Books: Among Malay Pirates

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"Thank you, Doctor; I think I shall like the Malays now I know
something about them. Is it true that they are so treacherous?"

"I don't know, Parkhurst; doubtless they are treacherous in their
wars; that is to say that they consider any means fair to deceive
an enemy; but I do not think that they are so, beyond that. The
Dutch have never had any very great difficulty with them, nor have
we in the portion of the peninsula where we have established our
rule. Of course, I know little about them myself, as I have only
been out here a few months; but I am told that as traders they can
be trusted, and that the word of a Malay chief can be taken with
absolute confidence. Of course, among the majority of the people of
the peninsula we are regarded with jealousy and hostility--they
dread that we should extend our dominion over them, and it is not
surprising that they should by every means in their power strive
to prevent our coming far inland. The chiefs on the rivers are, as
a rule, specially hostile.

"In the first place, because their towns and villages are
more accessible to us, and they know more of our power than those
dwelling in the hill country; and, secondly, because they depend
largely upon the revenue that they derive from taxing all goods
passing up and down, and which they not unreasonably think they
might lose if we were to become paramount. No doubt there is much
that Hassan said of Sehi that is true and is applicable to other
chiefs who have placed themselves under our protection--namely,
that they have so injured trade by their exactions as to incur the
hostility of their neighbors. Of course, I am not speaking of such
men as the Rajahs of Johore and Perac, who are enlightened men,
and have seen the benefits to be derived from intercourse with us.
Their people are agriculturists, and they are really on a par with
the protected states in India.

"There is a great future before the country; gold is found in many
of the rivers, tin is probably more abundant than in any other
part of the world, and the exports are now very large; there are
immense quantities of valuable timber, such as teak, sandalwood,
and ebony. The climate is, except on the low land near the rivers,
very healthy; nutmegs, cloves, and other spices can be grown there,
and indigo, chocolate, pepper, opium, the sugarcane, coffee, and
cotton, are all successfully cultivated. Some day, probably, the
whole peninsula will fall under our protection, and when the constant
tribal feuds are put a stop to, the forests cleared, and the ground
cultivated, as is the case in our own settlement of Malacca, it will
be found one of the most valuable of our possessions. Any amount
of labor can be obtained from China, and it is probable that the
races who inhabit the mountainous districts, who are said to be
industrious and peaceable, will also readily adapt themselves to
the changed conditions. They are not Malays like the people of the
lowlands, but are a black race with curly wool, like the natives
of Africa, and probably inhabited the whole peninsula before the
arrival of the Malays."

"How funny that there should be niggers here," Harry said.

"They are not exactly negroes, but one of the races known
as negritos, having, of course, many negro characteristics, but
differing from the African negroes in some important particulars.
To them our supremacy would be an unmixed blessing; their products
would reach the coast untaxed, and they would obtain all European
goods at vastly cheaper rates. A minor benefit to be obtained by our
supremacy is that our sportsmen would certainly speedily diminish
the number of wild beasts that at 'present are a scourge to
cultivators; the tigers would be killed down, the elephants captured
and utilized, and the poor people would not see their plantations
ravaged, but would be able to travel through their forests without
the constant danger of being carried off by tigers and panthers,
and possibly be able to cross their rivers without the risk of
being snapped up by alligators; though, doubtless, it would take
some time before this would be brought about."

"And when do you think that we shall be going up the river, Doctor?"

"That I cannot say. The Captain has been expecting orders ever since
we came here, six weeks ago; but possibly something may have been
learned of Sehi's characteristics, and there may be doubts as to
the expediency of taking under our protection a chief whose conduct
appears to be anything but satisfactory. On the other hand, it
may be considered that by so doing we may establish some sort of
influence over the surrounding tribes, and so make a step towards
promoting trade and putting a stop to these tribal wars, that are
the curse of the country."

"It would be an awful sell if they were to change their minds,"
Harry exclaimed.

"I should be sorry myself, Parkhurst, for you know I am a collector.
But I can tell you that you won't find it all sport and pleasure.
You will have no cool sea breezes; there will be occasion for
continual watchfulness, and perhaps long boat expeditions up sluggish
streams, in an atmosphere laden with moisture and miasma."

"One expects some drawbacks, Doctor."

