rebels were killed it has not been possible to estimate, but it could not have been far short of 1000. Sir Spenser estimates that 2000, of which half were women and children, escaped over the borders, but this is probably an under-estimate.
"It was the madness," wrote the Rajah, "the stark staring folly of the attempt that caused it to succeed. With mankind in general we may trust to their not doing anything utterly opposed to reason; but this rule does not hold good with the Chinese," who in their blindness of consequences become daring and audacious, and, when possessed of power, contemptuous of their adversaries, but who lose spirit on the first reverse.
April 15, witnessed the closing scene of the drama. A prahu gaily decorated with flags and the yellow umbrella, the symbol of authority, went up and down the river. A gong was beaten, and then a man, standing among the flags and umbrella, proclaimed peace, and announced that all danger was at an end, and that every one might now put away his arms.
On March 28, when peace had been restored, H.M.S. Spartan arrived, under Captain Sir William Hoste, from Singapore, with instructions to protect British lives and property, but with no orders to fire a gun, or to lend a marine or blue-jacket for the protection of the Sarawak Government. There was no knowing what the humanitarians at home might say, should a finger be held out to assist the Rajah. Those who lifted up their voices to justify the pirates might now espouse the cause of the Chinese, and again be loud in condemnation of the Rajah for having summarily suppressed the insurrection. There will always be found a man, as says Cordatus in Ben Jonson's Every Man out of his Humour, "who will prefer all countries before his native," and thinks every man right except an Englishman.
The Dutch Resident at Pontianak behaved very differently from the English authorities. He at once sent a gunboat and troops to Sarawak with offers of assistance, which, however, were not then required.
The rebellion was "the direct outcome of the loss of prestige and strength which followed the appointment of the Commission sent to try the Rajah for high crimes and misdemeanours, the favourable findings of which had never been brought home to the native mind by any act of reparation made by the British Government."223 The Chinese knew that the Rajah had been left to his fate by his country, and, as The Times commented, —
had they (the Chinese) had the opportunity of reading recent debates in the British Parliament, their more subtle spirits might have received further encouragement from the belief that we were not only an ultra-peaceful, but an ultra-punctilious people, and that the cutting of Rajah Brooke's throat and the burning of the town might be considered matters beyond our cognizance, until the precise colonial status of Sarawak was determined, and whether a Kunsi Chinese (sic, Chinese Kongsi) was under the jurisdiction of any British court.
And, the Daily News, which through ignorance of the true circumstances had voiced the hostile opinion of the cranks against the Rajah in the matter of the suppression of the Saribas and Sekrang pirates, was candid enough to admit
having in the earlier part of Sir James Brooke's career felt it our duty to express our dissent from, and disapproval of, certain parts of his policy, we have sincere pleasure in proclaiming our unreserved admiration of the manner in which he must have exercised his power to have produced such fruits.
But it was precisely that part of his policy that had been condemned by Mr. Gladstone and the Daily News which had produced these present marked effects.
The condition of the Sarawak Government was now serious, and surrounded with difficulties. The revenue was gone. There was not a shred of a document extant to tell the tale of former times. So complete was the ruin that the Rajah had to wear native costume, which he borrowed here and there.
But there was a bright spot amid the gloom, in the devotion of the natives; their sympathy, their kindness, their entire willingness to do what they could, are all balm to a wounded spirit. We have lost everything but the hearts of the people, and that is much to retain.224
The fidelity of the natives of all races and classes was exemplary. They everywhere took up arms to support the Rajah and their Government, and had the Chinese been twenty times as numerous, they would have been driven out.
The whole of the Rajah's private capital had been long ago exhausted, and how were the ruins to be cleared away and the Government buildings to be rebuilt? how were the servants of the State to be paid? Nevertheless the Rajah and his staff faced their difficulties with courage and confidence; but, deserted by the British Government, he was sorely tempted to appeal to that of another power. Happily, after a period of discouragement and resentment, he resolved to face his difficulties, relying only on himself and his few English assistants. He had on his right and left hand two stout and able men, his two nephews.
Within a short period many of the Chinese refugees, particularly those of the agricultural class, returned and rebuilt their old homes. Gradually their numbers were added to by others from over the border, from the Straits, and from China, until in time Upper Sarawak recovered its former prosperity. The severe lesson they had learnt, which had taught them how powerless they were to cope with the forces at the call of the Government, that were not represented merely by a handful of fortmen and policemen as they had blindly imagined, did not, however, deter them from forming another Hueh, which decreased and increased in strength in proportion to the number of people in the district. But the power of the Government has been steadily growing, and what chance the Hueh may have ever hoped to obtain of successfully opposing it has long ago vanished. Dangerous and mischievous, however, these secret societies can still be, unless vigilantly watched and swiftly suppressed, and the Chinese population in Upper Sarawak has since increased five-fold.
