Expeditions Against The Pirates in Borneo at Malludu 1845

Expeditions Against The Pirates in Borneo at Malludu 1845

(Extracts from Notes, Journal and Letter of Admiral Sir Edward Genny Fanshawe HMS Cruizer 1842-1845)

MARRIAGE—APPOINTMENT TO ' CRUIZER ' —BORNEO—ATTACK UPON PIRATES

In the summer of 1842 E. went on a trip abroad with his sisters Fanny and Susan, and his brother Frederick, up the Rhine, and to Switzerland. Captain Dalling, having once been round Mont Blanc by the Col de Bonhomme and Allee Blanche, was much impressed by the magnificent scenery, and having in May arrived at home with the Daphne, strongly advised their making this expedition, which they did, and narrowly escaped very serious trouble.

The weather was threatening when they started from Chamonix, and they ascended the Col de Bonhomme in thick mist turning to rain ; as they approached the summit a 'tourmente ' came on, with hail, fog, and wind, chilling and benumbing them so that the ladies had to get off their mules and were given brandy, the brothers being earnestly urged by the guides to rouse one of them, who showed dangerous symptoms of drowsiness. Exactly twenty years afterwards when E. and J. were at Chamonix in the summer of 1862, they took a young guide for the walk up the Flegere. He entertained them with talk, saying, that the night before he had been listening to adventures told by an old guide, now retired ; this guide was telling his hearers how, long ago, he had been with a party of two English ladies and two gentlemen over the Col de Bonhomme when they were overtaken by a ' tourmente ' and had a narrow escape. Their young guide repeated the familiar particulars, and, when he had finished, E. remarked : ' I was one of those gentlemen,' much to the surprise of the narrator, who looked at him with admiring respect.

From the time of first meeting the Cardwells at Sir John White's, E. became well acquainted with them, saw Edward C. constantly in London, and stayed with Mrs. Cardwell at Liverpool. About a year after E.'s return home he and Jane became engaged, and they were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, May 11th, 1843.

After their wedding E. and J. drove to Delrow, Herts, lent to them by Sir Adolphus Dalrymple, and after staying there awhile went for a tour to the West, paying a visit first to Admiral and Mrs. Bouverie at Clyffe Hall, Devizes. On by Bath to North Devon, &c, and stayed with E.'s aunts Anne and Harriett F. at Torquay, and with his uncle Arthur in Durnford Street, Plymouth. Their temporary home was with Mrs. Cardwell at Liverpool, and in the summer they went on a trip to Scotland. During the two years which followed the paying off of the Daphne, Captain Dalling's intimacy with E.'s family continued, and tended towards a closer connection. On June 10th, 1844, he and E.'s sister Fanny were married, and from this time Captain Dalling served no more at sea. His brother, Sir Windham Dalling, having lent him his house, Earsham Hall, Norfolk, he and Fanny made this their home. In June 1844, E. and J.'s first child, E. C. F., was born at Liverpool, and three months later, on September 8th, E. was appointed to the command of the Cruizer 18-gun brig, eventually ordered to the East Indian station.

Having been through a course of study on steam at Seaward's private yard on the Thames, and having obtained his certificate, E. had thought it likely he would be appointed to a steamship, and had applied for the command of the fine steam sloop Infernal. She, however, was given to a commander who had not studied steam, and E. was appointed to a sailing ship. As the event proved, this was greatly to his advantage ; for the Infernal, being stationed on the West Coast of Africa, was terribly decimated by fever, losing her commander and many men. She was brought home, thoroughly cleared out and disinfected, and her name changed to Rosamond ; but the fever broke out again and  again ; all efforts to make the ship healthy proved useless, and she had to be broken up.

The Cruizer was to be fitted out at Chatham, and J. went with E. there : rail from London to Greenwich, steamer to Gravesend, coach on to Chatham. The superintendent of the dockyard was Admiral Shirreff, whom E. had known at Gibraltar in Magicienne days. He and his daughters were very kind and friendly to E. and J., who used to go with them sometimes for a sail in the dockyard yacht Chatham, a well-known craft in the Medway.

The Cruizer was already rigged and nearly manned. She went down to Sheerness just a fortnight atter E. joined her, and E. and J. stayed with the Admiral there, Sir John White, for a few days till the ship was ready to go round to Spithead. J. came to Portsmouth, and E. and she were there together for a week ; after which she left for Liverpool, escorted as far as London by Captain Dalling; and E. took up his quarters on board. The chief event during the following three weeks was the arrival on October 6th of the French King, Louis Philippe, with the formalities and  gaieties consequent thereon. The ball given to the French by the English navy was very successful. The fleet anchored at Spithead to receive Louis Philippe consisted of the St. Vincent and Queen (Captain William Martin), with eight brigs, of which the Cruizer was one, which were assembled for sailing trials. On October 21st the Queen passed across from the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth with all  honours, and, it being Trafalgar day, visited the Victory. The captains and commanders lined the creek leading to the Clarence victualling yard, and cheered as she passed. Next day the fleet of brigs sailed for their first trials.

The Admiralty wished to test the qualities of new brigs by different builders, and the Cruizer was the old one whose deficiencies were to prove the merits of the new. The difference of size was considerable, the Cruizer being 385 tons, the new brigs varying from 400 to 430 tons. E.'s uncle, Sir John White, who was in command at Sheerness, had in his younger days (about 1801) commanded the first 18-gun brig of the Cruizer type, then regarded as a magnificent command and a vast improvement upon the old 10-gun class. Sir John still retained his old enthusiasm, and could not be persuaded that the new brigs would have a chance in the trials. 'Oh, stuff,' he said to the Cruizer 's captain ; ' you'll walk away from these newfangled things.' Needless to say his prophecies were not fulfilled ; the Cruizer, being small and old-fashioned, was nowhere in the brig trials, but E. pressed her far more than in ordinary circumstances she would have been pressed. People did not then know much about the forces acting on a ship pressed with sail. Later, when far more had been discovered on the subject, and when E. had studied it, he formed the distinct opinion that the Cruizer might well have capsized and gone to the bottom in these trials. The tests took place in the chops of the Channel and Bay of Biscay, always in blowing weather with heavy seas ; the new ships were far more fitted for their press of sail than the old brig, and they carried it well ; but the Cruizer sometimes had the water over her lee gunwale, the lee guns hidden, all but their black backs, which seemed to rise and sink like porpoises. The experimental squadron went out at the end of October, and it was only in December that the Cruizer anchored in Plymouth Sound at the conclusion of the trials. The squadron was under the command of Commodore Corrie, well known as a sailor and yachtsman, whose pennant flew in the steam-frigate Firebrand. The brigs were :

Baring, 12 guns, Commander Matson ; Flying Fish, 12 guns, Commander Robert Harris, ' Symonite ' (i.e. built from Sir William Symonds' designs) ; Mutine, 12 guns, Commander Crawford ; Osprey, 12 guns, Commander Patten ; Espiegle, 12 guns ; Cruizer, Commander Fanshawe, 18 guns; Waterwitch, Commander Tom Birch, ' Symonite,' 8 guns ; Pantaloon,' Symonite,' 8 guns.

The last two were smaller ships, not competing.