"You will find a good many, I can tell you, youngster. Still, I
hope we shall go up; and I think that we shall do so, for it will
be the Captain's report that will help the authorities to decide
whether to appoint a Resident there or not."

A fortnight later a small dispatch boat steamed in and the news
soon spread through the ship that the Serpent was to ascend the
river on the following day. All was at once bustle and animation.
Sailors like anything for a change, and all were impatient at the
long delay that had occurred.

CHAPTER III.

The gunboat was a large one, and carried two midshipmen besides
Parkhurst and Balderson, who were, however, their seniors. The mess
consisted of the four lads, a master's mate, the doctor's assistant,
and the paymaster's clerk. In the gun room were the three lieutenants,
the doctor, the lieutenant of the marines, and the chief engineer.
The crew consisted of a hundred and fifty seamen and forty marines;
the Serpent having a somewhat strong complement. She had been sent
out specially for service in the rivers, being of lighter draught
than usual, with unusually airy and spacious decks, and so was well
fitted for the work. The conversation in the junior mess of the
Serpent was very lively that evening. The vessel since her arrival
on the station had made two runs between Singapore and Penang,
but those on board had seen but little of the country, and were
delighted at the thought of a possibility of active service, and
the talk was all of boat expeditions, attacks from piratical prahus,
of the merits of the bayonet and rifle opposed to kris and spear,
and of sporting expeditions in which elephants, tigers, and other
wild beasts were to fall victims of their prowess.

"You will find that you won't get much of that," the mate, who was
president of the mess, said, after listening to their anticipations
of sport. "I have been on the west coast of Africa and know what
it is poking about in muddy creeks in boats, tramping through the
jungle, knee deep in mud, half the crew down with fever, and the
rest worn out with work and heat. I can tell you it is not all fun,
as you youngsters seem to think, but downright hard work."

"Ah, well! any amount of work is better than standing here
doing nothing," Dick said cheerfully, for the mate was known as a
proverbial grumbler. He had been unfortunate, and, as is usually
the case, his misfortunes were in some degree due to himself, for
he was fond of liquor, and although, when on board, he took no more
than his share, he was often somewhat unsteady in his speech when
he returned from a run ashore; and although the matter was not
grave enough for his captains to report altogether unfavorably of
him, it was sufficiently so for them to shrink from recommending
him for promotion, and in consequence he had seen scores of younger
men raised over his head. He had been for some time unemployed
before he had joined the Serpent, and had been appointed to her
only because Captain Forest, who was a friend of his family, had
used his interest on his behalf. He had, however, when he joined,
spoken frankly to him.

"I have asked for you, Morrison," he said, "simply for the sake
of your father; but I tell you frankly, that unless my report is a
thoroughly favorable one, you are not likely to be again employed.
I was told that there was nothing special against you, but that in
no case since you passed have you been warmly spoken of. It has been
said that you know your duty well; but they had privately learned
that you were fond of liquor; and although no charge of absolute
drunkenness had been brought against you, it was considered that
you would not make a desirable officer in a higher rank. Now your
future depends upon yourself; if you have the resolution to give
up the habit, you may yet retrieve yourself. If I find that you do
so, I shall certainly take the opportunity of giving you a chance
to distinguish yourself, and shall strongly urge your claim to
promotion. If I am not able to do this, you must make up your mind
to be permanently put upon the shelf."

The admonition had not been in vain, and since joining the Serpent
Morrison had made a successful effort to break himself of the
habit. He had very seldom gone ashore, and when he did so, never
went alone, and always returned at an early hour, and without
having taken more than he would have done in the ordinary way on
board. He had not, however, given up his habit of grumbling, and
his messmates were so accustomed to his taking a somber view of
everything that his prognostication as to the nature of their work
up the river had but little effect upon them.

"What do you think, Sandy?" Harry Parkhurst asked the Scotch
assistant surgeon.

