New England and the Middle States, with Maryland, could be set
down in Borneo, still leaving a considerable border of swamp and jungle
all around them. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland could
be slapped down upon it like a flapjack, and there would still be more
than space for another United Kingdom, without covering up all the mud
of Borneo. We do not see how big it is when we look on the map.

"The larger portion of the island is included in the Dutch possessions.
Banjermassin, of which something was said as we passed the mouth of the
Barito River, on which it is located, contains 30,000 inhabitants, and
is the most important in the island. Borneo proper is in the north-west,
and is under the government of the Sultan of Brunei. He lost nearly
one-half of his territory, taken by the North Borneo Company, and that
in the west, which is now Sarawak, of which I shall have something more
to say later. The island of Labuan lies six miles west of the northern
portion of Brunei. It was ceded to the English by the sultan, and is
principally valuable as a coaling-station, though it has a considerable
trade.

"Sabah is the country of the North Borneo Company. An American obtained
the right to this territory in 1865, and transferred it to the present
company. It has an area somewhat larger than the State of Maine. No
doubt they will develop and improve the country.

"Sarawak has a territory nearly as large as that of the State of
Pennsylvania, and larger than the State of Ohio. Its history is involved
in the life of Sir James Brooke, who was originally created the rajah,
or governor of the country, by the Sultan of Brunei, and retained the
title till his death in 1868. He was born in Benares in 1803, and
educated at Norwich, England. In 1819 he entered the East Indian army,
and was severely wounded in the Burmese war. He returned to England; and
his furlough lapsed before he could rejoin his regiment, and with it his
appointment. He left the service. He next conceived a plan for putting
down piracy in the Indian Archipelago, and of civilizing the savage
inhabitants of these islands, a grand and noble scheme to be carried out
by a single individual on his own responsibility.

"He bought a small vessel, and made a voyage to China, probably with the
intention of improving his finances for the work he had in view. In 1835
he inherited $150,000 at the death of his father. After a cruise in the
Mediterranean, he saile