Competition was keen among the captains and led to some stirring incidents. On one occasion when most of the ships had already set royals Matson, who was rather precise, excited some wrath among his fellow-captains by signalling, ' Is it permitted to set royals ? ' Matson's brig, the Daring, was built by White, the great yacht-builder of Cowes, and carried off the palm for sailing, though E. considered that Symonds' Flying Fish was the best all-round vessel. Matson was very proud of his ship, and wrote to White a private letter relating her perfections, dwelling specially upon one occasion when 'we clapped the muslin on,' and she held her course while the Mutine had at various times carried away six jib-booms. The letter was private, and as such harmless, but White's yachting friends persuaded him to publish it ; thereby causing utter wrath in ' Paddy ' Crawford, captain of the Mutine, whose ship was erroneously stated to have lost six jib-booms, whereas it was Captain Patten's Osprey which had had that misfortune. When the squadron was in at Plymouth and Matson was one day coming back from the Admiral's office at Mount Wise, he met in Fore Street Paddy Crawford wending thither, who stopped on seeing the enemy, and in the full publicity of Fore Street, just opposite an eager row of ' cabbies,' poured out on Matson's head the full vials of his wrath in no measured language ; ' he had falsely accused him of carrying away six jib-booms, and what did he mean by asking permission to set royals when his betters had already set them ? ' &c. &c. Matson tried to appease him, saying he was sorry for the erroneous statement about the jib-booms—somewhat nettled,however, at its being called ' false.' Nothing could mitigate Crawford's wrath. ' Put on a plain coat and come behind Mount Edgcumbe ! ' Matson came to E. asking him to explain matters to Crawford, but the only response was, I don't care, let him come behind Mount Edgcumbe.' My dear fellow,' said E., ' Matson is just near his promotion ; you don't suppose he'd be such a fool as to go with you behind Mount Edgcumbe and lose it ' (the Admiralty having lately issued stringent orders against duelling). E. sailed for India before he had prospered much with Crawford, and was succeeded as peacemaker by Bob Harris (afterwards captain of the Britannia). Eventually Milne, who was flagcaptain to his father, got an order to inquire into the matter and settle it officially.

Crawford dearly loved a fight. Some years later, at the time of the Chartist disturbances in 1848, E., being in London, met him one day just sworn in as a special constable, and commented on his having come over from Ireland. 'Oh,' said Crawford, ' there's going to be a row ; of course I came—always come for a row.' ' "Was he going to stay long ? ' Oh, no—there's going to be a row in Dublin ; must go back soon—must be in time for the row in Dublin.'

After the trials were over the Cruizer put into Plymouth, and E. and J. stayed three weeks with Captain Arthur F., in Durnford Street. The Admiral at Plymouth was Sir David Milne, then an old man well on towards eighty. He retained ideas of the old French war and of ships sailing  'in con-sort.' E. was anxious to get off to his station, and not at all desirous to sail in consort with a commander senior to himself. On the last day of December the Cruizer was out in the Sound with powder on board all ready for sea, having shipped a box of silver required by the authorities at Hong Kong. The wind was favourable, and he presented himself at the Admiral's office hoping to receive his orders and permission to sail ; Sir David again alluded to ' sailing in consort ' (E. inwardly chafing) ; finally, the Admiral took up the orders, saying, ' Vera weel, Captain Fanshawe, here are y'r orders, and as I see ye are vera anxious to be off ' (E. was putting out his hand), ' I shall just keep them in my desk till I mean ye to go mysel.' There was nothing for it but to retire discomfited; later in the day, however, E., with faint hopes of better things, found some excuse for again looking in at the Admiral's office. He was accosted by the Secretary, * Oh, Captain Fanshawe, here are your orders ; the Admiral wished me to give them to you that you might put to sea.' The next morning, therefore, January 1st, 1845, the Cruizer sailed for the East Indies.

[Almost all that follows is extracted from a Journal kept by E. from the time of sailing until his promotion a year later.]

January 1st, 1845.—Sailed from Plymouth in command of H.M.S. Cruizer. We passed Madeira on the eighth day. We passed to the westward of St. Antonio (Cape de Verdes), at a distance of 30 miles, but had for a time baffling winds whilst under its lee. It is 7,400 feet high and a magnificent object. I think our route has been the best for this time of the year, except that we found 30 miles too close to pass St. Antonio ; I should recommend 50.

We passed 390 miles east of Trinidad and about 1,400 miles of Rio Janeiro.

February 26th.—Anchored in Simon's Bay. I went to Capetown, which is a neat but dull town. Wynberg is a very pretty village, the resort of invalid Indians, who come to the Cape in large quantities and form an agreeable addition to the society. I spent a day with Mr. Frere at Newlands, and took a long scrambling ride and walk with him to Constantia, Hout's Bay, then by Camp's Bay to Capetown and back. We remained until March 9th, refitting, on which day we sailed, and stood to the southward three days.

We passed St. Paul's on the 18th day from leaving the Cape of Good Hope.

We made Christmas Island on April 12th, and the land about Java Head on the 14th ; but did not enter Prince's Channel till the 16th. We entered the Strait of Sunda, by Prince's Strait, on April 16th, forenoon ; passed the Button Island at the other extremity at half-past 11 p.m. I should have liked to have anchored at Anger, but we passed it in the night with a fair wind. We passed the Two Brothers on the morning of the 17th, and made Lucehara Island, at the entrance of the Straits of Banca, on that of the 18th.

The Lucehara Passage, being fully described by Horsburg,1 has no difficulty ; he may, I think, be implicitly relied on by those who merely wish to pass through them. The tides should be carefully watched in the Strait of Banca, particularly in shaping a diagonal course across either of the reaches or bends of the Strait. After passing Banca, I decided upon going through the Rhio Straits, instead of passing outside the Island of Bintang, because it is shorter ; and I had observed that we had not experienced more, or steadier, wind outside the different Straits we had passed through, than when passing through them. Of this Strait Horsburg gives less correct information than of the other places we have passed ; and the Admiralty chart is most defective, not professing, however, to be drawn from good authority. I relied implicitly on Horsburg, and entered the Straits at night, with a full moon ; and ran on well till 4 a.m., when we had a heavy, dark squall, and after running some time anchored, but found that we were already on the mud. We had no difficulty in heaving off with the stream, and we anchored off the town of Rhio, in order to send the master to sound the passage near Tercoli Island.

Having observed a man-of-war, Dutch schooner, lying at anchor, I sent Hinde with our chart to ask the commanding officer to allow him to compare it with theirs and mark off the channel. The first lieutenant was kind enough to lend me a beautiful chart of the Straits, published at Amsterdam in 1840 ; with this we got out famously ; and I took a copy of it for the Admiral. It appeared that had we not touched the mud where we did, we should probably have grounded in a harder place, in following Horsburg and our chart.

We arrived at Singapore on April 24th, and found there the Dadalus, she having arrived two days before. She had fallen in with the Cambria, and learnt from her that the (Horsburg was an East India Company merchant captain, author of a large book of directions upon sailing in these waters ; a very interesting work, and the chief authority at that time upon the subject. It was supplied by the Admiralty as a service book to ships on the station.)

Admiral wanted a ship from England to meet him at Penang. I therefore decided upon a trip to Penang, in hopes of meeting the Admiral, the distance being only about 300 or 400 miles.

The navigation of the Straits of Malacca is easy, but most tedious, owing to calms and heavy squalls of rain and wind, with thunder and lightning during the night.

May 2nd.—Joined the Admiral [Sir Thomas Cochrane] at Penang.

When E. arrived at Penang Sir Thomas Cochrane, who knew his family, invited him to come and stay at the house he was occupying ashore. E. always found the Admiral personally kind, though those under his command considered him apt to find fault too frequently. Sir Thomas was very particular about every detail of uniform, and officers were always expected to wear Wellington         boots ; the climate being very hot, a compromise was made with the bootmakers ashore, by which a spurious kind of foot-gear was instituted which looked like the real thing, and was called 'cheatee-cochrane.' The makers, in all innocence, once asked the Admiral himself whether what he required were ' cheatee-cochranes.' Up to these days lieutenants wore only one epaulette, on the right shoulder, but in the beginning of 1845 two epaulettes became uniform.