"I know nothing about it, except what I have read. They say that
the country is healthy; but it stands to reason that this cannot
be so while you have got rivers with swamps and jungles and such
heat as this. However, we have a good supply of quinine on board,
and with that and our allowance of spirits, I hope that we shan't,
as Morrison says, have half the ship's company down with the fever.
It is all in our favor that we have only just come out, for they
say that newcomers can resist the effects of these tropical rivers
much better than those whose constitution has been weakened by
a residence in the country. As to the sport, I have no desire to
kill any animal that does not meddle with me. My business is all
the other way, and if any of you get mauled, I will do my best to
help the doctor to pull you through; but I am very well on board
the ship, and have no desire to go tramping about among the swamps,
whether it be to hunt animals or fight Malays."

"You think that everyone should stick to his last, Sandy," Dick
said with a laugh. "Well, I only wish there were more on board of
your opinion, for that would give more chances to us who like to
stretch our legs ashore for a change."

"I can stretch my legs here if I want to," the Scotchman said
quietly, "and am not anxious to do more. I suppose, if there are
expeditions against the Malays, I shall have to go with them; but
the fewer of them there are the better I shall be pleased."

The talk was more serious aft, where the doctor and first lieutenant
were dining with the captain. It ended by the latter saying, "Well,
Doctor, if what your friend Hassan said be true, we are likely
enough to have our hands pretty full, and shall have to watch this
fellow Sehi as sharply as we do his neighbors. He is not under
our protection yet, and if he sends his prahus down the river to
plunder on the coast, as Hassan says, he is not the sort of character
likely to do us credit, and the position of a British Resident with
him would be the reverse of a pleasant one. However, we must hope
that he is not as black as he is painted. He has evidently put the
other chiefs' backs up, and we must receive their reports of him
with some doubt. However, I have no doubt that, if he turns out
badly, we shall be able to give him a lesson that will be of benefit
to him."

The first day's voyage up the river by no means came up to the
anticipations of the midshipmen as to the country through which
they were to pass. The width of the river varied from a quarter of
a mile to three hundred yards; the banks on each side were lined
with mangroves, presenting a dreary and monotonous aspect. Progress
was slow, the steam launch going ahead and sounding the depth of
water, the captain having but little faith in the assertion of the
native pilot that he was perfectly acquainted with every bank and
shallow. Being now the dry season, the tops of many of these shoals
were dry, and numbers of alligators were lying half in and half
out of the water, basking in the sun.

Several of the officers who possessed rifles amused themselves
by shooting at these creatures, but it was very rarely that any
attention was paid to their firing, the balls glancing off the scaly
armor without the alligators appearing to be conscious of anything
unusual. There was more amusement in watching how, when the swell
of the steamer rushed through the shallow water and broke on the
shoals, the reptiles turned and scrambled back into the river,
evidently alarmed at this, to them, strange phenomenon.

"I should not care about bathing here, Davis," Harry Parkhurst
remarked to the old sailor.

"You are right, sir; I would rather have a stand up fight with the
Malays than trust myself for two minutes in this muddy water. Why,
they are worse than sharks, sir; a shark does hoist his fin as
a signal that he is cruising about, but these chaps come sneaking
along underneath the water, and the first you know about them is
that they have got you by the leg."

"Which is the worse, Davis, a bite from an alligator or a shark?"

"Well, as far as the bite goes, Mr. Parkhurst, the shark is the
worst. He will take your leg off, or a big 'un will bite a man in
two halves. The alligator don't go to work that way: he gets hold
of your leg, and no doubt he mangles it a bit; but he don't bite
right through the bone; he just takes hold of you and drags you
down to the bottom of the river, and keeps you there until you are
drowned; then he polishes you off at his leisure."

"The brutes!" Harry exclaimed, with deep emphasis. "See, the first
lieutenant has hit that big fellow there in the eye or the soft
skin behind the leg; anyhow, he has got it hard; look how he is
roaring and lashing his tail."

"What is the best way of killing them?" Dick asked.

"I have heard, sir, that in Africa the natives bait a big hook with
a lump of pork, or something of that sort; then, when an alligator
has swallowed it, they haul him up, holus bolus. I should say a
good plan to kill them would be with 'tricity. The last ship I was
in, we had an officer of the Marine Artillery who knew about such
things, and he put a big cartridge into a lump of pork, with two
wires, and as soon as the shark had swallowed it he would touch
a spring or something, and there would be an explosion. There was
not as much fun in it as having a hook, but it was quicker, and he
did not do it for sport, but because he hated the sharks. I heard
say that he had had a young brother killed by one of them. He would
sit there on the taffrail for hours on the lookout for them, with
three or four loaded lumps of pork. Why, I have known him kill as
many as a dozen in a day. I expect the best part of his pay must
have gone in dynamite.

