Читать книгу The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part Third - Thomas Wallace Knox - Страница 9

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Our young friends greatly desired to visit the interior of Borneo; but as the Osprey would only remain a couple of days at Sarawak, and they wished to continue in her to Manilla, they were obliged to abandon the idea. The Doctor engaged a native boat to take them a short distance up the Sarawak River, so that they could see something of the great island away from the sea, and they gladly accepted the proposal. "Half a loaf is better than no bread," said Frank, and his opinion was promptly echoed by his cousin. The captain of the Osprey agreed to wait for them until the afternoon of the second day, and they promised to be back early enough to allow the ship to get to sea before dark.

SCENE ON THE RIVER.

A Dyak village about thirty miles above Sarawak was their destination; the crew of the boat was composed of half a dozen natives with strong arms, and as they had promise of a liberal payment on condition of making a rapid journey, they applied all their strength to the oars. Luckily, they were favored by the tide, and by a breeze blowing up stream, and very soon after getting under way they spread the sail of coarse matting and laid their oars at one side. The Dyaks along the coast are excellent sailors, but their boats are not built after the most approved models of naval architecture; under the best circumstances, they rarely make more than six miles an hour, and the most of them are satisfied with three or four. It took about seven hours of rowing and sailing for our friends to reach the village; but the time passed pleasantly, as there was an abundance of things of interest on the shore, and each bend of the stream revealed something new. The forest was dense, and contained several varieties of trees they had not yet seen, and there was an apparent abundance of animal and insect life. Every few minutes the boys would catch sight of a bright-winged bird or a gaudy butterfly, and they managed to secure several specimens of the latter.

While they were halted for a few moments under a tree that overhung the water, Fred's attention was attracted by a butterfly that fluttered among the leaves for a moment, and then seemed to disappear like the harlequin in a play. While he was looking for it there came another and then another, and each of them in turn vanished like the first. Frank was as much excited as Fred over the strange phenomenon, and asked the Doctor what could have become of the butterflies, as he was certain they had not flown away, and he could not see them among the leaves.

"Look closely at the leaves," said the Doctor, "and perhaps you will find them."

"I've looked at every leaf," Fred answered; "but there is no butterfly to be seen."

"I've found one," said Frank, as he took what appeared to be a leaf between his thumb and forefinger.

LEAF BUTTERFLY IN FLIGHT AND REPOSE.

Sure enough, he had secured his prize, and then he pointed to another, which Fred immediately captured. Then the Doctor explained that they had found the famous Leaf Butterfly of Borneo, that has the peculiarity of resembling almost to perfection a dead leaf of the tree he inhabits. "You observe," said he, "that his two sets of wings have a dark line running along them from point to point that exactly resembles the midrib of a leaf, and there are lines running out from this centre that correspond to its veins. When the wings are folded, the lower end of them imitates the stem, and touches the twig when the butterfly is at rest; and their upper extremity is pointed in exact imitation of the point of the leaf. It is the habit of this butterfly to settle where there are several dead or partly withered leaves, and you must have very sharp eyes to distinguish him from one of them."

While the Doctor was talking the boys observed that their specimens were not exactly alike, and they called his attention to their discovery. The latter explained that it was difficult to find an exact resemblance in a dozen or more specimens, and they appeared to vary about as the leaves themselves were varied. It was a provision of nature for the protection and preservation of the butterfly, as he was enabled to escape many of his enemies by adapting his appearance to his retreat.

"I suppose," said one of the boys, "it is on the same principle that rabbits in our own country are brown in summer and white in winter. Many a bunny has saved himself from the hunters by changing from brown to white when the snow falls."

The two butterflies were carefully preserved along with those already captured, and as soon as the men were rested the boat moved on. Suddenly one of the Dyaks called out, "Mias! mias!" and pointed to the top of a tree where there was an animal of considerable size swinging from one limb to another, and apparently enjoying himself. Our friends looked, and the boys hardly needed the Doctor's explanation that "mias" is the Malay name of the famous orang-outang.

"What a splendid fellow he is," said Frank, "and what a pity we cannot capture him! He looks as though he was six feet high at least."

"The gentleman we met as we went down the coast of Sumatra told us that none had ever been caught more than four feet and two inches high," responded Fred, "but this one certainly appears as large as a full-grown man."

"Probably a measurement would tell a different story," Doctor Bronson remarked. "You know," he added, "that the largest fishes are the ones that are not caught, or get no farther than being hooked and lost."

