NOETH BOENEO. 
81 
again on the 3rd of May, when I busied myself packing up and drying my collections 
previous to shipping them home. 
On the 26th May, the Resident of Kudat kindly invited me to make a trip to Brunei 
on board the ‘ Kimanis ’ with him ; being delighted at the opportunity of visiting this 
Eastern Venice, I gladly accepted his invitation. Brunei is distant some forty miles from 
Labuan, and situated in a huge salt-water creek or lagoon, surrounded on all sides by bare 
hills of slight elevation. The river Limbang now debouches into this creek some distance 
below the town on the true left bank. The chief export of Brunei is sago-flour, the whole 
town reeking with the disagreeable sour smell of fermenting sago ; the manufacture of this 
product is carried on by Chinese, who ship their flour to Singapore by the coasting-steamers 
which occasionally call at this port. 
During my residence in Borneo the Court of the Sultan of Brunei was a hotbed of 
intrigue, owing to the rival'interests of the Governments of Sarawak and the British North 
Borneo Company—the last remnants of the miserable old Sultan’s territories being situated 
between these two States, which were bent on securing as much as possible for themselves ; 
but as the discussion of Bornean politics is not within the sphere of my work, I shall leave 
them severely alone. 
After entering the mouth of the creek it winds about for some distance amongst the 
hills, until the town of Brunei is visible, built over a large open stretch of water. The 
houses are of the usual type seen elsewhere on the coast, with attap roofs and walls of 
“ kajang ” or pale yellow mats made from the nipa palm, which are fastened on the frail 
framework of the house by means of rattans; the houses have a rickety and often tumble- 
down landing-stage in front of the entrance, which is reached by means of a broad ladder 
from the canoes. On the landing-stage sprawl the children ; and various sarongs, generally 
of red-coloured material, may be seen drying. The population of Brunei at the present 
day is about 14,000, but in days gone by it was reckoned by early travellers to contain 
some 150,000 people. 
The main street of this Eastern Venice is a fine, broad, deep water-way, admitting large 
steamers right into the centre of the town. This highway is fringed with native houses, 
which are laid out in a crescent-like form on either side; from the main water-way numerous 
by-streets lead off, and then any attempt at designing or laying out the town-plan ceases, 
the houses being built indiscriminately without regard to general effect. A few Chinese brick 
shops are to be seen on “ terra firma ” ; but trade seems to be departing with the glories of 
the Sultan’s court, and many of the Chinese are giving up business. My friend the Resident 
took me to see a collection of Brunei jewelry which had been pawned by the Pangerans to 
a Chinese pawnbroker. The Chinaman led us up a rickety staircase, and in a neglected- 
looking room brought out several large boxes of women’s gold ornaments, including 
bracelets, rings, hair-pins, brooches, ear-ornaments, gold-worked sarongs, and many other 
ornaments. What more evidence than this was necessary to prove the wretched state of the 
households of the Brunei nobles 1 they had pawned everything of value they were possessed 
of. If the Chinese do quit Brunei it is very certain that they will leave nothing behind them, 
having already nearly cleared out everything of value. Some of the gold ornaments are very 
M 