"He had a narrow escape one day; somehow the thing went wrong, and
in trying to set it right he fell over the taffrail. The shark had
bolted the bait, but this was not enough for his appetite, and he
went straight at the officer. He had had a young ensign sitting
beside him, who had often watched his work, and knew how the thing
went. I was standing near at the time, and he began twisting some
screws and things as cool as a cucumber, though I could see as
his hand shook a bit. Well, he got it right just in time, for the
shark was not half a length away from the captain, and was turning
himself over for a bite, when the thing went off, and there was
an end of the shark. The captain was a bit shaken up, but he made
a grab at the rope, and held on to it till we lowered a boat and
picked him up. He had to be got up on deck in a chair, and it was
two or three days before he was himself again. When he got round
he set to work again more earnestly than ever; and I believe that
if we had stopped in the West Indies long enough, there would not
have been a shark left in those waters."

"It was a capital plan, Davis, and if we ever take possession of
these rivers, we shall have to do something of that sort to get
rid of the brutes. Are the Malays afraid of them?"

"I don't know, Mr. Parkhurst, but I think they are. I had a chat
with a mate I met in the Myrtle, which went home the day after we
relieved them here. He had been up some of the rivers, and told me
that every village had a bathing place palisaded off so that the
alligators could not get at the bathers."

"Well, there is one thing--we shall have to be very careful when
we are out in boats, for if we were to run upon a sunken log and
knock a hole in the boat's bottom, there would not be much chance
of our ever reaching the shore."

"You are about right there, sir. I aint afraid of Malays, but it
gives me the creeps down my back when I think of one of them chaps
getting hold of me by the leg. Bob Pearson told me that the only
chance you have is to send your knife, or if you can't get at
that, your thumbs, into the creature's eyes. But it would require
a mighty cool hand to find the eyes, with the brute's teeth in
one's leg, and the water so thick with mud that you could not see
an inch beyond your nose."

"Well, I will make a note of that, anyhow, Davis, and I will take
a good look at the next alligator I see dead, so as to know exactly
where to feel for its eyes."

On the second day the scenery changed. In place of the mangroves a
dense forest lined the river. Birds of lovely plumage occasionally
flew across it, and after they had anchored in the evening, the air
became full of strange noises; great beasts rose and snorted near
the banks; sounds of roaring and growling were heard in the wood;
and the lads, who had been so eager before to take part in a hunt
on shore, listened with something like awe to the various strange
and often mysterious noises.

"What in the world does it all mean, Doctor?" Dick Balderson asked,
as the surgeon came up to the spot where the four midshipmen were
leaning on the rail.

"It means that there is a good deal of life in the woods. That
splashing sound you hear with deep grunts and snorts, is probably
made by a hippopotamus wallowing in shallow water; but it may be
a rhinoceros, or even a buffalo. That roar is either a tiger or a
panther, and that snarling sound on the other bank is, no doubt,
made by smaller animals of the same family, indulging in a domestic
quarrel. Some of the other sounds are made by night birds of some
kind or other and perhaps by monkeys, and I fancy that distant
vibrating sound that goes on without intermission is a concert of
a party of frogs."

"What is that?" as a shrill cry, as from a child, followed by a
confused outburst of cries, chattering, and, as it seemed to them,
a barking sound, followed.

"I fancy that is the death cry of a monkey. Probably some python or
other snake has seized it in its sleep; and the other noise is the
outcry of its companions heaping abuse upon the snake, but unable
to do anything to rescue their friend."

"I don't think, Doctor," Harry Parkhurst said, in a tone that was
half in earnest, "that I feel so anxious as I did for sport in the
forest; and certainly I should decline to take part in it after
nightfall."

"I can quite understand that, lad. At night all the sounds of a
tropical forest seem mysterious and weird, but in the broad daylight
the bush will be comparatively still. The nocturnal animals will
slink away to their lairs, and there will seem nothing strange to
you in the songs and calls of the birds. I should recommend you all
to take a sound dose of quinine tonight; I have a two and a half
gallon keg of the stuff mixed, and any officer or man can go and
take a glass whenever he feels he wants it. It would be good for
your nerves, as well as neutralize the effect of the damp rising
from the river. I should advise you who are not on the watch to
turn in early; it is of no use your exposing yourselves more than
is necessary to the miasma."

