90 BUFFALOES. 



and many other edible shell-fish are in perfection. 

 The sperm whale is found amongst the quiet seas of 

 the eastern coasts, and the fishery is often profitable 

 to the American vessels employed in it. There is 

 little doubt, should our new settlement at Labuh-an 

 prosper, and form a colony in these seas, that to the 

 above list of marine productions many will soon be 

 added. 



Ambergris is found in the Indian seas, but I am 

 not certain that those of the coast of Borneo produce 

 it. Under the fostering care of the British govern- 

 ment, the natives themselves will in a great measure 

 assist in developing the resources of this rich island ; 

 and when European skill and capital are employed, 

 as they are likely to be, we may soon see its valuable 

 productions forming a larger, and much more impor- 

 tant item than they have hitherto done in the com- 

 merce of the Archipelago. 



Of the domestic animals but few are kept on the 

 west coast of Borneo, though the buffalo (kerbau) is 

 well known on the south and north, at Banjarmasin 

 and Borneo ; they are probably abundant on the east 

 coast. I have not heard of their having ever been 

 found wild in the island, and from their scarcity 

 should think they have been introduced. They are 

 sometimes brought to Sarawak by the chiefs for their 

 festivals, from the Natunas islands, where they are 

 plentiful. The cow is of the Indian breed, having a 

 hump at the shoulders ; they are small, but prettily 

 shaped cattle, and when furnished with good pasture 