By this time the mias had seen the boat and taken alarm for his safety; with one swing he dropped from the limb where he had been exercising, and disappeared in the forest. The boys wished to land and pursue him, but the Doctor told them it would not be of the least use to do so, as he could easily elude them. "He can travel faster," he continued, "among the limbs of the trees than you could possibly go on the ground; he swings from one tree to another, then runs to the farther side along the horizontal limbs, and is ready for another plunge. We will stick to the river, and lose no time in reaching our destination."

A FLOATING ISLAND.

At a bend in the stream they saw some cattle grazing on a little island a short distance from a large tree that stood with its roots in the water. The Doctor said the island was in all probability a floating one that was attached to the bottom of the river by the long roots of the plants growing on it, and so flexible that it could rise and fall with the tide, or with the floods and droughts of the river. "These floating islands," he explained, "are by no means uncommon in tropical countries; there are many in the Amazon and its tributaries, and some of them are miles in extent. They are generally attached to the river-bottom, but occasionally they become separated and float away with the current, and instances are not unknown of cattle being swept out to sea on them."

When they reached the village, whither they were bound, the boat was run to the bank, and the three travellers stepped on shore. The natives came down to meet them, and stood at a respectful distance till the orang-kaya, or head-man, made his appearance. He was dressed in gay-colored robes, and his head was wrapped with at least half a dozen handkerchiefs of silk and bandanna; Fred thought a dozen would not be too large a guess for the brass rings about his arms, and Frank thought they must be a heavy burden to wear all the time. The boys and men were similarly adorned, and Frank thought he had found a partial solution of the question, "What becomes of all the brass pins?" If they were used for making Dyak ornaments, the consumption must be enormous.

The chief led the way to the "head-house," or strangers' lodging, which is in every Dyak village, and the whole population followed to have a look at the visitors. The boys observed that the Dyaks were generally well formed, and had more intelligent expressions on their faces than the majority of the natives of Java or the Malay peninsula, and there was a playful manner among the younger portion that greatly amused them. The Doctor said the Dyak youths had a great number of games and sports that were quite unknown to the rest of the Malay race, and in this particular they resembled the Chinese and Japanese. They have spinning-tops similar to our own, and they have a game very much like "base ball," in which they display a great deal of skill. Many of their sports are of an athletic character, and they are constantly exhibiting their ability to run, jump, throw the spear, toss heavy stones, and perform other feats that require more or less muscle. In this way their strength is developed, and they lay the foundation of the endurance for which they are celebrated.

The head house proved to be a circular building about thirty feet in diameter; it stood on posts, and had a platform running all around it, where persons could sit in the daytime or sleep at night. The head house is not only a lodging-place for strangers, but it serves as the council-chamber for any public business, and is the dormitory of many of the young men, especially in time of war, when they are liable to be summoned at short notice. Sometimes it is the largest building in a village, and the inhabitants take their turns in keeping it in order.

There was no one to act as interpreter between the strangers and the people of the village, and the conversation was conducted by signs. Where neither side could say anything, the talk was necessarily brief: the Doctor made the chief understand that he had brought nothing to sell, and did not wish to buy rice or anything else; and therefore he had no occasion to occupy their time. Then the chief ordered the strangers to be served with boiled rice and tea, and he also commanded some of the young men to exhibit their skill in the various Dyak games. An hour was spent in this sport, and then the conference came to an end; the display on the part of the Dyak youths consisted of the games already mentioned, together with pulling at a rope somewhat after the manner of the well-known "tug of war." The rope was made of bamboo shreds tightly twisted, and its rough surface furnished an excellent hold for the hands of the contestants.

BRIDGE OF BAMBOO IN BORNEO.

When the sports were over, the Doctor and the boys took a stroll among the rice-fields in the neighborhood of the village; and by the time it was ended the sun was setting. Near the village they crossed a bridge of bamboo, the first of the kind the boys had ever seen, and they examined it with a good deal of curiosity. A couple of the longest and strongest bamboos were thrown over the stream and bound together with thongs of bamboo-leaves twisted together, and a third bamboo served as a hand-rail. From an overhanging tree three or four smaller bamboos were attached to steady the bridge and keep it in place, and it was further upheld by bamboo poles fastened into the bank. The Doctor said there were hundreds of these bridges in Borneo, especially among the mountains; and though they were liable to tremble under the feet of those who crossed them, they were quite secure. The Dyaks find the bamboo no less useful than do the inhabitants of other Eastern countries, and it would be a serious calamity to them if they were suddenly deprived of it.