The next day progress was more rapid, for the captain found that
the assurance of the pilot that there was amply sufficient water
for the Serpent had been verified, and he therefore steamed forward
at half speed, without sending the launch on ahead to take soundings.
Several villages were passed by the way, but though the inhabitants
assembled on the banks and watched the steamer, no boats were put
out, nor were any attempts made to barter their products with the
strangers.

"It does not look as if we were popular, Mr. Ferguson," the captain
said to the first lieutenant. "It may be that they object to our
presence altogether, or it may be because they believe that we are
going to the assistance of this Rajah Sehi. It certainly does not
look well for the future."

"Not at all, sir. However, we shall be at the rajah's place tomorrow
morning, and shall then have a better opportunity of seeing how
things are likely to go. At any rate, he is sure to be civil for
a time, and we shall be likely to procure fruit and vegetables,
which, as the doctor says, are absolute necessities if the men are
to be kept in good health."

The next morning they anchored about ten o'clock opposite the
campong of the rajah. It was a good deal larger than any that they
had passed on the way up, but the houses were mere huts, with the
exception of a large wooden structure, which they at once concluded
was the residence of the rajah. As soon as the Serpent turned the
last bend of the river before reaching the place, the sound of drums
and gongs was heard, and a large boat, manned by eighteen rowers,
shot out from the bank as the anchor was dropped. The two officials
on board at once mounted the accommodation ladder, and on reaching
the deck were received by the first lieutenant, behind whom stood
a guard of honor of the marines.

Upon stating that they came to express, on behalf of the rajah,
the pleasure he felt at their arrival, they were conducted to the
captain's cabin. Compliments were exchanged through the medium
of the interpreter, and a bottle of champagne was opened, and its
contents appeared to gratify the visitors. They announced that the
rajah would receive the captain that afternoon at his palace.

CHAPTER IV.

Neither of the midshipmen was present at the interview between the
captain and the rajah. The second lieutenant, the captain of the
marines, and the doctor alone accompanied him, with an escort of
twenty bluejackets and as many marines. A large crowd of people had
collected to see them pass along to the palace, which was a bare,
barn-like structure, but they looked on sullenly and silently as
the party passed through them on their way. They were kept waiting
some little time outside the building, then entered through a
doorway which led them into a large, unfurnished room, at the end
of which the rajah was seated. He rose when the officers entered,
and received them with an appearance of great cordiality, his chiefs
standing behind him.

The conversation was wholly of a complimentary character; the
subject of the business on which the British ship had come was not
even touched upon; refreshments, consisting of native sweets and
palm wine, were then passed round, and the captain, seeing that
all business talk was to be deferred, took his leave.

The doctor, who was fond of the two midshipmen, was always ready
to chat freely with them.

"What did you think of our ally, Dr. Horsley?" Dick asked him, when,
having changed his full uniform for a suit of undress, he came up
on deck.

"Between you and me, Balderson, I have seldom seen a more unmitigated
looking ruffian in my life; even for a Malay, he is ugly. Soh Hay
tells me that in his young days he was a great fighter, and his
face and shoulders are seamed with scars. I asked how he came to
be rajah; for he does not look at all the type of the better class
of people. Soh told me that, in the first place, he took to the
jungle, owing to his having krised in a quarrel the son of the
chief here. He was joined by other fugitives, set up as a pirate,
and captured by surprise one of the chief's prahus. His force grew
rapidly, and he made a night attack on the chief's campong, killed
him and all the members of his family, and caused himself to be
elected chief of the tribe, which was then a small one. Gradually
he swallowed up one after another of his weaker neighbors, sometimes
by force, sometimes by treachery. I believe he is now confronted by
more powerful chiefs, and that it is only because he is possessed
of some six or eight piratical prahus that he has been able to
maintain his position. No doubt he has become alarmed by a prospect
of a combination against him, and has so invited us to support him.
Such a step will, of course, greatly add to his unpopularity, but
doubtless he thinks that, with our help, he could defy his enemies."

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