224 EAMBLES OP A NATUEALIST. [Cii. XIV. 



the Sarawak government to make some arrangement for the 

 working of the diamond-washings, and many who were in- 

 terested in the subject joined our procession. Among them 

 was the Datu, or first native chief of the district, and the 

 chief Hadji or Mahommedan priest. The Datu was a 

 pleasant-looking man of about fifty, who has supreme au- 

 thority in the native courts in petty cases, divorce suits, 

 etc., and was described to me as a man of considerable 

 intelligence and sagacity. He had with him his son, a 

 slight lad of niue or ten years old, and like his father of 

 intelligent look, and gentlemanly manners and appearance. 

 The Hadji was a stout, heavy, and somewhat dirty-looking 

 old gentleman, disposed, however, to be very friendly. Un- 

 fortunately I could not talk much with them except through 

 my friend, my knowledge of Malay being unequal to the 

 effort of sustained conversation ; but both, particularly the 

 Datu, made themselves agreeable, and as conversational as 

 the circumstances would allow. 



In a bend of the river we came upon a number of the 

 diamond-washers at work, and stopped to observe then* 

 mode of procedure. Diamonds have long been known to 

 exist in the river-bed, and the search for them has been 

 carried on for a long period. For the most part they are 

 of small size, but of a brilliant water, although large ones 

 have been occasionally met with. The largest Bornean 

 diamond belongs to the Sultan of Matan, and is valued at 

 ^269,738, weighing, as uncut, 367 carats. In the sand and 

 gravel of the river-bed, at depths averaging from six to 

 eighteen feet below the surface, and in strata sometimes 

 several feet thick, the diamonds are sought for with varying 

 success by a large number of Malays, who sink shafts at a 

 distance of 20 feet apart in the shallow parts of the river. 



