THE NORTH
BORNEO HERALD AND THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE
EDUCATIONAL
SERIES BY BORNEO HISTORY
No. 15 -
VOL.XL. JESSELTON, TUESDAY, 1ST AUGUST 1922.
The North
Borneo Herald.
TUESDAY, 1ST AUGUST 1922.
TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO
(Extract from the
“Herald” of August, 1897)
THE MAT SALLEH EXPEDITION
We
have been handed the Report made by Mr. Hewett of the proceedings of the
expedition to Gaya and the Inanam River, from which we take the most
interesting portions:-
On
the night of Sunday, the 11th instant, about half past eight
o’clock, I received an urgent letter from Mr. Wheatly at Mempakul enclosing
letters from Kwala Penyu and Papar reporting that Pulo Gaya has been attacked
by Mat Salleh who had killed one Sikh policeman and one prisoner, and wounded
two others, had seized all the arms, ammunition, store, boats, contents of the
Treasury, looted Chinese shops and burnt down the later, together with every Government
building on the Island. One letter was from Ketik, the customs clerk at Gaya,
which gave similar details, adding that Mr. Neubronner, the Treasury clerk was
taken away prisoner by Mat Salleh, and it is impossible to doubt the truth
seeing that he was an eyewitness of most that took place. I at once went to the
Eastern Extension Telegraph Company’s Office which was closed for the night.
Mr. Cole kindly opened the office, and I was soon in communication with Mr. Wheatly,
and as the Ranee was leaving at daybreak next morning,
we arranged that Mr. Wheatly should meet the Ranee with as many police as he
could spare off Pulo Daat whilst I brought all the men available from Labuan.
After making these arrangements by telegraph, I returned to Government House to
prepare for my own departure and the went down with Mr. Horsford about 11
o’clock and found Sergeant Major had 10 police ready to go, having previously
sent word to him. I then sent out and managed to rake up 38 free Dyaks, armed
them and sent them on board Ranee We
also called up Mr. Keasberry and chartered the Enterprise, had her coaled and
provisioned for ten days. These arrangements occupied nearly the whole night,
and we got away soon after daylight. It was my intention to send Mr. Wheatly in
the Enterprise up the coast inshore to Gaya to pick up news of Mat Salleh as it
was stated that he meant to attack the other outstations and destroy them as
well. However upon meeting Mr. Wheatly I found that Ketik, the Gaya clerk, had
arrived and was with him. He stated that Mat Salleh was still in Gaya, he
thought, and had told him he intended to attack the Ranee, so we decided it was
best to go all to Gaya together.
The attack on Gaya took place at
4.30a.m. on the 9th, and the burning of these shops only occurred on
the 12th, as we could plainly see from Pulo Tiga by the dense column
of smoke ascending.
Upon arriving at Gaya in the Ranee we
caught the Mengkabong people red-handed burning and looting. They fires the
Chinese godowns on the
wharf just as the Ranee came into view. They immediately ran for their Prahus
and endeavoured to escape. The tide was out, however, and they were unable to
pass over the reefs, and the Ranee steaming up to the beacons closed the exit.
They then ran their six prahus ashore and jumping overboard, escaped into the
jungle. We at once landed all our man and followed them, but only captured one
man, and the prahus which were stuffed full with loot. We then lodged all our
men in the Bajau village at Gaya, which was left intact as the Bajaus all
joined with Mat Salleh, and the Ranee then left. Next morning we left at 3
o’clock for Ambong in the Enterprise and arrived there soon after 6, and found
Mr. Ormsby all right. He had only received a report of the sacking of Gaya the
previous afternoon about the time that we reached Gaya in the Ranee which fast
is significant of the general knowledge of the natives and their desire to keep
It secret.
After consulting with Mr. Ormsbry as
to the best course of action, we determined that inaction would be very
ill-advised pending arrival of further assistance from Sandakan. We had
information that Mat Salleh would destroy all the outstations. Our force split
up was possibly sufficient to protect them, but the material was poor. We then
returned to Gaya bringing some twenty police and free Dyaks to add to our
force.
Upon reaching Gaya we found that
Ketik, the clerk, had succeeded in keeping all our police out of sight and
quite in the Bajau kampong whenever a boat was seen, and in this way had
captured seven or eight men, amongst them a Sulu spy who had been sent by Mat
Salleh into Gaya for about a fortnight before they attack to corrupt the Gaya
Bajaus, which he succeeded in doing, and who also joined in the attack on the
morning of the 9th instant.
The
following morning therefore we held an enquiry on these prisoners, and remanded
all until the expedition was over except the Sulu spy. Him we tried, sentenced
and executed upon the spot.
There
were also four of the Chinese traders from Gaya who reported that they had just
escaped from Inanam. They informed us that the Inanam river was strongly
fortified, that there was a strong fort with two guns close to the Kwala, another
a little higher up, one more at Datu Merawi’s village and lastly a big strong
one up at O. K. Mahomed Serail’s village where Mat Salleh intended to make an
office and carry on Government of his own. They told us that Mr. Neubronner was
quite safe living in the Orang Kaya’s house and was well cared for. The Orang
Kaya has always been friendly towards the Company although his men took part in
the attack upon Gaya he would have nothing to do with it and endeavoured to
persuade the Inanam people against it.