They slept in the head house at night, and were off by dawn on their return to meet the Osprey. The Doctor told the boys that if they had had time they would have visited the diamond-fields of the upper Sarawak, where some very fine stones are occasionally secured. The diamond washings are mostly conducted by Chinese, but they are not said to be very profitable; now and then a rich deposit is found, but for the most part the fields of the Sarawak do not more than pay the expense of working them. In other parts of Borneo they are richer, and some very large diamonds have been discovered.

While descending the river, the Doctor called attention to a climbing plant that completely covered a tree overhanging the water. "It belongs," said he, "to the family of the pitcher-plants, but is not a very good specimen."

One of the boys asked what the pitcher-plant was.

"Its name indicates its character," replied the Doctor. "It has a cup, or pitcher, hanging down very much as a pitcher does when you hold it by the handle; some of the plants are literally covered with these pitchers, and they will generally be found full of water, even when there has been no rain for weeks. The finest of them are in the mountain regions of Borneo; there is one known as the Nepenthes Rajah that will hold two quarts of water in its pitcher, and there is another nearly as large. They are of great advantage to travellers, and many a man has been saved from suffering, and perhaps death, by means of this plant."

Neocerambyx æneas. Diurus furcellatus. Megacriodes Sanudersii. Cladoguanthus tarandus. Ectatorhinus Wallacei. Cyriopalpus Wallacei. REMARKABLE BEETLES IN BORNEO.

As the men wanted to rest a short time, the boat was brought to shore near the tree that supported the wonderful plant, and thus the boys had an opportunity to examine it. While they were looking at it they discovered some curious beetles on the trunk of the tree, and succeeded in capturing several of them; some of their prizes had long antennæ, or feelers, and one had a pair of claws like a lobster, while all of them were beautifully marked or colored. Their capture led to a talk about the insect life of Borneo, and the boys learned that the country was particularly rich in beetles, butterflies, and similar products: more than two thousand varieties of beetles alone had been found there, with a proportionate number of butterflies.

"And if you are not satisfied with such small game," said the Doctor, "you can have the elephant—who is identical with the elephant of India—and at least ten varieties of monkeys. Then there is a species of panther; there are deer and wild cattle; and if you like the sport of hunting wild pigs, you can be accommodated. Bats and squirrels abound, and the name of the birds of Borneo is legion; there are crocodiles in the rivers, great pythons in the forests, and a liberal variety of smaller snakes—enough to fill the wants of the most fastidious."

"If that's the case," said Frank, "I don't believe I care to stay very long in Borneo. I don't mind ordinary hunting; in fact, I should like it; but when it comes to a battle with a python I would rather be left out."

Fred was of the same opinion, and thought that anybody could have his fill of hunting among the elephants and wild pigs. The Doctor said the pursuit of these latter animals was much more difficult in Borneo than in India, owing to the comparatively small part of the country that had been cleared. He added that it was very hard to keep up with a pig in the forest, as he can dart under the trees and keep out of the way while the hunter is toiling on, and perhaps finds the bushes so dense that he must cut away the vines and creeping plants before he can proceed.

Then the conversation changed, and for the rest of the way the Doctor interested the boys with the romantic story of an Englishman who became an Eastern prince. It was about as follows:

"Borneo has three distinct governments. First there is the Kingdom of Borneo, ruled over by a king, or sultan; it embraces the north-western and central part of the island, and is divided into several subordinate principalities. Then there are the Dutch possessions on the east, south, and west coasts, comprising three provinces under the control of the Dutch Governor of Java; and, lastly, there is the independent State of Sarawak, with an English ruler.

"It is concerning this State and its ruler that we are about to talk. In the first quarter of this century there was an Englishman, named James Brooke, in the service of the East India Company; he left it about 1830, and made a voyage to China, and on his way there he visited Borneo. There he saw how badly the natives were treated by the Malay pirates, who devastated the coast and carried the people away to sell as slaves, after robbing them of all they possessed. He conceived the idea of forming a civilized government for the people, and with this object in view returned to England, where he spent several years in preparations; he bought a yacht out of the royal squadron, and obtained the same privileges for her as for a regular man-of-war. He came here with his yacht in 1838, and attacked the pirates wherever he could find them; their primitive boats and arms were no match for him, and in a year or two he had freed this part of the coast from their depredations.

"In return for his assistance, the prince, or rajah of Sarawak, made Brooke his successor, with the full approval of the Sultan of Borneo, and gave him command of the army. English ships and men were sent out to assist him, and while they were attending to the pirates the new rajah went to work to teach the natives how to live like civilized people. He framed laws for them, established a regular government with courts of justice, built roads, developed trade, and in a good many ways made the natives feel that he was their friend."