While E. was staying with Sir Thomas Cochrane the Osprey, brig—one of his competitors in the sailing trials — arrived, and her captain, Patten, came up to report himself to the Admiral. Patten was despatched to New Zealand, which then formed part of the station, and his cruise had a calamitous end. He was making for the New Zealand coast at the mouth of an inlet called Hookyanga, where the local arrangement was, that an old pilot lived in a house on the height, and when there was high water on the bar waved a flag to any approaching ship to show they could safely come in. Patten approached in very thick weather, but saw the headland, the house at the right spot, and the man who came out waving a flag. He ran confidently in, crashed ashore, and the brig was hopelessly wrecked. The place was not Hookyanga ; but another spot like it called False Hookyanga, the house was a farm, and the farmer, by a strange and unfortunate coincidence, waved a flag of welcome on seeing the ship. E. was back in England, and at Portsmouth when the court-martial took place, and naturally was much interested in it. All the circumstances having been fully gone into, Patten was acquitted, the loss of the Osprey being held due to a very extraordinary and unlucky combination of circumstances. 

Journal resumed.

May 22nd.—Orders for Osprey, Cruizer, Wolverine, and Wolf to sail for trials as far as the Arroo Islands.  I amthen to go on to Singapore, to protect the junks from petty piracies, about Romania Point.

May 30th anchored at Malacca.

June 2nd arrived at Singapore

The old Cruizer, though she made a poor show in sailing with the modern brigs in heavy seas, could yet do something in favourable circumstances. In this cruise from Malacca to Singapore she beat the well-known fast opium clipper, Anonyma, greatly to the local surprise. This fact may possibly have enhanced her value when, a few years later, the Admiralty sold her out on the station for an opium clipper.

Journal resumed.

June 4th.—Sailed on a cruise, passed between Romania Islands and the great reefs ; hove to till daylight. Passed between Pulo Tingy and the island to the south-west with deep water, but irregular soundings, generally about 19 or 20 fathoms. I was told afterwards that no passage was known through, and that a ship trying to make a short cut by that passage had run ashore. We sailed round Pulo Tingy without being able to distinguish a vestige of habitation. There is a watering place, said to be good, on the western side, close to some mangrove bushes. The corresponding anchorage is a little to the northward of a point close to the west of the mangroves.

8th.—In the evening we stood over towards Tioman. Hove to between Tioman and Pisang till daylight; then (After these trials the Wolf took on to China the silver brought from England by the Cruizer) stood in to (where Horsburg says) there is a village on the S.-E. part of the island. I saw no signs of it. Exercised firing at a target for the double purpose of the practice and to inform all whom it might concern that a man-of-war was in the neighbourhood. A squall coming off the island about noon, I bore away towards the Anambas.

June 8th.—Passed Diamaja, the westernmost of the Anamba Islands. Having observed villages marked in the chart on two of the islands, I decided to visit them both. These islands were surveyed some years ago by the French, but they have been very rarely visited by Europeans. One of the villages was marked at the bottom of a deep and narrow creek, named Paris Cove, from the officer who conducted the survey. The wind suiting for taking this one first, we ran in ; but when we had proceeded far enough to see the bottom no village appeared ; and as the place seemed a perfect oven, I worked out again at once. The place was rather narrow, and once we had the rocks within three or four yards of the quarter, but did not touch. We then stood over to Terempa, the largest and principal village in the group, situated at the bottom of a small bay, with a shoal on the right going in. A vessel may anchor close to the houses, which are built on poles, between high and low water mark ; we were about a cable and a half distant.  

I am not aware that any man-of-war, or European vessel of any sort, has ever been in here before, except perhaps the Thlegethon steamer; the Frenchmen kept outside. The natives flocked on board and admired everything very much, particularly the guns, of which they seemed highly to approve. There is an inner creek, which forms a harbour for prahus, and seems to be fed by a small stream ; altogether the place seems admirably adapted for a nest of pirates, both as regards itself and its position close to the China track. I should think, however, that Singapore is too close for them to avail themselves of these advantages on any but a very petty scale. There is a wretched stockade with three brokendown small guns, utterly useless. We noticed some Chinese, who appeared, as elsewhere, to perform the labour of the place ....Returned to Singapore

June 17th.—Proceeded to Romania Point for a week, sending the pinnace with her gun to show herself at the entrance of the Johore River, whence, I understood, small boats occasionally issued out to plunder. We anchored between the islands and the main, having been nearly swept on shore by the tide, which runs here with great rapidity, six knots at least in the springs. We could find no watering-place ;some which exist occasionally being dry. We were occupied watching the junks as they passed until the 23rd, having been ordered to Romania Point to protect them from petty piracies in the neighbourhood, this being about the time they sail. This service completed, I returned to Singapore.

July 5th. —The Fly anchored during the night.

July 6th. — Went on board to see my old friends Blackwood and Shadwell, both rejoiced to see a friend ; they had not heard from England for years, nor seen a man-of-war for sixteen months, nor any European vessel, except a few days before their arrival, for six months [They had been surveying the barrier-reefs north of Australia.]

16th.—Anchored at Malacca at ten at night. The Admiral was gone up the Siak River in the Vixen.

18th.—At 6 p.m. the squadron weighed for the Straits of Singapore ; we sailed in two columns.

July 22nd.—Anchored in the Straits of Singapore, off the Buffalo Rock, about nine miles from the town ; we remained at this anchorage till the 25th, completing to three months provisions, &c.

25th. —Sailed from the Straits of Singapore with the squadron

As E. spent the next six weeks on the Borneo coast and was concerned in operations there, it may be well to give a few notes on the state of affairs in this part of the island. These are taken from E.'s journal, and from the journals and memoranda of Rajah Brooke.

'Borneo,' as the north-western part of the island was then specially called, had its native capital at Brune, on the river of the same name ; but the south-western part of  (The spelling of names, titles, &c, in Borneo, is taken from Rajah Brooke's journals.) ' Borneo ' was the separate province of Sarawak, whose capital, and the river on which the capital is situated, bear also that name. South of the Sarawak boundary all the known countries were under the influence, by treaty, of the Dutch.

Sarawak had been thrown into rebellion about five years before by Sheriff Usop, an illegitimate son of the late Sultan, whose object it was to embroil the country for his own benefit. In quelling this insurrection effectual assistance had been rendered to the Rajah, Muda Hassim, by Mr. Brooke, an English gentleman then navigating the Borneo seas in his yacht, and, on order being restored, the rajahship of the province was offered to him ; this offer, after six months' consideration, was accepted. Sheriff Usop was afterwards restored to favour, and having become prime minister, governed the province of Borneo proper, or Brune (which includes the capital), during the absence of Muda Hassim, who remained at Sarawak.

