BORNEO. THE EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SKARRAN AND SAREBAS PIRATES.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 404, 27 February 1850, Page 3

BORNEO. THE EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SKARRAN AND SAREBAS PIRATES.

(From the Singapore Free-Prest, September 8.) By the arrival heie of H.M. brig Albatross and H.CI Nemesis, we are enabled to give a more detailed account than that given some weeks ago of the expedition of Sir James Brooke and the small naval force co-operat-ing with him, and which hat resulted \n catting up a formidable piratical fleet, and in quenching the power of the piratei for a time. It is to be hoped that this ■evere lesion will enforce the exhortations to a peaceable and industrious course of life which now, as on many previous occasions, have been addressed to the piratical pirates by Sir James Brook ; and if they are shewn, by the ocoaiionil appearance of oar reisoli

of war on their coasts and rivers, that they are watched, they may perhaps in time be convinced that it is now impossible any longer to follow their lawless and bloodthirsty pursuits without retribution overtaking them for every act of outrage und rapine they commit. The Meander, Captain Hon, H. Keppel, not having arrived, it was determined to proceed with the available force. Early on the morning of the 24th July the Nemp*is started with H,M. brig Royalist and the Meander's steam-tender Ranee in tow. The boats of H. M. brig Albatross quickly followed, and the pituresque banks of the Sarawak echoed and re-echoed with the cheers given only as British seamen can give them to their departing messmates. The European force that night anchored off the mouth of the Moretabas, and consiited as follows :— H.M.S. Royalist, Lieutenant Everest, with twelve 12' pounder brass guns, and one 12 pound howitzer. H. C. steamer Nemesis, T. "Wattage, Esq., commander—two 20-pound traversing guns, four 6-pound brasi guns, and two 3 -pound rocket tubes. Boats of the Albatross — Gig, commander Farquhar, (in commond of the squadron), "one Impound swivel gun anJ ten men. Pinnance, Lieut. Brickwell (2nd in command), one 12-pound howitzer, one I|- pound howitzer and 22 men. Cutter, Lieut. Wilmshurst, 12-pound light brass howitzer, one 3«pound rocket tube and 15 men. I Boats of Nemesis — No. 1 paddle • box boat, Mr. Williams, 3-pound brass gun and 19 men from Albatross; No. 2 ditto, Mr. Goodwin, 3-pound brass gun and 9 men ; cutter, Mr. Alex. Baker, one 3-pound brass gun and 8 men. Royalist's cutter, Lieut. Everest, one 3 -pound brass gun, one 3-pound rocket tube and 15 men ; and Ranee, Mr. E. W. Baker, engineer in charge, one 6 -pound rocket tube, one swivel gun, and 7 men. H. E. Sir James Brooke and the Sarawak flotilla joined company during the night ; and on the next morning Royalist, Ranee, and European boats were taken in tow by the Nemesis, and reached the entrance of the Sakarra River. The boats then anchored in line across its mouth whilst the Nemesis proceeded up the river with the Royalist to leave her off the Linga branch, and having accomplished this, she returned very early on the morning of the 26th and took the boats in tow, and proceeded towards the Sarebas, off which she anchored at 3 p. m, to await the arrival of the native force. On the 28th intelligence wa« received that a large force of upwards of 109 prahus were out from Sarebas, in the direction of Rejan?, with the intention, it was supposed, of attacking the town of Siriki. Sir James Brooke and part of the native force anchored off the Kaluka, and the other detachment at the mouth of the Sarebas, the Nemesis in the bay between the two rivers, and the men-of-war boats in line shoreward. In this position all remained until the evening of the 30th, where tidings were brought that the pirates had attacked Palo, and after threatening- destruction to the inhabitants, unless they furnished them with salt, bad gone to a river named Si Maring, where they were then lying. On the evening of the 31st the Ular, one of the scout boats arrived with tha intelligence that the pirates were advancing in full force. In about 15 minutes all were in motion to meet them, the Nemesis proceeding seaward to command them and prevent their escape to sea. A soon as she was descried by the pirates, they made at once for the Kaluka river, where their progress was intercepted by the native boats, and those commanded by Lieutenant* Wilmshurst and Everett. The pirates then, as a dernier resort, made a dash to leach tbeir own river, when they came in immediate contact with the men-of-war boats, and the action became general. It was now dark, and the great danger was, that of firing into each other or into our native allies. The pass-word selected was "Rajab," and the Malays screamed this out at the top of their voices when they they thought any of the Europeans were near them. Commander Farquhar, who directed the operations, was in the midst of the melee, giving orders and exhorting the crews of the various boats to be careful and not to fire into each other ; and leveral of those present, from their age and service, capable of giving an opinion, state that they never in any boat-actions saw firing so rapid and destructive. Two large prahus were seen by the commander escaping seaward, and the steam tender was ordered to chase ; the nearest one having barely escaped one of her sixpound rockets, made for the river, and met a pirate's doom. The Nemesis, which had been dealing death and destruction to all around her, ran her down, and the scene which took place as her crew, above sixty in number, came in con' act with the paddle wheels, beggars all description. A large congreve rocket from the little stesmer entered the prabu that had continued out to sea, and rendered her destruction complete. A signal was now made to close, and the scene, as witnessed from the bridge of the Nemesii, was most exciting. It was evident from the first that tlie day was our own, but a rapid running fire was still kept up along the margin of the bay. This having gradually subsided, at 12.30 on the morning of the Ist July, Commander Farquhar ordered the boats of the various vessels in tow, and baying sent the Ranee with delpatches to Sir James Brooke— then in some part of the Kaluka River— we commenced the ascent of the Sarebaa, to prevent escape by the Rombas branch. In doing so, we were deprived of a sight, which, all say, took them by surprise. At dajlight the bay was one mass of wreck, shields, spears, and portions of destroyed prahus, extended as far as the eye could reach, whilst on the sandy spit which extends a considerable distance seaward on the left bank of the Sarebas, were upwards of 70 prahus, which the natives were busy clearing of all valuables and destroying. The punishment inflicted on theie fierce barbarians, had been most complete. Of 120 prahus which, it is said, started on the expedition, and all of which were in the bay the preceding evening, more than 87 were destroyed, and the loss of life on their side muet have been immense — inderd it has been placed as high as 1,200 men. On our part, saving a few slight casualties, all were un. scathed. The observer was compelled to ask himself, could destruction so immense, success so complete — at least one-third of this ruthless horde tent to their account— be effected in a space so brief, and with a European force so small ? Had success attended the pirates our fate was certain. No more convincing instance of their inhuman disposition need be cited, than the fact, that the bodies of women were found on the beach on whom they had wreaked their vengeance. They were all decapitated, and the bodies gashed from the shoulder to foot : these are supposed to have been captives taken by the pirates on the expedition from which they were returning. It was afterwards learnt from a Malay prisoner that the piratical fleet had gone one out in the confident belief that the Malaya of Sarawak would not act against them during the Ramadan or Mahomedan fast-month, and that after plundering Palo they had gone to Si Maring, and from thence to Mato, which they attacked, seizing on the voyage two trading boats, one from Sarawak with piece-goodi.— Very large numbers of the pirates escaped into ths jungle, where they were pursued by our native auxL iiaries. On the 13th August we were rejoined by ths steam tender, and received the information that Sir James Brooke would join ut on the following day. On the