For years the Bau Hueh remained dormant, though it had a perfect organisation, but in 1869 it raised its hand in opposition to the Government, and barbarously murdered an informer. Mr. Crookshank, who was administering the Government in the absence of the present Rajah, took prompt and energetic measures, and all the headmen of the Hueh were arrested. They were condemned to long terms of imprisonment and to be flogged. When their terms had expired they were banished the country under a penalty of death should they return; but the Hueh in Dutch Borneo, of which this was a branch, immediately re-organised the Society and appointed other office-bearers. Unfortunately the register and records of this Hueh could not be found. They had been cleverly concealed in the double-planked floor of a bed-place which had been overturned in the search.
In 1884-85, the Secret Society was in active revolt against the Dutch Government, which was at first only able to hold the rebels in check, not having sufficient forces to quell them. At Mandor, a large Chinese town, they killed the Dutch official in charge, and burnt down the Government buildings. After some hard fighting with great loss on both sides, Mandor was surrendered by the rebels, upon the false promise of an amnesty held out to them by the Sultan of Sambas. Finding themselves deceived, the Chinese again broke out in rebellion, and seized the important town of Mempawa, killing, amongst others, the Dutch officer in charge, and driving the Dutch troops back. But their triumph was short-lived, for upon the arrival of strong reinforcements the rebellion was quelled. One of the principal leaders, the man who had shot the Dutch controller of Mandor, was subsequently arrested in Sarawak, but rather than face his fate he hanged himself by his queue in his cell the day a Dutch gunboat had come round to fetch him.
In 1889, a secret society, allied with the Sam Tiam225 or Ghee Hin Hueh, a branch of the Triad Society of China, was established at Segobang, the centre of a large district of Chinese pepper planters. This Hueh had been formed by criminals and expelled members of the Society from Mandor and Montrado. Their primary intention was to raise another rebellion in Dutch territory, but they were banded by oath to exterminate all people without queues. On July 15, the houses of the chief and other known leaders were surrounded and searched, and the inmates arrested. The documents seized clearly showed the objects of the Society; that they had hundreds of men organised and ready for service; and that they were in correspondence with the Ghee Hin Societies at Mandor and Singapore. Six of the leaders were executed, and eleven sentenced to penal servitude for life. One of the principals, who had taken a leading part in the Mandor rebellion of 1884, was handed over to the Dutch.
As late as 1906, one or two mysterious murders of Chinese in the Rejang aroused the suspicions of the authorities, and it was found that a secret society existed on that river. Valuable help was afforded the Government by anonymous letters sent by law-abiding Chinese containing minutely accurate information as to the members and their doings, which led to the arrest of many, and to the discovery of incriminating documents. This Society was called the Golden Orchid or Lily Society, and was established at various places along the coast, from the Rejang to Simatan. This was also a branch of the Triad Society, professing the same great purpose, the reinstatement of the Ming dynasty in China, but in practice its objects were murder, robbery, and violence. Eight of the ringleaders were executed, and ten others sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.
CHAPTER VII
THE SHERIP MASAHOR
When the Rajah assumed the Government of Sarawak, he had to look out for suitable officials among the Malays to carry on the Government, and suitable officials were not easily to be found where hitherto all had been corruption and oppression. There is not much choice in rotten apples.
There were three offices of importance to be filled: that of Datu Patinggi, he who had the supervision and control over the tribes on the left-hand branch of the river; that of Datu Bandar, he who held sway over those on the right hand; and the Datu Temanggong, who had to look after the tribes on the coast.226
It will be remembered that before the rebellion of the Sarawak people against the Government of Bruni these offices had been held by three of their chiefs, who, in 1841, were reinstated in their old positions by the Rajah, and made collectors of the revenue in their several districts.227 This was a tax levied on the head of a family of a bushel and a half of rice. Hitherto the officers of Government, the Bruni Pangirans great and small, had exercised the right of pre-emption of whatever the Dayak produced, and that at the prices they themselves fixed. Rajah Brooke modified, but could not wholly abolish, this privilege. He suffered these three officials, and them alone, to have the right to buy before all others what the Dayaks had to dispose of, but only at market price. With the others, the Datu Patinggi Gapur had been in disgrace under Rajah Muda Hasim and the Pangiran Makota. Any one who was looked on with an evil eye by that arch-scoundrel Makota had a claim to be regarded as an honest man, and for a while the Datu Patinggi did fairly well, but this was only till he had, as he thought, established himself firmly; and then he began to oppress the natives in the old way, by enforcing sales to himself on his own terms; and the timid people, accustomed to this sort of treatment, and afraid of the consequences should they protest, submitted without denouncing him to the Rajah. He was a man plausible and polite, and some time elapsed before the Rajah obtained sufficient evidence to convict him. But when he did, instead of deposing him from office, he announced his determination to pay each of these officials a fixed salary, in lieu of the enforced first trade with the Dayaks, and of their share in Dayak revenue.