The native sovereign of Borneo, residing at Brune, was the Sultan Omar Ali, a weak imbecile man under the influence of whichever of his subordinate ' rajahs ' or ' pangerans ' could grasp the chief power. It was the Sultan's uncle Muda Hassim who had been Rajah of the Sarawak province at the time of the rebellion in 1839 and 1840, and who, in September 1841, made over the rajahship to Brooke. Muda Hassim, however, lived on for nearly three years at Sarawak as a pangeran, rather embarrassing Brooke's government by his intrigues. On the whole, however, he was favourable to the English, and in 1844 Brooke went up to Brune taking with him Muda Hassim and his fine spirited brother Budrudeen, and installed them as chief advisers to the weak Sultan, obliging him to dismiss his anti-English and anti-reform minister Sheriff Usop. Usop and Muda Hassim were natural rivals and opponents, the former aspiring as a relative of the Sultan (though illegitimate), to the succession; while Muda Hassim was by Borneo custom the real heir-presumptive, Omar Ali having no son. Brooke in his journals thus summarised the situation early in 1845 : ' With reference to present politics I may remark that the Sultan is weak and doubtful ; Pangeran Usop clever, mercantile, and adverse—at least so I may reckon ; Sheriff Osman is a pirate, positively and undoubtedly a pirate direct and indirect. These two are in communication with each other, but how intimately I cannot venture to say on the other hand is the party of Muda Hassim, with a numerous connection and six-tenths of the population One circumstance is to Muda Hassim's disadvantage; namely, his being the corrective party aiming to do good ; the opposite party are evil workers who can promise plunder as the price of success '

With regard to the piracy prevalent on the coast of Borneo, Rajah Brooke wrote a long memorandum, dated Singapore, March 31st, 1845, which E. studied with great interest. In this Brooke indicates the advantages to be derived from a British occupation of the island of Labuan, and this was effected a year and a half later. Extracts from this paper are as follows : — 

The piracy of the Eastern Archipelago is entirely distinct from piracy in the Western world ; for, from the condition  of the various governments, the facilities offered by natural situation, and the total absence of all restraint from European nations, the pirate communities have attained importance on the coast and islands most removed from foreign settlements ; thence they issue forth and commit depredations on the native trade ; enslave the inhabitants at the entrance of rivers, and attack ill-armed or stranded European vessels ; and, roving from place to place, they find a market for their slaves and plunder. The old-established Malay governments (such as Borneo and Suluk), weak and distracted, are probably, without exception, participators in or victims to piracy, and in many cases both ; purchasing from one set of pirates and enslaved and plundered by another; and whilst their dependencies are abandoned, the unprotected trade languishes from the natural dread of the better disposed natives of undertaking a coasting voyage. ....

I had once the opportunity of counting 98 boats about to start on a cruise, and reckoning the crew of each boat at the moderate estimate of 25 men, it would give 2,450 men on a piratical excursion.

The number of Borneans yearly taken into slavery is very considerable, as a fleet of six or eight boats usually hover off the island of Labuan to cut off the trade and to catch the inhabitants of the city [of Brune]. A port like Labuan or Balambangam [belonging to the English] would beyond doubt give an impetus to trade merely from the absence of all restrictions and the absence of all exactions which the natives would enjoy, and, piracy being checked, countries which now lie fallow would, from its proximity, be induced to bring their produce into market.

Supposing, as I have said before, the occupation of Labuan by the English, our influence over the Government of Brune would be complete, and one of the principal objects would be to retain this ascendency as a means of extending our trade ....

I may remark that commerce might be extended and capital laid out on the north-west coast of Borneo to an amount to which it is difficult to fix limits ; as the country is capable of producing most articles of commerce in demand from this quarter of the world, and the natives (who, as far as we know them, are an unwarlike, mild, industrious race) would receive our manufactures from which they are now in great measure debarred In order to extend our commerce in those seas generally, and more particularly in the north-west of Borneo, it is requisite : first, that piracy be suppressed In the first place, a blow should be struck at the piratical communities with which we are already acquainted, and struck with a force which should convince all other pirates of the hopelessness of resistance.

I would especially urge that, in order to eradicate the evil, the pirate haunt must be burnt and destroyed, and the community dispersed.

Sheriff Osman, a half-bred Arab, is located in Malludu Bay, and has (by account) from 1,500 to 2,000 men with him. He is beyond doubt a pirate both direct and indirect, and occasionally commands in person, or employs the Illanoons of Tampasuk and others to the eastward, who for their own convenience make common cause with him ; he has no pretension to the territory he occupies, and the authority he exerts (by means of his piratical force) even on the interior tribes in his vicinity and on the island of Palawan, is of the worst and most oppressive description. This Sheriff in all probability never came in contact with any Europeans, and consequently professes that he holds their power in scorn. To my own knowledge Sheriff Osman seized and sold into slavery a boat's crew (about 20 men) of the Sultana merchant ship which was burnt in the Palawan passage. Within the last few months he has burnt and plundered a European vessel stranded near Monger Isles, and to show his entire independence of control, his contempt of European power, and his determination to continue in his present course, he has threatened to attack the city of Brune in consequence of the Brune Government having entered into a treaty with Her Majesty's Government for the suppression of piracy

Journal resumed.

In the autumn of 1844 Captain Bethune, K.N., was commissioned by the English Government to proceed to Borneo with various instructions, one of the most important of which was to fix on a spot where a settlement might be established for the prevention of piracies in that part of the China sea, and for the general extension of commerce. He accordingly arrived at Singapore early in 1845 ; and, having visited Borneo, he met Sir Thomas Cochrane at Singapore. The Admiral had then collected some ships, and was shortly afterwards joined by others, and, on being made acquainted through Captain Bethune's orders of the wishes of Government, he resolved to annihilate the principal stronghold of the pirates in the north of Borneo and also to destroy the influence of Usop at Brune.

It was considered that the destruction of the Malludu forts and town would be a fatal blow to the piracies in that neighbourhood ; and with that view, and also to put down Usop, his associate at Brune .... the Admiral approached the shores of Borneo.

July 29.—The squadron having arrived off Santobong, at the entrance of the Sarawak river, the Admiral, accompanied by Mr. Brooke, Captain Bethune, and the captains of the squadron, went up to Kuching or Sarawak, Mr. Brooke's capital ; we arrived there about 2 p.m. There are at Kuching a few Englishmen : Roepell, assistant, and Williamson, interpreter to Brooke ; Low, a botanist sent out by his father ; Cruikshank, a connection of Brooke's ; and Kentig, a settler, who is also merchant and shopkeeper in the establishment. There is also a doctor (Treacher), but he was at Singapore.

July 30th.—At 11 p.m. we started to return to the ships, and about 4 or 5 A.M. reached them at anchor off Tanjong Po ; they were busy watering. August 1st.—At noon the squadron weighed for Brune. Anchored that evening. [Brooke accompanied the Admiral and remained with him during the subsequent operations at Malludu.] During the following days the boats were employed sounding the channel into the [Brune] river, which is now clearly defined and easy of navigation.

August 8th.—Pangeran Budrudeen, the brother of the Rajah [Muda Hassim], visited the Admiral in the forenoon. He came down in a large canoe with a grand retinue, went round the decks, &c. The same day I was despatched, and also the Wolverine, to cut wood at Labuan for the steamers, an island about twelve miles to the northward, which is one of those proposed for a settlement.

On the following day the Admiral went up [the river] to Brune, with the Vixen, Nemesis, and some armed boats and marines. On visiting the Sultan he represented that Sheriff Usop had been known to have in his possession English subjects (from Hindostan) as slaves, and that he was a receiver of the English goods taken in piracy, and therefore requested that he might be given up. The Sultan replied that he did not wish to keep him, but that he had not the power to seize him, but that the Admiral might do so. The Admiral then sent a message to Usop requesting to meet him at the Sultan's. He answered that he would not come. He was then desired to go on board the Vixen, which of course he refused. A shot was then fired over his house, which he promptly returned with three or four, and his whole establishment was immediately levelled by the guns of that vessel and the Nemesis, which latter vessel had taken up a flanking position in a branch of the river on Usop's left, whilst a gap between the houses fronting the centre of the river allowed the Vixen to play away upon him in front. The marines were landed, but Usop and all his family having made off, they were re-embarked.

