PALAWAN. 
133 
previously on the other side of the island. This extraordinary cargo was bound for 
China, the shoes being required in the manufacture of cutlery. We left soon after 
midnight, and the following morning were steaming in a calm sea along the coast of 
Palawan. I had settled to stop in Taguso, as I heard that the Sulus were of a better class 
there, but in reality they are probably the worst in the island. 
20th.—About mid-day we dropped anchor opposite a few attap dwellings on the coast; 
this is Taguso, where we are to disembark, and one of the buildings is the store belonging 
to an enterprising Labuan trader. On landing I was disgusted with the state of the store. 
Built on the ground, as is usual in Chinese buildings, it was not only without flooring, but 
the sandy ground was distant only a few feet from a fetid mud-swamp. At high water the 
ground in the store became wet and soft. The store was not finished, wanting two sides. 
I thought twice whether I should re-embark or not before it was too late; in the end my 
desire for exploration overcame all others, and I stopped. The ‘ Royalist,’ after loading up 
with the produce collected since her last call, left for Puerto Princesa, promising to return 
in less than two months, when I should have changed my locality to the other coast. 
The store consists of a large attap-roofed shed, built perhaps in the most unhealthy 
spot the Chinese could have selected, but suitable for loading the steamer. The sides are 
only partly covered in with kajangs. I am told that it is intended to build a raised floor 
about a foot from the ground; it would be unsafe to build it higher owing to the 
predatory habits of the Sulus, who would then be able to steal at night what they had sold 
to the Chinese during the day. The inside of the store is in the greatest confusion, goods 
and rubbish of all sorts being piled up in a confused heap in the centre, round which are 
located the sleeping-places of the four Chinese guardians. Their beds are formed of planks 
piled on oil-cases and boxes, over which is suspended a mosquito-net. Two of the 
Chinamen are opium-smoking skeletons and yellow with fever ; the other two look fairly 
well. The store is generally occupied by some idle loafing Sulus, who live a short distance 
off. When I left this horrible place in October the building was still unfinished, with the 
exception of a small part which had been covered by a nebong floor. 
After landing our multifarious baggage, we stacked it in a heap in one corner of the 
store. On it and amongst it the Kadyans slept—for two reasons, because there was no 
other place, and secondly to protect it from the night attacks of the thieving Sulus. The 
Chinese in this store live in a perpetual state of alarm after dark, and though we augmented 
their party by eight, several attempts were made by the Sulus to rob the store by cutting 
holes in the flimsy kajang walls at night. 
During the day robbery is carried on in a more open and simple manner. A number 
of Sulus used to surround the head Chinaman and pretend to bargain with him for the 
rattans and damar they had brought to the store, whilst two of their companions, stooping 
low behind these men, were busy passing the trade-goods through the window or flooring 
to friends outside. This actually occurred several times under our eyes, more especially 
after the small part of the store was finished, the window in the store-keeper’s private 
apartment being most useful to the Sulus. Though the rest of the Chinese were also aware 
of this, they said nothing, as any interference on their part would probably have ended in a 
fight. It was no affair of mine, and I must say I did not care whether the Chinese were 
