BORNEO 
253 
mapped and its inhabitants rendered partially civilised. 
The Segama river has been proved to be rich in gold, and 
an attempt is being made to render its upper basin more 
accessible by the construction of a road. The develop¬ 
ment of the tobacco plantations, which has of late been 
extraordinarily rapid, will no doubt bring consider¬ 
able wealth to the colony. About ten of these are 
established, and the value of the export rose in 1891 
to nearly $700,000, but the opening up of the interior 
will depend chiefly upon its mineral resources. In 
this respect there is no reason to believe that the 
country will prove inferior to the neighbouring state of 
Sarawak. A telegraph line connects Labuan with the 
mainland, and is being carried to Sandakan and Silam. 
Two islands of a certain importance lie oil the 
northern point of Borneo—Banguey and Balambangan— 
both of which are owned by the British North Borneo 
Company. Banguey is about 22 miles in length by 12 
in breadth, and has an area of about 170 square miles. 
Geologically it resembles Borneo, exhibiting granites, 
gneisses, and mica-schists, but Banguey Peak is reported 
to be volcanic. It is inhabited chiefly by Dusun Dyaks. 
The soil is fertile, and two tobacco plantations have been 
established on the west side of the island. On the south 
is a fair harbour formed by three small islands, and here 
a small settlement—Mitford—has been established by 
the Company. Balambangan is much smaller, being 
only forty square miles in area, and is uninhabited, but 
it is memorable as the scene of a disaster to the English 
in 1775. When, in the middle of the last century, the 
Sultan of Sulu was found a prisoner in Manila on the 
occupation of that city by the British, Admiral Drake 
obtained from him the cession of Balambangan as a 
reward for his release. The British flag was accordingly 