 A curious incident happened that night. The men came off on board the Vixen hot, dead-tired, and excited after their day's doings. The steamer's own men and also all the boats' crews lay down for the night huddled together on deck under the awnings. Sentries were posted, boat-keepers left in the boats, and all others were soon asleep. Suddenly in the silence and darkness a cry rose, ' The Malays are upon us—the Malays are upon us ! ' The tired men woke with a start, and with visions of Malays and ' krises.' The shout was taken up and a general panic and stampede set in. Those on deck tried to rush down, men from below struggled up — some pushed into the boats—one or two jumped overboard. Lyster, the flag-captain, had been accommodated with a berth in the dispensary ; he, starting up and making for the door in the dark, became involved in a confused mass of gallipots and physic bottles, but, resolutely disengaging himself, he arrived on deck. The first lieutenant, Wilcox, heard the noise from the gunroom, where stood a rack containing the officers' swords ; he seized a bundle of them as he hurried on deck, and began serving them out. Captain Gifford rushed up, with short shirt and thin legs, to take command, and, amid the turmoil, a small quiet voice was heard from abaft the mizenmast, where a screen had been erected for the Admiral's cot : —  What's the matter ? will anybody tell me what's the matter ? ' In the darkness nobody could see what was happening ; but, finally, the first lieutenant found a sentry, and asked him, what was the cause of the excitement and where were the Malays ? ' Lor, sir,' was the answer, ' there ain't no Malays at all, it's only Mr. Kennedy a-dreaming,' and so it proved ; the exhausted marine officer was fighting his battles o'er again in his sleep, and had grappled with his sleeping neighbour, who raised the cry which resulted in all this commotion.

E. with the Cruizer and Clifford with the Wolverine, who had been despatched to cut wood for the steamers at Labuan, found that scarcely any one had been there for many years. About the middle of the eighteenth century a settlement had been made on the island, but either the pirates themselves, or the fear of the pirates, had been too much for the settlers ; they soon deserted it. The remains of the settlement could be traced, now overgrown with small wood which had not yet attained the size of the neighbouring trees.

The coast from Sarawak to Brune at this time was not well known or surveyed. Sir Thomas Cochrane, in bringing the squadron up, ordered the Cruizer ahead to take soundings continuously, so as to give due warning of shoal water to the larger ships. The flagship kept close astern of the Cruizer, the rest of the squadron following. The orders were carefully carried out. E. remained on deck all day and the following night until 4 A.M., superintending the navigation and the soundings continuously taken by his orders. At 4 a.m. he gave charge to the officer of the watch, Lieutenant Hinde, a good officer, whom he thoroughly trusted, and went below for rest. He had scarcely gone down when there was a great commotion, and the flagship was almost on top of the Cruizer. The Admiral's ship had altered course, as was proved by her top-light becoming visible while her yards were square. Hinde altered course correspondingly ; the flagship, however, had only * yawed,' resuming her former direction ; and by the time that Hinde could get way-on in his old course a collision was imminent, but, happily, was just averted. By Sir T. Cochrane's order E. was hailed to come on board the flagship in the morning, when he found the Admiral reproachful ; not easily pacified by the statement that his ship had showed her top-light, and the suggestion that she had yawed, which he could not be got to entertain.

Journal resumed.

August 12th.—The squadron came to us at Labuan and immediately began cutting wood for the steamers. It took them two days, in addition to our previous exertions, to cut enough for our three steamers ; so much for steamers attached to a squadron where no coal can be procured. It took two brigs' ship's companies amply supplied with tools six days, and a line-of-battle ship, two frigates, and three steamers two days, to complete one war steamer (Vixen), and two small company's steamers (Pluto and Nemesis), each of them having previously on board some fuel.

August 14th.—We, who had been inside, shifted out to the fair way in the afternoon, being ordered to lead up the coast, which is but little known.

15th.—The squadron weighed and proceeded between Labuan and the main to the northward ; we anchored at night with Pulo Gaya E. by N. half N.

16th.—Weighed at 6 a.m., and got round Cape Sampanmangio at night ; we were sent back to lead up the frigates, each one of which had a company's steamer in tow from Labuan to save fuel. We were all at anchor round the Cape by half-past 9 p.m.

August 17th.— At 5.30 a.m. weighed and stood, and worked into Malludu Bay. At 10.30 we experienced a very heavy squall, to which we shortened all sail ; no damage done. The flagship anchored about 11.30. The Admiral recalled Wolverine and Cruizer, and called Clifford and me on board. He desired me to lead up the bay, the Wolverine to be half a mile astern, and the Agincourt (flagship) half a mile astern of her. He weighed at 1 o'clock and we went up the bay in the above order ; about 6 p.m. the flagship anchored, and we and the Wolverine were ordered to anchor near the Vixen and prepare to be towed. In the evening we all went on board the flagship and received the memo, containing the plan of attack.

 The squadron present consisted of the following ships : Agincourt (flag) line-of-battle ship, Acting-Captain Lyster ; Vestal, frigate, Captain Talbot ; Vixen, man-of-war steamer, Commander Gifford ; Cruizer, brig, Commander E. G. Fanshawe ; Wolverine, brig, Commander Clifford ; Nemesis and Pluto, small steamers belonging to the East India Company. The steamers had been laboriously provided with wood fuel, and had actually been towed by the Vestal and Dadalus in order to save it, with a view to their steaming up the Malludu river to the attack. The bar at the river's mouth prevented this, however. The Vixen, being brought as near as possible to the bar, was used as a flagship, so that her commander, Gifford, was not present at the fight. The Dadalus, frigate, Captain Peter McQuhae, was also not at Malludu. The large ships remained in the bay ; the Cruizer, Wolverine, and the two small steamers got closer in, near the Vixen. Captain Talbot commanded the attacking force, acting-Captain Lyster was second, E. third, in seniority.

Journal resumed.

August 18th.—At daylight we sent our hawsers to the Vixen and took in the Wolverine's, and sent our marines to the Vixen. At 7 we weighed and proceeded up the bay in tow. The Admiral in the Vixen. The Nemesis and Pluto in company with the gunboats. At noon the Vixen anchored, and we held on by our hawsers. The Pluto went up towards the mouth of the river, but grounded about two miles off. The idea of getting the steamers into the river, and also of having a large landed force, as per memo., appears then to have been abandoned, as at half-past 1 all boats manned and armed were ordered to the Vixen. I went on board, and was installed in general command of the boats under Captain Talbot, and having arranged with him the order they should pull-in in two lines, I went away and marshalled them all in their places. In the meantime I took an opportunity of sending our pinnace back for their proper crew, as they, being principally the best men in the ship, had been taken as shore party. We otherwise should have had but a sorry crew for the work. At 3 p.m., I having reported to Captain Talbot that the boats were all ready for a start, he ordered us to set off with three cheers, and the two lines immediately began to shoot ahead towards the river. I was a good deal occupied in keeping the lines perfect, some of the boats being eager, and some of the dull ones requiring spurring, &c. When we approached the Pluto the flagship's launch grounded, but was soon off again. ' Heard,' of the flagship, who was on board the Pluto, having rigged out a field piece in one of her cutters, joined us here, making altogether twenty boats in the two lines, besides a cutter of the Vixen s with the interpreter (Williamson) and Malay pilots, in which boat was Captain Talbot, and Lieutenant Bonham to act as beach-master. Captain Talbot's gig as a despatch boat ; Lyster, Clifford, and myself in our own gigs ; a total of twenty five boats containing 550 seamen, marines, and officers. We anchored about 7 just outside the island at the mouth of the river, as the tide was too low to cross the bar. About halfpast 10 we weighed again and crossed the bar, and at midnight anchored again well inside the river, ready to push up the next morning. The captains' boats were made fast together in the van.

