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Saunders. 



TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 



3. North Borneo. By E. P. GrKRirz. 



The author {javf* a general description of the territory under the povenimenl 

 of the British Nortii JJorneo (Jomi)any, from personal observations made duriuff a 

 ii'siJfDCe of nearly three years, and froi . *he oHicial reports of Messrs. I'ryer, Von 

 iJoiiop, Frank Ilatton, and AVitti. Tlie territory lies between tlio 1 l(5th and 

 J]i)th degrees of east lonpritude ai. 1 tlie 4th and 7th paraUels of north latitude, 

 , mljiacinjr an area of some :iO,()00 sriui'.re miles and a coast line of about oOO miles. 

 A ranfre of mountains, the general direotion of which is nortli-east and south- 

 west, forms a backbone through the heart of the country. Melaio attains an 

 aiiproxinuite heigiit of 4,000 feet, .Aleutapok 7,000 feet, trodau ^(,000 feet, and 

 Kiiia ]5alu 1."),G!I8 feet. From this range, and descending to the coast on either 

 wli', are lesser ranges of bills, covered for the most part witli virg'in forest, and 

 interspersed with fertile ])hiins watered by numerous livers. The coast, as a rule, 

 jjlow and Hat. It is, to a large extent, lined with tlie casuarina tree, broken by 

 ^nvtches of mangrove, and diversified by low sandstone clitl's or patches of forest 

 reiii'liiiig to llio water's edge. The country is rich in L;arbours, the most importiint 

 luini.' (»aya, Ambong, and Usikan on the west c< ast, Kudat on the north, and 

 Saniiilkan on the east. The ju'incipal rivevs are the Kimanis, Papar, Putatan, 

 \ki, and Tampasuk "U tlic west coast, Paitan and Sugut on tiu; inrth, and 

 Sibiico and Kinahatangan on the east. Most of these are navigable for steam- 

 lauDclics of light draft, but the entrances are more or less barred. 



Ill' products of t be country include tobacco, sugar, gambler ( the inspissated juice 

 utilie Uucnria i/amhir), pepper, tea, coflee, sago, gutta-perclia, and caiui)bor. The 

 i,utlior d(!scribes tlu' (fomanton caves on the easi const, from which aro obtained 

 edible birds'-nests to the aimual value of 2(1,000 dols., and which contain an apparently 

 inexhaustible store of guano, aeposited both by birds and bats. This coal at 

 pieseut in use is ]irocured from the Muara mines at the mouth of the ]iru..oi river, 

 but boring for workable deposits is being carried on within the territory of the 

 Company. Traces of gold have lx>eii found, and samples of silver, cinnaba. 

 iiniiaiony, and tin. .^iotilel•-of-pearl, beche-de-mer, and lortoist^sliell are also 

 dkainable. 



The fauna comprise a small tree-tiger (/■W/.x itiacruscr/i/^) which is found in the 

 Ulterior, deer of various kinds, wild pigs, wild catth' (Ilii f/niirus), and buffalo. 

 Oil the east coast the elepiiant and rhinoceros are also found. In tiie interior are 

 immy varieties of the monkey tribe, including an orang-utan. Small black bears 

 are occasionally met with. The tapir and tiie otter have been seen on the north 

 coast. Squirrels of all sliad'vs aboimd. Amongst the snakes are found tlio cobra, 

 python, and leaf-snake, but the autlior has not known a single fatal caso of snake- 

 lite during a six years* residence in IVirneo. Crocodiles are numerous. The rivers 

 iiid coast teem witli fish. There are pigeons of numy kinds, snipe, curlew, plover; 

 the argus and lUilwer idieasant, and several species of partridge. 



The climate is said to be fairly liealthy. Tlie maximum montldy mean 

 temperature during lS"-'."» v.-as S!)-;5, and tlie minimum 7')' I. The rainfall at Kudat 

 I'ur the year was Ir-'O-oti. November, December, and January are the wettest 

 montlus. 



The population is estimated at l.")0,000. 'I'iie west coast is peopled by a 

 mixture of .Malays, Bajaus, and Ilaiuins ; on the nnrtli and east coasts Bajaus and 

 "uhis are chiefly met witli. Chinese, natives of India, and Arabs trade in most 

 "f the rivers, and the former are setUing in cmisiderable numbers. 'The aborigines 

 will) rj.jide in the irterinr are called Ihisuns, or Ida'aii. 'I'hey grow tubacco, 

 cotton, rice, tapioca, yams, and Iiulian corn for their own inunediato consumption, 

 1111(1 use ploughs an(l harrows whicli are supposed to have beesi introduced by the 

 niiiicst'. Laws have recently been iiromulgated vitb a view to the gradual 

 extinction of slavery. The exi)erimeiit in colunisation now being made in liriti>h 

 North Kiirneo is attentively -.vatched by other nations who have interests in ihe 

 l^astern seas. 



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