The Datu Patinggi had a handsome daughter who was sought in marriage by a certain Sherip Bujang, brother of Sherip Masahor of Serikei, who had assumed the government of the Rejang river,228 and had long been in league with the Saribas and Sekrang pirates – an evil-minded and intriguing man. The Rajah was very averse to this marriage, but could not forbid it. And the result was that Gapur and Masahor put their heads together, confided to each other their mutual grievances, and commenced plotting against the Rajah and his officers. Serikei is 20 miles up the Rejang river, which was not yet within the jurisdiction of Sarawak, but Saribas and Sekrang were, and Masahor was a source of annoyance and danger by incessantly fomenting agitation among the people of these rivers against the Rajah's government, and supplying them with powder and arms. For a while the Sadong district had been placed under the charge of the Datu Patinggi as well as his own, but it was found that, not satisfied with the salary paid by the Government in lieu of the right of pre-emption, he was enforcing that same right and using great oppression in both districts. The Tuan Besar, who was then administering the Government, went from Kuching to make a tour in both these, and to ascertain whether the rumours relative to the misconduct of Gapur were true, and by this means sufficient proof of his illegal exactions was obtained.
The Datu Patinggi had indeed pursued a course of oppression ever since 1851, when the marriage between Sherip Bujang and his daughter took place. He had levied imposts on the Sarawak Dayaks, forced trade on the Matu people, oppressed the Sadong Dayaks, and interfered at Lingga and Serikei, and had even proceeded so far as to assume the insignia of royalty by displaying a yellow (the royal colour) flag and unfurling a yellow umbrella. He was then, in November 1853, brought up in Court, publicly reprimanded, and made to disgorge his plunder. He submitted with outward tokens of goodwill, but he had been publicly disgraced, and this he did not forget. His feeling against the Government of the White Man became more intensely bitter.
Early in 1854, the Rajah and Captain Brooke, the Tuan Besar, went up the Batang Lupar river to visit the Tuan Muda at Lingga, and Brereton at Sekrang; Mr. Spenser St. John was then at Kuching. This latter says: —
One day, whilst sitting alone in my little cottage, the eldest son of the Temanggong, Abang Patah, came in to have a talk. He was one of the best of the Malay chiefs – frank, loyal, honest, brave as a lion. He subsequently lost his life gallantly defending the Rajah's Government.229 I saw by his manner that he had something to communicate, so after answering a few leading questions he said, "It is no use beating about the bush, I must tell you what is going on." He then unfolded the particulars of a plot which the Patinggi Gapur had concocted to cut off the Europeans in Sarawak. The Patinggi had confided his plans to the other chiefs, but they had almost unanimously refused to aid him, and had determined to keep a watch over his proceedings, but they had not the moral courage to denounce him to the Government. At length Abang Patah said, "I have become alarmed. The Rajah and Captain Brooke are away together. The Patinggi is with them with all his armed followers, and in an unsuspecting moment all the British officers might be cut off at a blow." I promised, as he desired, to keep his communication a secret from all but the Rajah, to whom I instantly wrote, giving not only Patah's story, but other indications which had come to my knowledge. An express boat carried my letter to its destination. The Rajah read the letter, and, without a word, passed it to Captain Brooke. The latter, having also read it, said, "What do you think?" "It is all too true," answered the Rajah, to whom conviction came like an inspiration. They had noticed some very odd proceedings on the part of the Patinggi, but, having no suspicions, had not been able to interpret some of his armed movements, but now it was quite clear that he was trying to get the Europeans together to strike one treacherous blow. Nothing, however, was said or done publicly. The faithful were warned to watch well, and a few judicious inquiries brought the whole story out.
The Commission had been despatched to sit at Singapore, on the conduct of the Rajah. Gapur was well aware that the British Government was indisposed to support the Rajah, and that there existed a body of opinion in England distinctly and bitterly hostile to him, and certain to apologise for any insurrectionary movement made to depose him, even if it involved, as Gapur supposed, his being massacred along with his English officers.