August 19th.—All were stirring early, but ample time was allowed for the men to ' clean ' and breakfast, as the tide did not encourage us to weigh till 7 o'clock. We then pulled up the river as before in two columns, close order. When we had proceeded four or five miles, Captain Talbot, desiring me to take charge, went ahead with the other gigs to reconnoitre. After we had gone on three or four miles further the pilots said we were getting near, and from the symptoms of alarm they showed they evidently thought so : I therefore made the boats pull easy until Talbot's return. He soon came back with information that there was a boom with a 3-gun battery looking down upon it. He had not seen the other forts. The last preparations were then made, guns loaded, and gunboats ordered to the front. A question arising whether round or grape shot should be used, orders were given to load with grape at first, and then at discretion, judging distance and the effect produced.

About 600 yards below the battery was a turn in the river at right angles. Orders being given for the gunboats to advance, we rounded the corner, and saw at once the boom, and the battery about 230 yards beyond it. The main battery was to our left, hidden by some underwood. We had no sooner shown ourselves than a canoe was seen coming down with a flag of truce. The principal man in her was known to Williamson as the son of an Arab Sheriff at Brune ; he was a perfect specimen of a noble Arab, slight, handsome, with an insinuating elegant manner, but with some traces of cunning. He was despatched by Sheriff Osman to ask why there should be war between us, &c. Captain Talbot said that Osman must give himself up in half an hour, or he would attack him. When the Arab found that his blandest address produced no effect, he returned with that answer, but soon came back a second time to propose that one or two boats should be allowed to pass the boom to discuss the point. This, of course, was not listened to, and our Arab returned from his fruitless mission. In an hour afterwards he was a mangled corpse in the battery.

On the flag of truce leaving us the second time the gunboats, which had been kept back during the negotiations, were ordered to range along the boom ; but they had hardly done so when the Arab disappeared round the point near, and a well-directed fire plunged amongst us. The scene which immediately followed was, I suppose, the natural consequence of men going into action when not accustomed to it. Every man thought it necessary to fire his musket in the air, or wherever it happened to be pointed at the moment, without the slightest attempt at ' covering ' any (By  gunboats ' are meant the launches and large boats of the squadron armed with commrades.) object. I, at the moment, was close up at the boom, and a gunboat's bow overlooking us, I instantly made all the men lie down at the bottom of the boat to enable the gunboat, if ready, to fire over us ; but, finding they were not ready, I took the opportunity to disengage myself, and then endeavoured to enforce Captain Talbot's orders to cease firing musketry. It was some minutes before order could be restored. I pulled up to our own cutter, and seeing one or two of our marines (recruits) reloading, I attacked the corporal and midshipman of the boat. They said they could not get them to cease firing. I threatened them with punishment the moment they got on board ; which I believe produced the desired effect.

Meantime the gunboats had begun to keep up a good fire, but the enemy's guns having been previously well laid at the boom with great accuracy, several casualties had occurred. Poor Gibhard, mate of the Wolverine, who had been ordered to assist cutting away the boom, was shot through the body by a grape-shot from one of the guns. I was close to his boat as he was passed in from the shore, where he had been at work. He was shot right through the body, and I thought was dead, but he lingered a day or two. At the same moment on looking round I saw the Daedalus' boat receive a round shot, which killed two, knocking one man's head clear off, and apparently wounded others. Paynter immediately after dropped out of the line. He afterwards got into his rocket boat ; and having landed and found out a convenient place, began firing rockets, which were of great service. The cannonading lasted about fifty five minutes ; during which time we lost eight killed or mortally wounded, and thirteen wounded, almost all these casualties occurring, I think, within the first ten minutes when the enemy's guns were well laid for the boom, and ours had not got the direction, as, owing to the underwood, we did not at first distinguish the battery to our left, which was the most fatal to us. When Paynter had landed to set up his rockets, he got into a convenient position for seeing how our shots told. He then observed that we were not firing enough to the left, and, by hailing to that effect, he attracted my attention, and I exerted myself to get it remedied, so that ultimately our fire was too hot for the enemy to do us much harm.

Lyster was all the time hard at work at the end of the boom; and towards the end of the time above mentioned (55 minutes), had reported that the cutters might be forced through ; they were therefore called up. The cutters had not remained round the corner, as was originally intended, but had kept in the rear out of the line of fire, so that they were, in fact, as little or less exposed than they would have been had they so remained. We found some difficulty in forcing through the first few ; but the gap opened a little in doing so, and we soon had a good force on the right side. Wilcox, whose boat I was near at the moment, proposed that they should be sent up the river, and attack the forts in the rear ; but Lyster being close at hand, I turned to him, and mentioned it to him, as being Wilcox's suggestion. He, thinking, I suppose, the time come, said, 1 I'll do it at once.' I asked him if he would come into my gig, which, being shorter, would sooner get through the crowd of boats at the opening ; he said, no, he would go in his own boat ; so away he went, and I close at his heels. We squeezed through, making the cutters give way for us, and pulled right up across the line of fire. A few of the cutters had gone on, the others followed, and the gunboats were at last able to pass. We pulled right up to the three-gun battery and climbed up the stockade at the outer angle. It was deserted ; and on descending the other side of it, and passing on to a few houses built along the branch of the river which runs through the village, we saw nobody except one poor wounded man There were some prahus hauled up on this side and I was left in charge of this side of the river, to burn and destroy. Some of the houses had gunpowder in them. We had to search them first, and also the prahus. We then burnt them all. Heard, who was with me, I sent up the river on the same side, to burn whatever houses or prahus he could find. I had some difficulty in restraining the plundering because, as I had no other orders than to burn everything, and I did not know how much time it was intended to remain, I did not think it proper to allow time to be wasted in plundering. Last of all we set fire to the battery, having  taken out from underneath all the powder we could find. I, however, did not feel by any means secure until I had seen the flames penetrate every part. We had previously spiked the guns, and thrown two of them into the river.

Captain Talbot, and the larger part of the force which came up after us, had landed on the nearer side of the river, where the large battery was. Here was ample proof that our shot had not been thrown away. There were a great number of dead in the battery, some of them evidently persons of distinction ; amongst others, our friend of the flag of truce. Here was the principal part of the village or town, and here a great deal of plunder was obtained, as, Captain Talbot being present, there was not the same check as I felt it proper to place on our side, being acting under orders. As with us there was no resistance on this side ; in fact, all notion of fighting was over after we had passed the boom in large numbers ; though nothing could be more determined than the conduct of the enemy was whilst they had us barred out from approach. Their flagstaff was knocked over during the firing, which was hailed by us with three cheers ; but a man was soon seen to shin up the broken staff, and stop the colours up again.

Had it been known that there was no river between us and the main battery, the business might have been settled in a much shorter time by landing the marines and attacking it in flank. But Captain Talbot repeatedly asked the pilots (as I was told afterwards by Williamson, who acted as interpreter), who assured him that there was a river there, and Paynter, who from his position overlooked the ground, confirmed their statement. It happened that there was a sheet of water, appearing like a river, but which was not knee deep. This confirmation left no doubt, and it was consequently considered that through the boom was the only means of getting at them. Rodney, however, with our pinnace's crew and marines, followed by the Wolverine 's, actually did advance upon the forts by this route, instead of waiting for his turn to pass the boom, and many of the marines went down that way to re-embark as an easier method than having their boats kept waiting up at the landing place. About half-past 11 orders were given to re-embark ; and by noon, or a little after, all were below the boom and on their way down the river.

