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^v 2. 1857.n *HB XBAJHB. m
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THE INSURRECTION AT SARAWAK. [The- subjo...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Orient. India. The 19th Regiment Of ...
reiofoec * the garrison ; already there . On our part , we ™ # ahhW * g -b « t slowly . Boats are not readily procured , StfESgfc ™** of" tftesea- daring the last fortnight i ^ cne & iirca * o tf alt communication with the shipping , thTnearest of whicb lies about ttoree- or foar miles out .
. - CHINA AND BOKNEO . The Indian ntail brings dates from Hong-Kong to March 15 th . Some Europeans on board the steamer Queen * English property , under the Portuguese flag have been murdered by the Chinese passengers and crew TU ® steamer , with a valuable cargo , was carried off according to some accounts , while , others state that she ' was burnt ) . She had a valuable cargo on board at the time The attackT which was conducted by some Mandarin soldiers and pirates , who had gone on board apparently for the purpose , was made very suddenly and at dinnerThe
while the captain passengers were . Chinese had got possession of the arms chest , and they poured a deadly volley into the cabin . One of the passengers , a Mr . Clever-ley , valorously resisted for some time with a revolver , with which he wounded some of the enemy ; but his thigh was at length fractured with a ball , and he then got overboard , reached a . lorcha , and wa » taken to Macao . The captain also was wounded , and jumped overboard , followed by the engineer and a European passenger . These have not since been heard of . After this occurrence , it was discovered that the guns on board some of the other steamers had been rendered-useless by spiking , or otherwise . has taken laceThe
Another massacre on board ship p . Gulna * eT an English vessel , bound from Swartow to Havannah , was partly manned by Coolies . They mado . an attempt to take the vessel , and were fired upon . They then set fire to the ship , but , finding their leaders shot down , they extinguished the fl-unes . Twentyseven were killed or wounded , and the rising was suppressed . The vessel arrived at Hong-Kong on the 14 th of March , and the affair is being inquired into . A demand has been made at Swartow , by the French ship Catinat , for six thousand dollars , in satisfaction of the violence done to the crew of the Anaia by Coolies . The Mandarins have politely declined paying the sum , though the town was threatened with bombardment in the event of a refusal . The amount , however , lias been made up by parties interested in the Coolie trade .
A third massacre at sea ^ very similar to that of the Gulnare , is likewise reported . The Chinese Coolies on board the Peruvian ship Carmen rose in a body against the Europeans * but were , driven below , when they set fire to the vessel . The captain , crew , and passengers , escaped in two open boats , in which they were exposed for nine days , without water , and with no other food than two baskets of sweet potatoes which they took with them , and a dolphin which they caught in tho so a , and eagerly devoured raw . " In this pitiably exhausted and wretched state , '' writes one of iho olliecrs of tho Carmen , " they were cruelly attacked , when oft" 1 'nlo Tingi , by a piratical prahu , manned by three Malays and a boy , who threw spears , killing one seaman and Others
the passenger , Mr . Pedro Pereyra . were wounded , but by dint of great exertion , in . their famished and weak condition , they managed to get away , and reached Singapore . The survivors are now in the Sailors' Home , except two , who , we hear , have been sent to the hospital to be cured of their wound * . " A desperate attempt has been made by two Chinese to take the American schooner Garland . They attempted to murder the captain and mate , whom they wounded ; but a Chilian sailor , who was himself much hurt in thy struggle , stabbed one of the Chinese to the heart , and so alarmed the other that he leapt overboard , and is supposed to bo drowned . The Chinese say that they can recognise no distinction between English and American vessols .
Tho small chartered steamer Eaglet , and the boats belonging to tlio Honourable Company ' s steamer Auckland , have performed a small service at Toong-Chuiig . They destroyed four heavily-armed Chinese junks , and captured a battery of sixteen guns . Tho casualties on our side were ono killed , and four wounded . Seven piratical junks have also been captured , and a fow other minor operations have taken place , tho details of which possess no intere . it . Tho Government contractors' storehouses at Hong-Kong ( those recently occupied byAllum ) have been burnt down by incendiaries . Sovon hundred barrels of flour have been destroyed .