Mr. St. John goes on to say that upon his return to Kuching the Rajah intended to bring the Patinggi to justice for this contemplated act of treachery; but this was not done immediately. Before publicly convicting and punishing the leading chief of the State, amongst whose relations the Rajah could count so many staunch friends, it was thought advisable to wait for some overt act which would afford clear and convincing proof to all of the Datu's treachery.
The Rajah had not long to wait. Towards the close of June he appointed chiefs over the various kampongs (districts) in Kuching, each to be responsible for the good order of his kampong, and with power to arrest evil-doers. These chiefs had been given their commissions publicly in Court; however, the Datu Patinggi promptly summoned them to his house, exacted the surrender of their commissions into his hands, and dismissed them with the remark that he was not going to allow everybody to be made a datu. This was open and public defiance, and the Rajah then determined to disgrace him publicly.
Measures were taken to prevent even a show of resistance being made. Though Gapur was head of the party that existed in favour of Bruni, and of a restoration to the old condition of affairs, yet in Kuching he had but few adherents upon whom he could safely rely, even amongst his own people; but Malays when forced into a corner often resort to desperate deeds of folly, and it was to guard against such an act that precautions were taken.
In a letter the Rajah describes both Gapur and what his proceedings were: —
As he got rich there was no keeping him straight. His abuse of power, his oppression of the people, his revival of ancient evils, his pretensions, his intrigues, and his free use of my name for purposes of his own, had been often checked but never abandoned, and ever recurring. Some time ago he was seriously warned, and made to disgorge some of his ill-gotten wealth; but this, instead of preventing him, only urged him forward, and he not only intrigued against the Government, but by threatening the better class of Sarawak people, thwarted our measures, and used language which was treasonable against every constituted authority.
I resolved, therefore, at once to degrade him from his office, so as to crush the seeds of discontent in the bud. I ordered a great public meeting of the country for an important business, but, excepting Captain Brooke, St. John, the Datu Bandar, Datu Temanggong, and a few others, no one in the country knew my object. The court was crowded, many hundreds being present. I gently explained the duty of the people towards the Government. I alluded to the past, the present happiness of all classes, and the crime committed by any one who failed in obedience to constituted authority, or desired to disturb the public peace. I pointed out to the elders of the Kampongs that, having received authority from the Government, they should not have yielded it to the Patinggi, but at the same time I acquitted them of all evil intention, and declared – which was strictly true – that I knew their attachment to the Government.
I then turned to the Patinggi, I reminded him of the past, the warnings he had received and neglected. I detailed the charges against him, and concluded by saying, "I accuse you before the people of treason, and I give you the option of publicly declaring your submission to the Government or of death." He submitted. I then said, "I do not seek your life, for you are the Bandar's brother,230 and have many relatives my friends. I do not confiscate your property, for your wives and children have not shared your offence. For the safety of the Kingdom I order you to sit in your place in this court, whilst proper persons bring to the fort all the arms and ammunition which belong to you." He sat quiet. I requested his relatives to go and bring the guns and powder, and, after a couple of hours, the things were brought. I then shook hands with the culprit, told him what I had done was for the good of the people, and that he should hear further from me through the proper channel. He then returned to his house.
There was still a difficulty to be overcome, how to get rid of him. The Rajah bethought himself of proposing a pilgrimage to Mecca, and Gapur jumped at it. This would remove him from Sarawak for some time, and, before his return, it was hoped his influence would be broken, and his opportunities of doing mischief be removed, through his position being given to his brother-in-law, the Datu Bandar.231 The Bandar's brother was made the Imaum, the head of the Muhammadan priesthood, and was added to the list of the Rajah's trusted councillors. He remained true and a mainstay to English influence among the Malays in subsequent difficult times.232 As to Gapur, on his return in 1856 from Mecca, now a Haji, he was repudiated by his relations, who refused to be responsible for his conduct, so that he had to be banished to Malacca. We shall hear of him again, but for the moment must look at the proceedings of the Sherip Masahor, whose brother had married the daughter of Gapur.
Muka was then a town of considerable importance, at the mouth of the river of that name. It has since increased considerably, and is now as large as Bruni. Then, as now, it had a great trade in raw sago, which is shipped to Kuching, where it is converted into sago flour in the Chinese factories, in which form it passes to Singapore. Oya comes next in importance, then Bintulu, and then Matu and Bruit. These places supply more than half the world's consumption of sago. The trade in this had always been the principal one of Kuching until a few years ago, when pepper took the first place, but the sago trade is still increasing.