The boom was a most formidable barrier, formed of large trunks of trees bolted down underneath to a chain cable (once an English ship's, the Sultana's). The chain cable was not only strongly clenched to large trunks of trees driven into the banks, but was moored also to the bottom, at intervals. At first it was attempted to fracture the chain near the lefthand end of it, then to cut off the top of the trunk, and lift the turns of the chain off one by one. At last one or two of the inner bolts or fastenings of the inner trunk were got loose ; this trunk being only about ten or twelve feet long, was thus enabled to swing a little, and to allow the boats to pass singly.

A boat was appropriated to the wounded and taken in tow by two others, the rest pulled down the river at random ; at the mouth we met, coming down another river, a canoe with a flag of truce ; it contained two Manila men who had been taken as slaves, and had made their escape in the general confusion. They were taken on board, and afterwards sent to Manila. Some of the boats grounded, and they all got scattered in passing the bar, and just at the moment that there seemed a prospect of some or all remaining there for the night, Captains Talbot and Lyster thought it very necessary that they should hasten on board the Vixen. They therefore left me in charge. However, fortunately just at that time some found the right channel, and they all filed off, including the wounded boat, and those towing her, which we were most anxious about. One was on shore, which detained me about an hour. However, we got on board the Vixen about halfpast four or five, and I was greeted by Sir Thomas Cochrane with congratulations upon being safe and sound.

Sir Thomas Cochrane, who, with Rajah Brooke and Captain Bethune, had been awaiting on board the Vixen the result of the attack, was in some anxiety at the length of time—fifty-five minutes—for which the firing continued. At length Brooke exclaimed, It was all right, he could see black smoke. The white smoke of the guns and the firing ceased, and the black smoke of burning the pirate stronghold was seen instead.

This was the first occasion on which the Cruizer's men tested a new cartridge-belt which, when the brig was fitted out, was just beginning to be issued by the Admiralty, and which E. had taken some pains to secure for his men. The old belts had attached to them a curved block of elm-wood with holes for the cartridges. The new belts had on them leather receptacles properly covered from wet. At the fight E. as well as his men took a musket and had on a cartridge belt. In landing they had to wade through water that came above the belt. Afterwards in returning to the boat they found a hut which had been set on fire fallen across the path and burning there. Seeing he could spring through the fire E. did so and his men followed him. Only afterwards did it occur to him that each of them was girthed round with cartridges. Nobody exploded however, and the new belt proved to have protected the cartridges from both fire and water, for after return on board they were found quite good. Journal resumed. Meantime Captain Talbot had made his report, and it had been determined to send up a detachment of boats under Gifford to complete the destruction of the forts and bring off the brass guns. Rodney, therefore, with our pinnace was off again before he had been two hours on board. This detachment arrived the next morning and finished the destruction, but the boom completely puzzled them, and they were obliged to leave it much in the same state as we had left it the day before. They fell in with a party of the enemy, some of whom were shot in retreating.

August 20th.—After breakfast, on my waiting on the Admiral, he told me that he was making his arrangements for the disposal of the squadron, and that one of the two brigs would be required to go to India to relieve the Serpent, which vessel was ordered home, but was to come first to Singapore to wait an instalment of China ransom ; the other would go to China, and lie at one of the ports there ; such being the case, and I being the senior, he gave me my choice. I replied, that I had no hesitation in taking India. I knew of nothing going on in China. The Admiral said he thought I was right (my own inclination being to see India in preference to China). He told me that he meant to send me to Bankoka, a river on the east part of Malludu Bay, to explore it, and that he should come over there the next day. I was to take the Dadalus, pinnace, with Eandolf (who had been attached to the Cruizer since we started in tow of Vixen), her launch, and the Vesta's pinnace with Pasco.

I went on board, collected the boats, and got off with the first of the sea breeze. We found the mouth of the river, and anchored off it about half-past 1. At 3 we left Pasco and myself in the gig, Hinde and Eandolf in our cutter, and King in the jolly boat, to find out a way through the reefs which appeared to guard the mouth of the river in a most formidable manner. We determined to try the north end first, as we thought we could see an opening there. The sea breeze had freshened up almost to a gale with a high short sea ; we were therefore, in the gig, under a close-reefed sail ; just as we were nearing the reef a sea lifted our stern and rudder out of the water, so that the boat was for the moment unmanageable, and another tremendous sea following broke into the sail and turned her right over. I soon found that, although I had not been overboard for years, I was quite at home ; but seeing Eastor in distress, I took my jacket off and went to help him. Pasco was near, and had some of the oars, which he gave to Eastor. The cutter was near enough to see us, and immediately came to the rescue, and we were soon hauled in after a providential escape. The jolly boat first and cutter afterwards towed the gig ; but after pulling for nearly six hours we anchored her with the cutter anchor, recovering her next day, and went on board. The accident happened at a quarter to 4, as I found my watch stopped at that time, and we did not get on board till 10. I regretted much the loss of my gun, which I had had in the boat ; a gift from my father.

August 21st.—At 6 a.m. we got away again and tried the southern end ; here we found a good passage in, but seeing the steamers coming I only went four or five miles up the river. On my return I found that the Admiral had not anchored, but had gone at once to join his flagship, which had been at anchor in the bay during all the operations. He left a memorandum for me, desiring me to join him at the south anchorage of Balambangan after I had explored the Bankoka. I therefore decided to remain another day, and go up the river until I came to the town, if there was one. The Wolverine came to us in the afternoon, bringing Rodney with our pinnace from the second Malludu trip, and having orders to take from us the Vesta's and Dadalus' pinnace, leaving with us the Dadalus' launch. I was sorry to lose Pasco, as he had been in a surveying vessel and was useful in that line ; however, we had done the mouth, and the reefs off it, and there only remained the soundings and the direction of the different reaches of the river.

August 22nd.—At daylight left the ship with the gig and cutter ahead, the pinnace and Dadalus' launch following. We went about twenty miles up the river, sounding, taking the directions of the reaches by compass, and judging their lengths ; marking down on paper as we went. Having proceeded the above distances we came to a small village on the left bank of the river. The inhabitants nearly all ran away at our appearance, though the large boats had been carefully kept back out of sight. One old gentleman, who appeared to be a leading man in the place, called for his canoe and spear, and awaited our approach with one or two of his household. We soon convinced him that our intentions were peaceable, and we tried to barter clothes for fowls, but we had not anything that was acceptable.

Bankoka is a small wretched-looking village ; but I imagine from the old gentleman's account that it has some local importance, as being the trading post between the Dyaks and the Malays of the coast. The Dyaks bring down rice, camphor, and beeswax, and receive in return European clothes, iron, &c. ; money is quite useless. We saw, however, no sign of those goods when we were there, except a few bales of rice. The river is navigable for large prahus as far as the village ; indeed, we never had less than a fathom, and that only in some places where there probably would have been a deeper passage in another part of the stream. The old man told me that Shireff Osman made their village pay tribute, not only to himself, but also to Sulu, because he had married a Sulu lady, the daughter of the Rajah. He was much rejoiced on my telling him that Malludu was destroyed. Altogether our amicable conference will, I think, have done some good, as it will show the people, who have seldom or never seen Europeans, that we are well disposed towards them, and not inclined to deal with them as the piratical chiefs have always done ; and, they being in communication with the natives of the interior, it will tend to spread that impression through the neighbouring country. We got on board by nine at night.

August 23rd.—Sailed at 4 p.m., and about eleven joined the squadron at Balambangan. I thought the ship's company pretty well knocked up ; but we got more wood-cutting to occupy a party all the afternoon, and watering at night. The Admiral told me that I was to take Mr. Brooke and Captain Bethune down the coast to Brune and Sarawak, and the latter on to Singapore.