Pekin gazettes como down to tho 11 th of 1 'ebruary . Thoy contain reports of wonio suocosscs of tho Imperial troops ovor tho insurgents . From Shanghai , it is reported that a band of rebels had burnt Ilohow , in a great tea district in the province of Kiangso . Fifteen chops of congou woro lost . Along tho coast , all was quiet . It ia reported that one of tho loaders of tho revolutionary movement at Nankin has oil ' ootod hi . i reconciliation with tho Imperial Government . A collision lias occurred between tho KiiMsiniiH of Omsk nnd tho people of Tarbngatai , or Tutthtuvn , u distant portion of the Chinese Empire , bordering on tho Siberian frontier . Tho nflair arose from nonie quarrel botweon tho two nations , oaudcil , us ( ho IJii ; isiumi nlluye , by the Chinese crossing tho frontier to dig for fjold ,. The results at present hcoiu to bo ol ' a very trivial nalure . Tho Chinese in Sarawak , Borneo , rose on the 17 th of February , and miimmurod wovornl J'Curonouiig , Sir Jainca
Brooke saved his- life by swimmingacross a creek . One of the Borneo Company ' s steamers subsequently arrived afi Sarawak , and , with * the aid- of Si * ' James ; at the head of a body of Malays * afncl Dyaks , avenged the destruction of the settlement by killing 2000 Chinese : A letter from Sir James Brooke , giving $ u full < account of these events , will be found : below . ^
^V 2. 1857.N *Hb Xbajhb. M
^ v 2 . 1857 . n * HB XBAJHB . m
The Insurrection At Sarawak. [The- Subjo...
THE INSURRECTION AT SARAWAK . [ The- subjoined painfully interesting letter from Sir James Brooke , giving an account of the insurrection briefly noticed above uuder the bead of China , has been communicated-to the Times by the friend to whom it was addressed ^ : — Balidah , March 15 . I may now relate more circumstantially the events of the last few weeks . Sarawak was as peaceful as it had ever been , and there was- no cause to excite dissatisfaction among the Chinese or raise suspicion in our minds of any hostile designs ; yet a conspiracy had been formed which had its ramifications in Singapore and in China . A follower of Tien-Te , the rebel chief , had arrived in Sarawak , and some criminals , who had been banished the country , secretly returned from Singapore . I had been unwell for some days , and on the night of the ISth retired early to bed . My servant was sleeping in a room near mine , and Mr . Steel and Nicholets occupied a small bungalow close by . Between twelve and one o ' clock I was awakened by yells and shots , and , seizing my swovd and revolver , I opened a window and saw that the house was surrounded . The noise told me it was by Chinese . I opened door by door in the hope of finding means for escape , but in vain . I told Penty ( his native servant ) that our deaths were at hand , and , as the last hope , went down to the bathing-room , which was under-repair . The door was not fastened . I opened it gentlv , and , seeing the way clear , ran across the lawn to
the creek on the right hand of the house , and took the water closs under the bows of the boat which had brought the murderers to their bloody work . I carried my sword and pistol across with me . Glad was I to touch ground on the far side , though not above thirty yards . I struggled through the deep mud , and lay down exhausted and panting in the road . Recovering breath , I got to the nearest house , and , launching a canoe , pulled up to the Datoo Bandars kampong . All was in confusion . I was too exhausted to do much , and Hercules himself could not have restored courage or order to such a panicstricken crowd . Hero Crookshank joined me , bleeding from a severe sword-cut in the arm . He believed his wife to bo dead , and we both apprehended that the
