4G4 TWO YEARS IN" THE JUjS'GLE. 



Eveiy Sea Djak prau or large boat above the size of a small 

 sampan, or dug-out canoe, is provided with a tight roof of kadjangs 

 supported upon and lashed to a skeleton frame-work of poles. The 

 hull is decked over from stem to stern with an open frame-work of 

 slats of the nibong palm, or of poles, except that an opening is left 

 amidships, whereby to bale out the craft when it leaks. All the 

 praus, or nearly all, are made on the same plan as the bankongs, 

 of planks sewn together with rattans. 



Thanks to the benign influence of Rajah Brooke's government, 

 my knowledge of the Dyaks as warriors was obtained wholly 

 at second hand, chiefly from the writings of Sir James and his suc- 

 cessor. From the first, it has been the leadmg principle of both 

 to maintain peace in Sarawak, peaceably, if possible, but if not, to 

 fight for it. The Sibuyau clan has always been the staunch ally of 

 the government in its efibrts to subdue, first the hostile and pirati- 

 cal sea tribes, and lastly the Kyans. The powerful and wai'- 

 like clans of SakaiTan and Seribas maintained a close offensive and 

 defensive alliance, and were openly hostile toward all their neigh- 

 bors. For many years theii' power remained unbroken and they 

 successfully made one piratical foray after another against the Si- 

 buyaus, Ballows, Undups, and the Hill Dyaks in general. The 

 latter people, being badly scattered and apparently incapable of 

 forming strong defensive alliances, suffered terribly and thousands 

 of them were killed and beheaded, while thousands more (women 

 and children) were made the hfe-long slaves of their fierce captors. 



But the advent of Sir James Brooke and the forces he was able 

 to enlist in the cause he had espoused, ushered in the dawn of a 

 new era. The pirates of SakaiTan and Seribas Avere attacked again 

 and again by Captain Keppel and the forces of the Dido and 

 Phlegethon, aided by Sir James and his fleet of Dyak warriors, and, 

 after repeated and well merited thrashings, finally submitted. 



This left but one hostile tribe in the ten-itory, the Kyans, which 

 submitted in 1863, since which time Sarawak has been quiet, save 

 now and then when some act of insolence or crime rendered it nec- 

 essary to discipline some particular chief by means of a small ex- 

 pedition. At present, life and property are as secui-e in Sai-awak 

 as in any countr}"^ in the world. 



The Dyak modes of warfare most preferred are precisely the 

 same as those of the best trained warriors of Europe and America, 

 \iz., either to attack in overwhelming force and crush with num- 

 bers, or to take the enemy by surprise and therefore at a great 