2nd, the native force having arrived we weighed, and proceeded up the river, where we anchored on Friday, the 3rd, at 8 a. m, having rentured 10 far up an unsurveycd river as was thought prudent. At noon the larger prahus with the steam tender and men-of-war-boats, proceeded up the stream and anchored the same evening off the site of Paku, the town formerly destroyed by Captain Keppel in 1843. At daylight on the morning of Saturday the 4th August, the further ascent of the river was prosecuted and the town of Paku destroyed. The steam tender was prevented from reaching this spot by the immense trees which extended across the narrow and tortuous stream, in ascending which the men-of-war boats had to be carried over or depresied under the various natural and artificial barriers that existed every few yards. She thea returned to a village a few hundred yards lower down the stream, and destroyed it and a large prahu secured on its banki. Commander Farquhar hearing guns, despatched the Nemeiis' cutter with orders to lay by the cutter during the night. She however commenced the descent the same evening, steam being up, and reached the Nemesis at 9 on Sunday morning, with one European kUled and two wounded, bringing intelligence of the death of the two ions of the Orang Kaya of Lundu,; two of the bravest of the native chiefs, who had been cut to pieces by the pirates on their first landing in the jungle off the late piratical settlement of Paku. The boats returned from Paku on the morning of the 7th, and it was determined by Sir James Brooke to ascend into the Sarebas territories by the Rejang. The Nemesis then proceeded to the mouth of that noble river, and wooded, and was joined by the native boats on the 9th." On the I Ith, sufficient wood having been procured, we commenced the ascent of this river, and proceeded upwards until the 14th, when we anchored off the Kanawit river. On the 16th the European boats, small steamer, and native prahus were dispatched to ascend this river, which occupied two days, and the whole of the settle* ments were totally destroyed. A few prisoners were secured, but the major part of the inhabitants betook themielves to the dense jungle. Amongst the captivei taken up this river was a child whose perfecily white skin and fair hair would induce the belief that it was of European extraction. This little innocent will be brought up amongst the small family of orphans under the charge of the lady of the Rev. Mr. M'Dougall, the excellent misiionary at Sarawak. On the evening of the 18th the Ranee returned to us with several men sick with fever, and one poor fellow with a barbed ■pear through him, which it wai found impossible to extract with safety, and which was therefore filed off level with the back ; very slight hopes are entertained of his recovery. The native and European boati — the former laden with goods recaptured from the Sarebas Dyaks, rejoined us on the succeeding morning. At noon we were again under weigh, and at 4 p. m. anchored abreait of Poe, the natives of which place had been aiding and abetting the Sarebas men in their predatory excursions, but as the chiefs promised to refrain from connection with the Sarebas pirates in future, the town was spared— Sir James Brooke fining them and taking one of their principal men as an hostage, and also bringing away some brass guns. All having been amicahly arranged, on the morning of the 22nd we started on our return, and were somewhat alarmed on arriving off the Kanawit for the safety of the steam tender and gig, which had been left here, but during the day we discovered them proceeding downwards. On arriving at Rejanga supply of wood was ipeedily procured ; and on the 24th Sir James Brooke who had his native boat and embarked on board of us, was landed at Sarawak. Mr. Crookshank, who had joined us up'the Rejang off Kanawit, brought intelligence of an attack of the Sakarrans on a fishing village at the mouth of the Moratabas and of the murder of five of its inhabitants, several others being seriously wounded. He also communicated the pleasing news that the Maeauder had been seen by him off Tanjong Po, and all were most anxious to welcome Captain Keppel to the scene of his former exploits ; but the expectation of seeing him was soon put an end to by the intelligence that the Mxander had sailed for Singapore. Such are the particulars of this most successful expedition, in which a steamer, steam tender, and seven men-of-war boats with a European force of less than 150 men, and the small band of native auxiliaries, totally destroyed a piratical squadron, consisting of upwards of 100 large prahus, manned by not less than 50 men each. They fearlessly ascended for days into a country unknown to them, tracking the evildoers to their inland haunts, and destroying their houses and ill-gotten treasures.