"How did the English Government like this?" one of the boys asked. "Did they approve of one of their nation becoming an Eastern prince?"

"The Government was generally favorable to it, as it was in the interest of peace," the Doctor answered, "and besides, it was extending the power of the British Crown. But there was considerable opposition to it among some of the English, and in 1847 Brooke was obliged to go to England to defend himself against the attacks upon his policy. He succeeded in establishing his claims to consideration, and received the honor of knighthood, so that he was afterward called Sir James Brooke, though he is better known as Rajah Brooke. A staff of officers under pay of the British Government was sent to assist him, and the State of Sarawak was regarded as a British dependency, though it was and is nominally independent, and can do as it pleases.

"Under the rule of Rajah Brooke the country prospered, and has continued to prosper. Sir James died in 1868, after establishing his nephew as his successor, and the latter rules here now under his uncle's old title. The nephew is quite as philanthropic as the uncle was, and has proved himself an intelligent ruler; the trade of the country increases every year by the development of its resources, and from all we can learn or observe, the inhabitants have reason to be grateful to the Englishmen who came among them and taught them the arts of peace instead of war."

"What is the trade of Sarawak?" said Fred, "and how is it carried on?"

"It is principally in the products of the forests and of the mines," replied the Doctor, "and the latter are especially valuable. Antimony is abundant, and it is from Borneo that England derives her principal supply of that metal. There are numerous deposits of coal, and large quantities are taken out every year and sent to the markets of the Eastern seas. Those immense piles of coal that we saw at Singapore probably came from Borneo, and the business of that one port alone is enough to make the fortune of a small State like Sarawak. The forests are full of valuable timber, such as ebony, iron-wood, sandal-wood, and teak; and there is a considerable product of gutta-percha, India-rubber, and camphor. The export trade is said to amount to more than $3,000,000 annually; the most of it goes to Singapore, and from that point the goods are reshipped to Europe."

Frank wished to know the extent of the State, and its population.

"The dominions of Rajah Brooke," said the Doctor, "extend about 300 miles along the coast, and inland, at the farthest point, about 100 miles. The population is said to be 300,000, and is composed of Dyaks, Malays, and Chinese. The only hostility ever shown to the first Rajah Brooke was by the Chinese at the time of the outbreak of the war between England and China, in 1857. Two thousand Chinese attacked his house, and he was compelled to swim across the river to save his life. The insurrection lasted for some weeks, but was finally suppressed with the assistance of English troops sent from Singapore.

"The religion of the people is principally Mohammedan, but there is perfect religious freedom through the whole province. There are several Protestant missionary stations in the interior, some under English, and others under American management. One of the latter was the scene of the labors of Rev. Mr. Thomson, an American missionary, who spent many years in Borneo; he formed a vocabulary of the Dyak language, and did much for the education of the people.

AMERICAN MISSIONARY STATION IN BORNEO.

"An enterprising American, Mr. J.W. Torrey, of Boston, endeavored to follow the example of Rajah Brooke and make a colony of his countrymen, and establish an independent State in another part of Borneo; he obtained the title of Rajah of Ambong and Maroodu, with a grant of territory, from the Sultan of Borneo, and quite likely would have succeeded in his plans if he had possessed the same wealth as James Brooke, and been properly supported by his Government. The latter always had all the capital he wished, together with the support of the British Government, while Torrey had no fortune with which to purchase ships and employ the needed men and officers; and, furthermore, the President and Congress of the United States gave him no assistance. He still holds his title and his claims to territory, and he occasionally visits Borneo to make sure of their continuance; but up to the present time he has not established his government, and every year makes it less and less probable that he will succeed in his hopes of founding an American province in the Malay Archipelago."

"There's the Osprey with steam up," exclaimed Fred, as a bend in the river brought them in sight of their ship.

"Yes, there she is," echoed Frank; "we're in time to keep our promise to the captain, and she's ready to sail as soon as we're on board."

The men paddled vigorously, and in a few minutes our friends were climbing the gangway-ladder. As their feet touched the deck, the captain ordered the anchor lifted, and in a short time they were steaming down the river, and were at sea before the setting of the sun. It happened that the spectacle of sunset on that occasion was particularly beautiful; the light seemed to flash in all directions from behind the clouds, and formed a pathway of fire along the gently undulating waters. The boys agreed that it was the most brilliant sunset they had hitherto seen at sea, and they lingered on deck till the last ray of light had disappeared, and the stars came out in their places in the sky.

SUNSET IN THE CHINA SEA.