massacre would be general . Finding all hope of restoring affairs at the Bandars gone , I pulled to the kampongs above , and persuaded the people to secure their women and valuables in prahus , and to cross to the opposite or left bank of the river , so as to prevent the assailants from attacking them by land . My house , Arthur's , and Middleton ' s were long before this in flames . We got the women and children across the river , and Arthur , Crookshank , and myself retired to the same side , to tho house of Nakodah Bryak . Here Crymble joined us with the intelligence that after an hour's defence our fort or palisade had been taken , and with it all our guns , small arms , ammunition , & c . It had been defended by Crymblo , with four men and two
prisoners ; three of tho defenders were killed , one or two wounded , and Crymblo himself had been grazed by a spear in his side . Middleton , Steele , Ruppell , and Penty dropped in one after after another . The bright firos went out , and the dull morning broke at length , but only disclosing to us the hopeless stato of our affairs . \ Yo remained quietly at Inkodah Bryaks , doing what wo could to animate tho natives , and to preparo for such a defence as our means allowed , should wo bo attacked . 1 may here relate the fate and misfortunes of our fellowsullerors . Poor Harry Nicholets wad murdered on the grass , trying to reach my house . Crookshank and his wife escaped by their bath-room door . She ran first , and he protected her retreat with a spear in his liand ,
but , in passing tho stable , one of these villains rushed from tho opposite . side and cut her down . Her husband jobbed his npear into the miscreant ' s back , but with a twist of his body ho wrenched it out , and , seizing the shaft , he struggled to get the spoor . Suddenly , however , letting go with his right hand , in which he held a short sword , ho cut Crookahank across tho fleshy part of Hie arm . Both staggered , both lot go tho spuar , ami Crookshank , weak with loss of blood , and believing his wife dead , staggered away and reached inc . Mho , young and beautiful , lay for twolvo hours weltering in hur blood , conscious and calm in this extremity . Ono fiend hacked at . hor licud till ho cut off tho long trcssoH which protected it ; another toro hor rings from her lingers ; a third—for tho sake of our common nature let it
be told—gave her water to drink . \ iy this time the remainder of tho Europeans had boon assured of protection ; but when the Biishop asked the loader's permission to carry her to hin Iiuubo , ho was told that shu should bo lefr . to perish . At length the boon wits granted , ami hIiu was relieved and tended , and ia now , God bo praised , recovering . Middleton ' s house VfftH attacked at the name timo and in tho uaino manner as ( lit ) others , llo ortcaped with difficulty , llirt poor llttlo wife hid in a buk"ry till tho burning vuftei'H i'oll nb . > wt her , and , from her concealment , aaw tho assailants
kicking abouO the Head of her eidfesfrctiifc * . TheMMo ^ fcer was paralyzed ; she wished , she said ^ to rush . < stsG , > Bat could -not move . The youngest child * wafl ' mwelered and tbrowiv into the flames , where poor Wellington' ^ remains were likewise consumed , his head borne off in triumph alone attesting his previous murder . Tire day broken as I said , and shortly after I heard that the Chinese had assured the survivors of safety ; that they had communicated with the Bishop , and sent for Helms- and Rappell . I then , hopeless of doing good , started- for
the- Stole * a small stream which has its outlet far' below the town ; it was a wild walk ; we swam the stream , washed out every track of our footsteps in the mad' , and took refuge in a mangrove swamp as dark came on . By eight o ' clock two- small boats came to carry us away , and in an hour afterwards- I was in Abong Buyongfs prahu , manned by forty men , with six smaller boats in company . Our party consisted of Arthur Crookshank , Grvmble , Mjiddleton , and Penty , and , after the trials and fatigues of ? the twenty-four hours , we slept as though misfortune had not overtaken us ~ .