August 24th.—We all had a parting dinner at the Admiral's : he told me that Captain Talbot was to inspect us at quarters next morning at six o'clock.

August 25th.—I went on board the flagship and got my orders. Whilst on board the Vestal got under weigh with her steamer, and got on a shoal. The Vixen, which had sailed before, was recalled to assist, and in coming in got on the same shoal. This was rather a contretemps for the winding up of the Borneo campaign, but I believe no damage was done. The Admiral took a kind farewell of me, and I returned to my ship to await the arrival of my passengers, who did not come till 2 o'clock, when we immediately weighed. We had on board as passengers, besides Bethune and Brooke, the two Malay pilots, who had been brought from Brune to show us the way into Malludu, the Admiral's Malay interpreter, to be landed at Singapore, and a poor Malay woman and child, the former of whom had lost her arm at Malludu ; she had been found crouching in a canoe by Gilford's party, and said she had been shot in the arm early in the action whilst in her house, she having preferred remaining to going into the jungle as most of the females and children had done ; that she had then crawled with her boy to the canoe, where, having been overlooked by our party when we were at the town, she had actually remained twenty four hours without food, and her arm completely shattered at the elbow. She was brought down to the Vixen, Brooke having settled the question as to what was to become of her by promising an asylum at Sarawak. It was found necessary immediately to amputate the arm, which operation she bore with great composure, and she came to us for a passage to her new country Sarawak.

We made our passage as far as Moarra Shoal without adventure in four days ; but, in the evening of the 29th, having our marks well open, we were running in with a light wind ; but it falling dusk, and the tide making strong about the same time, we shoaled our water to three and a half or four fathoms and anchored. In swinging we tailed on the reef, and the breeze appearing inclined to cant us out clear, we weighed again ; unfortunately, a flaw of wind made our head sails take the wrong way, and we therefore got on the reef. I think we took no damage, as the bumping was on a flat surface.

August —.—Anchored in the evening inside Moarra Point, and made preparations for an expedition to Brune on the morrow.

At half-past 5 a.m. we set off in the pinnace. Brooke, Bethune, Hinde, Williamson, and myself were the party ; Tucker also was with us in charge of the pinnace. We halted to breakfast at Cherimon, a pretty little island at the entrance of the Borneo Kiver, and owing to contrary tides we did not reach Brune till 2 o'clock, p.m. We saw the Sultan the same evening, a poor imbecile creature ; we also saw the little Bajah, Muda Hassim, who is a man of spirit, and his brother, Pangeran Budrudeen, who is both in appearance and reality the most promising man there. We had an interchange of good news : for we had our Malludu successes ; and on their part they had quite overthrown Sheriff Usop, who had returned to the hill behind the town after the Admiral's departure, and had been routed and pursued by Budrudeen with 500 followers. They overtook his family and slaves about two days in the country. Usop himself had escaped alone, a miserable outcast. They had since heard of him at one of the places to the northward, and sent to have him taken up or killed, and they were then preparing their war boats to go also in chase with Budrudeen. . So it is possible that his days are numbered. . . .

Usop was pursued after this fight, and was captured and executed about three months later. This did not, however, end the struggle between the party of progress and that of lawlessness, and a sad catastrophe happened at Brune either in December 1845 or January 1846. The Sultan, who, in spite of professing friendship with Brooke, was in reality leagued with the piratical party, seized the opportunity while the British adherents were unsupported, and, assembling a strong force from the friends of piracy and lawlessness, attacked Brooke's friends in overwhelming numbers. All those known to be friends to the British policy were put to death, including all members of the royal family, Muda Hassim and Budrudeen. The latter was a very fine man of noble character and high intelligence. After fighting till his party were hopelessly overpowered and himself desperately wounded, he called one of his servants, and drawing off his ring, gave him charge to take it as a token to Rajah Brooke, and say he died faithful to the English. He then withdrew with two of his women to a room where his gunpowder was stored, fired a barrel of it, and blew himself and them to pieces. In consequence of this, Sir Thomas Cochrane returned with his fleet and captured Brune July 6th, 1846. On December 24th of the same year the island of Labuan was ceded by the Sultan and taken possession of for England.

Sheriff Osman was reported to have been dangerously wounded at the Malludu fight ; in any case his power was broken, and no further trouble was ever experienced from him. Malludu, under the modified name of Marudu, is now included in the territory of British North Borneo.

Journal resumed.

The town of Borneo or Brune is twelve miles up the river. It is built in a beautiful reach of the river of the same name. The houses line the outer edge of a shoal mudbank which extends from the shore on each side, leaving a space or sheet of 100 or 150 yards of deep water between them. A small vessel of war might, as the Vixen did, lie very conveniently at anchor in the middle of the town.

The houses are raised on poles about eight or ten feet at low water (when the mud appears), so that high water approaches very near the bottoms of the dwellings. They have the floors laid with split bamboos with about an inch between each, forming a sort of grate through which the water or mud (as the tide may be) is seen, and the latter smelt beneath, except when covered by mats, which is done in the principal apartments. The only furniture we saw was a table and a few broken chairs, and our mats and pillows to sleep on ; but as I had brought my steward with plate chest, wine and all the paraphernalia of good living that I possessed, and the Rajah or Sultan sent us a present of a dinner every day, we fared well. Their dinners always consisted of an omelet, a cock, a curry, a dish of rice, and a dish of hard-boiled eggs.

Extract of letter from E. to J. Singapore, September 28th, 1845.

The market (at Brune) is a collection of canoes formed by two or three meeting in the morning, which forms a nucleus and is soon joined by others. The whole mass is allowed to drift backwards and forwards with the tide in the middle of the river between the two rows of houses.

Journal resumed.

During our stay Brooke had some business to transact with Budrudeen and the Sultan. We read, &c. One morning Captain Bethune, Hinde and myself went to see the coal : it is thought to be plentiful and good ; about a mile carriage will be necessary to bring it to the river ; but the path, though hilly, would not be difficult if well made.

We walked one day to the top of Usop's hill, which appeared capable of being defended against any odds ; but I believe Usop had but few firearms. At any rate he might have done better than run without making any attempt. From the top there is a good view of the town, and we looked down on the poles of Usop's destroyed establishment ; it was much the largest in Brune. The Sultan's palace appeared quite small and mean compared to it. We descended on that side and saw some of the effects of the Vixen's shot. One of them had knocked down the tombstone of a former Sultan, the royal burying ground being here.

We were not sorry after four days to find that Brooke had finished his business at Brune. We paid farewell visits to the Bajah and Budrudeen, and to the Sultan. Brooke made a speech to the traders or merchants in the presence of the Sultan, telling them that now, quietness being happily restored by the destruction of Usop and of the pirates, and it being the determination of the Sultan to enforce good order, &c, he hoped they would be able to trade securely, and that, as they would not now be preyed upon by any irregular imposts, they must punctually pay the tax that would be fixed on goods, &c. We then took leave, and went at once to our pinnace ; we reached the brig about 8 p.m., and found that Tucker (boy) had died that morning of dysentery ; and that Crawford (marine) was in a hopeless state. He died the next day.

SOURCE :

 ADMIRAL SIR EDWARD GENNYS FANSHAWE G.C.B. A RECORD NOTES — JOURNALS — LETTERSWRITTEN AND COMPILED BY ALICE E. J. FANSHAWE PHOTOGRAPHS BY EVELYN L. FANSHAWEPRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION BY SPOTTISWOODE & CO. LTD., NEW-STREET SQUARE, LONDON1904