Upon
receiving this information we gave up all thought of attack from the mouth of
the river as likely to cause us too serious loss and at once proceeded to
Tanjong Aru where we landed and started to walk to Putatan at 1:30. We found
the Putatan Office already put into a state of defence and the Gaya and Papar
police collected there. We rested for an hour and then taking all the Police
from Putatan to add to our force we started again and walked to Babait on the
Ulu Putatan reaching there about 7:30p.m. We had now a respectable force. From
Labuan and Mempakul 15 police and 38 Dyaks, Ambong some 20, and 18 were from
Putatan, total 90 men less 12 whom we left on board the Enterprise to guard the
mouth of the Inanam.
The
following morning, the 15th, we started at 5:30 and walked across
country over hills and through long stretches of paddy fields to the Ulu Inanam.
On nearing Inanam we found all the Dusuns Village full of loot, the people
scattering before us mostly running on to the Inanam. We were finally confronted
by a fort on a steep hill some 4 or 500 feet high across the Inanam, and we at
once advanced and occupied a village on a little hill perhaps 70 feet high,
driving out of the people, killing two of them. We had barely accomplished this
before we were attacked from the jungle surrounding it, the top of the hill
only being clear where the village stood. No one was struck however, and we
formed up the Sikhs and fired volleys into the jungle which soon drove out the
enemy. We occupied the village at 12:30 after a very arduous walk of seven
hours. It was mostly through paddy fields which had just been flooded and
ploughed, and we were to our knees in mud and water the greater part of the
way. The walk from Tanjong Aru to Babait the day before was just the same. The
position we took up was about 1,600 yards from the enemy’s fort. A party
emerged from the fort, crossed the river and took up a position in a sago clump
and opened fire on us. Their practice was poor but disturbing while one man was
sufficiently on the spot to be dangerous. We got the range at 550 yards and
after a volley or two they were compelled retire with the loss of one killed.
We then set about knocking up a few defences as we were completely exposed. The
Dusun and Bajow coolies who followed us from Putatan to Petagas and the
prisoners from Ambong whom we had brought with us, were employed on this,
whilst we sent out parties to burn out all the villages on the hills within
range of us.
The
following morning another fort which we had seen some way to our right was
carried, the enemy losing two killed and about a dozen villages found full of
Gaya loot were destroyed. In the afternoon it rained hard and nothing more was
done. The following morning, the 17th there was still no advance,
but a party went out to reconnoitre the Bajow kampongs on the river, they
returned saying they thought the villages were empty and that the Government
boats stolen from Gaya were lying there. During their absence we observed a
large party climbing the hill slowly to the main fort and with the glass made
out that they were carrying up a gun. Upon this I declared we must advance at
once but our reconnoitring party were so long returning that they had mounted
the gun and fired it off at us before they turned up. It was agreed that Mr.
Wheatly with 30 Dyaks, the prisoners and coolies should occupy Datu Merawi’s
village down the river and seize the boats, whilst Mr. Ormsby and myself took
the Sikhs and the remainder of the Dyaks, marched down the paddy fields facing
the fort and occupied the Orang Kaya’s village immediately below it. We then
fired our camp and broke down our defenses.
A
move was made and the two villages occupied, the fort opening fire on both
parties. The party under Mr. Ormsby and myself approached the back of the
village across open paddy fields in view of the fort. The village was deserted
except the row of Chinese shops. The Dyaks promptly ran to cover in the jungle
when the fort opened fire but the Sikhs were steady and lay down behind one of
the paddy fields dykes. I then crossed the fields and turned out all the
Chinese from the shops for safety and returned to the Sikhs and hearing brisk
firing going on below at Mr. Wheatly’s village we ordered the Sikhs to fire
volleys at the fort. They made a very good practise and succeeded in silencing
the fort. Considering the position too exposed, we then proceed to join Mr.
Wheatly at Datu Merawi’s village which we at once put in a state of defense by
dark. We had no further trouble from the enemy and they maintained dead silence
all night.
Mr.
Wheatly then went down the river to the Enterprise to bring up provisions that
we were in need of. He returned at 3:45a.m., accompanied by His Excellency, the
Governor, Capt. Reddie and Mr. Wathen, with more police from Sandakan and
Kudat, the maxim and a mountain gun. The Governor, Captain Reddie and myself at
once proceeded with the mountain gun planted it on the edge of the paddy fields
behind the upper village just by day-break. Word was sent back to the others to
advance at once against the fort which still maintained silence. Two shells
were thrown into it and there was no reply, and shortly after it was occupied
by Messrs. Wheatly, Ormsby and Wathen the enemy having deserted it. We then
retired to the lower village for breakfast, after which His Excellency the
Governor Capt. Reddie, Mr. Ormsby and Mr. Wathen ascended to the fort and
pursued the enemy overland through Menggatal whilst Mr. Wheatly and myself with
the Enterprise and Normanhust guarded
the two exits from Menggatal, leaving a guard in the camp at Inanam. In the
afternoon the overland party emerged in boats bringing with them Mr. Neubronner
who had been taken out of the Inanam fort cared for by the Pangeran Kahar of
Menggatal. We then landed all men and stores, etc, from both steamers at Gaya
and the following morning after trying all the prisoners captured, Mr. Wheatly
and myself with the Labuan Police returned to Labuan by the Normanhurst arriving at about 10p.m., on
the 19th instant.
I
must not omit to mention the conduct of Sergeant Tara Singh of the Labuan
Police, which was beyond all praise from start to finish. He worked splendidly
all through, seeing to everything, keeping the police in order all day long,
and was both willing and anxious to stay up all night, and we had to order him
to turn in and sleep; and I sincerely trust that he will receive some
substantial recognition of his services, which were invaluable.
G. HEWETT,
Acting Resident
-/ss
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