On the mwning following , I landed at Sabong , and I wish I could explain to you tho tender care , the generous sympathy showered upon us . Here we received information that the Chinese , after forcing the Europeans and Datoos into oaths of fealty , had agreed to retire up the river . It was clearly their intention , haviirg , as they thought , disposed of myself and Arthur , to take the country into their own hands , to be friendly with the Malays and Dyaks . to patronise the Europeans , and to encourage them to trade in order to the supply of their own w * nts . There were two parties requisite to the success of this notable project . My intention v ? a !» to proceed to Sakarran , to collect as large a force as I could , and with it to retake the town , or to command- a
base of operations in its vicinity . I awaited , however , the intelligence ,, and on Sunday , having heard of the retirement of the Chinese , I was again entering 1 the town , when down thoy came a second time , before trc were in any manner prepared to receive them properly . The consequence was , they gained the town before I could even land , and I ag .-un retired with all the Europeans , with the firm intention of proceeding to Salcarran . This was the only evening I felt the depression of spirits attendant on ill fortune , but I did not show it . There we were , outcasts—women and children and helpless fugitives to be provided for— the town in names , and my people without firearms and ammunition , panic stricken , and fleeing with their families-. A
force from Sakarran was our only hope , and with a base for operations we might rally the people , re-arm and act against the enemv . The next morning I was on my way to lAuga , when the steamer hove in sight . I boarded her . Skinner was most zealous and active . Here was the very base for our operations we wanted . We drove the miscreants out of the town , found the Datoo in a- cluster of prahus , and heard that he had recaptured nine sampans and one of our prahus containing stores of powder , some guns , & c ., of which we were in great want . This was the first blow struck at the Chinese . I felt assured that each day would improve our-resources and diminish those of our enemies . Their body of men was noavly annihilated , for taking the
jungle behind the town or making off by the road , as they had no boats to carry them away , they were cut off by " the Dyaks or starved . My next measure vrns to let the land Dyalcs loose upon them , and within a circuit of thirty miles from Siniawan , Bau , and Bula they were driven into their defences with great loss of life , and all communication between . Bau and Siniawan prevented , excepting by means of large parties of armed men . Night and day thoy were harassed by alarms ; every straggler was cut down . In short , it was a guerilla warfare of tho most harassing chara « ter , and , quite shut tho enemy up in their two places of strength , Bau and Siniawan . Tho want of food wns stiro to do the rest , and it was a naero question of timo how long- tliev could hold out . Himovarimcl Hank were each ; covcrod / tho former by the fort of Balidah , the latter by its landing-pla < c , but early in the month tho Chinese again
caniefiirth in live prahufi and began ravaging tho banks of the rivor . I was collecting 1 my people and reassuring thorn after their panic . The Datoo Bandar , or * the 9 th , was in a sin # lo Malay prahu on the look-out at Linda Turalc when thi » Chinese party came there . They declined mi en ^ a & v . mont on tho water , btrt landed nml threw up a stockade , which they defended with four guns and man nod with about two hundred and fifty men ' , armed with musluttH' and rifles , Tho Datoo came down , himself in u small boat , nml by ono o ' clock on tho 10 th wo got o / l' two more largo prahus , Borne thirty Dyafc baiitfltonytf' a « a reserve ; other prahus were preparing , : uul Koino followed tho same evening , but too hue . These threw prnlma ranged themselves in line nn < l dnsheri at tho Chinese stockade , landed sword in hnncl , and curried it without a ohocfo . Tho Dyaku cut tho Chinese to pieces in this jungle , and tho hiulf-hour beforo minuet cost our enemies from one hundred to ono hundred nn < l
twenty m » n . Again the rotwnivnt wiw distressed in fho jungle . Our party returned ; had it ascended tho rivor , n <> iiuui , woman , or child ' of our imomius would hnvuescaped death ov capture 1 . Thin defeated parry connoted of their picked men , and their two gronfc loaders woro lilll j' " in the stockade . A panic now Heixed flwiri . On t" « ui Ut ol' tho llt . h I heard thnt Ballduh and tfiinow had Nou abandoned , and , hurrying up tho following morn-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 2, 1857, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_02051857/page/3/
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