XXII GOVERNMENT 301 



Saribas and the Batang Lupar in the early days of 

 the Rajah's government. And since the Kayans and 

 Kenyahs were already in possession of the upper river 

 and considered themselves the dominant tribes and 

 lords of the land, it was inevitable that there should 

 grow up a keen rivalry which could hardly fail to 

 lead occasionally to armed conflict. For the Sea 

 Dayaks had been accustomed to adopt a somewhat 

 swaggering and domineering attitude towards the 

 Klemantan tribes, and could not easily learn to 

 modify it when they came in contact with the prouder 

 and less submissive Kayans and Kenyahs. This 

 rivalry has been the source of most of the troubles 

 of the Rejang, where, since the big expedition of 

 1863, the Rajah and his officers have on several 

 occasions found it necessary to subdue recalcitrant 

 tribes or communities by leading armed forces 

 against them. 



As an illustration of these sterner methods we 

 add a brief account of one such expedition led by 

 one of us (C. H.) in the year 1904, in his capacity of 

 Divisional Resident of the several Rejang districts ; 

 an expedition which, there is reason to hope, may 

 prove to be the last of the series. The purpose of 

 this expedition was to reduce to order a small 

 community of Sea Dayaks that was established 

 upon Bukit Batu, an almost impregnable mountain 

 which rises up almost perpendicularly on all sides 

 at the head of the Bali, one of the eastern tributaries 

 of the Rejang. This community had been formed 

 in the manner to which legend assigns the foundation 

 of ancient Rome, namely, by the gathering together 

 in this strong place of various outlaws and violent 

 characters who for one reason or another had 

 quarrelled with and defied the government. The 

 same spot had been similarly occupied many years 

 before ; and though it had been forcibly cleared of its 

 defenders, its natural advantages had, in the course 



