BORNEO 253 



mapped and its inhabitants rendered partially civilised. 

 The Segama river has been proved to be rich in gold, and 

 an attempt is being made to render its upper basin more 

 accessible by the construction of a road. The develop- 

 ment of the tobacco plantations, which has of late been 

 extraordinarily rapid, will no doubt bring consider- 

 able wealth to the colony. About ten of these are 

 established, and the value of the export rose in 1891 

 to nearly 8700,000, but the opening up of the interior 

 will depend chiefly upon its mineral resources. In 

 this respect there is no reason to believe that the 

 country will prove inferior to the neighbouring state of 

 Sarawak. A telegraph line connects Labuan with the 

 mainland, and is being carried to Sandakan and Silam. 



Two islands of a certain importance lie off the 

 northern point of Borneo — Banguey and Balambangan — 

 both of which are owned by the British North Borneo 

 Company. Banguey is about 22 miles in length by 12 

 in breadth, and has an area of about 170 square miles. 

 Geologically it resembles Borneo, exhibiting granites, 

 gneisses, and mica-schists, but Banguey Peak is reported 

 to be volcanic. It is inhabited chiefly by Dusun Dyaks. 

 The soil is fertile, and two tobacco plantations have been 

 established on the west side of the island. On the south 

 is a fair harbour formed by three small islands, and here 

 a small settlement — Mitford — has been established by 

 the Company. Balambangan is much smaller, being 

 only forty square miles in area, and is uninhabited, but 

 it is memorable as the scene of a disaster to the English 

 in 1775. When, in the middle of the last century, the 

 Sultan of Sulu was found a prisoner in Manila on the 

 occupation of that city by the British, Admiral Drake 

 obtained from him the cession of Balambangan as a 

 reward for his release. The British flag was accordingly 



